Schneider Electric has developed a connected control relay that can monitor and control circuit level home power loads. It can also be configured to maximise back-up power in the event of outages. The connected relay allows home-owners to monitor their home energy with the Wiser Energy app down to the individual circuit level. This provides home-owners with granular information on their energy usage, allowing them manage their energy use for greater economy and potentially safety as well.

The new connected relays will allow home-owners to monitor and control their energy at the circuit level, including electric water heaters, ovens, HVAC systems, or any other circuit. For example, if a home-owner was concerned that they left the oven on after leaving the home, this would allow then to check, then turn that appliance off at the circuit remotely, preventing a potentially dangerous situation.

These relays will also help optimise non-utility home energy resources – including solar power, energy storage and generators – in the event of an outage. By creating a virtual configurable critical load panel for each backup power source, available power can be maximised by sending it to only a few priority circuits until the utility power is restored. Automated through the Wiser Energy app, these configurations provide true smart energy management for today’s home-owner.

“With home energy use constantly on the rise, managing demand is more important to potential home-buyers than ever before, in turn giving builders an opportunity to increase the value of their new builds by offering energy management technology,” said Richard Korthauer, Vice President, Home & Distribution, Schneider Electric. “Incorporating this technology at the building stage offers a new step up in load level control to distinguish new homes that minimise energy costs for home-owners in this dynamic energy market and provide new level of energy resiliency and safety at the breaker level.”

“Savant Power, a division of Savant Systems, Inc. enables consumers to monitor, control and optimise energy usage, reducing costs and lessening their dependence on an ageing grid system,” said Robert Madonna CEO, Savant Systems Inc. “We are excited to partner with Schneider Electric, bringing sustainability and efficiency to every home-owner through intelligent load management. Savant has been leading the smart home industry for over 15 years by automating all pillars of the home including climate, lighting, entertainment, security and now energy all driven by our award-winning software platform.”

The device will be available in Q1 of 2022.