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As homeowners, few things get us lathered up quite like comparing our homes to the homes of our friends, family, and neighbors.
Whether it's a point of pride or frustration, we have a hard-wired need to share and overshare our home-related wins and losses.
Also: Stop waiting for an emergency to upgrade your home's tech - there's a better way
There are certain areas of the home, however, that have elevated potential to bring value to our lives beyond bragging rights or short-term fixes. Home energy tech, in particular -- while much of it is still nascent and yet to achieve widespread adoption -- is quickly becoming fertile ground for home-to-home comparison.
Here's the challenge: From the power-starved house to the energy-optimized smart home, there's a wide disparity of power needs and technology that characterize each situation, making it harder to draw comparisons or gain any actionable insights.
A variety of motivations underlie a homeowner's thought process, adding another layer of complexity. Recent research from Habitelligence shows that homeowners are considering upgrades to their energy systems, primarily to reduce monthly costs; however, there is also a growing desire for greater control and efficiency in their power infrastructure.
Top drivers of home energy tech investment
Source: Habitelligence, Voice of the Homeowner, April 2025
A new framework from Habitelligence takes aim at home energy maturity and provides a four-level scale for homeowners to self-assess where they stand and provide a goal post for future upgrades. Using the acronym CORE, the four levels are described as follows:
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