NARRAGANSET, R.I.--Homeowner Kim Hageman wanted to "go green" at home without giving up any digital comforts.
Three weeks ago, the public relations and marketing executive, her husband, and their two children moved into a house built from the ground up to be both low energy and high tech. It is the first home to get the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED for Homes certification in the state of Rhode Island.
It's far more energy efficient than most because the building is tightly insulated and uses a ground-source heat pump, also called geothermal, for heating and cooling. The builders and homeowners followed a number of other environmentally sensitive guidelines to get the LEED certification, including using recycled materials from local sources and a large cistern for most outdoor watering. Through recycling, the entire construction project, which included tearing down an existing building, only sent one dumpster to the landfill.
The building is cutting edge when it comes to high tech, too. It has a home-automation system from Control4 to access movies and music from the TV and touch-screen displays around the house. That system also doubles as the energy management console, giving teh family a way to control temperature and lighting, as well as get real-time data on electricity use.
Since the family has just moved in, Hageman can't say yet whether the energy monitoring system has helped conserve electricity. But at the very least, Hageman knows how much she is spending on average per day. In theory, that information will allow the Hagemans to notice a high consumption rate and turn off unused electronics and lights.
Hageman said she decided to create an LEED-certified green home because she wanted to do something to help the environment and because she thought it would be good for her public relations and marketing business.
One of the biggest challenges of the entire 14-month project was finding qualified contractors versed in green-building design and products. Now, she hopes the house will serve as a resource for other homeowners looking to incorporate some of its features, such as using sustainably forested wood, water-efficient appliances, and a rainwater harvesting system.
The contractors followed the Consumer Electronics Association's guidelines for a "green" audiovisual installation, where wiring is minimized and the technology upgradeable. Hageman estimates that the system uses about half as much wiring as another comparably high-tech home.
The house still has a significant environmental footprint simply by its size--more than 4,500 square feet. But the Hagemans have made a number of energy efficient choices up front, such as using foam insulation throughout and EnergyStar-rated appliances. They are also considering a sizable solar electric array, which could make it a net zero energy home.
Dozens of home energy monitors are coming to market, but nobody knows whether only hybrid Prius owners will use them.
Whole home energy monitors, or displays, are designed to help consumers conserve energy by providing far more detailed information than a monthly bill. These types of devices are already available, but millions more are poised to enter U.S. homes in the next two years, largely through utility-run smart grid programs.
The gadgets themselves vary, but the common thread among them is the ability to capture a stream of energy information from a meter at a given moment. Simply by surfacing real-time data, either with a small device or Web software, it's believed the system will prompt people to change their habits and ratchet down consumption by 5 percent to 15 percent, according to studies (PDF).
But even as more sophisticated and user-friendly products come to market, it's unclear whether consumers will track energy use regularly, particularly once the novelty wears off.
"Not everybody is an energy nerd yet," said David Schatsky, principal at consulting company GreenResearch. "While people who study this area are aware of the energy space, the average consumer is not."
Schatsky recently completed a study on home energy displays and concluded that they won't likely be a hot holiday season gift anytime soon. In the next two to three years, he projects there will be millions of these devices installed, with the numbers ramping up to tens of millions after that. Existing displays cost roughly $100 to $200 but Schatsky expects that many consumers will initially receive them for free from utilities as part of smart-grid programs.
In a survey, he found that about half of consumers said they were interested in tools to lower home energy bills. But in reality, the percentage of people who will actively manage their energy is probably much less. There are also technical hurdles to making these devices provide real-time information and useful recommendations.
As a result, he expects that energy-efficiency programs run by utilities in the next few years will drive adoption and provide some lessons on what resonates with consumers and not. As part of the multibillion dollar smart-grid grant program announced last month, about one million consumers will get in-home displays from utilities looking to lower consumers' energy consumption in smart-grid programs. Those programs are expected to get off the ground in the next few months.
Motivating consumers
The drive behind smart-grid technologies is to enable the grid to use electricity more efficiently, integrate more solar and wind power, and potentially eliminate the need to build new power plants to meet growing demand.
Countries around the world are investing to upgrade their grids, but there's a gnawing concern in the U.S. that consumers aren't sold on the benefits. Home energy displays are supposed to be one of the ways that utilities can help consumers save money and lighten their environment footprint.
At their most simple, a whole-house energy monitor shows what's happening on an electricity meter and translates that into cost and kilowatt-hours. For example, seeing that a home's current electricity use is higher than typical could lead a person to unplug a video game console or turn off lights. More sophisticated devices can provide information on how much individual appliances use and generate statistics.
When used as part of smart meter rollout, these devices can be a gateway for energy-efficiency services offered by a utility, such as demand response. For instance, a monitor can employ a color system where red indicates that the electricity rate has gone up because it's a time of peak demand.
The Web is a natural extension to these energy gadgets. Google's PowerMeter is being offered through utilities that install smart meters, which feed real-time energy use to the Web-based monitoring application. But Google is starting to offer PowerMeter through other devices, including a small monitor called the TED 5000.
The information and displays are meant to not only inform consumers but to motivate them to be more efficient. In order for that to work, the devices need to be simple to install and useful just at a glance, say monitor makers.
"There's all this talk about the smart grid, but if customers don't participate, it will be a bust," said Paul Nagel, the vice president of strategic development at home automation start-up Control4. "If they don't engage, then they'll never get energy savings."
