Ember et ARM ciblent les réseaux ZigBee de haute performance

ARM et Ember ont annoncé que les semi-conducteurs ZigBee de la prochaine génération, qui seront bientôt introduits sur le marché, utiliseront le processeur Cortex(TM)-M3 d'ARM(R), ce qui place la barre encore plus élevée en matière de haute performance et de faible consommation sur le marché en pleine expansion des produits ZigBee.

Ember est le leader dans le domaine de la technologie ZigBee avec une part de marché supérieure à 65 pour cent et un vaste éventail de clients comptant parmi les leaders mondiaux des secteurs des compteurs intelligents, de la domotique et de l'immotique commerciale. Ember a obtenu une licence pour le processeur Cortex-M3 afin de fournir des solutions de plus en plus perfectionnées en matière d'applications telles que Smart Energy, les réseaux domestiques et les systèmes de soins de santé et de sécurité à la maison.

Le processeur de 32 bits Cortex-M3 d'ARM réuni plusieurs technologies afin de réduire la mémoire et la dimension du processeur tout en offrant la plus grande performance et le rendement énergétique le plus élevé de l'industrie en plus de fournir une plate-forme idéale pour accélérer la migration de milliers d'applications vers les microcontrôleurs de 32 bits. Le processeur Cortex-M3 améliorera grandement la performance, le perfectionnement et la sécurité et permettra à Ember de continuer à offrir à l'industrie de la technologie ZigBee des systèmes sur puce (SoC) puissants et à faible consommation d'énergie.

Le processeur Cortex-M3 d'ARM offre une puissance de traitement remarquable et un système de réponse aux interruptions exceptionnel tout en répondant aux exigences en matière de réduction des coûts grâce à sa faible empreinte de base, à son nombre réduit de broches, à sa faible consommation d'énergie et la meilleure densité de codes de l'industrie, favorisant ainsi l'utilisation de plus petites mémoires.

<< Notre partenariat avec le leader de l'industrie Ember démontre la lancée exceptionnelle dont bénéficie le processeur Cortex-M3 d'ARM sur les marchés de technologies à faible puissance >>, a déclaré Eric Schorn, vice-président du marketing de la division des processeurs d'ARM. << Le processeur Cortex-M3, combiné aux meilleurs outils du secteur, offre la plus haute performance exigée par les applications les plus perfectionnées tout en conservant son avance en matière de faible puissance. >>

Les systèmes sans fil à faible puissance ZigBee d'Ember comprennent des microcircuits étroitement intégrés, des logiciels de réseaux maillés prenant en charge le ZigBee PRO Feature Set ainsi que des outils de développement et de débogage qui permettent aux fabricants de systèmes d'introduire rapidement les produits ZigBee sur le marché. Ember a distribué les premiers SoC ZigBee et coprocesseur de réseaux ZigBee de l'industrie

<< Les applications ZigBee sont de plus en plus exigeantes. Elles sont devenues une composante essentielle dans la résolution des problèmes actuels les plus contrariants, tels que celui de la gestion plus efficace de l'énergie, et nous avons pour objectif d'être à la tête de cette revolution >>, affirme Bob LeFort, PDG d'Ember. << ARM est le leader reconnu dans le domaine de technologie des processeurs, tout comme Ember dans celui de la technologie des réseaux maillés sans fil, c'est donc une alliance logique qui nous permettra de diriger le marché en pleine croissance de la technologie ZigBee dans l'avenir. >>

ZigBee : une commande sans fil qui marche

La ZigBee Alliance est une association de sociétés qui collaborent en vue de la mise en place, à partir d'une norme mondiale ouverte, de produits de contrôle et de surveillance fiables, économiques, à faible consommation d'énergie, établis en un réseau sans fil. La ZigBee Alliance est une association professionnelle à but non lucratif en pleine croissance qui réunit des fabricants de semi-conducteurs de premier plan, des prestataires technologiques, des fabricants de systèmes et des utilisateurs finaux répartis dans le monde entier. L'adhésion est ouverte à tous. Pour obtenir de plus amples renseignements, veuillez consulter le http://www.zigbee.org.

