A report sponsored by Atlanta-based Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC) has found that utilities are improving customer understanding of the near-term benefits of smart grid programs by upgrading their communications, service response, incentive programs, and internal consumer engagement processes. via Smarter Utility – Study Finds Higher US Consumer Receptivity to Smart Grid.
communications
Atmel® Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML), a leader in microcontroller and touch solutions, and Redpine Signals today announced that system engineers can easily implement 802.11n Wi-Fi to all Atmel AVR® and ARM®-based microcontrollers (MCUs) using Redpine Signals’ Connect-io-n™ and n-Link™ modules. System engineers for Atmel AVR® XMEGA® and AVR UC3 MCU families and Atmel SAM3 and SAM9 Continue reading →
For years, private radio frequency (RF) networks have ruled the North American smart grid communications market. Cracks began to appear in the dike in the summer of 2010 when Texas New Mexico Power announced it would use a public cellular network for its 230,000 meters. via Smart Grid: Smart grid communications game changer? Consumers Energy Continue reading →
Sprint Nextel Corp. is eyeing business from utilities as it rolls out new smart-grid offerings. On Monday, Sprint (NYSE: S) announced that it had partnered its wireless network and machine-to-machine knowledge with Neptune Technology Group Inc., a Tallassee, Ala., digital power meter-maker. via Sprint Nextel’s smart-grid offerings target utilities – Kansas City Business Journal.
The debate over whether utilities will want to build their own networks, or use cellular networks, continues. Now put one on the board for the cellular smart grid side. On Monday, utility Consumers Energy announced it will work with SmartSynch to roll out cellular-based smart meters for 1.8 million customers in Michigan. Consumers Energy says Continue reading →
Itron has entered into a strategic partnership with Tantalus Systems Corp. designed to deliver smart metering and smart grid benefits to electric and multi-service public utilities in North and Central America. The collaboration merges Itron’s SENTINEL and CENTRON electric meters along with its gas and water encoder, receiver, and transmitter (ERT) modules with TUNet Tantalus’ Continue reading →
Silver Spring Networks, a leading smart grid networking platform and solutions provider, announced new enhancements to its smart grid-based demand response solution that enable utilities to reduce peak load and improve grid reliability. New capabilities include Direct-to-Grid™ communications solutions, which enable utilities to deploy two-way connectivity to load-control devices ahead of smart meter rollouts, and Continue reading →
Most cities are just big laboratories. But people, quite frankly, can get in the way of turning crumbling, city infrastructure into a smart one. A Washington D.C.-based tech company wants to create a ghost town in New Mexico, to give companies and organizations a place to check the limits of renewable energy systems, smart grid Continue reading →
OKI Electric Industry, a Japanese telecommunications manufacturer, has developed a wireless communication system designed for use in smart communities, smart houses and smart meters. via New wireless system could enable smarter cities in Japan | Energy.
The UK government has taken the surprise move of announcing contracts valued at £4.59 billion to build a new wide-area network across the UK to support smart metering. The government is responding to Europe Union rules that call for smart meters to be in use across the UK by 2020, which will result in nearly Continue reading →
Utilities working to integrate the National Action Plan on Demand Response can now use the newly released “Communications Umbrella Action Guide-Part 1″ to help introduce and educate customers to demand response in way that is efficient and accessible. The National Action Plan on Demand Response was developed by the Federal Electric Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Continue reading →
One of the great potential synergies in communications today is between the energy and telecommunications sectors. The great benefits — which all eventually filter down to consumers and the environment, at least in theory — are obvious: Utilities benefit because smart grids enable radically more efficient use of energy by more efficiently controlling distribution and Continue reading →
The process involved in deploying an advanced smart grid is noteworthy in three key areas. First, the utility pursues access to an IP network architecture capable of supporting all of its communication and application needs going forward. In this build-versus-buy decision, the utility has three options: build and own a network or networks, lease space Continue reading →
National Technical Systems, Inc. (NTS) announced that it is the first lab that has been qualified by the ZigBee Alliance to offer certification testing of the enhanced version of ZigBee Smart Energy version 1.1 standard. Additionally, NTS has also released an update to its ZigBee Smart Energy test harness – NTS SETest 1.1 – designed Continue reading →
A panel of industry specialists speaking at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ summer meeting today said that existing cellular networks are becoming a more attractive option for utilities looking to develop communications systems for their smart grid programs. Panelists pointed to cellular network pricing continuing to trend lower and new security capabilities on Continue reading →
The “smart grid” is a rapidly growing set of technologies, processes, devices and applications that affect and enhance the traditional electric grid. These advances are partially driven by exponentially growing demands worldwide for energy as expressed in a commonly repeated statistic that “global electricity demand is expected to increase 75% by 2030.” What’s happening with Continue reading →
The Missouri city of Fulton is enlisting the help of Tantalus to provide the communications backbone for its smart grid. The city’s smart-grid deployment is funded by a US Department of Energy grant with strict performance requirements. City officials say their selected Tantalus based on a number of criteria, including its ability to manage real-time Continue reading →
The ZigBee® Alliance, a global ecosystem of organizations creating wireless solutions for use in energy management, residential, commercial and consumer applications, today announced that an update to ZigBee Smart Energy™ version 1, the first and only widely available Advanced Metering Infrastructure standard, is now available for product development and public download. via New ZigBee Smart Continue reading →
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) may have decided to put its PowerMeter home energy app on mothballs, but that does not mean it’s not interested in getting a piece of the utility business. One way Google will achieve its utility desires will be to extend Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) deployments in Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas Continue reading →
Some things go up and some things go down. Force sizes are definitely going down, as we know only too well. Demand for sensor coverage is going up, in all theatres the need to have a ubiquitous and persistent network on which to overlay communications and sensor feeds is growing at an alarming rate. Despite Continue reading →
