Pike Research: Smart appliances a $26.1B market by 2019

According to a new study by Pike Research, smart appliances are projected to be a $26.1 billion global industry by 2019. The current state of the smart appliance market wouldn't seem to indicate this kind of growth, but the market's slow start will begin to heat up sometime in 2013 in order to reach the 2019 projection. Smart appliances include smart grid connected refrigerators, water heaters, washers and dryers, and other appliances.

Smart appliances are an important element in realizing the benefits of smart grid technologies, and have the potential to significantly improve the stability and operational efficiency of the electrical grid with limited impact to the lives of energy users. While the barriers to widespread adoption in most regions are more regulatory than technical -- for example, the availability of smart dynamic pricing programs -- the issues to watch are standardization efforts regarding communications, as well as software services platforms used to implement the wider demand response programs.

"Many utilities are already investing in the smart metering infrastructure which is an important part of making this a reality, as well as the back-end software platforms that will support utility dynamic pricing and demand response programs," said Bob Gohn, the study's analyst, in an interview.

Utilities can capitalize on this market in two ways. First, smart appliances will add to the resources they bring into demand response programs offered to consumers. Second, smart appliances can be included in such value-added services as energy management that utilties can offer to their consumers beyond just basic electricity. This is especially true in deregulated markets like Texas where energy retailers are competing for customers.

For more:

- see this release