À propos d'ARM

ARM conçoit les technologies qui sont au coeur des produits numériques avancés, depuis les solutions sans fil, de réseautage et de divertissement grand public jusqu'aux appareils destinés aux secteurs de l'imagerie, de l'automobile, de la sécurité et du stockage. La gamme complète des produits ARM comprend les microprocesseurs RISC de 32 bits, des processeurs graphiques, des moteurs vidéo, des outils logiciels, des bibliothèques de cellules, des mémoires intégrées, des produits de connectivité haut débit, des périphériques et des outils de développement. Associées à des services de conception, de formation, d'assistance et de maintenance ainsi qu'au soutien de la vaste communauté de soutien des partenaires ARM, ces solutions complètes constituent une voie rapide et fiable d'accès au marché pour les principaux fabricants de produits électroniques. Pour obtenir de plus amples renseignements au sujet d'ARM, veuillez consulter le http://www.arm.com.

À propos d'Ember Corporation

Ember Corporation procède au développement d'une technologie de réseautage sans fil ZigBee qui permet aux sociétés oeuvrant dans les technologies de l'énergie - enertech - de rendre les immeubles et maisons plus intelligents, plus écoénergétiques et plus efficaces, tout en créant un environnement plus confortable et plus sécuritaire. La technologie sans fil à faible consommation d'énergie d'Ember peut être intégrée dans plusieurs dispositifs afin de faire partie d'un réseau maillé autonome. Le siège d'Ember est situé à Boston et son centre de développement radio se trouve à Cambridge en Angleterre. La société possède des distributeurs dans le monde entier. La société participe à la promotion de la ZigBee Alliance et siège au conseil d'administration de celle-ci. Sa plate-forme est la << Golden Suite >> pour le test d'interopérabilité 802.15.4/ZigBee. Pour obtenir de plus amples renseignements, veuillez consulter le http://www.ember.com.

28/04/09


http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/

La ZigBee Alliance prévoit une intégration accrue des normes des protocoles Internet (IP)

Le leader mondial des normes de réseaux sans fil à consommation réduite ajoute à son portefeuille une nouvelle spécification garantissant une intégration parfaite aux réseaux informatiques mondiaux

La ZigBee Alliance, écosystème mondial de sociétés créant des solutions sans fil pour des applications commerciales, personnelles et de gestion d'énergie, a annoncé aujourd'hui son intention d'intégrer les normes informatiques mondiales provenant de l'IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force, Groupe de travail de génie Internet) dans son portefeuille de spécifications de normes de réseaux sans fil à consommation réduite. Cette initiative élargira le portefeuille en expansion des spécifications ZigBee couronnées de succès et devrait accélérer la croissance rapide des applications Smart Grid qui ont largement adopté le profil d'application public éprouvé ZigBee Smart Energy.

En intégrant les normes IETF, les produits ZigBee Smart Energy amélioreront leurs fonctionnalités d'application avec un support IP natif, permettant ainsi une intégration parfaite de la connectivité Internet dans chaque produit. Les membres de ZigBee profiteront également du savoir et de l'expérience des normes IETF pour l'adressage réseau à grande échelle, la sécurité et l'intégration informatique, continuant ainsi à étendre leur expertise, acquise au cours du développement des meilleures technologies au monde, fiables et à bas coût, dans le domaine des réseaux de capteurs et de commande sans fil.

Grâce à leur coopération avec l'IETF, les membres de ZigBee créeront d'autres solutions innovantes pour les réseaux de capteurs et de commande sans fil dans le cadre de la nouvelle spécification. La connectivité Internet est actuellement fournie par des spécifications ZigBee existantes ; toutefois, l'ajout de support IP natif offrira une intégration plus étroite, depuis les périphériques sans fil jusqu'aux réseaux de services informatiques à grande échelle. La spécification obtenue élargira encore davantage la gamme de solutions de réseaux sans fil à consommation réduite de ZigBee pour répondre aux besoins diversifiés des entreprises sur les marchés des particuliers, de l'automatisation, de la santé, de l'automatisation des bâtiments commerciaux, des télécommunications et des biens de consommation.

