Parks Associates continues its thirteenth-annual Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer with the virtual session, State of Residential Energy Management, on Thursday, April 7, from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM CT. Jamie Haenggi, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, ADT Solar will be featured on the interactive panel, The Future of Energy: A Paradigm Shift, at 11:15 AM CT, addressing how the new requirements for active consumer participation in energy savings will drive the transformation of energy consumption. Prior to the session, Jamie shared insights on current topics affecting the residential energy market.

As a result of COVID, how have consumer behaviors changed in adopting more (or less) energy management solutions?

Residential energy consumption has increased 10% since pre-pandemic times. This is driven from WFH patterns where many companies are shifting work to home permanently or flexible. In addition, more electrification in the home and the adoption of EVs where 80%+ of charging happens at home is causing customers to seek ways to conserve energy, reduce costs and take more control of rising costs. This I believe will continue to drive adoption for things like energy efficient appliances, smart home and solar.

What new opportunities have been created for smart home and energy players serving consumers in new ways?

Opportunities for integration of products and services. The home app is increasingly become a play people live – video cameras have been the driver of the adoption but smart home interaction is now becoming customary and following that is energy management where it all works together to create a truly safe, smart and sustainable home.

What challenges is your organization working to overcome in 2022?

I think all of us are working to overcome the labor shortages from the Great resignation. Attracting and retaining talent has always been a focus for companies, but in our space the demand is high for our products and service and front-line employees are critical in the delivery.

How energy storage helping to manage the grid?

Electrification of the home, increase in EV and home charging will put more pressure on the grid. Energy storage – both solar battery storage and EV bi-directional charging and storage will help offload some of that pressure.

What partnerships and technology advancements are disrupting and impacting smart home solutions and advances such as AI and 5G on the utility markets and on the energy consumer?

ADT’s acquisition of Sunpro in December will help advance the integration of security, smart home and solar. Leveraging the AI power and platform that our partnership with Google affords, our goal is to make living a safe, smart and sustainable life easy and enjoyable. Our brand and reputation also help drive credibility and adoption.

In the next 3–5 years, name what top three changes you think will take place in the consumer energy market?

I think the cable industry is an interesting comparison to what the future could look like for the energy market. The cable industry long had a monopoly in their markets – and then suddenly consumers had more choices and control over how they received their entertainment and when with on-demand, streaming content from companies like Hulu, Netflix and others. The energy market is going to experience a disruption as consumers have greater ability to produce, use, store and sell their power. And selling their power will not just be back to the utility companies, but to their neighbors or communities or the highest bidder.

Sponsored by Schneider Electric, SmartThings, Rapid Response Monitoring, Zen Ecosystems, and Particle.io, Smart Energy Summit addresses the evolution of the consumer utility market, the impact of COVID-19 on energy management programs, and new opportunities to drive engagement in utility-sponsored programs. Register now to attend this event along with upcoming virtual sessions throughout 2022:

• Jun 30: Home Energy Management Solutions: Driving Energy Savings
• Aug 4: Electric Vehicles: A New Era for Consumers
• Nov 17: Distributed Energy and New Value: Shifting from a Centralized Grid