smart-grid

What if you could better control home appliance energy use by making your wall socket more clever?

That's the idea behind TalkingPlug from Toronto-based Zerofootprint, a company that makes software for measuring and monitoring corporate carbon emissions.

TalkingPlug is a plug that fits on top of existing electrical outlets. But it's equipped with componentry to make it a controllable node on a network, including an RFID chip, microprocessor, and wireless networking. The company plans to introduce the product next week.

The "smart plugs" will be able to give detailed information on how much electricity individual appliances … Read more

Start-up EcoFactor is looking at home energy management as a big math problem.

The Silicon Valley-based company on Tuesday is formally launching and is announcing that the largest utilty in Texas, Oncor, has signed on with EcoFactor's residential energy-management service for three years.

There are several companies developing Web-based software or displays to show consumers, in more detail than a monthly bill, how much energy they are using.

EcoFactor's software, by contrast, works behind the scenes by gathering data from a two-way thermostat and then analyzing the information to optimize heating and cooling systems, which often account for … Read more

After 100 years, the lowly utility meter is poised for a digital upgrade, with the installation of up to 250 million expected over the next six years, according to a new forecast.

Pike Research published on Monday a research report on smart meters that predicts installation to ramp up at a 19 percent annual rate through 2015.

Smart meters use wireless networking to shuttle information back and forth between utilities and customers. So far, the communications link has been used mainly to report back usage for monthly billing, but there are new applications aimed at efficiency.

Consumers can, in some … Read more

Appliance manufacturer Whirlpool has received $19.3 million in U.S. Department of Energy funding as part of its Smart Grid Investment Grant program, the company announced Thursday.

Whirlpool, which markets appliances under the brand names Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, and Bauknecht, joins General Electric in what seems to be a quest for designing the most well-behaved appliances.

Similar to GE's smart-appliance ambitions, Whirlpool plans to develop home appliances that can connect and communicate with municipal smart grids. The machines will be able to receive signals from a smart grid, letting it know of off-peak hours, … Read more

The U.S. electricity grid will get a 21st century upgrade, including installation of millions of smart meters, through a government-led program.

The Obama administration is scheduled to announce Tuesday where it is spending $3.4 billion of stimulus money on 100 smart-grid projects in 49 states. As part of the funding, utilities are contributing $4.7 billion to the projects, pushing the total spending to $8.1 billion.

The injection of capital in the grid will make electricity delivery more reliable and help consumers use energy more efficiently, Carol Browner, the president's assistant on energy and climate change, … Read more

Google has connected a home electricity-monitoring device to its Web-based PowerMeter application, part of Google's strategy to seed the market for home energy tools.

Google on Monday said that PowerMeter works with TED 5000, a small-screen monitor that provides a real-time read-out of home electricity use. TED, which stands for The Energy Detective, is one of many monitors aimed at giving consumers more detailed information so they can find ways to reduce energy use.

In combination with PowerMeter, a person can view details, such as real-time electricity use and weekly trends from a Web browser or using a smart … Read more

When it comes to saving money on utility bills, good data beats out fancy energy displays any day, say the founders of energy efficiency start-up Opower.

The Arlington, Va.-based company on Thursday officially launched its energy efficiency recommendation service, after months of operating in stealth mode.

Opower, previously called Positive Energy, has signed on with 18 utilities in the U.S. to provide customer usage information and recommendations on how to lower consumption of electricity and heating fuel.

After receiving a monthly bill from the utility, consumers get a utility-branded report which has an analysis of their bills, showing … Read more

Smart grid company Silver Spring Networks said on Tuesday that it has an agreement to buy Greenbox Technology, a home energy-management software company started by the makers of Flash.

The planned acquisition is a significant expansion for Silver Spring Networks, which makes wireless networking cards that are embedded in smart meters to broker communications between homes and utilities.

Seven-year-old Silver Spring Networks is one of the most successful Silicon Valley green-tech start-ups. Its IP-based networking technology is being used in a number of smart-grid programs led by large utilities, such as Pacific Gas & Electric and Florida Power & Light. … Read more

Data from a smart-grid pilot project which uses smart meters and wireless appliance controllers shows that such a system can cut electricity use by 15 percent on average.

IBM and Consert have been running the project in Fayetteville, N.C., for the last six months and published the initial findings on Monday. On Tuesday, the GridWeek conference on the smart grid is scheduled to begin in Washington D.C.

The term "smart grid" can mean different things to different people, but the pilot test in North Carolina provides a picture of smart-grid technologies in the home.

Buildings were … Read more