<< Cette activité profite à tous en associant les forces de la norme ZigBee Smart Energy à l'ubiquité des normes Internet et confirme que les déploiements de compteurs intelligents (smart meters) actuellement en cours permettront des mises à jour continues et en douceur, notamment en termes de connectivité Internet >>, a indiqué Paul De Martini, vice-président de Southern California Edison. << Les solutions ZigBee Smart Energy jouent un rôle clé dans nos programmes compatibles Smart Grid qui permettront à nos clients d'avoir le choix et encourageront la pérennité à long terme. >> Southern California Edison, entreprise d'Edison International, est la principale compagnie électrique de Californie, au service d'une population de plus de 13 millions de personnes, via 4,8 millions de comptes clients.

L'Alliance fournit les normes leaders de réseau sans fil à consommation réduite, ouvertes, extensibles et simples à mettre à jour. Le profil ZigBee Smart Energy lui permettra de développer encore le succès des déploiements Smart Grid existants de compteurs intelligents et de réseaux domestiques (HAN - Home Area Networks). Cette évolution va considérablement soutenir les efforts de normalisation à l'échelle mondiale des applications Smart Grid, tels que les périphériques HAN, les véhicules électriques (PEV - plug-in electric vehicles) et les applications de génération et de stockage distribuées.

<< C'est ce que nos membres recherchaient : la capacité établie, respectée et éprouvée des normes sans fil ZigBee disposant de capacités IP natives, avec le soutien de l'IETF >>, a déclaré Bob Heile, président de la ZigBee Alliance. << Nos membres sont impatients de collaborer avec l'IETF sur le développement de réseaux de capteurs sans fil. La ZigBee Alliance va continuer de rechercher des moyens de travailler avec des normes ouvertes, et de les soutenir, dans le cadre de notre développement continu des plus grandes solutions au monde de réseau sans fil à consommation réduite. >>

ZigBee Smart Energy est la seule solution de réseau local standardisée sur le marché actuel qui réponde aux contraintes rigoureuses des grandes compagnies d'énergie et des principaux fournisseurs de services énergétiques dans le monde. Le déploiement d'environ 30 millions de compteurs intelligents équipés ZigBee est actuellement en cours en Amérique du Nord.

ZigBee Smart Energy - La norme en matière de gestion et de rendement énergétique

La gamme ZigBee Smart Energy permet une communication sans fil entre les compagnies d'énergie, les fournisseurs de services énergétiques et les appareils ménagers courants, tels que les thermostats et les appareils intelligents. Elle améliore l'efficacité énergétique en donnant aux consommateurs la possibilité de choisir des produits interopérables auprès de différents fabricants, qui leur permettent de gérer leur consommation énergétique de manière plus précise à l'aide d'outils d'automatisation et d'information en temps quasi réel. Elle aide également les compagnies d'énergie à mettre en oeuvre de nouveaux compteurs de pointe et des programmes de réponse à la demande afin d'améliorer la gestion de l'énergie et l'efficacité énergétique, tout en se conformant aux exigences publiques qui évoluent.

28/04/08
http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=255355

First deal outside the United States with two Australian utilities

Deux utilities australiens vont installer 1 million de compteurs intelligents d'ici 2013. Les différents marchés internationaux offrent des défis différents pour le déploiement de compteurs intelligents. Une petite revue des acteurs et des techno par région. Selon cet article EDF deployerai une solution CPL propriétaire.

15/04/2009

The smart meter networking and communications provider lands its first deal outside the United States with two Australian utilities planning to install 1 million smart meters by 2013. Different international markets offer different challenges for smart meter deployments.

Silver Spring Networks has landed its first contract outside the United States – a deal to enable an eventual 1 million smart meters in Australia with its networking technology.

