BGE’s smart home energy management system ENERGY STAR certified

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has certified BGE’s smart home solutions as the first ENERGY STAR product of its type in the market.

The certification, which was supported by the communications company SmartMark Communications, should open the way for wider uptake of smart home technologies, not only among BGE customers but by others across the US.

SmartMark Communications, which assisted in the data evaluation, reports that the certification was done in conjunction with BGE’s connected home and small business demonstration that was conducted over 18 months in Annapolis.

The aim was to identify the impact of remote access smart home technologies on customers’ efforts to reduce their energy use and save money with devices including smart thermostats, Amazon Echo Dot, smart plugs, motion detectors and smart lighting among others.

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Approximately 200 homes and small businesses were enrolled in the programme, which was completed in August 2021.

ENERGY STAR in the US is a government-backed symbol for energy efficiency and is applied to products that save users money and protect the environment.

“We believe that the success of the BGE smart home solution is contributed to the perfect balance of education, technology and customer support,” said Sam duPont, Principal in BGE’s Utility of the Future Group.

“It is exciting to demonstrate how a utility can leverage its AMI investments to further build customer-facing tools to help improve energy management and customer service.”

BGE has been a longstanding ENERGY STAR partner, with a portfolio of programmes in support of the EmPOWER Maryland initiative that allows their customers to understand, manage and reduce energy use.

Findings from the Annapolis demonstration are intended to contribute to BGE’s evaluation of new programmes and applications that integrate home technologies in the customer experience.

The project also is a key component of BGE’s ongoing partnership with the city of Annapolis to explore new opportunities to improve public services. Additional activities include a microgrid feasibility study, the installation of smart streetlights and deployment of sensors on both BGE and city-owned infrastructure to help the city government enhance its operational efficiency.

BGE serves more than 1.3 million electric customers and more than 680,000 gas customers in Baltimore and central Maryland counties.

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