With an ever-growing list of smart terminology: smart meter, smart home, smart devices and smart grid, to name a few--it can be difficult to figure out what exactly they all mean.

More importantly: what do they mean for you?

All of these technologies are designed to make it simpler than ever to customize how you monitor and use energy in the best way for your household. It's an exciting time; technologies we've come to rely on for entertainment are starting to be applied to every part of our daily lives. Even though you won't spend hours entertained by your smart energy devices, you'll appreciate the conveniences they provide…especially when it's time to pay your electric bill.

With smart devices for the home increasing in popularity, one consideration is compatibility. We all want the devices that help us with daily communications and make our lives as easy as possible. The Internet of Things refers to a network of objects that can be sensed and controlled remotely, and may help smooth out the transition to flawless interconnectivity of smart devices.

There are many examples of the ways in which these new technologies can work together to benefit you:

• Thermostats: The Nest can program itself based on your schedule and preferences, reducing energy costs, and can be controlled from your phone.
• Appliances: Whirlpool’s Smart Washing Machine, also able to be controlled via app, lets smart grid area residents monitor energy usage so you can do your laundry at the most cost-effective time.
• Outlets: Belkin’s Conserve series can track energy use and project costs and eliminate ‘energy vampires’ (Standby Power) by letting you set a time limit on usage. You can also turn off the outlet even if you’re away from home.
• Lighting: Phillips Hue LED bulbs make your lights more energy efficient, lowering operating costs, and have tons of more fun features, like adjusting the color of your lighting to match a photo from your phones library.

The list continues, and new tech is added constantly. It’s truly amazing how the systems in your home can communicate and turn you into an energy efficiency guru!

The connected, smart home is no longer a dream of the future. We all have the ability to utilize grid modernization to improve our lives. The smart grid is the Next Innovation in the history of electricity and human advancement. Every day we are finding more and more ways to make the smart grid work to improve our lives. The big questions is: what’s next?

By Nathan Shannon | September 1, 2015