Electrification for a Sustainable Future: OEMs and Integrators Driving the Transition

This article explores how electrification, driven by renewable energy and advanced technologies, is shaping a sustainable future. It discusses challenges posed by fossil fuels, the advantages of electricity, and the need for a transition to electric-powered homes. Smart circuit breakers and Energy Storage as a Service (ESaaS) are highlighted as key solutions for addressing electrification challenges. The role of OEMs is emphasized, focusing on opportunities for creating connected, intelligent energy solutions. Lastly, SECO's product lineup, including the Clea software suite, is presented as a powerful resource for smart energy management.

1. Electrification: The Only Way Forward to Save the Environment

As we look toward a sustainable future, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: electrification is the only viable way forward to save our environment. The traditional dependence on fossil fuels—extracting sticky hydrocarbons and volatile gases from the earth, refining them, and ultimately burning them for energy—is fraught with inefficiencies and has an enormous environmental cost. This relentless cycle not only wastes vast resources but also contributes to significant greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in climate change and the degradation of our natural ecosystems. The fleeting benefit of burning fossil fuels—producing energy for mere moments before it is gone—highlights the inefficiency and impermanence of our existing energy model.

In contrast, electricity stands as a more efficient, versatile, and environmentally friendly alternative. The advancement of renewable energy technologies is driving an impressive shift toward a cleaner energy future. Solar panels, wind turbines, and other renewable energy sources are increasingly powering homes, businesses, and smart grid components—they generate electricity due to their inherent ability to harness natural resources, requiring minimal human intervention once installed. Moreover, the growth in renewables is setting new records every year. In 2023, the world added 50% more renewable capacity compared to 2022, and the next five years are expected to see the fastest growth yet, reflecting a collective movement towards sustainability. Additionally, many countries, such as China, France, and the United States, have heavily invested in atomic energy alongside renewables, aiming to stabilize the energy demand and supply cycle. By transitioning to electric power, not only do we leverage these renewable sources, but we also reduce our reliance on burning fossil fuels, thereby contributing to a healthier environment for future generations. For OEMs and stakeholders in smart grids and smart buildings, this shift presents an opportunity to integrate advanced components and technologies that optimize energy efficiency and sustainability.

2. Transitioning Homes to Electric Power

The transition from natural gas to electric power is gaining momentum as more households recognize the benefits of electrification. One of the primary drivers of this shift is the volatility of natural gas prices, which have proven to be unpredictable and costly for homeowners. In contrast, electric technologies are not only more efficient but are also becoming more affordable with each passing year, making the decision to switch both economically and environmentally sound. This transition is particularly evident in regions that have experienced dramatic swings in energy costs, prompting a move toward more reliable and sustainable energy solutions. For OEMs, this represents a crucial opportunity to develop and supply components that support efficient electrification, enabling smart buildings and modern electrical infrastructure to meet these evolving demands.

Many households are already familiar with electric-powered devices—refrigerators, ovens, heating, and cooling systems are increasingly electric, and in some parts of the world, fully electric homes have been the norm for decades. This broad adoption of electric appliances highlights the feasibility of electrifying entire homes. However, there remains a significant bottleneck when it comes to heating systems, particularly in colder climates, both at the individual household level and in broader building management systems for commercial applications. Unlike smaller household appliances, heating systems often still rely on natural gas, propane, or even wood, making it more challenging to fully electrify these homes. Moreover, many of these households are powered by low-amperage electrical services (such as 30A or 100A) that were not originally designed for appliance electrification, especially heating, which is by far the most energy-intensive component of home electrification. Addressing this bottleneck is essential for realizing the vision of a completely electrified, environmentally friendly future. OEMs specializing in smart grid and building management technologies have a pivotal role in overcoming these challenges by developing solutions that can manage high energy demands efficiently, even in low-amperage electrical systems.

3. Smart Electrical Panels, Circuit Breakers and Their Role in Electrification

Smart circuit breakers in smart electrical panel installations provide an effective solution to the limitations of low-amperage electrical systems by intelligently managing energy distribution without requiring extensive infrastructure upgrades.  By intelligently managing energy distribution, smart circuit breakers allow for efficient use of available capacity, helping buildings operate within their existing amperage limits.

A key feature of smart circuit breakers is their ability to dynamically manage and prioritize electrical loads. This capability is essential in ensuring that critical systems—such as HVAC units or emergency power—receive priority over less essential loads during peak energy usage times. For example, when multiple high-power appliances are in use, a smart circuit breaker can temporarily disable lower-priority loads, such as electric vehicle chargers, until the overall energy demand decreases. By incorporating AI, smart circuit breakers can learn and understand patterns of electrical usage. They can dynamically adjust the priority list based on real-time data without prior manual configuration beyond identifying which appliances are controlled by the system. This intelligent load management prevents system overloads and helps maintain a stable and reliable power supply, even in low-amperage settings.

For OEMs and integrators, smart circuit breakers offer a significant opportunity to enhance energy efficiency and resilience in both residential and commercial settings. The integration of smart circuit breakers into smart building infrastructure not only helps address the challenges of electrification but also opens new avenues for providing value-added services. By incorporating smart circuit breakers that communicate with energy management systems, OEMs can offer advanced solutions for load management, demand response, and energy optimization. This makes them a key component in the future of electrification and smart energy management, enabling seamless integration of renewable energy sources and battery storage solutions, such as those used in Energy Storage as a Service (ESaaS) models. Ultimately, smart circuit breakers contribute to a more resilient, flexible, and sustainable electrical infrastructure, driving the evolution of smart grids and buildings toward a fully electrified future.

