In the smart grid environment, the smart house with its HEMS plays an important role in the intelligent use of electricity and demand response. The smart HEMS with wireless networks, smart home appliances, digital citizen services, and smart sensor technologies could elevate standards of living and commerce with social and environmental capitals. In recent years, the popularity of HEMS has been increased significantly due to high accessibility, convenience and affordability via smart phone and tablet connectivity. Meanwhile, the development of modernized smart grid infrastructures with a variety of two-way communication, metering and monitoring devices lays a solid foundation for smart HEMS application. In the near future, the extensive use of HEMS will thoroughly change the way of electricity usage and renewable energy utilization in the residential houses. In this paper, the introduction and description for the overview of HEMS architecture have been illustrated, as well as a detailed investigation on the functions of renewable energy, HESSs, home appliances and demand response in HEMS. On the other hand, the utilization of renewable energy in buildings is becoming increasingly widespread. Findings show that solar energy is a main contributor to home energy consumption, while the wind, biomass, and geothermal energy often contribute relatively less and limited due to urban geography and climate factors. The utilization of building renewable energy also demonstrates that remarkable energy savings could be achieved from transmission energy losses and traditional primary energy. Furthermore, the home scheduling strategies for smart appliances, renewable energy and HESS have been investigated and analyzed to reduce the residential electricity cost and improve energy utilization from electric power utilities. Consequently, developing the smart HEMS has become a common global priority to support the trend towards a more sustainable and reliable green energy supply for smart grid.