Innovations in renewable distributed power generation, along with attractive new financing mechanisms, are providing residential customers with new options to manage their energy use and generate their own power.  Known collectively as distributed energy resources (DER), these innovations are causing a broad disruption that is altering the traditional relationship between utilities and their residential customers.  According to a recent report from Navigant Research, homeowners and other residential customers are on pace to invest more than $625 billion, cumulatively, in DER from 2014 through 2023.

“The growing affordability of DER technologies is giving customers greater control of their energy consumption—turning some homes into miniature power plants that generate all the power they consume and even deliver power back to the grid,” says Neil Strother, principal research analyst with Navigant Research.  “Solar PV panels are the most visible technology reshaping the residential power landscape, but there are many others, as well.”

Some of these technologies, such as residential combined heat and power, are in the early stages of market development, according to the report, while solar panels are more mature.  Residential energy storage systems, vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-home systems that enable plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) to receive and provide power from and to the grid, and increasingly sophisticated home energy management tools are all likely to deliver more capability to homes and integrate onsite generation and storage in new and innovative ways.

The report, “Residential Energy Innovations”, examines the market for residential generation and storage technologies and discusses how they are reshaping the future of the residential power industry.  It analyzes the key market drivers and inhibitors influencing the market, as well as major technology issues.  Global market forecasts, segmented by region and category – solar PV, energy storage, EVs, and residential combined heat and power – extend through 2023.  The report also provides profiles of established and new industry players and explores policy issues related to residential distributed generation and energy storage technologies.  An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the Navigant Research website.

About Navigant Research

Navigant Research, the dedicated research arm of Navigant, provides market research and benchmarking services for rapidly changing and often highly regulated industries.  In the energy sector, Navigant Research focuses on in-depth analysis and reporting about global clean technology markets.  The team’s research methodology combines supply-side industry analysis, end-user primary research and demand assessment, and deep examination of technology trends to provide a comprehensive view of the Smart Energy, Smart Utilities, Smart Transportation, and Smart Buildings sectors.