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Back in April, we kicked off the updated ZigBee newsletter series with a short overview of ZigBee’s strategy for the Energy Management and Efficiency (EM&E) space. I am pleased to report that we are seeing positive results from focusing our activities in this area. Here are a few highlights since April.
| ZigBee Alliance | www.zigbee.org | Copyright 2007 |
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ZigBee Today Back in April, we kicked off the updated ZigBee newsletter series with a short overview of ZigBee’s strategy for the Energy Management and Efficiency (EM&E) space. I am pleased to report that we are seeing positive results from focusing our activities in this area. Here are a few highlights since April. The Alliance has seen strong interest from electric utilities around the globe in using ZigBee to help their consumers be more energy efficient. Several utilities are now in active development of customer programs which will make use of ZigBee enabled electric meters being installed at homes throughout the territory. Utilities leading this market development include utilities from California and Texas as well as Canada and Australia. Other utilities beginning to explore the use of ZigBee for their customers include utilities in California, Connecticut, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Virginia along with Scandinavia, France and Japan. The key for utilities in developing robust customer programs for energy efficiency is using open standards like ZigBee. ZigBee enables utility owned devices, such as electric meters to communicate with consumer owned devices, such as thermostats, appliances, lighting system, etc. This communication network is known as the Home Area Network (HAN). With a standards-based HAN able to communicate with the electric meter, home owners can receive information about real-time energy prices, up-to-date energy consumption and other information direct from devices in their home without waiting for the monthly bill to telling them what happened last month. In May, Texas became the first state to require utilities to include HANs as part of their upgrade plans, if the utility wishes to seek cost recovery from the public. Currently, several other legislative bodies are considering similar approaches for utilities in their state or country. There are a growing number of companies joining the Alliance where EM&E is a key focus of their business. This includes major advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) companies such as Cellnet, Itron, Elster, ESCO Technologies [DCSI], Sensus, SilverSpring Networks, Smart Synch, Tantalus and Trilliant Networks. Their products make up the backbone of the “Smart Grid,” including HAN communication capabilities. Both Cellnet and Itron recently became ZigBee Alliance Promoters and members of the Board of Directors, further demonstrating their commitment to promoting ZigBee solutions. Other companies in the Alliance with a focus on energy management, including hardware, software and services. Other companies in the Alliance with a focus on energy management, including hardware, software and services, including Tendril, Computime, Comverge, Develco, GridPoint, i-conserve, Onity, Orbis, Riga and Talon. A key focus for the Alliance in the EM&E area is the demonstration of interoperable products for both residential and commercial customers. Tendril, another Promoter member, is serving as lead project manager for Alliance activity in this area. There are currently two demonstration projects under development. The Commercial demonstration is being installed in Boulder, CO at a large office building. Contributing members include, Eaton, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Tendril, Atalum, Daintree and Johnson Controls. The formal launch for this demonstration is scheduled for October. The residential demonstration is up and running and focused on showing AMI and HAN in action. This demonstration located in Houston, TX at utility member CenterPoint Energy's Technology Center. The next phase of this project will expand the number of products in the demonstration. Member companies contributing to this effort include Cellnet, Itron, CenterPoint, Computime, Control4 and Trane. Also of interest to members is the ZigBee Alliance European Demonstration project being planned for early 2008. A call for participation in this project recently went out to the membership. You can expect additional Alliance marketing activities around the EM&E area. The Alliance recently published success stories in the EM&E space from Cellnet, Itron and Develco. Expect to see additional success stories from other members in the future. If you want to submit your company's use of ZigBee for success story consideration, please send me a note at . On August 14, the Alliance is hosting a webinar highlighting ZigBee's use in AMI and HAN. Anyone may attend this webinar to learn how ZigBee Powers Energy Efficiency. Attendees will "meet" top industry experts heading up energy efficiency efforts. Presenters include Barry Smitherman, Commissioner, Texas Public Utilities Commission will provide an overview of recent Texas energy HAN rulings-Glen Stancil from Reliant Energy will discuss the benefits of HAN for retail electric providers-Tim Enwall from Tendril will share insights on the OpenHAN group. Sign up now for this webinar at http://readycommconf.com/zigbee/events.php. ZigBee has made great strides with our EM&E focus and we expect even more energy in this key market. All the best, Brent Hodges Vice President Marketing and Business Development ZigBee Alliance (www.zigbee.org) Wireless Control That Simply Works |
