Somewhere between the iPad cases and the latest in headphone technology, the connected home concept was everywhere at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics show. For the energy conscious, smart energy was not siloed with companies only pitching smart plugs or wireless thermostats. Instead, everything from windows to door locks to light bulbs could talk to Continue reading →
thermostats
Honeywell has energy controls in 150 million homes and counting, and while most of those are old, digitally dumb thermostats, its latest models are smart and getting smarter. Why not give them a single, digital cloud-to-ground contact, so to speak, to manage them all as an energy-saving, power-shifting whole? That’s the plan behind Honeywell’s new Continue reading →
Tony Fadell, former Apple developer who headed the iPod team, has created another innovative product at his new startup. The brains behind the iPod co-founded Nest Labs, where he put his efforts into thermostats rather than personal electronics. The Nest Learning Thermostat, announced Monday, is a smart energy-saving device that, “learns what temperatures you like Continue reading →
Energate, Inc., a leading provider of residential demand response technologies for utilities, today announced it will be supplying its Smart Thermostats for Oklahoma Gas and Electric’s 2012 residential demand response program through its partner, Silver Spring Networks. This builds on the previously announced pilot results undertaken in Oklahoma. via Oklahoma Gas & Electric Selects Energate Continue reading →
When the housing market picks up again, all signs point toward a home-buying public that will be more techno-savvy than ever before. Today’s technology solutions pervade every aspect of consumers’ lives—from the cars they drive and the phones they use, to the houses they want to come home to. The past has shown technology grows Continue reading →
Would you let your electric company take control of your air-conditioner if it saved you money? Arizona Public Service Co. will try to answer that question with a test project that will put customers’ thermostats into the utility’s hands. The plan is one of several energy-saving strategies APS and other utilities are rolling out across Continue reading →
Tendril and Landis+Gyr have announced a licensing agreement that allows joint marketing of Tendril’s portfolio of residential energy management products to utilities using Landis+Gyr’s advanced metering systems. Tendril’s hardware and software solutions for residential energy management are already in use by multiple Landis+Gyr advanced metering customers. This agreement will promote further development of smart grid Continue reading →
The ConnectPort X2 for Smart Energy gateway that connects ZigBee Smart Energy devices from a home area network (HAN) to an energy service provider via broadband has been introduced by Digi International. It is the industry’s first gateway that connects, controls, or gathers data from ZigBee Smart Energy devices equally well before or with smart Continue reading →
Driven by government regulations and investments—and even customers—utilities’ smart grid and meter discussions are evolving from long-term aspirations to necessities as many take steps to implement more advanced metering systems. Technologies today are more affordable and, if implemented correctly, enable capabilities far beyond automated meter reading to improve utility workers’ decision-making and give customers more Continue reading →
Some day, all our homes and office buildings will turn off the lights when we’re not around, make sure the coffee pot’s off, adjust our thermostats for maximum comfort and energy savings, and generally be the responsible energy users we have failed to be. It’s the promise of the smart grid. In order to do Continue reading →
New design standards for smart thermostats, or programmable communicating thermostats (PCTs), could help California address its complex energy problems that cost consumers billions of dollars. David Auslander, an engineering professor at the University of California, created the design rules in collaboration with other engineers, utility companies, and public officials. Industry experts have looked to programmable Continue reading →
The term “smart grid” is bandied about regularly in energy news, but what is it, what does it entail? The smart grid concept at its most basic is a variety of technologies employed on the existing power grid (including buildings connected to the grid like our homes), to make it more efficient, more reliable, and Continue reading →
