Marita Mirzatuny notes that the news is full of futuristic innovations that seem just on the horizon, from self-driving cars to smart houses. The problem she finds with this is that smart houses are already here in some capacity, in the form of home energy management systems (HEMS). HEMS are visualized as a platform that increases interaction between energy consumers and the energy grid to the benefit of all involved. Some applications of the system are already available, such as games that save the player electricity to smartphone apps that can track a homeowner’s location via GPS to start cooling down the home as they draw closer.
Read the full article here: Technology for Energy-Smart Homes is Here. Why Aren’t More People Using it?