The Redwood City, Calif.-based startup announced the deal with Australian utilities Jemena Electricity Networks and United Energy Distribution on Wednesday. The utilities hope to have 1 million Silver Spring-enabled smart meters from U.K.-based meter maker PRI installed by 2013.

The news adds an international contract to the many Silver Spring has landed with U.S. utilities – Pacific Gas & Electric Co., Florida Power & Light and American Electric Power among them – to enable two-way communication between utilities and customers, thus making the meters "smart."

It's a booming business in the United States, which has an estimated 140 million traditional power meters that could be upgraded, though so far the number of smart meters installed is in the low millions, according to recent estimates (see Smart Meter Installations Grow Nearly Fivefold). Canada has another estimated 10 million endpoints.

But North America is far from the only market. In fact, Europe likely holds the current lead, with at least 27 million smart meters installed by Italian utility Enel and millions more in other nations, according to a March report from ABI Research (see Notes From a National Smart Grid Experiment).

Australia, with a population of about 21 million and an estimated 14 million "end-points," or homes and businesses served by power meters, isn't such a large market by comparison, noted Ben Schuman, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities.

Still, landing the contract "validates that their solution can be applied to markets outside North America, which opens up a huge incremental opportunity for them," he said.

Specifically, he noted that the Australian deal indicates that the nation is a good candidate for Silver Spring's radio frequency mesh technology.

Silver Spring equips meters with radios that mesh together in a 900-megahertz frequency range and send data to central collectors for "backhaul" over utility wide-area networks -- a typical means of smart meter communications in the United States (see Smart Grid: A Matter of Standards).

In contrast, European utilities have mostly opted for power-line carrier technologies that send data over existing power lines, Schuman said. Italy's Enel, which uses technology from Echelon Corp., is one example, he said. French utility EDF plans to use its own power-line carrier technology to link an eventual 35 million endpoints in a massive smart meter project, he said.

Power-line carrier is more cost-effective in Europe because utilities there tend to serve more homes per transformer than in the United States, he said. Because those transformers interfere with power-line carrier signals, they must be bypassed with repeater devices, at costs that tend to be too high in U.S. markets, he said (see Will Smart Grid See a Push for Power-Line Networking?).

Silver Spring's Australian presence could grow, said Eric Dresselhuys, vice president of markets. The Australian state of Victoria, which the utilities serve, has mandated that 2.5 million smart meters be installed within its borders, he said.

"There is now a national plan for smart meters in Australia," he added. "We suspect that all of the large utilities throughout the country are going to work to be in compliance with those requirements."

Other Australian utilities are trying different smart meter technologies. San Francisco-based Grid Net, which has developed technology for installing WiMax Internet routers in smart meters from partner General Electric, is testing them with SP AusNet and Energy Australia (see GE Offers WiMax Smart Meter Solution).

The utilities are also considering power-line carrier and cellular networks for their smart meter deployments, according to ZDNet Australia.

Silver Spring has raised about $160 million since 2007, including $90 million since October (see Silver Spring Grabs $75M and Green Light posts here and here).

The company expects to see about 2 million meters with its technology deployed by the end of 2009 (see Green Light post). PG&E, its biggest customer, had installed about 150,000 Silver Spring-enabled electric smart meters as of February, and plans to have 5.3 million electric meters installed by 2011, most of them using Silver Spring technology.

As for PRI, the U.K.-based smart meter maker is involved in projects in Europe, the Middle East and New Zealand as well as Australia, and also makes home energy monitoring devices.

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/silver-spring-heads-down-under-6051.html

Tropos: WiFi for the Smart Grid #techno #wifi #us

Les fournisseurs wifi des municipalités deployent des projets de smart Grid qui assure la liaison entre des quartiers de compteurs intelligents et le reseau des utilities

14/04/2009

The long-time municipal WiFi provider is making a push into networking utility smart grid projects, providing the link between neighborhood smart meter networks and utility "backhaul" networks.

A city that has installed its own WiFi network might as well let its municipal utility use it. That's the logic behind Tropos Networks‘ growth into the smart grid business.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based municipal WiFi networking startup has seen a number utilities use the networks it has installed over the years, including as a way to link the devices that aggregate data from thousands of two-way communicating "smart meters" with the utilities' back-office systems.

