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Cisco on Tuesday introduced a home energy management system which it will test with customers of utility Duke Energy and offer to other utilities.

The two companies said that Cisco will supply a home energy "controller," a countertop touch-screen display for people to monitor electricity usage and to program home energy to reduce waste and take advantage of off-peak pricing.

Duke plans to pilot test the devices and back-end services starting this summer for a year with customers in Charlotte, North Carolina and Cincinnati, Ohio which already have smart meters installed.

The home energy controller will act as a hub for networked devices in the home, which can report energy usage and be controlled from the display over a wireless network. Existing appliances can be connected using two-way thermostats or smart plugs, which talk to the controller via Zigbee. Cisco plans to support other wireless protocols over time, it said.

The device will also allow people to participate in demand-response programs, where the utility offers a rebate in some form for cutting electricity usage during peak times. For example, a dishwasher could be timed to run in the middle of the night or a hot water heater could be turned down temporarily to lighten grid load during a hot day.

Cisco plans to sell the product bundle to utilities for $900 which will make it available to consumers as an energy-efficiency tool. Duke and Cisco said they plan to work with manufacturers of appliances and electronics so that they can connect other gear into the home-automation network.

Although a number of utilities are moving ahead installing smart meters, there's growing recognition in the industry that meters need to be coupled with home energy management tools for consumers to take advantage of the real-time capability of two-way meters.

Duke said that the Cisco home energy controller is designed to be very easy to use and not require a significant amount of time or attention.

"Customers want to save money on their energy bills, but it has to be easy. With Cisco's proven expertise in Internet Protocol-based, open system networks, we're confident our collaboration with them will result in a solution that provides customers back-of-mind simplicity and real, back pocket rewards," Gianna Manes, Duke Energy senior vice president and chief customer officer, said in a statement.