smart grid

The momentum in implementing Smart Grid technology is growing in developed countries.  Homes are being fitted with Smart Meters, home owners are installing advance connected solutions that monitor and manage how they use their electricity and gas. To further support this market the Wi-Fi Alliance and HomePlug Powerline Alliance have teamed up in a joint effort to promote the use of their respective technology in these modern digital home.

Intel last month gave a clearer indication of their intention to play a bigger part in the connected home market, with the release of the Intel Home Energy Management Reference Design. Many companies are already using Intel’s Atom processor for the system, but Intel is going a bit further by offering a complete solution in the Intel Home Dashboard proof of concept device.
 

The UCA International Users Group has release version 2 of the Home Area Network (HAN) system requirement specification (SRS), a document designed to provide the use of open standard to foster interoperability for HAN devices and smart grid applications. SRS v2 is the collaboration over over 130 individuals representing over 80 companies and organizations collaborated for 10 months to complete the project. The document has been approved by the OpenSG Technical Committee and is now available for public use.

Accenture has selected Control4 to participate in a three-year, $30 million AMI pilot funded by Singapore Power and the Singapore government. The Intelligent Energy System (IES) pilot will launch this year in 4,500 residential, commercial and industrial locations and will continue through 2013. Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) appointed Accenture to design and implement the project. Control4 will provide IP-based home control systems that enable two-way communication with the Smart Grid.

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.

Sequentric Energy Systems signed a distribution agreement with one of America’s largest electric utilities distributor, HD Supply Utilities. Under the agreement, HD Supply Utilities will resell and integrate the full suite of Sequentric smart grid solutions to its electric customers. 

The Sequentric smart grid range of products are a complete package which comprise of hardware and software backed by services including an end-to-end demand response solutions.

Helix Wind, a global renewable energy company has announced the release of its next generation Wind Turbine Monitoring System (WTMS). Helix Wind has significantly improved its smart grid technology, which monitors performance and uptime of Helix Wind Savonius turbines and connected power electronics. The latest release of the WTMS will be available for shipment within the next 30 days.  New WTMS hardware will embrace a smaller footprint and unveils a robust and refined web-interface that can be accessed from a computer's web browser online anytime, anywhere.

In an effort to help and reduce the level of Carbon in the environment Hitachi and Panasonic are to join their respective technological knowhow to create products for the smart grid sector.  Both companies will jointly develop products and standardisation initiative within the smart grid community. The agreement is both companies are to establish a cooperative relationship in the smart community-related business in the global market with a goal of helping to realise a low-carbon society.

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.
 

The Energy Services Network Association (ESNA) announced today that they are going to publish, maintain and certify devices compatible with the Open Smart Grid Protocol (OSGP). “By publishing OSGP as an open standard” said ESNA “it will enable independent implementation of interoperable smart meters and other smart grid devices. Utilities will have the autonomy to buy best of breed products and avoid vender lock in.