Starting with iOS 17, there is a new addition to the Home app—Grid Forecast. While it isn't a new way to control your accessories, it is still an exciting addition that lays the foundation for potential smart home integration in the future.
So, what exactly is Grid Forecast, and what can you do with it? We'll give you a rundown of the feature and how you can enable it on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch.
What Is Apple Home Grid Forecast?
Introduced in iOS 17, Grid Forecast provides insight into your local energy grid through Apple's Home app. Like clean energy charging on iPhone, Grid Forecast helps you plan your home's energy consumption by providing an easy-to-understand timeline that splits your local grid production into two categories—Cleaner and Less Clean.
Cleaner periods in Grid Forecast mean that your home's energy needs may result in less carbon emissions through the use of more renewable sources. And as you might expect, using energy during Less Clean periods may increase your home's overall impact as production may be emitting higher levels of carbon into the atmosphere.
In addition to reducing your carbon footprint, Cleaner periods in Grid Forecast may overlap with off-peak hours at your local utility—potentially saving you some money. While programs vary, your local energy provider may provide discounted rates if you shift appliance usage or EV charging to off-peak times.
To help make tracking convenient, Grid Forecast is available on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. Alongside the timeline view, you can enable Grid Forecast notifications and even add a Home Screen Widget to your devices.
While Grid Forecast is purely informational at this time, residing in Apple's Home app may be a sign that bigger things are in the works. It is easy to envision a day when the Home app offers automation suggestions or automatically adjusts accessories based on your local Grid Forecast.
Using Apple Home Grid Forecast: What You'll Need
Getting started with Grid Forecast is relatively straightforward, but there are a few requirements that you'll need to be aware of. First and foremost, Grid Forecast is only available to users in the contiguous United States at this time.
You'll also need to be running iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, or macOS Sonoma to enable and view Grid Forecast. Using Grid Forecast also requires enabling Location Services for HomeKit and the Home app and an active internet connection.
That's all you'll need. Despite appearing in the Home app, you don't need to have any HomeKit accessories paired to view Grid Forecast. According to Apple, you'll still see the Grid Forecast Widget even if you launch the Home app without accessories.
How to Enable Apple Home Grid Forecast
Setting up Grid Forecast for your smart home is quick and easy. In fact, if you already have an Apple HomeKit home set up, it will be enabled by default after updating to iOS 17.
If you don't see Grid Forecast in the Home app, you can find the option in Home Settings. Here's how.
- Launch the Home app.
- Tap the More... button at the top of your screen.
- Tap Home Settings.
- Tap Energy.
- Tap the Show Grid Forecast toggle.
That's it! With Grid Forecast enabled, you'll see a brief summary right on the Home Screen of the Home app. You'll also gain access to a timeline view accessible from the Energy tab.
How to Enable Grid Forecast Notifications in the Home App
While helpful in determining Cleaner usage times, Apple's Grid Forecast is best suited for use with HomeKit notifications. As with enabling Grid Forecast, you can set up notifications in the Home app.
- Launch the Home app.
- Tap Grid Forecast in the upper right corner of your screen.
- Tap the Notification button.
- Tap Notify Me.
Now, with notifications enabled, you'll know the instant that your local grid switches to a Cleaner usage period. And, if you have an Apple Watch, you'll get alerts sent directly to your wrist, too.
How to Add a Grid Forecast Widget to Your Home Screen
In addition to notifications, you can keep an eye on your local Grid Forecast if you customize your iPhone's home screen with widgets. The Grid Forecast Widget looks identical to the Home App, complete with a handy timeline, so you won't miss a beat.
- Tap and hold an empty space on your Home Screen.
- Tap the Add (+) button at the top of your screen.
- Scroll down and tap Home.
- Swipe to cycle through the available Widgets until you see Grid Forecast, then tap Add Widget.
- Drag the Grid Forecast Widget to the desired location on your Home Screen.
- Tap Done to save your changes.
Like other iOS Widgets, two sizes of the Grid Forecast Widget are available—small and large. The only difference is that the larger offering will show a more comprehensive timeline, so you can pick the best to fit your needs.
Stay on Top of Your Smart Home's Energy Usage With Grid Forecast
With Grid Forecast, you can easily stay on top of your smart home's energy usage. Whether you want to save money by shifting energy consumption to off-peak hours or just want to play your part in reducing your home's reliance on fossil fuels, Grid Forecast can help you meet your goals.