Renesas Electronics announced the availability of a full reference platform for smart electricity meter design based on its RX21A 32-bit microcontrollers. The reference platform’s hardware supports both 3-phase 4 wire and single-phase operation, and configurable sensor types including current transformer. via Electronics Weekly News | Embedded Systems | Renesas design targets RX21A MCU at smart Continue reading →
Since its introduction in 2011, the connected thermostat Nest has emerged as a shining example of a smart device that’s actually smart. By giving owners an easier and more efficient way to visualize and control the temperature of their homes, Nest has in many ways demystified the process of paying for energy. And it’s saved Continue reading →
Kansas City manufacturer Milbank has set up a European hub in Cambridge UK to explore smart energy market opportunities in partnership with Cambridge-based technology design innovator Sentec. Sentec is already a leading provider of smart grid and energy technologies. It believes the strategic partnership to research and develop new products and business ideas could prove Continue reading →
National Geographic, GE and the Center for Science are hoping to “transform the future” with a national initiative designed to engage and educate the younger generation on the future of energy. Plan It Green: The Big Switch, part of Connect! Transform the Future, is a free online city-building game in which players design their own Continue reading →
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency awarded Colombia’s power grid operator XM a grant for the design of an intelligent supervision and advanced control (iSAAC) system for the nation’s grid. USTDA awarded a $463,944 subsidy to help design and implement the smart grid system, which will increase XM’s ability to reliably meet electricity demand and Continue reading →
Toyota’s interesting iRoad concept vehicle, a compact electric three wheeler, on display at the Geneva Motor Show, could change urban traffic patterns when the design is fully baked. Toyota is unveiling the iRoad Personal Mobility Concept vehicle at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. The Toyota iRoad is an ultra compact electric three wheeler “car” with Continue reading →
Airspan Networks Inc., a provider of 4G broadband wireless access networks, has been selected by Western Power Distribution (WPD) to supply a WiGRID broadband wireless access solution for a government-funded smart grid pilot. Airspan’s compact pico base station, AirSynergy 2000, is to be deployed to provide high-bandwidth wireless connections between primary and secondary power grid Continue reading →
When prairies burn, they don’t die. Rives Taylor, an architect at the global design firm Gensler, calls this the “prairie rule” of survival, which he describes as a model for engineering resilient systems in a brilliant essay published by the Urban Land Institute last year. via Resiliency Portfolio Standards: Turning Smart Grids into Strong Grids Continue reading →
Skyworks Solutions, Inc., announced that it has secured a reference design with Texas Instruments Inc. for smart energy, industrial and networking applications including electric/gas/water meters, street lighting, telematic and tracking systems. “TI is delighted to be collaborating with Skyworks to develop a new reference design using TI’s sub-1 GHz RF performance line transceiver and Skyworks’ Continue reading →
We’ve all heard the buzz about IEC 61850, the global design standard for substation automation. But how much truth is there to these claims? This question was on the mind of the operations manager of a municipal utility when he visited the ABB Smart Grid Center of Excellence (CoE) in Raleigh, N.C. He was considering Continue reading →
NXP Semiconductors N.V. has introduced the JN516x family of wireless Microcontrollers for the Internet of Things, as well as a new evaluation kit which simplifies commercial development of ZigBee, JenNet-IP and other IEEE 802.15.4 applications. The JN516x-EK001 evaluation kit provides all the hardware and software components required for product design, and includes several demos such Continue reading →
The U.K.-based Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) has invested 15.5 million British pounds in a project that aims to build the world’s longest wind turbine blades. For the project, the ETI will partner with Blade Dynamics to develop and demonstrate the new wind turbine design. As part of the project, the ETI will become an equity Continue reading →
This year’s most popular contributed articles on the Smart Energy Designline include design features on energy harvesting, energy conversion, smart metering, powerline communication, batteries, and more. The clean energy industry faced several challenges in 2012, including the demise of some high profile solar energy firms and concerns around smart grids/smart meters and consumer privacy, according Continue reading →
A £3 million project has been launched to study the behaviour of householders on heat and energy consumption in the UK. The research, commissioned and funded by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI), is part of its £100 million Smart Systems and Heat (SSH) technology programme, which aims to design the “first of its kind” smart Continue reading →
Fiat is planning on introducing the all-new 2013 Fiat 500e in the second quarter of 2013, and the company believes that this new small car “electrifies the next chapter of the brand’s legacy by embodying the FIAT brand’s simple, purposeful and fun-to-drive values – through iconic style, engaging dynamics and an environmentally responsible zero-emissions design.” Continue reading →
Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWKS), an innovator of high performance analog semiconductors enabling a broad range of end markets, today introduced a family of highly efficient front-end solutions for smart water and gas metering applications. Skyworks’ front-end solutions enable significant size and cost reduction. In addition, many of Skyworks’ front-end solutions allow for plug-and-play functionality, drastically Continue reading →
A new competition called Imagine Energy is launching today to get design ideas for a smart energy feature that will be placed in Dublin’s city centre with the aim of educating people about renewable energy. The new installation is part of the EU’s INTERREG IVB renewable energy initiative Ace that has been launched across north-west Continue reading →
Even when you design the most complicated initiative aimed at solving the most complex problem, you still need to abide by a rule of thumb: Don’t forget the buzz. An easy-to-remember catchphrase is one step that can transform a well-intentioned initiative into a successful one, according to a panel of experts at GridWeek, the annual Continue reading →
Smart electricity meters are big news – with cost savings promised for suppliers and consumers – but they also demand increasingly sophisticated power supplies (PSUs) compared with their digital counterparts. Energy suppliers expect more advanced communication interfaces, larger memories, and more powerful processing but also lower system costs. Added to this are wider/higher operation voltages Continue reading →
Cisco and Elster announced today that Elster will offer smart grid solutions for field area networks using Cisco’s technology. The solutions will integrate the Cisco Connected Grid Endpoint reference design with Elster’s EnergyAxis System, and will showcase the power and flexibility of Elster’s Universal technology while demonstrating support for Cisco’s expertise in standards-based and interoperable Continue reading →
