The energy management announcements have come in fast and furious this week, with trade shows such as DistribuTECH going on. Here are a few key announcements, including an energy managing digital picture frame (neat idea), a new ecobee thermostat, EnTouch energy management for small businesses, Crestron energy management automation for commercial facilities, HAI ZigBee honors—and news that BMW and energy management company Tendril will build a show house to display smart home and smart EV charging.
Energy Management in a Picture Frame
CEIVA puts energy management in a digital picture frame.
CEIVA Energy demonstrated a new home energy management solution, the part digital picture frame/part energy manager CEIVA Energy Display, at DistribuTECH 2012 in San Antonio (January 24-26).
The CEIVA Energy Display is a ZigBee Smart Energy profile (SEP) 1.1 compliant, consumer-driven In-Home Display that leverages smart grid technology to send real-time energy usage and local utility information directly to consumers.
The CEIVA Energy Display features a network-agnostic built-in home gateway that simultaneously communicates on both the Home Area Network (HAN) and the consumers’ Local Area Network (LAN) to provide fast and accurate access to the home’s energy information to both consumers and utilities.
Since the CEIVA Energy Gateway is uniquely integrated into the CEIVA Energy Display, it requires no new hardware. Additionally, because it is cloud-based, it allows consumers to remotely control other SEP compliant devices, such as pool pumps, thermostats and refrigerators, via dedicated iOS and Android energy apps.
By enabling consumers to see exactly which appliances are draining their smart meters (and their wallet) anytime, anywhere, CEIVA Energy’s solution empowers them to take control of their energy consumption and change their behavior accordingly.
BMW, Tendril to Build Smart Energy Home
Tendril, provider of the cloud platform smart grid services, and BMW are partnering to build out a demonstration smart energy home in Mountain View, Calif. to prepare for the rollout and integration of the new BMW ActiveE electric vehicle (EV).
Tendril has be demonstrating how its cloud platform integrates the BMW ActiveE with the home area network to provide orchestrated and prioritized charging at DistribuTECH in San Antonio, Texas.
The smart energy home will ensure that ActiveE is ready to go at all times, while making use of cheaper off-peak charging when possible. The BMW Group Technology Office USA will use its smart energy home demonstration facility, powered by Tendril, to help refine the charging and monitoring of the ActiveE. Tendril’s cloud-based energy management platform, Tendril Connect, will provide the connectivity to integrate the EV charging station into the home, to local utilities and energy service providers, as well as to BMW.
BMW’s smart energy home will include smart thermostats provided by Tendril, a solar panel installation, home appliances, residential lighting and other smart devices. All of these will be centrally managed by Tendril Connect and accessible via Tendril Energize. BMW and Tendril will integrate a battery charging station, to help manage the intermittent energy produced by the solar panel and to mitigate the home’s impact during periods of peak electricity demand.
ecobee Thermostat Goes Remote
ecobee Si offers remte connectivity
ecobee, maker of the award-winning Smart thermostat and Energy Management System, unveiled its latest product, the Smart Si thermostat, at the 2012 AHR Expo in Chicago.
Designed for the residential market, the ecobee Smart Si thermostat offers remote connectivity anytime from anywhere via your computer, iPhone, smartphone or tablet and includes a high-resolution color display, an intuitive user interface, sleek buttons and live weather.
The Smart Si is Wi-Fi enabled, so you can make adjustments to your thermostat program on the go from your tablet, computer, iPhone or smartphone. It has a built-in live weather function and uses advanced algorithms so you can be sure your thermostat is always saving the most energy possible. An easy to read high resolution color display, sleek buttons, and an intuitive user interface makes it easy to quickly set a personalized program, make setting adjustments and create new vacation events. Automatic alerts and reminders notify you when your HVAC equipment is due for service, if there is an equipment malfunction or when it’s time to change your filter.
EnTouch Energy Monitor for Small Businesses
EnTouch's GM8 Universal Energy Monitor provides energy data for small businesses.
EnTouch Controls has launched the GM8 Universal Energy Monitor, which works with its EnTouch Energy Management System to provide facility energy data for small business owners.
The GM8 monitors total business energy usage, along with up to eight branch circuits, and provides energy consumption data wirelessly back to the EnTouch master controller. Multiple devices can be connected to provide additional monitoring points and the system can quickly scale to meet the needs of small and large facilities, EnTouch says.
Energy usage can also be monitored remotely through the EntouchGo web portal, enabling real time control and analysis of facility energy consumption.
The EnTouch EMS is targeted at small commercial businesses including restaurants, retail stores, service businesses, convenience stores and small offices. Introduced in early 2011, the EMS replaces existing thermostats in these facilities and uses a wireless network of HVAC controls and energy monitoring sensors to provide full control of HVAC and energy monitoring of main and branch circuits, the company says. The system is remotely accessible through the customer’s WiFi network, providing automation, data reporting and maintenance alerting features.
GM8 pricing starts at $250, and an installed EnTouch EMS system starts at $1,000.
Crestron to Roll Out Fusion Energy Management Software
Crestron's Fusion EM software offers energy tracking and control of various systems like lights and motorized shades.
Control and automation company Crestron has announced that its much-anticipated Fusion EM (for Energy Management) software will be made available March 1.
Fusion EM can provide energy management and energy tracking capabilities for home or commercial environments, though it is primarily intended as a commercial application. The web-based Fusion software will control lighting, shades, heating and cooling for every room in a home or facility, while tracking your carbon footprint and allowing you to change and schedule temperature set points, lighting levels and demand response settings, if energy-saving demand response events are offered by your local utility. Crestron says that Fusion EM can save you energy by automatically turning off lights and reducing HVAC use in unoccupied spaces, with the use of occupancy or motion sensors. Crestron has also said that the systems can be programmed to shut off devices and other systems based upon reaching preset energy consumption ceilings.
It can also work with Crestron’s GLS-EM-MCU, an energy monitor that can measure the total electricity use of a home or facility, as well as up to 84 branch circuits, so you can measure down to the circuit level. It will be released on May 1.
Fusion EM can run on a Crestron 3-Series control system or 2-Series control system with C2ENET card or built-in Ethernet. Software license is $5,000, though home users can use it in up to five rooms at no charge.
HAI Smart Grid Line Gets Golden
HAI's ZigBee gold-certified wireless smart grid solution.
Home Automation Inc. (HAI), announced that its wireless energy management suite has been certified as a golden unit for ZigBee Smart Energy Profile 1.1, which supports the needs of utility companies rolling out smart grid services. ZigBee Golden Unit serve as benchmarks for future product certifications.
HAI ZigBee Smart Energy certified products include: 30A Wireless Load Control Module (HAI part number 73A00-3SH), 5A Wireless Load Control Module (73A00-4SH), In-Home Display (81A00-1WHSH), 15A Plug-In Load Control Module (89A00-1SH), Omnistat2 Single Stage Conventional & Heat Pump, White (RC-1000WHSH), and the Omnistat2 Multistage Universal with Humidity Control, White (RC-2000WHSH).
HAI HAN products allow utility customers to implement time of use rating structures, manage demand response by shedding load during peak demand events, and send common custom informational messages to the customer. HAI’s Omnistat2 Programmable Communicating Thermostat (PCT) is a flexible product designed for use by utility companies for Home Area Network (HAN) use in Smart Grid programs.
HAI’s Smart Grid Gold Certified product line is available now.
See Also:
2012: The Year of Smart Appliances?
Smart, Connected Home = Green?
2012: The Year of Energy Management?
