What integrators need to know about home power management
Homeowners expect to manage their HVAC system, lighting and water filtration systems, but if the power grid is down or isn’t properly working or protected, none of their home integration programs matter. That’s why companies are starting to expand into home power management. We spoke with two manufacturers working in this space to find out more.
What is home power management?
“The umbrella of home power management has certainly evolved for the past several years, but broadly, the term refers to solutions that allow integrators or end users to control and monitor their electrical distribution within a given power environment – and ensure that connected devices receive a safe, consistent and clean power supply. Power management solutions vary but can include any combination of features to manage energy consumption, analyze power quality, identify and resolve power problems, condition incoming power, provide battery backup in the event of an outage, and more.”
- Chad Russell, director of residential sales, SurgeX
“Power management, put simply, is the ability for a consumer to monitor and manage all their energy resources, ideally in a unified way from a single app experience. With a power management system, consumers can monitor and control every circuit in the home, optimizing efficiency and reducing costs without compromising comfort and convenience. Power management combines onsite energy generation, integrated battery storage, generator control, flexible load management, and powerful EV charging, all under a single platform to deliver complete control of energy assets with the security of grid independence.
- Angela Larson, senior vice president of customer operations, SAVANT
Why are more consumers asking for this type of control?
“Technology is engrained into more spaces in the home than ever. Many homeowners have made significant investments in their homes to incorporate solutions that enhance their lifestyles with comfort, entertainment, energy efficiency, health, safety, security, productivity and more. For example, the rise of remote work has inspired many people to bring their videoconferencing and personal devices up to par with the standards of commercial work. End users are putting serious time and money into designing a better place to live, and with the help of integrators, many have recognized that it’s essential to protect their investment with proper power protection, management and monitoring.”
– Russell, SurgeX
“With the rising costs of energy, infrastructure fragility, the rapid adoption of EVs, and regional weather extremes, consumers are asking about options for adding energy monitoring and management features to help make their smart homes more secure and efficient. Onsite renewable energy resources, combined with power management solutions, will become the foundation for every smart home.”
– Larson, Savant
What type of consumer wants this?
“While the optimal solution for each customer varies, all consumers can benefit from a solid power foundation. If a homeowner lives in a region susceptible to weather disturbances, like lightning strikes and high winds that can threaten their local power infrastructure and home alike, some form of surge protection and UPS is a necessity. Meanwhile, some homes might not have as many external causes of power problems but might experience voltage irregularities due to factors within the home — like aging electrical infrastructure or high-draw devices like air conditioners. While surge protection is a great safeguard, these challenges are best addressed with a strong power conditioning solution: power anomalies are always present in some capacity across electronic environments but are especially prominent under these circumstances, and a conditioner can filter and regulate the supply. Those with a lot of technology in their home – like a full smart home setup, smart appliances, and decked-out entertainment and office spaces – will want to opt for a comprehensive power management solution to monitor incoming power, protect against surges, condition power entering their high-end devices, and keep power distribution balanced and reliable to prevent interruptions.”
– Russell, SurgeX
“Consumers are just beginning to understand that they have choices when it comes to energy management. They want to know how it impacts lifestyle, and many are beginning the process of creating a thoughtful power plan for their homes that will accommodate increased residential and automotive electrification within their environment. Residential power planning is being driven, in part, by the desire for energy security and stability. Rolling blackouts in California and catastrophic grid failures continue to make headlines and are impacting more and more families. As homeowners continue to increase their energy awareness, demand will continue to rise for energy management and energy efficient products.”
– Larson, Savant
What do you see for the future of power management?
“Modern technology places more strain on a home’s local power infrastructure than home builders could have predicted even a decade ago. Simultaneously, society is growing more dependent on the grid than ever, with new infrastructure like electrical vehicle chargers introducing new voltage irregularities and in turn impacting the quality of the power distributed to homes. Homeowners and integrators should view power management as the sturdy foundation of the connected home, as without it, devices will never be fully protected and supported.”
– Russell, SurgeX
“As energy prices skyrocket and climate change impacts both the reliability of power delivery and overall demand, creating homes that are more efficient, more intelligent, and able to maximize the potential of renewable sources while reducing carbon footprint is paramount. Energy management technology will become more mainstream and result in smarter homes, smarter communities, and smarter utilities.”
– Larson, Savant
