You can tell technology is in flux whenever the names for similar ideas start bouncing around like golf balls at a driving range. What started as “home automation” soon evolved into the “smart” home. Later that morphed into the “connected” home. Now you’ll hear talk of “home energy management” tools and technology. For consumers, changing labels can equal confusion and result in caution.
Although these techno-terms aren’t strictly the same, their central idea is — connect all the smart technologies increasingly common in today’s homes. Linking many independent processors with hardware and software gives homeowners control of their homes, letting them manage everything from outside lighting and security to inside media and temperature — all from a computer or smartphone. Interconnected devices can make homes more comfortable, convenient and secure while using less energy, when used correctly.
“The logic of this is increasing energy efficiency, which means there’s more energy to go around,” said Matt Babbitts, energy services project manager for Clark Public Utilities. “For the customer, cutting back on wasted energy means lower bills. The upside for the utility is that conservation can curb the significant costs of purchasing additional power or building new power resources.”
For many, the idea of integrated home energy management technology is appealing. The framework for managing all this rests on three pieces: some type of user interface, smart hardware and core software, such as your computer’s operating system. Exactly what form these elements take varies. The interface may be the smartphone or it might be a tablet-like control panel in the home. Multiple other display panels inside the home are also likely.
Smart hardware includes everything in the house that can be made to operate through technology, including appliances, wall sockets, lights, thermostats, doorbells, locks, cameras, media controllers and network hubs.
Other software for handling data analysis and web access will run on the core home software. It will likely save settings, data and home analysis in a web-based system that is accessible even when you’re away. The base software will also decide protocols, the way smart appliances and other gadgets talk to one another and give you ways to adjust for improved performance and efficiency.
For now, two approaches can make homes more convenient: turnkey and piecemeal. The turnkey approach is how some entered the automation and smart-home markets a decade ago. Opting for a turnkey solution means you can hire one company to connect the equipment in your home using a proprietary setup that controls everything. This approach ties you to one company. That makes some homeowners nervous, especially when the home energy market is just beginning to evolve and new players are emerging all the time.
In a piecemeal approach, homeowners looking for flexibility can wade into automating a home as much, or as little, as they want.
“With technology changing fast and with new technologies hitting the market all the time, consumers must consider carefully the direction they go,” said Babbitts.
Preparing for the connected home of the future slowly makes sense and you can start small. Web-enabled thermostats are easy to find at many retailers. Other smart products, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth light bulbs, are available. Using Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home gives you voice control over many of these technologies.
“The only thing that’s sure is that these technologies will continue to evolve,” Babbitts said. “Starting with the thermostat makes sense because heating and cooling are the biggest energy expenses. A change there can make a difference and savings add up over time.”
Energy Adviser is written by Clark Public Utilities. Send questions to ecod@clarkpud.com or to Energy Adviser, c/o Clark Public Utilities, P.O. Box 8900, Vancouver, WA 98668.
