Malcolm Smith, CEO at DR2, offers insight into the barriers and opportunities currently impacting energy management:

What do you think is the most challenging issue for your company as it relates to the residential energy management market?

Getting energy retailers comfortable with the strategic shift toward non-commodity offerings. The leaders of the retail energy industry are all doing it, but it's still a strategic shift.

What are the major challenges that your business must address in 2015? in 2020?

2015: Lack of strategic direction from energy retailers regarding smart energy. It's hard to move from selling a commodity that everybody has to have to completely discretionary products like smart home and energy management. 2020: Non-energy players gaining share in the residential energy market.

What are the major barriers impacting consumer adoption of energy related products and services?

The major barrier is a lack of engagement on electricity in general. Incrementally increasing that engagement is a barrier; it is tempting to leap toward the perceived high-value products without cultivating the engagement. That doesn't work. Smart home products are for the highly engaged electricity consumer. Very few are that engaged. Yet!

What are the biggest opportunities for the smart home industry to work with the electricity industry?

Electricity suppliers should become an excellent channel for the smart home industry. But the smart home industry will have to be patient as the electricity industry creates greater engagement around electricity. That is a necessary precursor to smart home sales through the electricity industry. However, it will come, and when it does, it will be powerful, because consumers are actually thirsting for energy solutions. The electricity industry just doesn't do a very good job of meeting that need.

What impact will smart products and smart home services have on consumer adoption of energy solutions?

Funny, I tend to think of it the other way around: Consumer adoption of energy solutions is an important driver (or barrier) to smart home sales...

Malcolm Smith will be speaking at the “Consumer Engagement Strategies: IoT and Energy Value Proposition” at 11:00 AM during Smart Energy Summitin Austin, TX, February 17, 2015. He will be joined by other company representatives from DTE Energy, People Power, and PlanetEcosystem.

For more information on Smart Energy Summit speakers, sessions, or topics, visit www.ses2015.com. Register to attend today!

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