Energy Management

Sequentric Energy Systems, a smart grid technology solutions provider has announced the introduction of its Smart Energy Tablet. The seven inch touch screen tablet creates an Energy Internet “Hot-Line” that allows utilities to present a wide range of highly customizable energy related information directly to residential and business customers. Poised to redefine In-Home Energy Displays, Sequentric’s Smart Energy Tablet will be unveiled at this year's DistribuTech on February 1-3 at the San Diego Convention Center, booth #2507.

Eleven months after the release of GreenDash, FutureDash has release a new patent pending secure home energy monitoring addon to GreenDash, called “GridLock”.  The addon is to facilitate the secure transfer of data from the user's premises to the energy supplier.  Also to keep the data secure so users can later access it to query and analyse their energy usage.

CES 2011 is building up to be a very exciting show and one not to miss. From what I have seen this year, I think there are some very exciting technologies in the pipeline, especially for the connected home. The connected home has been added as a new area within the show for the first time next year. This is where I think there will be a lot of new solutions.

Rogers of Canada announced plans to launch a home control solution that will manage household appliances, security, temperature and lighting. The new solution is called Rogers Smart Home Monitoring, and will offer real-time home monitoring plus energy management and home automation to Canada’s connected homes. The addition of this service to its cable, Internet and wireless business has put Rogers among the top suppliers of connected home solutions.

Australia is to develop a prototype smart grid, according to IBT ‘Smart Grid, Smart City’ will be Australia’s first commercial scale-smart grid and the country as set aside $100M to fund the project. ‘Smart Grid, Smart City’ It is an integral part of the Government's plan to address the challenges of climate change. It is also an important part of the Government's record $10 billion commitment to support energy efficiency, renewables and other low pollution energy technologies.

Alertme, UK based home energy management solution provider has added a new feature to its website that let its UK customers see how much carbon dioxide their home is generating in relation to their electricity use. Alertme customers can now find out their carbon footprint in comparison to the national average.  Also available is a Time of use feature which show customers how their energy use and cost spread across different time of the day morning, day, evening and night.
 

Cisco has added a new set of home energy management solutions to its recently introduced connected grid.  The new solutions are to help households’ better monitor and manage their energy consumption.  The Home Energy Controller (HEC) features easy to use and access countertop LCD touchscreen display.  From here users are kept up to date with information for them to make informed decisions.

Duke Energy today announced it has signed an agreement with Cisco – a worldwide leader in networking technology -- to pilot and further develop a smart grid-enabled home energy management solution that will provide Duke Energy customers with secure and reliable energy information and a simple-to-use tool to help them reduce the amount of energy wasted in their homes.

The Carbon Design Group has collaborated with Artefact Group in what I called “cool design meets home energy management”. Both companies came together to create the Impact series of connected home appliances.  The series consists of the Impact Clock, Impact Refrigerator and Impact Dish Washer.  Project Impact has won a silver International Design Excellence Awards (IDEAs) for 2010 for Artefact.

With an $11 million equity injection lead by Craton Equity Partners Green Wave Reality has announced plans to start pushing its home energy management platform into Europe, North America and Asia. The platform, according to Green Wave Reality is easy to use, affordable, an open standards-based platform and will enhances utility companies' relationship with their customers and better balance energy on the Grid while helping consumers to conserve energy and save money in return.