Over 57 mn households to have 'home area networks' by 2020: Research

The adoption of home area networks (HANs) has been quite low to date, with levels in fractions of a per cent.  The logical extension of smart meter deployments, HANs allow devices inside a home to communicate with the grid and access energy-saving applications. 

Home area networks (HANs) are localised systems of hardware and software that enable enhanced energy management to take place inside dwellings. A HAN allows consumers to access consumption information that, when acted upon, can result in reduced use of energy and lower costs.

The HAN is seen as one of the last zones of technologies that complete the modern smart grid as envisioned by utilities and technology developers. The HAN leverages consumption information provided by smart meters, which deliver frequent and granular data and power quality measurements to HAN devices that can take advantage of the information – often resulting in both energy and cost savings for the consumer.

Despite the benefits of HANs, adoption has been slowed by a number of factors, including consumer indifference, the cost of new equipment, and evolving technology standards.

Utilities themselves have taken a relatively slow approach to HANs, as they have concentrated initial efforts on the deployment of smart meters. A few utilities in North America have started to promote HANs as they move beyond trials and attempt to reduce overall consumption through demand response (DR) programs.

In Europe, HAN adoption has been sluggish in this early phase as well, with the exception of the United Kingdom, where regulatory mandates require basic HAN gear to be part of new smart meter deployments.