Staying Home, with Smart Energy Management

The smarter E Podcast Episode 245 | December 11, 2025 | Language: English

Home may be where the heart is – but it’s also becoming a major player in the energy transition.

In this episode of The smarter E Podcast, we explore how smart home energy management systems (HEMS) help households get the most out of distributed energy assets such as rooftop solar, home batteries, EV chargers, and heat pumps – making for lower energy bills, deeper decarbonization, and meaningful support for the wider energy system.

Our first guest on this week'a pod, Irene Guerra Gil, Energy Market Expert at gridX, joins host Jonathan Gifford to break down the latest HEMS legislation in Europe and explain the real-world impact these technologies can have.

We also turn to the commercial sector, where office buildings represent a huge opportunity for savings. Mark Bruno, CUBE Competition Chief Ambassador and Partner at Ampersand Partners, shares how behavioural change – and a bit of friendly competition – can drive major energy reductions and bring teams together.

If you would like to learn more about the CUBE Competition, you can reach out to Mark directly .

About The smarter E Podcast

The smarter E podcast is all about the current trends and developments in a renewable, decentralized and digital energy industry. Our host welcomes and interviews personalities who shape our industry and drive developments forward. A new episode is published bi-weekly on Thursdays.

Irene is a Mechanical Engineer, specialized in energy and process engineering, who is passionate about using technology to advance renewable energy generation and fight climate change. At gridX, she uses her in-depth energy market expertise to strategically extend our HEMS offering into the flexibility space to deliver more value to our customers, end users and the grid.

Mark Bruno is a Partner at Ampersand Partners, a purpose led, net zero focused strategy consultancy where he works closely with the real estate sector. He is also Chief Ambassador for the CUBE Competition, which gamifies energy reduction in commercial buildings, and led the successful launch of its UK edition. He has more than 20 years’ experience across technology, property and consulting in the UK, US and Asia, much of it with fast-growing entrepreneurial companies.

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