There were 800,000 new home energy management (HEM) systems installed across Europe in 2023, according to new analysis from LCP Delta, bringing the continent’s total installed base to more than 2.4 million. The UK-based consultancy has also predicted the market for systems that monitor, control and optimize energy generation, storage and consumption within households will reach more than 7 million annual sales by 2030.
Germany had the greatest number of HEM installations in 2023, helped by its large base of solar and battery storage, while the United Kingdom was the second largest market. LCP Delta told revista pv that Germany had an installed base of 1.1 million HEM systems by 2023, with the United Kingdom at 500,000. Key sales drivers in 2023 were high electricity prices, increasing deployment of connectable electrical assets in the home, as well as the liberalization of electricity market mechanisms, according to LCP Delta.
In the coming years, LCP Delta has predicted growth in the home energy management and appliance optimization market will be driven by the increasing number of large electrical assets installed in European households, new businesses offering optimization services, market and technology expansion from existing solutions, and increasing partnerships allowing different assets and brands to be optimized by a range of solutions, including EV charge points and heat pumps.
Other key findings from LCP Delta’s analysis include the increasing development of partnerships between HEM providers with equipment manufacturers in a bid to expand the range of devices that can be integrated with HEM platforms. There are now more than 140 HEM and appliance optimization offerings across Europe, according to LCP Delta.
The consultancy did warn that interoperability issues between devices and HEM platforms and a lack of standardization continue to be barriers to growth. LCP Delta reckons the development of common standards would accelerate market growth above its current forecast.
Ricardo Lopez, home energy management research manager at LCP Delta, said that consumers want to “get smarter” about how they consume energy. “The growing deployment of heat pumps, solar panels, and other large electrical assets are helping to drive the rise of the HEM market. As the transition to renewable energy sources continues, there is room for substantial growth across European countries.
“However, while we see an increase in drivers, there are some barriers to growth across different markets, such as slow smart meter rollout, poor interoperability, supplier tariff structures, subsidies being removed, and uncertainty about regulatory direction.”