Home Energy Management Tools Projected to Surge Over Next Decade

The global market for home energy management systems — including in-home display devices, web-based energy management dashboards, and smartphone applications — will surge over the next decade, according to a new market forecast. The report by U.S.-based Pike Research predicts that the number of consumers using these energy efficiency tools will reach 63 million by 2020, compared with only about 1 million today. The expansion of home energy management systems will increasingly be driven by widespread adoption of other new technologies, such as home-charging stations for electric vehicles. “When the garage becomes the gas station, consumers will demand more sophisticated energy management capabilities, and utilities will need greater visibility into residential energy consumption patterns,” said Bob Gohn, a Pike research director. The report predicts the market for home energy systems will reach 13 million by 2015, lower than the 28 million predicted in a 2009 report.