Demand flexible networked appliances empower consumers and are able to react to requirements from the grid, for example to increase or decrease power consumption in response to renewable energy generation patterns, or to react to local demand constraints. Overall, they helps lower bills, integrate renewable energy, reduce peak loads, and improve the efficiency and resilience of the electricity system. Having demand flexible appliances installed is crucial to a net zero energy grid – their potential to reduce the requirement for expensive energy storage and additional capacity is substantial.
During its new term (2024 to 2029) EDNA is increasing its focus on demand flexible networked appliances, and has launched a dedicated workstream for these activities. EDNA has commissioned and developed a growing portfolio of studies and resources to help inform policy making in this space.
Policies that enable demand-side flexibility often include product-level requirements that ensure appliances are capable of responding to external signals such as price or grid conditions. This can involve requiring or encouraging functionalities, interoperability standards, and minimum communication capabilities so devices can integrate with energy management systems and flexibility platforms. Energy labelling schemes can also be expanded to indicate not just efficiency but flexibility potential, helping consumers make informed choices.
Product Policy Framework for Demand Side Flexibility – Case Studies (2025) examines how different jurisdictions are implementing product policies to enable demand-side flexibility, focusing particularly on residential appliances and their integration into energy systems. Report
Roadmap for Consumer Devices to Participate in Demand Flexibility (2000) explores what is needed for consumer devices to become demand flexible and provides guidance on the development of country roadmaps. Policy Brief
Related topics and resources
- Energy Applications within IoT and Digitalisation Strategies (2020) provides guiding principles to policy makers for developing and implementing national/regional digitalisation and IoT strategies that emphasise energy applications, including energy efficiency and demand flexibility. Report / Policy Brief
- Policy Guidance for Smart, Energy-Saving Consumer Devices (2020) indicates considerations for policy makers to encourage ‘smart’ consumer devices which save energy and provide demand flexibility. It includes key findings for the prioritisation of consumer devices and policy recommendations. Report / Policy Brief
- Encouraging Intelligent Efficiency – Study of Policy Opportunities (2017) examines policy and programme opportunities to encourage greater investments in network connected devices to promote energy savings. Report
Demand-side flexibility potential refers to how much and how quickly electricity demand can be shifted, reduced, or increased across households, commercial buildings, and industry without unacceptable impacts on comfort or productivity. The size of this potential depends on factors such as technology adoption (e.g., electric vehicles, heat pumps, smart appliances), user behavior, and the availability of automation and control systems.
EDNA – USERS TPC Joint Report – Evaluating Electric Vehicle and Heat Pump Flexibility Potential: Linking Technology, Economics, Regulation, Behaviour and Policy (2025) examines how to quantify demand-side flexibility potential by linking technical capabilities, economic incentives, user behaviour, and policy frameworks into a single assessment model. Report
The Total Energy Model models the energy demand and the stock of connected devices across different categories. Model
Related topics and resources
- The Residential HEMs and Controllers report examines how home energy management systems enable flexibility in practice and covers market penetration, interoperability, policy landscape – key factors in turning theoretical flexibility into available flexiblity. Report
- The Overview of Flexibility Platforms report is useful for understanding how aggregation and digital platforms unlock distributed flexibility from appliances, which connects to scaling individual device-level potential into
system-level capability. Report / Policy Brief - The Product Policy Framework for Demand Side Flexibility (case studies) report shows how product-level regulation (e.g. appliance requirements, standards, and labelling) can shape the long-term availability of flexible assets in the market, which feeds directly into future flexibility potential. Report
A pre-requisite for effective demand flexibility is digitalisation and ability to transmit data and respond to signals. Demand flexible technologies include appliances and systems that can shift or modulate their demand in response to signals. Enabling technologies such as batteries and management systems help consumers to optimise their energy use.
DEMAND FLEXIBLE TECHNOLOGIES
Plug-in Battery Energy Storage Systems (2026- forthcoming) assesses the rapidly developing plug-in battery market and explores opportunities, barriers, risks and policy approaches.
Advancing the Energy Efficiency of Home Energy Storage Systems (2025) examines how effectively residential battery storage systems convert, store, and deliver electricity, and how their performance is measured in practice. It highlights that while HESS can provide valuable services such as self-consumption optimisation and grid support, their overall efficiency varies significantly depending on design, control strategy, and operating conditions. Report
Residential HEMS and Controllers (2025) investigates the global home energy management system (HEMS) market addressing key questions about existing products, market penetration, product categories, interoperability, and relevant policies. Report
Related topics and resources
- Harnessing Smart and Dumb Devices for Energy Benefits (2024) provides a summary of the landscape of residential IoT products and how these can be leveraged for energy efficiency and flexibility and on how products that are not networked could be retrofitted to provide smart functionalities. Policy Brief
- Retrofitting Connectivity for Energy Benefits (2021) examines the retrofit solutions on the market today to identify those that could be leveraged to achieve energy benefits in otherwise unconnected residential products. Report
- Intelligent Efficiency – A Case Study of Barriers and Solutions – Smart Homes (2018). This report highlights the role of energy efficiency policy makers in improving the value proposition for smart homes for energy management. Report / Policy Brief
DIGITALISATION
Digital technologies can provide benefits across the energy system. Sensors and controls can reduce energy consumption in homes and businesses. Better data can support informed decision making on investments in appliances, equipment and systems. Connectivity and interoperability can enable demand flexibility and a more efficient power system.
