As more and more players are attacking the Smart Home and Smart Building markets, the next revolution to come will involve the arrival of global solutions that meet the different needs of consumers, analyze the consultants. Echos Etudes in their latest publication “The market for energy efficiency solutions”.
Still emerging, the energy management market is far from having expressed its full potential for individuals and professionals alike. On the Smart Home side, demand has jumped since 2020. The health crisis and the increase in time spent at home have caused consumers to be enthusiastic about all household-related equipment. Admittedly, sales are still mainly focused on connected watches, televisions and other voice assistants. Energy-related objects such as light bulbs, sockets and connected thermostats are less successful. But all the surveys show it: the interest is there. Digital energy efficiency solutions are also making inroads in the tertiary sector.
According to a survey carried out by Les Echos Etudes, 44% of companies have installed connected equipment (sensors, smart thermostats, etc.) in their buildings to reduce their energy consumption. This is the preferred solution over equipment with high energy performance. And for good reason: deployment costs are relatively low and the IoT provides easy access to usable information, at least to become aware of the energy issue. On the other hand, the implementation of consumption monitoring platforms is a much less common solution with only 24% of companies using it.
The awakening of the market
If the development of digital solutions for energy has so far been a little sluggish, the market is at the dawn of a new situation. The unprecedented increase in energy prices should push individuals and businesses alike to become more involved in controlling their energy consumption. According to the Echos Etudes survey, two-thirds of the decision-makers questioned think that the increase in energy prices will lead their organization to accelerate its investments in energy efficiency in the next twelve months. The proportion even climbs to 94% for companies with more than 5.000 employees.
On the regulatory side, the signals are also green. After nearly a decade of a very chaotic journey, the tertiary decree, in force since October 1, 2021, is finally waking up the BtoB segment. 43% of companies believe that its implementation should lead them to accelerate their investments in energy efficiency. On the other hand, educational work still needs to be done for all those involved in energy efficiency, as 37% of respondents are not yet aware of this new regulation.
Towards the end of silo approaches?
This source of growth is fueling strong competition. Software publishers, energy companies, energy service companies, manufacturers of electrical and HVAC equipment, start-ups… more and more players are attacking the market. The range of solutions available on the market today is very wide, with numerous equipment, software and consumption monitoring platforms offered. There will probably not be room for everyone, especially since some devices are in partial or frontal competition. But the real revolution will come from the arrival of global offers.
For the moment, the operators are enriching their range brick by brick, each marketed separately. As a result, households and businesses alike are seeing a profusion of equipment arrive, of which energy is sometimes just one function among others. It is up to them to build their ecosystem. Eventually, this approach will disappear to give way to a single interface for controlling the energy function of the house or building. It remains to be seen which players are best placed to win...
The tertiary sector facing the challenges of energy efficiency
The energy efficiency market offers promising prospects in the tertiary segment. A survey conducted by Les Echos Etudes draws up an inventory of the actions carried out by companies and public administrations.
- 48% of respondents believe that their company or public administration has not yet taken concrete initiatives to reduce its energy consumption.
- 43% of companies and public administrations think that the tertiary decree will lead them to accelerate their investments in energy efficiency over the next twelve months.
- Only 24% of companies and public administrations have installed software or a platform for monitoring their energy consumption.