FREE Webcast: Enabling the Home Area Network

Join Parks Associates and the Z-Wave Alliance on Thursday, February 17th at 2 pm CENTRAL for the webcast, Enabling the Home Area Network: Solutions that work for Consumers and Utilities, and learn about the market outlook for residential energy management (REM) products and services.

Parks Associates research finds:
-- By 2015, less than 5% of U.S. households will have a utility-based home area network (HAN).
-- By 2022, that number will grow to almost 40%.

Registration:
http://www.parksassociates.com/events/webcasts/2011/webcasts_sigma.htm

Presenters include:
-- Bill Ablondi, Director, Home Systems Research, Parks Associates
-- Dan Goodman, CTO, Radio Thermostat Company of America
-- Letha McLaren, Vice President of Product Management, iControl Networks
-- Steve Samolinski, Director of Solution Management, Connected Home Solutions, Ingersoll Rand

The interactive panel discussion includes industry executives from leading-edge companies and utilities as they examine the latest innovative solutions and share their perspectives on the key trends and opportunities in 2011. Attendees will learn what to watch in 2011 and what to expect from both consumers and business as this growing market continues to expand into the home.

The Residential Energy Management Ecosystem

Numerous firms are developing solutions for both utilities and consumers to monitor, manage, and control their electricity consumption. Companies developing solutions for the residential market represent only one group within the rapidly expanding universe of participants in the residential energy management ecosystem.

The basic structure of the ecosystem has three primary levels:

-- Technology Enablers: firms developing the building blocks of solutions from control communication technologies to software platforms on which communication service providers can provide applications over the top of their current offerings.

-- Products and Systems: companies integrating these building blocks with their own technologies to offer solutions designed to take advantage of the smart grid capabilities.

-- Distribution Channels: organizations that touch the consumer, or perhaps more specifically, have a billing relationship with the consumer.

To read more about the The Residential Energy Management Ecosystem, subscribe to Parks Associates' Home Systems and Home Controls Newsletter.

Click here to subscribe to other Parks Associates complimentary newsletters.

Energy in the Home Webcast, Thursday Sept 30

Join Parks Associates for this month's webcast on Energy in the Home on Thursday, September 30th at 1 PM Central.

The Residential Energy Management landscape is in a state of change, with a host of new players vying for consumers’ attention. Research shows specific consumer segments are receptive to new REM solutions, including consumers with monitored security, consumers with HVAC maintenance contracts, and smartphone owners.

Bill Ablondi, Director of Home Systems Research will discuss the developments and drivers impacting the REM market, with a focus on opportunities from the meter into the home.

This webcast features:
-- Home Area Network (HAN) developments
-- Business models from utilities, service providers, & other REM solutions providers
-- Consumer research insights identifying what energy management customers are looking for & how much they are willing to pay

For more information or to register, click here.

Smart Energy Summit 2011, Conference Topics and Call for Papers Announced

Parks Associates announced the dates and preliminary list of topics for the second-annual Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, an executive conference dedicated to the consumer and business sides of residential energy management. The Smart Energy Summit is accepting submissions to speak at the event, which will take place January 24-26, 2011, in Austin, Texas.

Smart Energy Summit focuses on the emerging in-home energy management technology market, with market research from Parks Associates' landmark Residential Energy Management service, which features surveys and analysis of consumer attitudes toward current energy solutions.

Conference Topics:
• Status and market potential of Home Area Networks, Smart Grids, and in-home energy management solutions
• Requirements for successful, customer-facing utility platforms and services
• Strategies to engage consumers
• Utility-based solutions versus "independent" energy management solutions
• Impact of government stimulus and green initiatives
• Technical and business requirements for success
• Business strategies for utilities, manufacturers, installers, and service providers
• Perspectives from Retail Electric Providers (REPs)
• State of residential microgeneration of electricity
• Electric vehicles, batteries, and charging stations
• Smart appliances

Andres Carvallo, EVP and Chief Strategy Officer, Grid Net, will present the opening keynote. Early sponsors include Gigle Networks and HomeGrid Forum. Supporters of the event include AltEnergyMag.com, CABA, Display Plus, Energy and Utility, ESNA, Global Smart Energy, Home Toys, POWERGRID International, Public Utilities Fortnightly, RFP Magazine, SIP Forum, SmartGridCareers.com, Smart Grid Today, and U-SNAP Alliance.

For more information or to submit to speak, visit www.smartenergysummit2011.com.

Smart Energy Summit 2011 accepting Call For Papers

The Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer is now accepting speaker submissions for the January 24-26, 2011 event in Austin, Texas. Smart Energy Summit is the premier conference studying the market for residential energy management enabled by Smart Grid technologies.

Click here for the online Speaker Submission form.

2011 Event Topics include:

-- Current status of Home Area Network (HAN) trials, Smart Meter and Smart Grid deployments, and/or in-home energy management products and services
-- Key requirements for successful, customer-facing utility platforms for residential energy management
-- Consumer interest and market potential regarding energy management solutions
-- Engaging the consumer: Strategies and tactics to communicate benefits successfully
-- Utility-based solutions versus "Independent" in-home energy management solutions (i.e., not involving utility management or control)
-- Impact of government stimulus and green initiatives
-- Technical and business requirements for succeeding in residential energy management
-- Business strategies for utilities, manufacturers, installers, and service providers
-- State of microgeneration of electricity in the residential market
-- Electric vehicles, batteries and charging stations
-- Smart appliances: what we can expect and when

The deadline for all submissions is November 15, 2010.

For more information, visit www.smartenergysummit2011.com.

U.S. consumers still unaware of smart grid benefits

Parks Associates research indicates over 40% of consumers unfamiliar with term “Smart Grid.”

Consumer knowledge of smart grid technologies is low, even as utilities have deployed 13 million smart meters to U.S. households. In the report, “Residential Energy Management: Opportunities for Digital Systems and Services,” only 11% of U.S. consumers are familiar with the term “Smart Grid.” This low awareness poses a risk to future deployment plans and opens the door for communications service providers to grab market share from utilities by offering their own energy monitoring solutions.

Utilities plan to deploy more than 50 million smart meters by 2014, but they need to improve their educational outreach if they want consumers to embrace this technology.

Consumers in Texas and California have filed lawsuits in which they blame smart meters for unexpected hikes in their electricity bills. The backlash from these stories threatens customer compliance with future smart grid deployments and could disrupt utility plans to create a more robust, interconnected grid that offers advanced services such as monitoring and time-of-use billing.