Given that those smart meters are now being installed in the millions, that's a growth business. That's where Tropos' GridCom architecture – the name Tropos has given for its utility-specific offering – comes in.

But while GridCom was officially unveiled Tuesday, working with utilities is something Tropos has been doing for quite awhile, said Rob Pilgrim, vice president of business and corporate development.

"We've seen it become a significant percentage of our business, and it's a huge proportion of our pipeline," he said. Tropos now has about a dozen utilities using its WiFi networks for so-called smart meter aggregation, he said.

While WiFi is seen as too expensive and power-hungry to serve as a cost-effective communications technology for individual meters, it does make sense as an aggregation network in denser, more urban areas, said Ben Schuman, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities.

Denise Barton, Tropos' marketing director, said the company has partnerships with major smart meter makers Itron, Elster and Echelon, and is serving about 300,000 meters today, a number that's expected to climb to 1 million by year's end, said

The few utilities Tropos has named as customers are municipal utilities, including Anderson (Ind.) Municipal Light and Power, Lafayette (La.) Utilities System and Burbank (Calif.) Water and Power (see Reading Electric Meters Wirelessly).

But at least two of its utility customers are outside the United States, and several are larger investor-owned utilities, some with plans to install millions of meters, Pilgrim said.

He wouldn't name those utilities, but it's possible that Duke Energy may be one.

David Mohler, Duke's chief technology officer, has told Greentech Media that Duke is planning to include WiFi in its suite of technologies to link smart meters with the utility, though he wouldn't say which company was providing the WiFi service.

Of course, Duke and other utilities are also looking at a host of other communications technologies to bridge the gap between smart meter aggregators and utility "backhaul" networks.

Take cellular networks. KORE Telematics uses AT&T's wireless network to connect the 800,000 smart meters being installed by utility Arizona Public Service to the utility's "backhaul" system. Verizon is working with Duke on a similar project, and has been working with Itron for some time to fill that need (see Green Light post).

And AT&T is working with smart meter networking company SmartSynch to bring communications directly to smart meters (see Your Electrical Meter Becomes a Cell Phone).

Then there's WiMax, the powerful, long-range wireless technology that is being deployed by a Sprint-Clearwire partnership aimed at building a nationwide network.

While no utilities have opted to use that network, General Electric is deploying its own WiMax-based aggregator-to-utility backhaul network for CenterPoint Energy in Texas (see GE Offers WiMax Smart Meter Solution).

Grid Net, a San Francisco startup that makes WiMax Internet routers for smart meters made by GE, is hoping to see its system taken up by utilities including SP AusNet and Energy Australia in Australia and American Electric Power (AEP) and Consumers Energy in the United States, a spokeswoman said last month.

Broadband over powerline - a technology for carrying data over transmission lines - is also being deployed as a way to carry meter data back to utilities (see Broadband Over Powerline Brings Smart Grid to Rural Areas).

And Hughes Network Systems is now offering its combination satellite and land-based communications network to utilities, though it isn't concentrating on linking smart meters (see Hughes Offers Utility Communications).

Of course, it's possible that other companies in the municipal WiFi field may see the same utility opportunities that Tropos is pursuing - and Cisco Systems has been building municipal WiFi networks since 2005.

Cisco has already announced plans to incorporate energy management features into WiFi access points and other devices within buildings, and could see outdoor WiFi networks as another opportunity (see Cisco Jumps Into Energy Management for Computers, Buildings).

In fact, in 2006 Cisco was picked by Cellnet Technology (now part of smart meter maker Landis+Gyr) to provide WiFi mesh technology for a Madison, Wisc. project called Mad City Broadband that included wireless meter reading.

While Schuman said he wasn't aware of a big push into utility networking by other municipal WiFi developers, including Cisco, the networking giant "can always wait and see where markets develop, and then buy in later."

