The impacts of technology disruption and digital transformation on the energy industry are rewriting the rules for how energy is generated and used. The result is an emerging ecosystem of stakeholders, a dynamic network of resources, and two-way value flow that Navigant has characterized as the Energy Cloud. With residential primary energy consumption representing 11% of US energy consumption today, according to the Energy Information Administration, the smart home is an important part of the story.

Powered by analytics and real-time automation, the smart home is quickly emerging as a dynamic asset for orchestrating how power is generated and used through automated devices and systems. The smart home will create new revenue streams for technology and service providers, drive efficiency and convenience for homeowners, and help address climate change goals by reducing the carbon footprint within the built environment. Residential new construction in the US can offer a litmus test for the smart home in the Energy Cloud because these greenfield developments allow for the deployment of the highest efficiency building systems.

This Navigant Research report discusses how new smart home developments can demonstrate the potential for innovation in the built environment. The study examines the opportunity for a new kind of solution provider, an orchestrator, that will utilize IoT, automation, and DER to aggregate homes as a system for energy optimization. The report presents holistic smart home approaches to energy management that can bring even greater climate change impacts.