All Articles Tagged Smart Grid

Julie Jacobson | 04/24 08:10 AM, 6 Comments

Greenies, utilities, bloggers, vendors and “energy experts” have been gushing over smart meters and smart grids for three years or so. Much of it centers on the energy-saving benefits for consumers, but in reality there’s very little of that going on. Instead, these so-called smart products benefit only the utility, which can gather usage information more efficiently than sending meter readers door to door. Of course, the meter vendors and related suppliers benefit, too. So what’s in it for the consumer? If you’re lucky, maybe a slight discount off your… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 12/12 04:19 PM, 5 Comments

Sure, you can access your smart thermostat from a smart phone to let the HVAC system know you’re on the way home. But exactly when will you get there? Are you three hours away at the cabin? Or are you just across town at the office? It makes a big difference, you know. You wouldn’t want the house to start warming up or cooling down a moment too soon, lest it add to your utility bill. Not to worry, Allure Energy, based in in Austin, Texas, knows where you are… View this story

Steven Castle | 11/28 10:08 AM, 0 Comments

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has formed a new committee to advance the standardization of the Modular Communications Interface (MCI) specification to create a path for smart grid-ready products. The MCI specification, created by the Universal Smart Network Access Port (USNAP) Alliance and based on research from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), will allow manufacturers of consumer products to build smart grid-ready products that can obtain energy information from digital meters and energy system interfaces regardless of the communication technology used. USNAP enables HANs (Home Area Networks) to connect… View this story

Steven Castle | 11/14 02:31 PM, 3 Comments

A new study from the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative finds about two thirds of the American population are likely to use smart meter data for energy management. Two-way communicating smart meters are being put in place by electric utilities to promote energy-efficient smart grid programs. However, smart grid awareness remains low: about half (51 percent) of the study’s respondents say they have never heard the term. And most prefer not to pay for energy monitoring. The Consumer Pulse and Market Segmentation Study (pdf) finds that although few of those who… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 08/22 09:53 AM, 5 Comments

Nationwide Marketing Group, whose dealers represent about $12 billion of buying power, celebrated its 40th anniversary last night during the biannual PrimeTime buying and educational event. Held at the sprawling Gaylord resort and convention center near Dallas, the event is expected to draw about 3,500 individuals from some 900 different member companies. “It’s the first time ever we broke 900 members. It’s by far the highest attendance ever,” said CEO Robert Weisner during the kick-off reception. “It’s hard to believe we’ve gone from seven dealers to over 3,000 in 40… View this story

Steven Castle | 06/03 09:25 AM, 1 Comment

The Electric Consumer Right to Know Act (also known as e-KNOW), introduced recently in the U.S. Senate, is being hailed by some as a building block to achieving a more efficient smart grid. The bill would give consumers greater access to their electric usage information in real time, improving their ability to manage energy use with devices like house-wide energy management systems. The proposed legislation may also help prevent angry consumer backlash to smart grid rollouts by utilities, such as ones in Northern California and Texas in 2010. The e-Know… View this story

Steven Castle | 05/25 12:23 PM, 3 Comments

A new survey by the Consumer Electronic Association (CEA) shows consumers are receptive to energy efficiency, and that many find energy efficiency appealing to save money. “Saving money is what it’s all about,” says Steve Koenig, director of industry analysis for the CEA, in a keynote webcast during CEProLIVE!. The survey, conducted among 1,254 adults in April 2011, found 60 percent are concerned about their electric bills and 38 percent are concerned about the electricity used by their electronics. Energy use also ranked high among purchasing decision factors, following price… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 05/17 05:48 AM, 3 Comments

One of the first modern-day buzz kills for energy conservation was the 2008 scandal in northern and central California, where PG&E customers saw their electric bills spike after smart meters were installed. Similar spikes plagued smart grid users in Texas. Then came widespread security concerns related to those same smart meters. In 2008, the California Public Utilities Commission instituted rules “to protect the privacy and security of the electricity usage data of the customers of Pacific Gas and Electronic Company, Southern California Company, and San Diego Gas & Electric Company.”… View this story

Jason Knott | 04/11 10:16 AM, 0 Comments

Schneider Electric (SCHN.PA) is reportedly in the early stages of working with bankers to assess Tyco International (NYSE: TYC) as an acquisition, according to Reuters. Tyco is the parent company of ADT Security Services. Schneider believes ADT will help it expand beyond the smart grid, according to Reuters, which cited three unnamed sources. Tyco's market capitalization is roughly $23 billion. Schneider, owners of APC, SquareD and Pelco, has a market value of about $46 billion. In early trading on the rumors, shares of Tyco were up 6 percent to around… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 04/11 07:05 AM, 0 Comments

Home Automation Inc. is finally shipping its ZigBee-enabled Omni2 thermostat and the company plans to create a complete ecosystem based on the ZigBee Pro Smart Energy Profile. During the International Security Conference (ISC West) last week, HAI provided a glimpse of a standalone energy management system that won’t need an HAI controller to drive it. HAI already offers a ZigBee-enabled energy management interface, called the MicroControl, but it must connect via RS-485 to a standard HAI control system to harness the CPU’s intelligence. Soon, HAI will offer APIs for third-party… View this story