Apple has unveiled significant advancements in energy management for its Home app, despite the feature being notably absent from the company’s recent WWDC keynote address. The new EnergyKit framework is designed to empower developers to enhance device energy efficiency.
Integrated within iOS 26 and iPadOS 26, EnergyKit allows developers to access and utilize energy data from Apple Home. The core function of this framework is to help devices reduce or shift their electricity consumption by prioritizing cleaner or less expensive energy sources. This could manifest in various ways, such as a smart thermostat automatically lowering its energy use during periods of high electricity prices or an electric vehicle scheduling its charging based on forecasted energy costs.
The Home app currently possesses the capability to display crucial energy information, including electricity usage, electricity rate, and clean energy availability. This data, presented via the Grid Forecast widget, is accessible when the Home app is connected to a compatible utility provider. Presently, PG&E is listed as the only supported utility company.
EnergyKit builds upon this foundation with a feature called EnergyKit Guidance. This functionality uses the available energy data to generate specific actions for devices aimed at reducing or shifting energy consumption. According to Apple’s documentation, EnergyKit is initially designed to work with electric vehicle (EV) chargers and smart thermostat applications.
While individual products from manufacturers like Ecobee and Google Nest already offer energy management capabilities, such as adjusting energy use based on clean energy availability and participating in demand response programs, and most EV chargers provide apps for schedule creation based on energy data, EnergyKit aims to securely deliver data from Apple Home directly to these manufacturer applications. This integration holds the potential for Apple Home to eventually manage and control these devices and their energy functions, potentially evolving into a comprehensive home energy management system (HEMS) – a platform that monitors, controls, and optimizes energy consumption within a home.
Competitors in the smart home market, including Samsung SmartThings with its AI Energy Mode and LG-owned Homey, already offer energy management features. Apple’s current platform lags behind in some aspects, specifically lacking direct support for energy monitoring from connected devices, including EV chargers and energy monitoring capabilities for thermostats.
This current limitation is likely the reason behind EnergyKit’s focus on enabling developers to integrate energy data from Apple Home into their own applications, rather than providing direct support within the Home app itself for these specific device types and monitoring functions. However, Apple’s strong involvement with the Matter smart home standard presents a potential pathway for adding support for these devices to Apple Home in the future.
The Matter standard has recently expanded its support to include most major appliance types, as well as energy-intensive devices like heat pumps and electric water heaters. These additions could facilitate their easier integration into Apple Home via Matter. Furthermore, Matter also supports battery energy storage systems and solar power devices, such as inverters, panels, and hybrid solar/battery systems. Considering these developments, the expansion of Apple Home’s energy management capabilities appears to be a logical progression for Apple’s smart home strategy.
