Dive Brief:
- Entergy Arkansas selected cloud-based demand response provider Comverge to manage a Bring-Your-Own-Device pilot program for the utility.
- Comverge said in a statement that it will aggregate consumer-purchased Wi-Fi-enabled smart thermostats to "evaluate a potential new demand response resource" for the utility.
- Comverge and Entergy Arkansas are already working together on the Summer Advantage residential demand response program, and the new pilot will complement those efforts, the company said.
Dive Insight:
This is the second program announcement Comverge has rolled out in a month—though in New Mexico they're still calling it a Bring Your Own Thermostat (BYOT) program.
Earlier in April, PNM selected Comverge to manage a 60 MW demand response program focused on commercial and residential customers, offering both direct install Wi-Fi thermostats and a bring-your-own-thermostat approach. Now the company will do similar work with Entergy Arkansas.
Comverge COO Dave Neal said the new pilot will enable the utility "to better engage customers with Wi-Fi thermostats, while also creating a potential new source of capacity."
The BYOD model is expected to grow quickly as consumers get comfortable with new ways of communicating with their utility. A Navigant study concluded there were roughly 50,000 customers in these kinds of demand response programs around the United States last year. But the firm believes up to 20 million customers could be involved in the programs, representing a $3 billion market.
Similarly, a Manifest Mind study in 2015 predicted the home energy management market to reach an annual value of $2.2 billion in North America by 2022, more than doubling the industry's value.
