The rise in energy prices and consumers’ focus on energy efficiency have compelled facility and home owners in North America to adopt energy-saving solutions. Suppliers in the region are diversifying their portfolios with respect to system design and technology in order to remain competitive and meet the needs of building and home owners.
Recent analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Analysis of the North American Energy Management Systems Market, finds that the market earned revenues of $8.45 billion in 2014 and estimates this to reach $11.39 billion in 2020. The study covers home energy management systems (HEMS) and building EMS (BEMS). The BEMS market is a higher revenue generator than the HEMS market and will continue to be so throughout the forecast period.
“The North American energy management services market is expected to boom over the next five years,” said Frost & Sullivan Energy & Environmental Research Analyst Aanchal Singh. “However, this trend will only catch on once building and home owners understand that apart from hardware and software solutions, energy management services are significant to better address all their unmet needs.”
At the moment, the lack of consumer knowledge on EMS and stiff competition due to market maturity are challenges for vendors and distributors in North America. Low motivation of residential home owners as well as high initial investment and confusion among facility owners due to the availability of multiple solutions are also major roadblocks for EMS manufacturers in the region.
“Creating consumer awareness on energy-efficient systems and complete energy usage tracking and monitoring will trigger the demand for these products,” noted Singh. “Building strong channel partnerships will also help vendors attract new customers.”
The emergence of cloud infrastructure and its associated services, such as software as a service, are expected to deliver a technology leap for the North American EMS market. Hence, EMS manufacturers can offer a fresh approach to energy monitoring and tracking by collaborating with or acquiring new entrants that provide cloud-based solutions to utilize their expertise and knowledge.
