Everyday Electric, formerly Renew Home, has launched a "whole-home" virtual power plant that will draw on HVAC systems, electric vehicles, stationary batteries, and rooftop solar. The company, which says it manages more than 8 million residential smart thermostats, also acquired connected-vehicle platform Smartcar to improve EV integration. CEO Ben Brown told Utility Dive the platform can reduce the need for new centralized generation and lower costs for all ratepayers.
VPP capacity estimates vary widely. The U.S. Department of Energy put broadly defined VPP capacity at 30 GW to 60 GW in 2023 and projected 80 GW to 160 GW by 2030, potentially meeting 20% of peak demand. A Rewiring America study reported by Utility Dive found hyperscalers could unlock more than 100 GW by 2029 by subsidizing heat pumps and solar-plus-storage. Meanwhile, utilities and independent power producers plan to bring over 60 GW of gas-fired generation online by 2030, according to Environment America and the Frontier Group.
Brown said the company aims to save customers $5 billion over five years and that smart thermostats remain central because their owners are more likely to adopt EVs, heat pumps, and home solar or storage. Everyday Electric says its platform offers hyper-local dispatch, AMI-based measurement and verification, real-time forecasting, and load shaping under a pay-for-performance model. Brown described the shift as moving beyond single-purpose demand-response programs toward what he called "power plants we're building."