Grant Muller, Director of Software for Sensus Analytics, discusses the challenges the smart energy market is facing:

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

Today’s consumers want information that is highly tailored to their specific needs and they also want options. They don’t have the time or energy to spend on sorting through piles of data to find something they can take action on. At Sensus, our goal is to help utilities reach farther with their infrastructure by converting their data into actionable insights that will improve their utility, how it operates and how it works with customers.

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

Customer engagement is a major challenge and opportunity. When it comes to conservation, for example, it’s imperative that we find ways to inform and motivate consumers about their usage that will ultimately inspire them to take action. This is why Sensus works directly with public service providers to create customer facing data platforms that help public service providers engage with their customers and empower them to make an impact. It’s one thing to tell a customer to use less energy, it’s another thing to show them, through data, the impact of turning off a light to their energy usage and their wallet.

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

The key challenge is showcasing the value of these energy related products and services. This is why customer portals are such an important add on to a smart grid infrastructure. With these portals, consumers can easily see their energy use and therefore see the value of energy related products and services.

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

The development of integration standards is probably the biggest opportunity. It’s difficult for utilities and smart home vendors to find common ground in the form of information exchange. The development of a flexible methodology for exchange of data is crucial – not just the exchange of simple data like readings and alarms, but analyses and predictive analytics, and in the end, recommendations and options.

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

Smart products and smart home services are uniquely suited to convert the wealth of utility data into actionable choices for the customer. The more tailored the results are to the user, the more likely the user is to continue to adopt solutions that have worked for them in the past. Smart home providers have the opportunity to develop solutions that can have a tremendous impact on energy consumption by making it deeply personal to consumer behavior. 

Grant Muller will be speaking at the “Smart Meters: Creating Value in Big Data and Analytics” at 10:45 AM during Smart Energy Summit in Austin, TX, February 18, 2015. He will be joined by other company representatives from Bidgely, EcoFactor, PlotWatt, and WeatherBug Home by Earth Networks.

For more information on Smart Energy Summit speakers, sessions, or topics, visit www.ses2015.com. Registration is still open!

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