This app from Schneider Electric can help you optimize your home’s energy use – at a price

You know How much electricity do your gadgets and household appliances consume when you are away from home? Or how often do energy costs change? These factors are increasingly important to consider as electricity prices are rising and interruptions become more common occurrence. This is what Schneider Electric wants to help with.

The power management company recently announced House of Schneider, a system that promises to analyze and control the electricity in your home through an app on your phone. It includes smart electrical panel, battery backup, electric vehicle charger, solar inverter, smart light switches, dimmers and smart sockets. Naturally, this is not cheap, the cost of a complete system is about $10,000. Not to mention that the installation will be destructive.

The US Department of Energy considers home energy management systems (HEMS) as an important piece of the puzzle in working towards a smarter network. But HEMS come in all shapes and sizes. Many of us have already put together upgraded systems with smart thermostats, smart plugs and Wi-Fi connected devices. By adding solar panels for power generation and batteries for storage, as well as a control system from above, people who can afford these systems can significantly reduce their energy consumption.

Schneider’s method wants to simplify the whole process. Once fully installed, you can track your entire home’s electricity consumption, view consumption on each device, and see exactly how much it all costs. You can set up automation to reduce energy waste. For example, you can schedule various outlets and lights to turn off automatically when you’re at work, which can turn off power to TVs, smart speakers, and other non-essential devices that are in standby mode, while specifying that household appliances, such as your refrigerator, should remain included. . You can schedule your electric vehicle to charge during off-peak hours or at night when electricity is cheapest. With a home battery and solar panels, you can store energy during the day and use it during peak hours to save money. The battery also allows you to maintain power to certain outlets in the event of a power outage.

Modular home energy management

The brains behind this system is the Schneider Pulse, a smart electrical panel capable of connecting your home’s energy sources, giving you granular control via the Schneider Home app. This allows you to balance the power distribution, which can be especially handy for people with limited capacity. The system has the smarts to balance your load, perhaps by turning off the EV charger when you cook dinner and restarting it after you’re done to reduce the load.