ZigBee Alliance members get US$500,00 for Smart Grid projects

Members of the ZigBee Alliance, the global ecosystem of companies creating wireless solutions for use in energy management, commercial and consumer applications, are among those selected to receive funding for their Smart Grid efforts as part of the US American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

With a range of awards between $4 million and $200 million, ZigBee Alliance members received a total of almost US$500,000 for their Smart Grid projects.

Members earning grants include: Honeywell International, CenterPoint Energy, Baltimore Gas and Electric, Reliant Energy Retail Services, San Diego Gas and Electric, and Whirlpool.

The grants were awarded for a variety of ZigBee Smart Energy products and services, including large smart meter programs covering 4.7 million meters, installation of a variety of devices such as programmable communicating thermostats, in-home displays and load controllers, plus expediting the development of smart appliances.

The ZigBee Smart Energy profile has been selected by the US Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as an initial interoperable standard for HAN devices for the Smart Grid.

“ZigBee Alliance members have been taking an active role in developing the Smart Grid for years and these grants are recognition for our members’ leadership on this important initiative,” said Bob Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance.

“With ZigBee Smart Energy’s position in the marketplace and its role as an initial interoperable standard by NIST for the critical home area network piece of the Smart Grid, we expect that those utilities and product manufacturers sitting on the sidelines will adopt ZigBee.”

ZigBee Smart Energy offers utilities and energy service providers secure wireless home area networks (HAN) for managing energy. Smart Energy gives these groups and their customers the power to directly communicate with thermostats and other smart appliances.

According to the ZigBee Alliance, advanced metering and demand response programs can be implemented in homes easily and securely because of ZigBee wireless technology, and utilities and energy service providers can more easily implement energy management and efficiency programs to meet changing government requirements.