Tropos' Pilgrim conceded that Cisco could move aggressively into the field, but said he believed Tropos has developed technology that's better suited for outdoor applications.

Tropos has received investments from Benchmark Capital, Boston Millennia Partners, Integral Capital Partners, the Intel Communications Fund, Duff Ackerman & Goodrich, Hanna Ventures, Siemens Venture Capital, Voyager Capital and WK Technology Fund.

While Tropos would not say how much total investment it has received, news sources have stated that Tropos had received $9.3 million as of June 2003, and $28.5 million as of September 2005.

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/tropos-wifi-for-the-smart-grid-6037.html

EnergyHub et Ember décrochent des fonds pour les compteurs intelligents ZigBee #market

Lévé de fond de plusieurs millions de dollars pour Ember et EnergyHub. Selon le cabinet de recherche In-Stat, le marché mondial des compteurs sans fil à transmission ZigBee atteindra 292 millions d’unités en 2012.

13/04/2009

Retenez bien ce mot : ZigBee. Il s’agit d’une norme de transmission sans fil par radiofréquence, devenue un peu l’équivalent du wi-fi pour les appareils intelligents, tout spécialement les compteurs électriques intelligents qui doivent communiquer à la fois avec les appareils électriques de la maison et la compagnie d’électricité, pour permettre au consommateur de piloter l’énergie de sa maison.

Aux Etats-Unis, les investisseurs ne jurent plus que par ZigBee. Ils ont d’ailleurs accordé des fonds cette semaine à deux sociétés qui promeuvent ZigBee : Ember, qui fournit puces et logiciels à loger dans des compteurs pour qu’ils communiquent par ZigBee, et le fabricant de consoles de pilotage des données électriques EnergyHub, autre application de ZigBee.

EnergyHub, société créée l’an dernier, a ainsi enfin bouclé sa première levée de fonds pour financer un projet pilote dans 50 foyers, afin de préparer le lancement commercial de ses produits courant 2009.

Le montant n’a pas été dévoilé mais devrait être de l’ordre de quelques millions de dollars. Les bailleurs de fonds sont .406 Ventures et Physic Ventures. La console d’EnergyHub se place n’importe où dans la maison et affiche toute sorte de données sur la consommation d’énergie, grâce à des transmetteurs sans fil à technologie ZigBee. Elle devrait coûter un peu moins de 100 dollars.

Parmi ses concurrents Tendril, Greenbox mais aussi Trilliant ou encore Intel, qui s’est allié à GE pour apporter les mêmes données aux PC ou écrans télés, sans besoin d’une console spéciale.

Mais l’avantage d’EnergyHub est que son appareil peut afficher des données de consommation même sans compteur intelligent, seulement en étant branché sur une prise.

Cette semaine également Ember, l’un des principaux fabricants de système de transmission ZigBee a levé 8 millions de dollars auprès des fonds Polaris Venture, GrandBanks Capital, RRE Ventures, Vulcan Capital, DFJ ePlanet Ventures, New Atlantic Ventures, WestLB Mellon Asset Management ainsi que Chevron Technology Ventures et Stata Venture Partners.

Ember est présidée par Bob Metcalfe, l’inventeur de l’éthernet, qui est aussi un associé du fonds Polaris. Elle est généreusement dotée : elle avait déjà levé 81 millions auprès de STMicroelectronics, Hitachi Corporation et du MIT.

http://www.greenunivers.com/2009/04/energyhub-ember-fonds-compteurs-intellgents-zigbee-4515/

Smart meter delay may hinder 2020 green target #market #uk

Les services publics du Royaume-Uni mettent en garde des retards dans l'ajustement de la technologie des smartmetering. Les objectifs en matières de changement climatique prevu pour 2020 pourrait être retardé de 4 ans.

LONDON (Reuters) - Smart meters are set to make estimated energy bills a thing of the past, but utilities are warning that delays in fitting the technology could hinder the country's progress in hitting its 2020 climate change targets.

Some industry players claim that unless ministers allow firms to begin work soon, the UK could even miss 2020 by four years.

