Chart of the week | Connected technology on the home stretch

The market for connected home devices is set to grow substantially over the next five years. Ownership of connected devices is projected to grow from 20% of households to 40% by 2023, and our research has identified increasing levels of entry and investment from both start-ups and established companies. The drivers behind this expansion are complex, comprising regulatory, competitive and strategic forces as well as customer demand. The future of the market will be shaped by wider developments and its success to a great extent will depend on overcoming a series of challenges currently limiting widespread consumer uptake.

In this Chart of the Week we explore the opportunities presented by this growing market and look at how some of the key challenges can be overcome.

To keep reading, please log in to your account

Related thinking

Home supply and services

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail – domestic switching rate dips

The Energy Retail Market Strategy for the 2020s places consumer engagement as a key focus in the short term through to the late 2020s. To increase competition and engagement, current proposals include the introduction of an opt-in switching scheme and trialling opt-out switching to ‘nudge’ consumers and suppliers towards more...

Home supply and services

900,000 domestic customers impacted by SoLR over last two years

Across 2020 and 2019, 887,000 domestic customers were supplied by a company which exited the market via the Supplier of Last Resort mechanism (SoLR). On average, this is around 1.7% of the market per year. In 2018, 551,000 domestic customers were supplied by a company which entered the Supplier of...

Home supply and services

Chart of the week | SoLR process sees largest supplier exit

This January saw the largest supplier exit through Ofgem’s Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) process. Green Network Energy ceased to trade on 27 January, with Ofgem appointing EDF Energy as SoLR for its 360,000 domestic customers shortly after. On the same day, the regulator announced the exit of Simplicity Energy,...

Home supply and services

Chart of the week | Takes time to make time: When will we have time-of-use tariffs?

Time-of-use (ToU) tariffs could be a key tool in supporting system decarbonisation and ensuring consumers see the benefits of the energy transition. Research for our latest edition of the Connected Homes Insight Service has found suppliers and consumers both taking tentative steps in exploring ToU pricing, with ambitious innovation and...

Home supply and services

Chart of the week | Take on me: market share impacts of domestic supplier trade sales

This week, we look at the market share impacts of recent mergers and acquisitions among domestic energy suppliers. Over the last year, the headline changes saw incumbent suppliers, npower and SSE, exit the domestic supply market with customers going to E.ON UK and Ovo Energy, respectively. The consolidation has resulted...

Energy storage and flexibility

Chart of the week | What’s in it for me? Household grid balancing

The current dearth in energy demand and high renewable generation has brought the need for flexible consumption sharply into focus. Last weekend, Octopus Energy paid thousands of smart meter customers to use energy. Industry is now seriously looking at how households will be supported in their participation in demand side...

Energy storage and flexibility

Australian Chart of the week | A tale of two cities: batteries vs pumped hydro & solar vs wind

On 1 April 2020 the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) released the final Marginal Loss Factors - MLFs - for 2020-21. This week's Chart of the Week looks at how the MLFs have changed and which assets benefited the most. If we look closely at the MLF results over the past...

Home supply and services

Chart of the week | Better together: consolidation in domestic retail

The last 12 months have been a tumultuous time for the domestic retail market and its energy supply. In particular, the high-profile sale of SSE’s domestic supply business to Ovo Energy has radically altered the market landscape. As well as the transfer of npower customers to E.ON UK. This Chart...