ViodiTV


Demystifying Home Energy Technology at Retail

“Our job is to demystify the technology,” said Kristen Bowring Senior Director, Platform Lead, Home and Energy Management at Best Buy at the 2012 Smart Energy Summit. In this interview, Bowring explains how Best Buy has created home energy departments in three of their stores, in partnerships with utilities, to test how they can educate customers about smart energy. He indicates that consumers’ real world behavior is different from what they suggest in surveys.

These departments allow consumers to try the technology. He suggests people drift into these display areas.  Putting the departments next to the appliance department helps drive awareness, as the high energy consumption items in the appliance department are a natural bridge to managing energy. He suggests the technology is bigger than energy management and is about lifestyle management.

Bowring is a keynote at Parks Associates’ Connections Conference in Dallas, TX, the first week of June.

[ViodiTV coverage of the Smart Energy Summit 2012 brought to you by Parks Associates.  Music to the above video provided by the People Power Band.]

3 responses to “Demystifying Home Energy Technology at Retail”

  1. […] Demystifying Home Energy Technology at Retail Kris Bowring of Best Buy […]

  2. Abraham Y. Chen Avatar

    Hi, Ken: This article is very closely related to my work! I believe that I have something of substance to enhance Mr. Browring’s efforts. I will be sending you a separate eMail later, so that I can attach a short presentation for you to forward to Mr. Browring for review. I look forward to getting our dialog started.

    Regards,

    Abe (2012-06-03, 08:24)

  3. Abraham Y. Chen Avatar

    Hi, Ken:

    I paid a visit to Best Buy’s San Carlos, CA store. The display is extensive.

    However, it looks that it is still some distance away from achieving the goal of “demystifying” this subject. As it stands right now, it is very hard for a consumer to grasp the wide range of application devices that are based on fragmented technologies. This is because the underlying transport technologies are similarly fragmented, if not worse.

    On the other hand, there exists a network architecture that can put an end to this mass confusion. It is based on the concept of “normalizing” everything to Ethernet as the focal point. That is, if we deliver broadband resources to end-users via Ethernet outlets, no matter which facility medium or transport technology is being used, consumer will have the freedom to pick and mix application devices that are all built with Ethernet interface. This “Divide and Conquer” approach will open up the potential for enjoying broadband as the fifth utility.

    The following URL provides a general description of this concept:

    http://www.avinta.com/phoenix-1/home/Broadband-TheFifthUtility.pdf

    A more concise presentation focusing on power line only is available if you are interested. This configuration is the most practical framework, because electric outlets are everywhere and PLC (Power Line Carrier) technology is now capable of covering the full range of Digital Home needs.

    Regards,

    Abe (2012-06-04, 09:59)

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.