They also say government funding may be needed to meet the estimated 6-12 billion pounds cost.

"There is a target, but the problem is that the starting gun hasn't been fired," the director of smart metering for British Gas, Petter Allison, said.

Smart meters provide data on energy use, allowing utilities to send customers accurate bills without using traditional metre readers.

The government aims to install the meters by 2020, the same year in which ministers are trying to meet a target of generating 15 percent of energy from renewable sources.

Experts say the technology will help Britain achieve its goal by allowing people to cut their energy use, reducing the need for new power stations and wind farms.

Millions of households in other countries already have the meters -- Italy fitted 30 million in four years -- but the UK has yet to decide how best to fit the 47 million needed in homes and businesses.

Ministers approved the principle of the rollout last year, but an announcement about how it would be done is still awaited.

British Gas, owned by Centrica, wants a structure allowing utilities to fit and run them for their existing customers, backed up by a central communications system.

It said an alternative system being considered, under which new regional franchises would do the work, could stall the process and put it back four years.

"If (the government) chooses the regulated way, with bids for regions, then everything would stop because we don't know who would be doing what," Allison said. "We can make up delays, but we just need them to make a decision."

FUNDING

Utility support service group Spice, which fits water meters in homes and businesses, said government support may be needed to offset potential funding difficulties.

Chief Executive Simon Rigby said smaller energy firms may be reluctant to invest in fitting meters for customers, only to see them switch to a rival supplier later.

"The pay-back is sketchy at best," he said. "Smart meters can't come soon enough, but I think they're years away."

The Energy Retail Association (ERA), a body representing utility firms, said it was keen to see the meters rolled out as soon as possible and was expecting a decision "fairly soon".

"Timing is of the essence," a spokeswoman said. "Companies are keen to get this programme off the ground because the 2020 deadline is fast approaching."

A spokeswoman for the Department for Energy & Climate Change (DECC) said the aim to complete the metre rollout by 2020 was realistic. "That's what we're hoping to achieve."

"We're confident, which is why we need to make the right decisions so it can be done within the timescale," she said.

"It (involves) a massive overhaul in every house, so it needs to be done correctly."

She said ministers hoped to publish a consultation document in the next couple of months.

The document will set out options including whether energy companies should do it in their areas, whether it should be done by third parties on a regional or national basis, and the type of communication system needed.

Ian Parrett, an analyst at energy consultancy Inenco, said ministers needed to encourage industry co-operation in fitting the meters, rather than setting targets and penalising firms if they fail to meet them.

Ensuring homes and businesses used them to control their energy use was as important as fitting them, he added.

"It's all very well installing the meters, but if you don't use the information (they provide), it won't make any difference."

http://uk.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUKTRE53134720090402?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

02/04/2009

10 Monitoring Tools Bringing Smart Energy Home #product

L'année 2009 sera l'année de lancement des displays sans fil

Thanks to funds from the stimulus package and renewed attention to energy savings, 2009 is the year companies are planning to launch wireless energy dashboards that will sit in your home, monitor energy data from your electricity meter and let you know if you’re being an energy hog. While tech firms have been trying to sell you on the “digital home” for years — complete with wireless networks that can do everything from control your entertainment equipment to operate high-tech security systems to roast a chicken — the new energy management firms are keeping it simple by using low-cost hardware and open standards to monitor energy data.

This year is particularly important to these mostly young companies, as President Obama has pledged to help utilities install 40 million more smart meters (basically digital meters that create a 2-way connection with the power grid and the utility). Smart meters installed at homes can unleash data about the fluctuating price of electricity throughout the day, enabling consumers that have energy management tools to shift energy consumption to the time of day when power is cheapest. For utilities, that can mean better management of the power grid and eliminate the need to build out expensive power generating systems.

A half-dozen companies are launching their first energy dashboards this year, and a few others are starting to gain traction with already available online tools. One of the biggest differences between these firms is whether companies will sell directly to the consumer or to utility partners for upcoming smart meter rollouts. Several of the already-available options for consumers bypass smart meters and utilities and just help the interested consumer with a standard electricity meter. They’re cheap and available online, but they provide less detailed data.

