The Consumer Face of the Smart Grid
EnergyHub empowers people to be energy efficient. By working with EnergyHub, utilities can strengthen their relationship with residential and small commercial customers. The EnergyHub system helps utilities engage customers as stewards in solving the peak-demand problem.
In-Home Devices
Homeowners are motivated now more than ever to reduce their carbon footprint and save money, but they lack effective tools. With a comprehensive system ranging from in-home devices to web-based software, EnergyHub provides those tools.
Our in-home Starter Kit consists of a touchscreen Dashboard and a Temperature Control Unit. The Dashboard combines, in a single interface, the functionality of a home energy display and a programmable communicating thermostat. The Starter Kit can also be augmented with EnergyHub Sockets and Strips so consumers can receive a full and detailed picture of their energy usage, down to individual appliances.
In addition to real-time data, the EnergyHub system gives consumers total control over their energy usage. Homeowners can put their house to sleep with the touch of a button—setting back the thermostat and switching off window air conditioners, pool pumps, hot water heaters, and unused electronic devices. They can access data and control their home from the Internet or a mobile device.
The EnergyHub system supports customizable demand response for multiple endpoints, including HVAC and major appliances.
The EnergyHub system benefits from the presence of a ZigBee-enabled smart meter, but can operate without one. EnergyHub is also working with AMR vendors to support legacy one-way wireless meter reading systems.
The Utility-Consumer Relationship
By extending wide-scale demand response capabilities into residential homes, EnergyHub helps energy providers achieve their load-management goals and allows much greater communication between utilities and consumers. The Dashboard acts as a two-way messaging platform through which utilities can send messages, tips, or peak-demand warnings to their customers, and through which their customers can respond. It also helps customers understand next-generation tiered, time-of-use, and critical peak rate structures.
The Dashboard’s software is flexible and can be updated remotely, allowing both utilities and consumers the ability to change with the times. For example, a utility wanting to incorporate a new rate structure can easily push out that change to some or all of its users via the Dashboard.
Creating the Solution
Microsite and Analytics
EnergyHub also offers a Consumer Microsite for customers to access via the web. This Microsite is customized to reflect a utility’s corporate brand and will enhance an existing online presence.
Consumers can use the Microsite to fully understand their energy use and expenditures, and to compare their energy usage with others in the community. The Microsite also allows consumers to remotely monitor and control their home, by turning off appliances and adjusting their home’s temperature.
The Microsite is powered by our hosted software platform, the EnergyHub Data Exchange (EDX), and gives customers access to information and tools in a way that seamlessly blends the Internet and in-home user experience.
The EDX not only provides the data for the Microsite, it gives a utility access to an analytics portal containing in-depth information on all of their customers.
Utilities can gain insight into how consumers are using energy—broken down by specific regions, neighborhoods, and demographic groups. An energy provider can find out, for example, whether a new pricing structure is achieving favorable results.
The EnergyHub Difference
EnergyHub’s system is more cost effective, better designed, and easier to use than existing in-home displays or demand-ready thermostats. And a system that is easier to use is one that will ultimately be more effective—benefiting both the utility and homeowner.
Work with Us
EnergyHub is interested in partnership and distribution opportunities with utilities, energy service companies, metering hardware and software vendors, AMI network providers, and other Smart Grid companies. Sign up here to learn more about working with EnergyHub. You can also contact us directly at smartgrid@energyhub.net.