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Welcome new members The Alliance welcomes the following new members. Promoter Itron Participant KTL (Laboratory Accreditation Solution Ltd.) SmartSynch, Inc. Riga Dev.Com, Inc. CSIR Elster CenterPoint Energy Service Company, LLC Sensus Metering Systems Fujitsu Limited LS Research, LLC Adopter CROW Electronic Engineering Procept PTY, Ltd. RF Arrays, Inc. Wireless Measurement, Ltd. Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. MU Net Autani Corporation Colorado vNet CEST Behavior Tech Computer Corp. Bond Communications V2 Elettronica SpA Seasolve Software, Inc. |
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Member Spotlight Siemens With ZigBee Deploys First Wireless Building Automation System Commercial building owners have a list of issues to deal with daily. They want to provide potential tenants with the latest in technology. Building owners of historically significant structures want to offer the same capabilities as new buildings but without destroying historical architecture. And lately, more and more building owners and tenants alike want to “go green” and use energy more efficiently. Siemens Building Technologies was the first to answer the call of forward thinking building owners. In 2005, it introduced the industry’s first wireless building automation system (BAS) using ZigBee® technology. The solution, APOGEE® Wireless, employs a self-forming, self-healing ZigBee network enabling Siemens to deliver cost-saving energy efficiency while optimizing comfort. APOGEE can be found in office buildings, schools, universities, industrial facilities and hospitals across North America. Its success is based on the fact that ZigBee wireless networks can offer significant labor and installation cost savings over wired networks. They are easily retrofitted, or phased in, to accommodate schedules, budgets and future building additions. These advantages enable many facilities to overcome barriers to technology upgrades and realize the lifecycle cost savings and enhanced comfort the latest BAS technologies offer.
ZigBee, which communicates in a mesh network with low power radios, is reliable even in the sometimes very challenging RF-environments in which APOGEE Wireless is installed. The nature of the mesh network allows data to navigate around physical barriers, such as metal and concrete, to communicate sensor and control data between the field devices and the automation system. “The only solution that is going to work in these types of physical environments is an 802.15.4 mesh network,” said Jay Hendrix, Business Line Manager. “Other wireless technologies are not a good fit or are just too expensive.” By using an APOGEE Wireless Field Level Network, builders, owners and managers can increase occupant comfort while gaining greater flexibility and more efficient control of HVAC systems. APOGEE Wireless Field Level Networks are comprised of radio nodes that automatically transmit and receive both their own and their neighbor’s data, creating multiple redundant paths for communications. The networks have the intelligence to determine the optimal routing path and, if necessary, switch to another path if the original path is disrupted. The self-configuring and self-healing nature of the network makes deployment simple and ensures reliable communications no matter how the environment changes. It also provides flexibility, allowing radio nodes and their associated controllers to be added, removed, or relocated without the need for traditional network cabling work. ZigBee Eases Retrofits Barriers to a traditional wired BAS installation include the installation cost, difficulty, and mess and potential safety and health hazards of opening up walls and ceilings to run new network cabling, disruption to a facility’s tenants and daily operations, and budget cycles. Wireless enables facilities that might not otherwise be able to install or upgrade their BAS to overcome these hurdles and reap the benefits of a state-of-the-art BAS. ZigBee radio chips are embedded directly into sensor platforms. While the cost of the additional RF electronics is relatively small, the benefits and savings can be great, depending on the facility. For example, industrial facilities that run 24 hours a day seven days a week cannot always stop production to run conduit and wire required for traditional wired BAS networks so they are frequently limited in the amount of automation they can implement. Many schools have building automation systems that are over 20 years old and need to be upgraded but face the challenges of running new network cabling through cinderblock, plaster, and brick walls while minimizing the disruption to teachers and students. For healthcare facilities wanting to update their BAS, the risk of airborne contamination and excessive downtime for operating rooms or other critical areas of the facility looms. With Siemens’ wireless solution with ZigBee, those facilities are now able to reap the numerous benefits of a modern BAS.