4. Energy Storage as a Service: Empowering OEMs and Integrators

Energy Storage as a Service (ESaaS) is a transformative model that allows facilities to reap the benefits of advanced energy storage systems without the need to purchase or maintain the infrastructure. Through service agreements, facilities gain access to energy storage capabilities that help generate revenue, create savings, and improve electricity resiliency—all while relying on a third-party provider for management and maintenance. This model is particularly valuable in the context of electrification, where efficient energy management is crucial for handling peak demands and integrating renewable sources. The global ESaaS market size was exhibited at USD 68.19 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach approximately USD 152.90 billion by 2033, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.41% during the forecast period of 2024 to 20331. 

ESaaS represents a significant opportunity for OEMs and integrators, particularly those focused on smart grids and building energy solutions. By leveraging ESaaS, OEMs can develop intelligent, connected solutions using IoT and AI technologies, enabling seamless communication between energy storage systems, energy management platforms, and connected devices. The ESaaS model also alleviates the need for high upfront costs, making it more feasible for facilities to adopt and integrate energy storage solutions. 

A typical ESaaS system combines an energy storage component—most commonly lithium-ion or flow batteries—with an energy management system and a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. The SCADA communicates with the facility's Energy Management System (EMS), Power Conversion System (PCS), and Battery Management System (BMS) to ensure seamless integration and response to energy demands. For OEMs, this opens opportunities to supply key components like power inverters, energy monitoring devices, and connected control systems that are vital to ensuring the effective operation of ESaaS models.

The ESaaS approach also allows facilities to participate in regional incentive programs such as coincident peak management, demand response, and energy arbitrage. Coincident peak management involves reducing energy usage during times of high regional demand to lower costs. Demand response provides incentives for reducing consumption when requested by the grid operator. Energy arbitrage involves storing energy when prices are low and using it when prices are high to achieve cost savings. This offers OEMs and integrators a chance to create added value for their customers by delivering solutions that support these incentive programs—leading to potential cost savings and new revenue streams. For instance, ESaaS can act as a backup power source during outages, improve power quality, and offer peak shaving capabilities to normalize a facility's energy draw. By employing AI-driven insights, ESaaS systems can optimize the timing of energy storage and release, ensuring maximum cost efficiency and energy stability.

OEMs can greatly benefit from ESaaS by developing products that fit into this ecosystem of smart, connected energy management. Intelligent load management devices, communication modules, and advanced sensors are all crucial to making ESaaS work effectively. With the growing demand for resilient and adaptable energy solutions, ESaaS presents an avenue for OEMs and integrators to lead the way in delivering sustainable, scalable energy solutions. By integrating IoT and AI, ESaaS allows for precise monitoring, predictive maintenance, and adaptive energy strategies, further empowering facilities to be both energy-efficient and resilient against power disruptions.

5. SECO's Solutions for OEMs and Integrators

SECO offers a range of products specifically designed to empower OEMs and integrators to develop innovative solutions for smart grids, building automation, and electrification, including advanced computer-on-modules, system-on-modules, fanless embedded PCs, and human-machine interface (HMI) solutions. Among these products is the SOM SMARC ASL, a SMARC® Rel 2.1 compliant module equipped with Intel Atom® x7000RE series processors, featuring up to 8 cores, LPDDR5 memory with in-band ECC, and integrated Intel® UHD Graphics. It offers multiple I/O interfaces, including PCIe, USB, and dual 2.5Gb Ethernet ports with TSN support. The SOM SMARC ASL is designed to provide power-efficient, ruggedized performance and supports extended temperature ranges, making it ideal for demanding IoT environments.

One of SECO’s most powerful offerings is the Clea software suite—a comprehensive IoT platform that provides a full set of tools for energy monitoring, predictive maintenance, and remote management. Clea enables OEMs and integrators to create smart energy management solutions that use real-time data analytics and AI deployed both on the edge and the cloud to optimize energy consumption, enhance performance, and maximize the operational efficiency of energy systems. Clea-ready microcontrollers and computing modules are designed to seamlessly integrate into a variety of applications, with an open API approach and SDKs available on GitHub. This makes it easy to connect traditional energy systems to the IoT ecosystem, integrate third-party or legacy internal software, and scale up from the proof of concept (PoC) phase to full production.

SECO's solutions are ready to be used in a wide range of electrification projects. For example, Clea can be employed to enable predictive maintenance in energy storage systems, ensuring battery health and performance are continuously optimized and the best and most convenient tariffs are applied to energy consumption, which in industrial deployments may enhance the figures of total energy savings by up to 30%. SECO’s system-on-modules, combined with the Clea software suite, can be used to develop sophisticated energy management dashboards that allow building managers to monitor and control power distribution in real-time. These use cases highlight the flexibility and adaptability of SECO's products, providing OEMs and integrators with the essential tools to lead the future of electrification and smart energy management. To learn more about SECO’s solutions, reach out via the Contact Us page.