CE Pro January 2022 - 47

are enabling compatibility with automation systems and the
ability to give consumers easy adjustments or preprogrammed
settings for yielding true energy management as well as reducing
reliance on the power grid.
Battery and energy storage provider sonnen not only has
CEDIA channel presence but has made headlines in major
outlets such as The New York Times and Forbes on the latest
progressive communities being developed and built around
its " Virtual Power Plants. " A sustainable sonnenCommunity
launch in Westchester County, N.Y., in 2021, for example, will
provide clean energy at a discounted rate to 200 homes in
the pilot phase and plans include a local non-profit power
program, local contractors and solar pros.
Speaking of solar, clearly that sector has caught the attention
of the smart home and security folks, as major mainstream
players Vivint and ADT became more entrenched in solar last
year - the former entering in a strategic partnership with resi
solar installer Freedom Forever and the latter acquiring Sunpro
Solar and rebranding it ADT Solar.
On the automation side, popular control companies Crestron
and Savant showed the importance of residential energy
solutions (and potential future projects or additional revenue
streams) in 2021.
In November, longtime Crestron specialist PanTech Design
announced its Adapt Energy platform as the exclusive home energy
solution for Crestron Home control systems. Adapt Energy
will also become the first certified Crestron Integrated Partner
solution for home energy management, according to PanTech
Design CEO and founder Troy Morgan, who previously outlined
Adapt Energy benefits during an episode of the CE Pro Podcast.
As a Crestron user, he's been monitoring his own home's
energy using the Crestron Fusion system since 2012, he says.
While he appreciated the ability to see and delve into the
home's energy usage, Morgan sought to do more.
" It wasn't until a few years ago I saw sort of an opportunity
for two industries to collide, where you have this energy
industry over here doing all this solar stuff and home batteries
and the like, and then you have this whole other industry
- home automation. And with what we know, and what
I've been playing around with for a while, bringing those two
together just made a lot of sense, " says Morgan.
Adapt Energy debuted at Solar Power International and
CEDIA Expo in 2018. It provides home energy management
features such as automated circuit breaker control, energy
monitoring, grid loss detection, severe weather alerts, custom
energy management, and full integration with home automation
control systems including Crestron Home now.
" Home energy management is a growing market and represents
tremendous value to homeowners. We believe it is a
natural fit for the custom integration space. So, we are very
excited about bringing energy management into the Crestron
Home ecosystem, " adds John Clancy, executive vice president,
Residential, at Crestron.
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Automation provider Savant acquired Racepoint Energy
(now Savant Power), and customers can implement various
energy modes among the intelligent power controls.
" It's not just the grid anymore, " she says, mentioning alternatives
such as solar, wind and battery. " And so what [Savant
Power] does is takes all of these inputs as well as all of your
loads, and then optimizes the system. "
Meanwhile, security powerhouse Resideo is chugging along
with its energy management offering based on technology it
acquired from LifeWhere and Whisker Labs. The solutions enable
the company's controller to monitor and react to various
conditions in the home. LifeWhere measures the performance
of home appliances and warns of potential breakdowns.
The unit acquired from Whisker Labs learns the heating
and cooling patterns of a home, mashes it up with outdoor
weather data, and auto-adjusts the indoor temperature for
energy management and comfort. Both solutions come with
a recurring fee, making it fit nicely into the business model of
security specialists.
January 2022 CE Pro | 47
On the Savant front, the company augmented its case for
integrators to be go-to providers for managing intelligent
power solutions by acquiring Racepoint Energy (renaming it
Savant Power) as part of its ever-growing residential technology
ecosystem.
Savant Power president Anna Demeo explained to CE Pro
that Savant Power and its intelligent power management
functionalities address two major buckets.
" One is our smart electrical panel, " Demeo says. " We all have
them in our homes or businesses, and they're pretty much the
same as they've always been - not much has changed in that
industry. With Savant Power we are taking them into the 21st
century, and what that means is we can now monitor in real-time
and revenue grade all the energy in a home or business
and control that in real-time has value. "
The other major aspect is the notion of a " microgrid, " which
Demeo says not only can manage all the loads in a home via
that smart power panel but also the sources that can potentially
power today's houses/businesses.
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CE Pro January 2022

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