With the Smart Grid predicted to become a $200 billion industry over the next five years, it’s not surprising that many IT companies — Google, Microsoft, Intel and others — have reached for their own piece of the pie. But all of them are going to have to make room for a new giant: Apple. The iconic maker of the iPod, iPhone and now iSlate has just patented its own home power management panel.
You can find more information at Patently Apple, as well.
As novel as this sounds, Apple isn’t introducing any brand new technology. Its home energy management dashboard will be based on HomePlug‘s system. HomePlug makes panels that plug into basic wall sockets. In a matter of minutes, this devices connect with every outlet in the house via broadband internet. This type of technology is better known in Europe. But for now, Apple’s power management device is nothing more than a couple of patents — it’ll be a while yet before they’re turned into anything more.
The idea behind a possible device would be to connect a central interface to smart appliances around the home. Users will be able to view how much energy they are using in real time, as well as how much it is costing them. This could give them incentive to change their behavior to conserve both energy and money. Whether an Apple product would allow people to see this information via a special Apple device like a compact monitor, or your television screen or internet browser (like Microsoft Hohm and Google Powermeter) remains unknown.
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It makes sense why Apple would choose to pursue home energy management. Of all the businesses related to the construction of a cleaner, more efficient electrical grid, home energy monitoring systems are the slickest and most consumer friendly of the bunch. Just look at AlertMe and its line of high-design devices for measuring energy use, or Control4 which makes a dashboard interface shockingly similar to that of the iPhone.
On one hand, this segment of the industry is prepped to become the first cleantech bubble (a la one of our 2010 predictions) — there are simply too many companies after the same brass ring. On the other hand, Apple has the manpower, design sense and brand recognition to become the dominant force in the space if it so chose. It’ll be exciting to see what the company comes up with.
[Image: Patently Apple]
