Twelve everyday families are at the heart of an energy-efficiency revolution taking place in Houston’s historic Sixth Ward neighborhood where Reliant Energy has transformed a typical street into an avenue of innovation. The neighborhood, dubbed Reliant Innovation Avenue, has been outfitted with advanced energy technology – from home energy monitors and smart appliances to solar panels Continue reading →
It’s been more than a year since we checked in on the Pecan Street Project, Austin’s community-scale testing ground for smart grid technologies. At the time we got an inside look at plans and next steps. Fast forward to fall 2011 and those plans are clearly taking shape. Pecan Street Inc. recently announced some big-name Continue reading →
It’s a job that would make working as a United Nations switchboard operator seem simple. Out in Austin, Texas, the federally funded Pecan Street smart grid test bed is asking plug-in cars, rooftop solar panels, smart appliances and household batteries to talk to each other — and to the grid at large — in a Continue reading →
Austin-based research group Pecan Street Inc. has started working with several new partner companies to test smart-grid consumer products and advance development of the Texas city’s smart-grid demonstration project. Based at the University of Texas (UT), Pecan Street researchers will be working with Best Buy, Check-It, Chevrolet, Freescale, Intel, Landis+Gyr, Sony, SunEdison and Whirlpool. via Continue reading →
If you bought a major appliance in the last three years, odds are it was “smart,” even if you didn’t know it. Meaning: it probably contains a wireless radio that can broadcast and transmit over a small personal area network, sending out information about a device’s status and energy use, as well as receiving commands Continue reading →
Operating in the 2.4 GHz frequency that can be used almost anywhere, the ZigBee wireless protocol provides a low-cost, low-power mesh network ideal for green and global embedded applications such as smart energy and smart home initiatives. Øyvind shares an overview of ZigBee specifications and implementation requirements for ensuring device interoperability. via Smart energy apps Continue reading →
Did you know that your household appliances are some of the biggest energy consumers in your home? Second only to your heating and cooling system, your water heater, kitchen appliances, washer and dryer devour the most electricity. So all those things you’re plugging into the wall might be costing you more than you thought. But Continue reading →
As we all know, technology is a pervasive part of our lives. From intelligent washers and dryers to refrigerators that help you keep inventory of your food items, these appliances make our lives more efficient. Appliances have become more intelligent in the past few years to assist the user to optimize energy savings, cooking thoroughness, Continue reading →
Roger Morgenstern is excited for the future. He’s is showing me a look at it in Consumers Energy’s “smart grid” demo room. There are three rooms lined up, looking a lot like a laundry room, kitchen and living room, appliances and all. But the typical household appliances here, washing machine, television, freezer, are powered in Continue reading →
NEC is demonstrating this week at the Mobile World Congress 2011 how mobile operators can provide their customers with fast-to-market smart home services via any web-enabled device including smartphones and tablets. The NEC OSGi(*1)-enabled Home Gateway provides smart home services that can be dynamically controlled and accessed by a user-friendly web interface. At NEC’s stand Continue reading →
Korea’s two largest electronics makers are vying to get an upper hand in the fast growing market for smart home appliances. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics recently rolled out refrigerators, washers and air conditioners featuring improved technology in artificial intelligence, wireless access and efficient electricity control. via Samsung, LG face off in smart appliances.
Tendril, a leading energy platform company, and Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR), the world’s leading appliance maker, unveiled a relationship that sets the stage for the rollout of smart home appliances in the U.S. The Tendril platform has the capability to support millions of smart appliances in homes across America. via Tendril Teams with Whirlpool Corporation to Continue reading →
On Thursday, members of American Electric Power’s (AEP) external Energy Efficiency Advisory Council sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) urging the adoption of the proposed Energy Efficient and Smart Appliance Agreement of 2010, which would set new minimum energy efficiency standards for home appliances. via Point Pleasant (WV) Register – AEP Continue reading →
Over the past six months, culminating in the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas earlier this month, there’s been a growing clamour about smart appliances and how they will fit into the smart energy ecosystem. It’s not just the technology advocates who have been selling the story; big players in the White Goods industry, Continue reading →
The manager of the energy portfolio for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory discusses the benefits of evening out our day’s use of electricity and how future appliances will decide when they can spark up most cheaply. via Q&A: Learning About the Smart Grid | Smart Journalism. Real Solutions. Miller-McCune..
CES attendees gaped last week at outstanding displays of consumer technology, including tablets, netbooks, gaming consoles, and 3DTV. The most surprising revelations at CES, however, came on the household appliance front. Manufacturers presented a world where the Internet of Things is gradually realized, where: Your entire household is grid-aware, maximally energy-efficient, and monitored for optimal Continue reading →
The 2011 International CES® will feature The Connected Home Appliances TechZone. This is the first time that such a category has been included in the world’s biggest consumer technology trade show, and about 100 manufacturers will showcase their smart appliances in this TechZone. Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), and Continue reading →
General Electric has been maneuvering for quite a while now to enhance its role not only as a maker of home appliances but as the source of products designed to help homeowners use those appliances in cost-effective, energy efficient ways. This week, the company announced the launch of a business unit called Home Energy Management, Continue reading →
A recent announcement by GE has brought the reality of smart grid in the home a step closer to everyday life. The launch of Home Energy Management, which is both a business unit and a product, sends a clear signal that GE is prepared to move aggressively into the space that lies at the intersection Continue reading →
You probably don’t need to be my age to remember the Jetsons, the early 60’s cartoon family-of-the-future, with flying cars, a robot maid named Rosie, and a bevy of smart appliances that always seemed to go haywire in hilarious ways (at least according to Hanna-Barbera). Now, nearly 50 years after the Jetsons first appeared, smart Continue reading →
