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Smarter devices support demand side response, which is welcome to make the grid more efficient. A good local energy-efficient solution includes in my experience three key ingredients.
First you need local energy storage to allow for extra flexibility to handle life's ebbs and flows. This could be an EV or dedicated storage battery, which can be charged when electricity is abundant, and discharged when supply is tight and something energy hungry needs doing.
Second the grid side will not know when I’m planning to do something energy hungry, or when I want the EV battery full instead of the usual 80% charge. Therefore some way of providing input is needed. It might be possible to learn reasonable local demand forecast models reflecting local behaviour patterns, but I’m not yet convinced about this and tend to trust human guidance more.
Third you need intelligent control to respond to grid signals (e.g. price changes) and combine those with local inputs and any local consumption and production (e.g. from solar panels or micro wind turbines) forecasts.
Energy companies will of course want to have the intelligent control in their hands as it creates them price arbitrage. For majority of consumers that will be the best solution. Some of us will not necessarily want to give them that control and prefer a local solution.