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Therefore the premise is that these systems can also minimise or eliminate the wasted energy from lights left on by accident, redundant loads from home equipment in the "off" state, thermostats set too high or low for usage patterns or climate conditions.
And with new "smart metering" technology on the way, homeowners are now able to monitor how much energy individual household devices use.
In the US for example, so-called Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) are expected to surge in home and building applications with more than a third of US power meters communicating with power companies by 2013.
According to veteran interior designer Ann Porter writing in marconews.com, "while the usual home security, entertainment and lighting control, automated fire containment and alarm, burglar deterrence, etc. are all important, the application in energy use monitoring and utility management will be immense".