Home area networks
One of the challenges that all energy display companies face is the technical barriers to getting them installed. The most sophisticated system would use a home-area network built around a smart meter and a network of Zigbee-enabled appliances and thermostat. But even with big investments in the smart grid, millions of homes still won't have smart meters.
Energy management companies are developing alternatives for getting data regularly from the meter to a display. Bridge devices can read meter information using the automatic meter reading (AMR) protocol, which is already available in millions of meters. Another approach is to clamp sensors onto a circuit box to get data or to install "smart plugs," which transmit data from appliances.
Even if a consumer is willing to navigate these technical issues, there is the question of whether the device will provide energy savings over time.
New home energy management companies are focusing on doing more than just monitor data because they are worried about what's called "mean time to kitchen drawer." That is, a person may have a small display on a kitchen counter as a reminder about energy use. But when the batteries run out, will they simply stash it in a kitchen drawer and forget about it?
Companies are now building in data analytics to provide recommendations or to automatically control appliances to ratchet down energy use. EcoFactor, for example, is developing a hosted software application that can analyze data from wireless thermostats and make changes to make the home more efficient.
Control4, a company which does touch-screen displays to manage video and music in a home, is now branching into energy management. Its EMS 100 device, which runs Linux on an Arm 9 processor, is powerful enough to analyze daily information to provide recommendations on how consumers can make changes to save energy, said Nagel. The company plans to offer it through utilities starting in the first quarter of next year.
Energy management services could be bundled with other home-automation products or even cable and telecom services. iControl and AlertMe in the U.K. plan to bundle security services with tools to manage heating, cooling, and lighting.
One way that utilities and energy management companies expect to motivate consumers is by comparing one home's usage to neighbors in comparably sized homes. Start-up Grounded Power is using social science techniques already proven with recycling and seat belt programs to encourage consumers to save energy, said Mike Bukhin, the vice president of engineering.
"Our users are taking snapshots of data subsets and comparing their data to others' in the community. 'How does my fridge compare to yours?' They also have the ability to ask resident experts questions about their data. The data in turn is shared with the rest of the community," he said.
Would you be willing to pay for home security services if they could also help cut your electricity bills?
In a nutshell, that's what start-up iControl is pitching to consumers with its energy management software and home automation gear. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company is also working with utilities to get its energy management system installed as part of smart-grid trials.
On Tuesday, it said that its home automation equipment can now use the Zigbee wireless protocol to communicate with two-way smart meters.
Will home energy management enter through home automation networks?
(Credit: iControl Networks)It's part of the company's plan to enter the field of home energy efficiency, where there are dozens of companies already vying for business. The path it's taking is either through security service companies, utilities, or broadband suppliers, such as cable companies or phone companies, said CEO Paul Dawes.
iControl's technology is software for managing home area networks for home security. It also makes reference designs for Internet gateways and networked thermostats manufactured by third parties. The system allows a person to set up a network of security cameras which can be controlled by a touch-screen device.
With some additional equipment, the system can also be used to monitor energy usage and help homeowners cut energy usage, said Dawes. He expects these services will be offered for free as part of monthly security services, which cost about $30 to $35 per month. Security company ADT said that it plans to use iControl's software system to include services beyond home security, he added.
iControl's energy management system will also work with smart meters installed by utilities. Using a Zigbee-based gateway box and a networked thermostat, the system can get data via the smart meter which can help cut consumers' electricity bill, Dawes said.
For example, the meter can signal when cheaper rates are in effect or when there is a demand-response program in effect. In those cases, appliances on the iControl network can be scheduled to take advantage of those lower rates.
By buying some additional equipment, a consumer could program lighting and heating and cooling using the system, but the company is mainly working through utilities at this point.
"We don't see consumers willing to pay a recurring fee for energy management. They're willing to spend $50 for some energy management solution. What's going to change is when utilities go to time-of-use metering (where there are different prices at different times). Then, the economic incentive is much higher," Dawes said.
iControl is expecting that telecommunications and cable providers will start offering Internet-based home security services and then home energy management. But at this point, it's not clear how those companies will make money in energy management, Dawes said.
Is the best way to manage your energy use through a home security system?
Start-up iControl Networks said Wednesday that it has raised $23 million to further develop its home security system that also allows people to control home energy through the Web and mobile devices, including the iPhone.
Investors in the series C round brought corporate investors ADT Security Services, Cisco, Comcast Interactive Capital, and GE Security. Charles River Ventures, Intel Capital, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers--through its iPhone application iFund--are also investors. To date, iControl has raised over $45 million.
Will home energy management enter through home-automation networks?
(Credit: iControl Networks)There are dozens of companies developing home energy monitoring systems, some of which are simply displays while others communicate with smart meters or home-area networks.
iControl's approach is to create a hub, connected to a home broadband connection that has wireless connections to IP cameras and security boards as well as thermostats and lighting. To control energy-related devices, it uses the Z-Wave wireless standard for home automation which can also control doors and locks.
iControl intends to sell its technology through other providers, such as home-security companies and utilities looking to offer networked services to consumers.
"iControl is extending home security and energy management to the broadband Internet and iPhones so consumers can see, protect and manage their homes anytime, anywhere," said John Doerr, a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
The famed venture capital firm decided to invest in iControl because it found consumers were willing to pay ongoing fees for security. Energy-efficiency tools are offered as an add-on.
"Consumers will pay hundreds of dollars to put in new technology, they'll pay $30 to $40 a month to secure their peace of mind...we found through this Trojan horse that we can bring in new technology" for energy management, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner Ellen Pao told Greentech Media in June.
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