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ZigBee Newsroom The ZigBee alliance continues strong momentum in 2007 Alliance Experiences Increased Traction in Key Markets Including With experts expecting existing energy production to fail to meet future demand without new power plants, dramatic improvements in energy efficiency is key for long-term economic and environmental stability. The Alliance’s unique energy management and efficiency solutions allow wireless communication between utility companies and common household devices. It continues to draw support from energy regulators and the utility industry. More than 25 Alliance members are collaborating on use of existing low-cost and easily installable ZigBee products and services. As a result of these Alliance members’ efforts, more ZigBee products are being shipped now to utility companies around the world and ZigBee is being specified as a solution by public utility commissions. Key milestones in 2007 have demonstrated measurable momentum and growing demand for the ZigBee specification:
The ZigBee Alliance is currently more than 225 Alliance Members strong and has a presence in 28 countries spanning six continents. OEMs and end-product manufacturers represent 30 percent of the global membership. ZigBee is the only standards-based technology designed to address the unique needs of low-cost, low-power, wireless sensor networks for energy management and efficiency, home and commercial building automation, plus embedded network applications in the industrial and consumer markets. Companies who want to have input on developing the ZigBee specification and create ZigBee products can join the Alliance by visiting our website. The ZigBee Specification is available for free download from the ZigBee Web site. ZigBee: Wireless Control That Simply Works The ZigBee Alliance is an association of companies working together to enable reliable, cost effective, low-power, wirelessly networked, monitoring and control products based on an open global standard. The ZigBee Alliance membership comprises technology providers and original equipment manufacturers worldwide. Membership is open to all. Additional information can be found at www.zigbee.org. http://www.zigbee.org/News/Overview/tabid/244/Default.aspx |
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ZigBee Alliance Awards |
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ZigBee Alliance EMBER Receive BUILDY Awards The ZigBee Alliance and its members work each day to create the best wireless connection to the hundreds of devices we count on every day to make our lives more convenient, productive, comfortable and safe. The following awards represent peer and industry recognition of the importance and relevance of the ZigBee standard. They are also a testimony to the innovation, vision and leadership of the Alliance and our members.  ZIGBEE ALLIANCE2007 BUILDY AWARD - "Initiative" Category Initiative. The ZigBee Alliance was presented the Initiative award for their promotion of the ZigBee wireless technology. As a global open standard, ZigBee is paving the way for dramatically different devices to communicate for the first time, while offering more control and convenience options than ever before. This year, the ZigBee Alliance began a new initiative to provide solutions for energy management and efficiency by addressing growing concern around the environment and predicted energy shortages. Numerous states and countries are pushing ultra-efficient new homes and buildings, and only ZigBee addresses such a broad challenge.  EMBER CORPORATION2007 BUILDY AWARD - "Best New Product, Wireless" Category Best New Product - Wireless. Ember was presented the Best New Wireless Product award for their ZigBee wireless technology platform. Ember's ZigBee wireless technology is being used in building automation, integrated home automation and advanced metering initiatives to help make our living and working environments safer, smarter, more comfortable and energy efficient. In the building automation market, Ember's ZigBee system is the platform of choice for innovative and leading companies. Ember's low-power ZigBee networking system is the comprehensive solution for all of building automation needs - reliability, easy installation of network nodes, low system costs and long battery life. www.ember.com. |
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Freescale names San Juan Software
supporting ZigBee products, continues to drive momentum and business for this emerging technology. Additionally, San Juan Software's consultancy expertise has contributed to the securing of design wins with key Freescale customers. San Juan's commitment to customer satisfaction has also been proven time and again through their various training and support activities for Freescale customers.