Smart products that “talk” to the grid and help households lower their electricity use during peak periods can save people money on their power bills – plus lower emissions and boost resilience during emergencies, according to submitters on EECA’s Green Paper.
As part of its work to support more flexible energy use across New Zealand, EECA consulted with industry to explore the role of home appliances – including the potential of hot water systems, heat pumps, solar technology and EV chargers to respond to price signals or grid needs automatically.
“If households can use products that allow them to be smart and flexible about their energy use, for example heating rooms when electricity is cheaper before they get home from work, it could reduce the need for costly upgrades to our electricity networks,” said Murray Bell, EECA Group Manager Policy & Regulation.
“It can also encourage renewable energy use by shifting more of our electricity use to times when solar and wind power are flowing, saving households even more money by using lower-cost sources of electricity.”
“However, to get the most out of this modern technology, home products and appliances need to be able to “speak” to each other and to electricity networks in a shared language,” said Mr Bell.
“That avoids people getting locked-in to proprietary arrangements and gives them more ability to chase better deals on their power bills.”
Recent research released by EECA found New Zealand could save $3bn and lower peak demand for electricity by up to a quarter, largely by harnessing appliances and products like the ones discussed in the green paper (as well as flexibility by large industrial electricity users).
EECA received 25 submissions–around a third were from whiteware and appliance manufacturers, an industry which will play a crucial part in enabling consumers to benefit from flexibility.
Cyber security was raised as a key factor for ensuring both household products/appliances and the wider electricity system remain secure.
Most submitters supported a minimum level of standardisation between products and appliances, including shared communication protocols ensuring all products can work together.
Some submitters cautioned against standardising too quickly, noting the risk of stifling innovation.
Submitters expressed differing views on whether standardisation should be voluntary or regulatory.
Mr Bell said EECA was aware of the risk of stifling innovation and would work with industry to strike the right balance.
“EECA will now move to developing voluntary minimum flexibility specifications for residential products that have been identified as priorities for flexibility,” said Mr Bell. “This might be because of their high power use or their contribution to peak demand as well as having the potential to shift when they operate”.
Priority products include EV chargers, electric hot water systems, space heaters (e.g. heat pumps) and home energy management systems.
“EECA will work directly with relevant industries and stakeholders to progress this work later in 2026,” said Mr Bell.
Master Electricians’ group welcomes open communication standards across New Zealand
Master Electricians NZ has signalled its strong support for the development and adoption of standardised communication protocols, enabling smart home products and appliances to “talk” to each other and the electricity network.
EECA and Master Electricians have been working together on a range of work programmes supporting uptake of smart technology in homes.
“A smarter grid relies on smarter connections,” said Alex Vranyac-Wheeler, Chief Executive of Master Electricians NZ.
The electricians’ organisation said that as New Zealand moves toward a greater share of electric vehicles, distributed solar generation, and intelligent home energy management, it is transforming how energy is produced, stored, and consumed.
Traditional electricity networks were designed for one-way power flow — from generation to consumption. But as more New Zealanders install solar, battery storage and EV charging infrastructure, the system must become two-directional, with energy and information flowing both ways.
Master Electricians said a truly smart grid will allow connected devices to respond automatically to grid conditions or pricing signals. For example, a smart charger might operate at night when energy is plentiful and cheaper, while solar and battery systems can coordinate to maximise self-consumption.
“To achieve this orchestration, devices need to use a common communication language, allowing the grid, retailers, and consumers’ technology to interact seamlessly”, Mr Vranyac-Wheeler said.
Master Electricians welcomed collaboration by EECA and other government regulators — including the Electricity Authority, and the Commerce Commission — to align regulatory frameworks and explore how open communication capability could be introduced into future regulated devices.
“Standardisation is an essential foundation for New Zealand,” said Mr Vranyac-Wheeler. “Our members are already working at the forefront of connected technology, and we’re committed to supporting frameworks that make it easier to integrate these systems safely and efficiently.”
Additional information
EECA is the government agency that works to improve the energy efficiency of New Zealand's homes and businesses and encourages the uptake of renewable energy.
Our purpose is to mobilise New Zealanders to be world leaders in clean and clever energy use.
Master Electricians NZ is 100-year-old industry organisation which leads education, advocacy, and support for its 1,300-strong membership (representing approximately 10,000 individual electricians around Aotearoa) and the wider market.
You can read a full summary of submissions and full copies of individual submissions here:
Unlocking the potential of demand flexibility in homes - submissions
About the green paper
- The green paper closed for feedback on 10 November 2025. Appliances and whiteware manufacturers provided the largest number of submissions (8), followed by industry and electricity-related associations (6) and power lines companies (5). Most submissions were from New Zealand-based organisations, with two from Australian-based organisations.
- The Green Paper identified a list of key residential products for harnessing flexibility, based on annual energy use, power use, contribution to peak demand and potential for flexibility. Submitters broadly agreed with the proposed list. EV chargers, electric hot water systems, space heating, inverters, and HEMS were consistently identified as higher-priority end-use products. Whiteware was generally seen as lower priority due to lower annual energy use and greater complexity in enabling flexibility. Submitters emphasised that flexibility for space heating and hot water systems must not compromise consumer comfort. Additional end-use products were proposed by submitters, including spa and pool pumps and heaters.
- Many submitters also supported a joined-up government approach involving EECA, the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE), the Electricity Authority (EA), and the Commerce Commission. There was also support for working with associations including Electricity Networks Aotearoa (ENA), Electricity Engineers’ Association (EEA) and FlexForum to support collaborations withing the electricity market.
- Wider policy decisions and regulatory changes are progressing across Government (including the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, the Electricity Authority and the Commerce Commission) to encourage uptake of demand flexible technology and enable consumers and the wider electricity system to benefit.
- Globally, two main communication protocols have emerged to support smart-grid functionality. Both are internationally recognised and can operate together to support a unified, secure smart-energy ecosystem.
- OpenADR – Widely used for managing demand response in EV chargers and smart homes and currently being trialled in New Zealand by EECA.
- IEEE 2030.5 – Commonly used in the solar and energy storage industries to manage inverters and distributed generation systems.
About flexible electricity use or ‘demand flexibility’
- Flexibility in our energy use can be used to shift when and how energy is consumed, resulting in less peak demand on the electricity system. It can help to manage intermittent renewable supply of electricity (for example from solar and wind generation) and manage peak demand (for example lowering the peak on winter evenings by shifting demand to other times), making energy supply more resilient and affordable as well as lowering emissions.
- Demand flexibility is different from demand response, which is one-way communication between an end-use product and the grid in response to peak demand constraints e.g. inadequate levels of electricity supply. A common example of demand response is ripple control of electric hot water cylinders to turn off at peak times via a signal from an electricity lines company.
- Instead, it is two-way communication that can directly benefit the consumer, while helping the electricity system operate in a cleaner, more affordable and more efficient way.