The utility-focused tools use smart meter info to provide a deeper dive into energy analysis and can even control smart appliances for utilities to implement demand response events. But the drawback of such tools is that you’ll need a lot of patience and a little luck. To get hooked up with one of these tools, you’ll need to be in the footprint of a utility that’s rolling out smart meters, and at this point less than 6 percent of the U.S. population has a smart meter.

EnergyHub: EnergyHub makes a high-end energy dashboard that will offer Google Docs-style spreadsheets and graphs of resource use. EnergyHub recently raised Series A funding and says it’s working on a 50-home pilot trial in an East Coast city with a yet-to-be-named utility. The device will be sold direct to consumers online and through utilities. Available: Mid-2009.

Tendril: Tendril sells a combo of energy management services, including a wireless in-home energy display, a smart thermostat, a web-based energy portal, smart outlets and cell phone apps that can help homeowners diagnose and cut energy consumption. While the startup, which raised $12 million in Series B funding earlier this year, is now offering its tools to utilities, it’s also considering a direct-to-consumer approach. Available: Now, to utilities

Onzo: London-based Onzo makes a slick-looking energy display and wireless sensor kit that runs on energy harvested from the home electrical cable. The startup has raised £2 million ($4 million) from Sigma Capital Group and Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE); SSE has placed an order for £7 million-worth of Onzo devices and services and has exclusive rights to Onzo’s products and services in the UK and Ireland. Available: Mid-2009

Agilewaves: Agilewaves‘ Resource Monitor tracks and manages energy, gas and water consumption in real time from web-enabled devices. The system, custom-designed for larger buildings and higher-end homes, needs to be installed by an electrician and can also be used to dim lights, turn on and off heating and cooling, and adjust smart appliances. The six-person, Menlo Park, Calif.-based startup is actively looking to raise a Series A round of funding. Available: Now

Google PowerMeter: The search-engine giant told us recently that it is trying to bring PowerMeter, its online energy information tool, to market sometime this year. Google is working with device makers — we’ve reported on GE and Tendril — and hoping to launch with a direct-to-consumer product as well as a utility product. Available: 2009

GreenBox: Like Google, GreenBox is focusing on the software side of things with its web-based energy tool. The team, founded by developers of the digital web platform Flash, is already working with utilities, including Oklahoma Gas and Electric and an as-yet-unnamed New York utility, and has also partnered with smart thermostat makers Energate and Golden Power Manufacturing. The company hopes to close its first round of funding by June. Available: Now, to utilities

The Energy Detective: The Energy Detective (or TED) is one of the few energy management tools that’s already available to consumers. The Charleston, S.C.-based company behind TED, called Energy Inc., says its system can save home owners 10-20 percent on their monthly electricity bill. Available: Now

PowerMand: Founded in 2006, Portland, Ore.-based PowerMand makes DreamWatts, a wireless energy management tool that focuses on making smart thermostats effective for cutting energy consumption. The company, which is partnering with facilities maintenance firms and utilities, provides a smart thermostat, an Internet gateway and a service running over PowerMand’s servers. Available: Now

Green Energy Options: Cambridge, UK-based Green Energy Options‘ home energy monitoring system, called the Home Energy Hub, comes in three display options: a small one-panel display, the Solo, which shows real-time pricing and consumption; the two-paneled Duet, which shows energy management of up to six appliances; and the Trio, which is a large touchscreen that can monitor up to 100 sensors. Available: Summer 2009 to consumers in the UK.

Energy Aware: Founded in 2005, the Vancouver, B.C.-based Energy Aware team has developed the PowerTab, a wireless energy display that collects current energy price and usage from smart meters. Demand response company Comverge distributes the device in North America, and the startup has raised close to $2 million in funding from angel investors in the Pacific Northwest. Available: Second-quarter 2009, to utilities

This article also appeared on BusinessWeek.com.

http://earth2tech.com/2009/04/14/10-energy-dashboards-for-your-home/

14/04/2009