Smart energy solutions company EcoFlow<\/a> is debuting Oasis, its new AI-powered Home Energy Management System<\/a>, at CES in Las Vegas this week. Designed to automate and\u00a0simplify energy management, Oasis features an AI assistant that can answer and even act on complicated questions about your home\u2019s energy using natural language, such as \u201cHow can I maximize my solar energy usage today?\u201d The company also teased the upcoming launch of Ocean Pro, a new grid-tied whole-home solar battery solution for the US it plans to launch later this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Energy management is a key use case for the smart home, but the infrastructure is expensive, and it can be complicated to set up and confusing to manage. With Oasis, EcoFlow is tackling at least two of those problems.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Oasis works with EcoFlow\u2019s home power technology<\/a> to manage your home\u2019s energy through real-time monitoring of your home\u2019s solar energy production, energy storage to EcoFlow batteries, and energy use from third-party appliances and systems you connect to it through the EcoFlow app.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Peter Linghu, EcoFlow\u2019s director of product strategy and development, explained that Oasis uses predictive analytics and automations to do helpful things automatically, such as switch to backup power in the event of a power outage or charge up your batteries if there\u2019s a big storm coming. While these are features most home battery storage systems today offer, with Oasis, EcoFlow says it\u2019s adding a more capable software layer to provide more granular whole-home energy management.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The EcoFlow Assistant, an AI chatbot in the app, can answer questions for you, such as \u201cHow much energy did I use today?\u201d But it can also suggest, create, and set up automations to manage energy use across your home. For example, you can ask it to set up the best power backup solution, and it will present options it can then implement (see video). Linghu says it does this by analyzing data such as past energy usage, local electric rates, home solar energy generation, and weather patterns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Oasis can also proactively offer suggestions, such as running your air conditioning or washing machine off stored energy rather than grid power when energy prices are high. Linghu says you can instruct Oasis to automate functions like this or choose to be notified about them and implement them yourself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Intelligent management of your home\u2019s energy can save you energy and money without you having to run around turning off lights, fiddling with the thermostat, and unplugging the EV charger. But a big hurdle is finding a system that can talk to everything in your home and to existing infrastructure like solar panels. You also need an energy provider that offers\u00a0time-of-use rates<\/a>\u00a0and demand response<\/a> programs to get the most benefit. Additionally, many solutions today only work with proprietary equipment, making them better suited to new builds rather than retrofitting into your home. EcoFlow\u2019s approach is more open.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Today, Oasis works with EcoFlow products such as its portable Delta 3 Plus and River 3 Plus<\/a> solar generators and its whole-home backup solution<\/a>. Currently, that includes the Smart Home Panel 2<\/a>, which offers circuit-level management of electrical loads and can be connected to your existing electrical panel. It can also work with the portable\u00a0Delta Pro Ultra as a battery backup<\/a> system. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n The new EcoFlow Ocean Pro system that\u2019s coming to the US later this year will bring a higher-capacity grid-tied option for whole-home backup. EcoFlow hasn\u2019t provided many details but says it\u2019s similar to EcoFlow\u2019s\u00a0PowerOcean\u00a0system, which is available in Europe. It looks like it will be a direct competitor to popular products in this space, such as the Tesla Powerwall<\/a> and Anker Solix<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Oasis also works with third-party devices such as Ecobee and Nest thermostats, energy-monitoring products like smart plugs from Shelly and TP-Link, as well as any Matter-compatible device. While Matter is still in its early stages when it comes to energy management, high-energy use devices like appliances, heat pumps, solar panels, and EV charging equipment are now part of the Matter specification<\/a>. So, there may soon be more products that can integrate directly with Oasis. All this helps bring more devices into the system to get a clear picture of your home\u2019s energy use.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Several other companies are working on this type of home energy management solution. Schneider launched its Schneider Home system<\/a> at CES last year;\u00a0Savant Power<\/a>, Anker Solix<\/a>, and Generac<\/a> also have interesting products in this space. The initial cost is still a major roadblock for many people, but if the complexity can be reduced through intelligent home energy management software, that feels like a big step in the right direction.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n