13% of U.S. broadband households own a smart thermostat

Parks Associates today announced the topics for the tenth-annual Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, held February 18-20, 2019, at the Omni Austin Hotel Downtown in Austin, Texas. The executive conference addresses the strategies to accelerate change in the utility markets as a result of the increasing breadth and capabilities of smart products entering the home.

Research from Parks Associates finds 32% of U.S. broadband households own at least one product that can be controlled and monitored remotely with their smartphone and 18% of households own a home automation device. At the end of 2017, 29% of consumers were very familiar with at least one energy program, such as energy rebates, TOU plans, and load control programs.

"Given the fact that smart products, renewable generation, battery storage, and electric vehicles are all entering the connected home landscape simultaneously, grid operators can create strategies that embrace and integrate all these product categories. They can even benefit by accelerating the change, as non-wires alternatives are often the most cost-effective solution to address congestion or local constraints on the grid," said Tom Kerber, Sr. Director, IoT Strategy, Parks Associates.

Topics for the event include:

Aligning the Industry: Growth in Consumer Markets

Behavioral Energy Efficiency
Aligning Behavior through Tariffs
Aggregation of Energy Storage
DERMS: Solar, Storage, Smart Home, and the Grid
Transition to Distribution System Operator
Leadership: Execution and Consumer Impact

Incentivizing the Smart Home: Utility Marketplace
Evolution of Energy Management in the Smart Home
Energy Orchestration
The Energy Data Goldmine
Optimizing Control with Energy Data
Home Services Revenue Opportunities
The increasing breadth of smart products entering the home opens up new possibilities for demand management. Among security system owners with home control, 33% have a smart thermostat integrated with their system.

"Currently, 13% of U.S. broadband households now own a smart thermostat," said Dina Abdelrazik, Research Analyst, Parks Associates. "Smart thermostats represent the bestselling category of smart home devices. Smart thermostats also represent a key category for integration - 32% of smart thermostat owners report connecting the device with a smart home control system. Energy management is a key part of the home control system overall, and this correlation opens new ways to encourage consumers to participate in DR programs and reduce peak demand."

At Smart Energy Summit, more than 300 industry leaders from utilities, service providers, manufacturers, and technology companies will participate in panel discussions about the impact of direct consumer participation in energy markets and strategies to increase consumer engagement in demand response, distributed generation, and energy efficiency offerings.

Parks Associates is accepting submissions to speak until November 30, 2018, at www.parksassociates.com/ses-speaker. More information about the Smart Energy Summit is available at www.SES2019.com. To speak with an analyst or request specific research data, contact Julia Homier at Julia.homier@parksassociates.com or 972-996-0214.

About Smart Energy Summit

Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer examines the changing role of utilities and energy providers in the IoT era and offers research and insights on new opportunities to empower consumers with smart solutions to manage and save energy in the home. The conference addresses key questions for energy providers around leadership and alignment of goals between residential energy management solutions and the grid and presents strategies to expand business and revenue goals by incorporating smart products into energy programs. For information on speaking, sponsoring, or attending Smart Energy Summit, visit www.ses2019.com.