How to take the first step towards smart energy management – Stacey on IoT
Given the extreme heat this summer and the general awareness of how fragile our power grids are, there is a growing consensus that smart homes should include some form of smart energy management component. Today that might be a smart thermostat connected to a utility demand response system.
But it’s possible that in the next decade it will also include some kind of smart breaker box, a smart EV charger, maybe solar or some kind of energy storage. Controlling the entire system will be software that communicates with home devices and returns to the utility to ensure that the appropriate devices get access to what may be a limited amount of power depending on need.
Building such a system is scary. That said, thanks to new products from vendors like Schneider Electric, Eaton, Leviton, Savant, and Span, the design of a smart home energy management system is starting to emerge. Additionally, legislation passed under the Biden administration provides incentives for customers who want to replace “dumb” electrical infrastructure in their homes with smart options.
But for the average consumer, replacing an electrical system is more difficult than replacing a thermostat. So how should the average person think about making their energy infrastructure smarter?
The first step is one you can take today. Start by doing an inspection of your breaker box. Grab a friend or family member and set them up in your lounge while you’re all on the phone together. Their job is to flip switches as you go through the house to see which outlets and appliances go off when the power to that particular circuit goes out. For each circuit you will generate a list of outlets and appliances that they control.
Keep that list with the breaker box and note any empty circuits or headroom you may have. Those circuits may come in handy if you want to install an EV charger, heat pump, or induction stove (all popular electrical installation projects). If you’re in an older home and don’t have the headroom but want to install some of these devices, your options will probably include upgrading to more amps in your power line and box.
Doing so can be expensive, so if you’re conservative you may be able to get away with replacing the old box with a smart box that can help distribute the load in a way that allows your electric car to charge only at night, when other devices are idle. Obviously, this will only take you so far.
If you are looking for a smart breaker box, there are several flavors. Products such as Sense devices or Emporia install inside the box and share data about energy consumption but do not allow you to take any action. I installed these and found them very frustrating. Even if you know your refrigerator uses 500 watts a day, it’s not like you’re going to turn it off.
You can also buy smart circuits that have the ability to turn off and on again, allowing the homeowner full control of the load. Consumers can buy a completely smart breaker box or a few smart circuits, but most of these use proprietary software to manage loads. There are also other open source options, strictly for DIYers.
If you want to get an idea of what a smart energy management solution of the future might feel like, you can start with SmartThings Energy, which uses data from your smart meter and electricity levels to show you how much energy your supported appliances are using. If you have Samsung devices you can put them in Power Saving mode in the app to try to save some money.
It is not perfect, because we do not have any clear standards of communication between the power consumption of different devices and the software of the breaker box. But we will get there. In the meantime, think about your energy research, and plan ahead for new appliances that may be all-electric and hopefully a little smarter when it comes to energy use.
