Conversations at the Edge, Episode 3: All About Energy

Welcome back to Conversations at the Edge (CATE), our monthly video series where we get real about intelligent devices, edge connectivity, and how developers can keep up with what’s next.

If you're new here, the idea is simple: Neal Kondel and I sit down each month to tackle the tech trends that developers and product makers are dealing with. From connectivity standards to AI at the edge, we’re not afraid to get into the weeds and have a little fun while we’re at it.

In Episode 1, we unpacked the current state of Matter. Episode 2 focused on how to launch a Matter product, from certification to time-to-market strategy. And now, in our season finale, we zoomed in on energy. More specifically: how Matter is shaping the energy management conversation and what it takes to build an energy-intelligent smart home.

Why Energy? Why Now?

Let’s face it. Smart home tech is cool, but cost savings and environmental impact? That’s what makes it real. Matter’s newer releases (starting in 1.3 and expanding in 1.4) bring features like energy reporting and device energy management that make smarter energy usage practical for the first time. We're talking about the ability to pause a dryer mid-cycle when grid demand spikes, or intelligently manage EV charging based on solar availability or time-of-use pricing.

With such features, we go from just collecting data to truly taking action. That’s where energy intelligence comes in. And yes, that’s going to be a term you’ll hear a lot more going forward.

A Real-World Energy Case Study: Geo

In this episode, we shared the story of our collaboration with geo, a UK-based company focused on building an energy-intelligent ecosystem. Their in-home energy display uses NXP silicon and connectivity tech to act as a Matter controller, integrate data from meters, and intelligently coordinate devices like thermostats, water heaters, and smart plugs.

Here’s the cool part: the tech works beyond controlling geo-built devices. geo’s controller was able to integrate and manage Matter-enabled products from other vendors, including thermostats, appliances, and even an EV charger, all within the same Matter fabric. That’s the power of interoperability. No custom integrations. No endless compatibility charts. It just worked.

And for developers, geo’s implementation is a lesson in constraints and creativity. Their controller runs Matter on an RTOS platform, which means low power, lower cost, and smaller memory footprint. Achieving that took tight optimization and a collaborative partnership to integrate updates from the Matter SDK across our combined platforms.

Matter 1.4: New Tools for Energy-Intelligent Homes

If Matter 1.3 gave us energy reporting, 1.4 stepped it up with device energy management (think pause, resume, and level control for high-draw devices). That opens the door to smarter behaviors like:

●      Pausing a dishwasher during peak grid events

●      Delaying a laundry cycle until off-peak hours

●      Automatically adjusting water heater temperature to act as a “thermal battery”

The demo we showcased at CES 2025, built with Geo and other Matter partners, walked through the real world scenarios of responding to excess solar production, handling grid strain, and managing high energy pricing. Each scenario was designed to reflect actual consumer behavior and utility events. It was a glimpse at where the smart home is going and why developers need to be ready for it.

Developer Takeaways: From Concept to Deployment

Here are a few insights I’d love developers and product leads to take away from this episode:

●      Matter is ready for energy use cases today. But you’ll need to update to at least 1.4 to access device energy management features.

●      You don’t need a heavyweight system to run Matter. RTOS-based implementations like Geo’s show what’s possible with optimization and collaboration.

●      The real value lies in intelligence. Matter lays the foundation, but AI, preference engines, and local sensing provide the smarts that differentiate products.

●      The ecosystem is maturing. More appliances, meters, thermostats, and controllers are Matter-ready. If you’re building energy products, now’s the time to get involved.

And don’t forget: Matter is just the beginning. The community is still actively contributing new device types, improving certification flows, and exploring how personalization and AI can drive user experiences across multi-tenant homes.

What’s Next? Season 2 – Factory Automation at the Edge

While Season 1 focused on smart homes, we’re not stopping there. Season 2 of Conversations at the Edge will shift gears and explore intelligence in the factory automation. We’ll tackle exciting concepts like mobile robotics, predictive maintenance, edge AI, and the new rules for designing secure and scalable devices for factories, warehouses, and beyond. I’ll also be joined by an exciting new co-host and one of our latest collaborative partners in this space!

We’ll still be right here at the edge, just with a different perspective.

Thanks for joining Neal and me on this amazing Matter journey. I’ll see you in Season 2 starting this August.

Author | Sujata Neidig

Sujata Neidig has over 30 years of experience in the semiconductor industry and is currently Director of Marketing for Wireless Connectivity where she drives product marketing and standards efforts for IoT connectivity. She also represents NXP on the Thread Group and Connectivity Standards Alliance’s Board of Directors as well as serving as Thread Group’s VP of Marketing. She is based in Austin, TX.