This article presents a different type of home energy management algorithm for a residence consisting of solar PV, battery storage units, electric vehicles with different driving profiles, critical and noncritical loads. The primary objective of the proposed methodology is to reduce the overall power purchase from the utility. In order to achieve the said objectives a combination of the rule based approach proposed by the authors and a heuristic optimization is used. Hence, it can be said that the proposed strategy consists of two layers, of which the first part of the algorithm schedules the noncritical loads using electric springs and the second part of the strategy controls battery storage units and electric vehicles. The novelty of the proposed work lies in using electric springs, battery storage units and exploring the virtual energy storage capabilities of electric vehicles so as to make the residential complexes more autonomous and less dependent on the utility. The robustness of the proposed strategy is tested on a residence and from the obtained results it can be said that the presented algorithm can save an electricity bill of about 53% to the consumer. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd