IoT Smart Energy MVP

Project Overview

Collaborated with national utility companies to build a Desktop and Mobile MVP demonstrating the power of the Internet of Things (IoT). The application integrates with Home Assistant and Matter standards to allow utility providers to trigger 'demand response events,' automatically adjusting smart devices to lower power surges and prevent outages.

Challenges

• Establishing real-time, low-latency communication between the utility grid control system and thousands of individual smart home devices

• Ensuring strict user privacy and data security while continuously tracking household energy consumption and savings metrics

• Achieving interoperability across Home Assistant, Matter, and other competing smart home protocols with a single unified interface

• Designing a cross-platform mobile experience that works identically on iOS and Android within a tight MVP timeline

• Processing high volumes of concurrent IoT events without message loss or delivery delays during peak demand periods

Solutions

• Utilized Apache Kafka for high-throughput, fault-tolerant event streaming between grid operators and connected home devices

• Built a cross-platform mobile interface with React Native, Expo, and NativeWind that shares a single codebase across iOS and Android

• Implemented secure, encrypted API handshakes for device control commands with per-device authentication tokens

• Designed an abstraction layer over Home Assistant and Matter protocols so the app communicates with any compliant smart device

• Created a real-time dashboard showing aggregate energy savings, device response rates, and event history for utility stakeholders

Results

• Successfully validated the Demand Response model for city planners and national utility providers through live device demonstrations

• Demonstrated a measurable reduction in peak energy load during controlled testing periods across connected households

• Delivered a polished MVP within four months that secured stakeholder buy-in for a continued product roadmap

• Achieved sub-second device response times from grid command to smart home adjustment during demand response events

• Provided utility partners with actionable data on household participation rates and energy savings potential

Summary

A cross-platform mobile MVP built with React Native and Kafka that connects utility providers to smart home devices for real-time energy demand response.