Emerging Battery Technologies (2022) examines new battery technologies suited to powering small devices such as IoT, actuators and sensors, and portable devices such as mobile phones and laptops. Report / Policy Brief
Harnessing IoT for Energy Benefits (2021) examines the landscape of residential IoT products and the functions within those products that can be leveraged to yield energy benefits. Report / Policy Brief
Energy Applications within IoT and Digitalisation Strategies (2020) provides guiding principles to policy makers for developing and implementing national/regional digitalisation and IoT strategies that emphasise energy applications, including energy efficiency and demand flexibility. Report / Policy Brief
Encouraging Intelligent Efficiency – Study of Policy Opportunities (2017) examines policy and programme opportunities to encourage greater investments in network connected devices to promote energy savings. Report
Energy Efficiency of the Internet of Things – Policy Options (2016) examines energy implications of network connectivity and explores policy options. Report
Related topics and resources
- For more on the energy demand of networked appliances and systems and deployment – explore the EDNA workstream on Energy Efficiency of Connected Devices and the Total Energy Model
- For more on data centre energy demand – explore the EDNA workstream on Energy Efficiency of Data Centres
Deploying demand flexibility requires the ability of appliances and systems to exchange data and communicate, consumer willingness and engagement; approaches towards achieving scale, conducive framework conditions; and systematic risk management.
A major hurdle to demand flexibility is the lack of interoperability between devices, platforms, and energy systems. Inconsistent or fragmented communication protocols further complicate integration, making it difficult for devices to exchange data reliably and respond to grid signals in real time. These issues increase costs and complexity for providers and slow down the scaling of flexibility solutions across the energy system.
EDNA Report – Demand Flexibility protocols (2026) looks at the current landscape of communication protocols and suggests steps to take towards solving interoperability issues. Report
EDNA Report – Guide to Energy Management Protocols (2022) provides a guide to ‘application layer’ communications protocols used for energy management, such as those used to facilitate intelligent efficiency and demand flexibility. Report / Policy Brief
EDNA Report – Standardisation for Smart Devices (2022) highlights the most relevant standards in areas such as measurement of energy consumption of smart devices, and communication protocols for smart devices. Report
EDNA Report – Interoperability (2022) examines the issue of (a lack of) device interoperability and the resultant impact of this on intelligent efficiency and demand flexibility. Report / Policy Brief
Related topics and resources
- List of Standards is a searchable database of standards and communication protocols relating to smart devices. Database
Engaging consumers in demand-side flexibility typically requires clear incentives, simple and automated solutions, transparency and trust. Safeguarding consumers from risks is critical to the success of demand side flexibility programmes and approaches.
EDNA – USERS TCP Joint Report – Are We Getting the Best out of Smart Home Technologies? The Role of Useability (2021). This report investigates useability issues associated with energy smart digital devices. Report
Related topics and resources:
- EDNA – USERS TPC Joint Report – Evaluating Electric Vehicle and Heat Pump Flexibility Potential: Linking Technology, Economics, Regulation, Behaviour and Policy (2025) looks at incentives and consumer behaviour. Report
Achieving scale in demand-side flexibility is important because small, scattered adjustments by individual consumers only become system-relevant when aggregated into a resource large enough to meaningfully balance supply and demand. At scale, flexibility can reduce peak loads, lower system costs, and support the integration of variable renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
Overview of Flexibility Platforms (2025) looks at how aggregation and digital platforms can unlock distributed flexibility from appliances, which connects to scaling individual device-level potential into system-level capability. Report / Policy Brief
Related topics and resources:
- Demand Flexibility protocols (2026 – forthcoming) looks at the current landscape of communication protocols and suggests steps to take towards solving interoperability issues.
- Residential HEMS and Controllers (2025) investigates the global home energy management system (HEMS) market addressing key questions about existing products, market penetration, product categories, interoperability, and relevant policies. Report
Cybersecurity of networked appliances is critical because these devices rely on digital communication and remote control, making them potential entry points for unauthorised access or manipulation. Attackers could disrupt household operations, access personal data, or override device settings, creating risks for consumer safety and privacy, and destabilise the grid. Addressing these risks requires strong security standards, regular software updates, secure communication protocols, and clear accountability across manufacturers and service providers. Further risks include increased energy demand due to network connectivity.
EDNA Report: Cybersecurity for Demand Flexible Appliances (2025). This report identifies critical cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities in demand flexible appliances and approaches to mitigate them. Report / Policy Brief
Related topics and resources
- For more on the energy demand of networked appliances and systems – explore the EDNA workstream on Energy Efficiency of Connected Devices and the Total Energy Model
