Smart Grid Blog

The Department of Energy’s $620 million in awards for smart grids and other energy-related projects should provide the government and industry real insight into how to get the nation’s electrical grid talking.

Wireless technology will be used to help utility grids become smarter as the technology can help better manage in the delivery of electricity in real time in a more efficient manner. But how great a role wireless plays in the evolving smart grid has yet to be determined. The smart grid system is something that will take decades to achieve, but real progress is under way. In order for this vision to develop, billing systems and other items that touch the grid will need to be implemented.

via Smart grid demonstrations aim to validate concept – RCR Wireless News.

Answering the need for energy efficiency in home automation and metering, Silicon Laboratories Inc. (SLAB 46.12, +0.32, +0.70%) , a leader in high-performance, analog-intensive, mixed-signal ICs, today introduced the industry’s lowest power single-chip wireless microcontrollers (MCUs). Silicon Labs’new ultra-low-power Si10xx wireless MCU family addresses the power and RF requirements of battery-operated home automation systems, smart meters, in-home utility monitors and security systems.

via Silicon Labs Greens Up Smart Home/Smart Meter Market with Lowest Power Wireless Microcontrollers – MarketWatch.

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced the formation of the Smart Energy Study Group.

The team, made up of three sponsoring member companies including CSR, Broadcom and Emerson, will work together to address Smart Energy initiatives sponsored by governmental entities and other organizations interested in energy management throughout the world.

via Bluetooth SIG Forms Smart Energy Study Group.

Echoflex Solutions is proud to introduce the EEK200C Evaluation Kit. For only $149, integrators and OEMs can explore the breadth and performance of EnOcean wireless energy harvesting technologies within the context of their own buildings. Encapsulated in the kit are the building blocks critical to fully-integrated systems: energy generation, energy conditioning and storage, sensor power balance, low power timers and also a microprocessor for OEM custom development. These are the same components that have enabled automated energy management in more than 100,000 buildings worldwide. System integrators can simulate sensor applications in any environment without any programming or configuration.

via Echoflex.

A few years from now and the world might experience a change in the ways energy is being used and controlled. Thanks to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group’s (SIG) latest initiatives wireless technology is all set to expand its reach into the arena of smart electric grids to pave the way for clean energy.

via SIG’s Clean Energy Initiatives through Application of Bluetooth Technology to Smart Grid.

The Project Grey Goose Report on Critical Infrastructure says attacks against the power grid are expected to increase over the next year. GreyLogic CEO Jeffrey Carr, who authored the report, says since 2001 there has been “at least 120 instances” where utilities have already been the target of cyber hackers. The report warns that number may increase as the transition from isolated, closed energy-generation and transmission networks to IP-based and wireless ones increases as more smart grid projects are undertaken.

via New Reports Suggests Smart Grid Attack Likely.

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group has formed a Smart Energy Study Group to explore application in smart electric grids. CSR, Broadcom and Emerson Electric are the initial members of the group.

The study group will explore possible applications of Bluetooth in all aspects of the smart energy market. It will form a strategy for Bluetooth Smart Energy and make recommendations based on its findings.

via EETimes.com – Bluetooth group explores apps in smart grid.

Two of the finalists in this Thursday’s Greener Gadgets Design Competition that I’ve featured thus far — Rocco, the Energy Pal (a kinetic energy-generating rocking horse for kids made from recycled plastic) and the Automan 500 Subwoofer (a speaker cabinet/ottoman for adults made from recycled car tires) — boast a certain eco-aesthetic appeal: They’re both tech-y, cool looking, and made from recycled materials.

Today I’m highlighting an entrant, the Smart Grid Home Controller from Philadelphia-based BuLogics, that has zero design-y elements (it’s a green gadget through and through) but serves quite an impressive purpose: the seamless integration of emerging smart grid technology with wireless technology.

via Greener Gadgets ‘10: Smart Grid Home Controller | MNN – Mother Nature Network.

SmartSynch, Inc., a provider of smart grid technology solutions that utilize standard Internet Protocol or ‘IP’ communications via public wireless networks, has announced that the company will provide a complete smart metering system to Griffin Power, which provides electricity to the Griffin, Ga. area.

via SmartSynch to Provide Smart Metering System to Griffin Power.

A US company has developed a handy new wireless controller, which would enable the various smart meters and appliances in modern homes to speak the same language, helping the house owner understand their different requirements.

According to a report in Discovery News, the device, known as the Smart Grid Home Controller, has been developed by BuLogics, a Philadelphia-based company started by two Drexel University electrical engineering grads.

via Now, understand what your home appliances want from you! – Oneindia News.

SmartSynch, Inc., a smart grid technology company utilizing standard IP communications via public wireless networks, announced today that it will provide the City of Griffin, Georgia with a complete smart metering system for its entire electric service territory. This month, Griffin Power will begin deploying IP-enabled residential and commercial SmartSynch SmartMeters™ utilizing existing public wireless networks. The City of Griffin is the first municipal utility to deploy a territory-wide, comprehensive smart metering system utilizing public wireless networks as the communications backbone.

via Your Renewable News – SmartSynch to Provide the City of Griffin, Georgia with a Complete Smart Metering System Serving Its Entire Service Territory.

With so many smart meters being installed and smart appliances in development, how are they going to talk? A handy new wireless controller could help them speak the same language, and tell you what they’re thinking.

BuLogics, a Philadelphia-based company started by two Drexel University electrical engineering grads, recently introduced their Smart Grid Home Controller.

via Smart Grid Comes Home Wirelessly : Discovery News.

Eurotech, a leading supplier of embedded technologies, products and systems, announces an agreement with a major utility company serving more than 2 million customers for ZyWAN cellular routing modems to support Smart Grid initiatives. The project calls for deployment of 1M USD worth of Eurotech ZyWAN units at base stations throughout the grid to manage power flow and wirelessly connect smart meters for residential and business clients.

via Eurotech ZyWAN Router Deployed in Smart Grid Application for Regional Power Company — COLUMBIA, Md., Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ –.

A Federal Communications Commission director suggested the agency is exploring new ways to use a swath of spectrum to serve multiple users including utilities building smart electric grids as part of a national broadband plan the FCC will release March 17.

“Just looking at data growth for iPhones and other devices, you can see broadband in America will increasingly be a wireless solution, so spectrum will be a core issue we will be handling in the national broadband plan,” said Nick Sinai, director of energy and environment on the National Broadband Task Force at the FCC.

via Embedded.com – NEWS – FCC may redraw spectrum allocations in broadband plan.

Taken as a whole, the CURRENT Group will provide utility companies with smart grid sensors and software while Verizon will provide 3G wireless connectivity to the sensors while also managing network security for the grids. The companies say that smart grid technology is aimed at helping utility companies optimize their electrical grid performance by giving them more accurate and up-to-date data on electricity demand and capacity in a given area

via Verizon Part Of Smart Grid Technology Team | CIO.in – Enterprise Technology, Case Studies, Whitepapers, Best Practices, Articles, Videos, CIO magazine, CIO News, Enterprise IT, Enterprise Security, Enterprise Architecture, CIO Strategies, CIO Jobs, CIO Forum, CIO News, Technology News, Enterprise Technology News.