New ZigBee Smart Energy Profile Delivers Efficiency and Savings

Utilities Gain Wireless Standard for AMI Programs Requiring Home Area Networks
and Interoperable Products

TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- At DistribuTECH -- The ZigBee
Alliance, a global ecosystem of companies creating wireless solutions for use
in energy management, commercial and consumer applications, today announced it
has completed development of its ZigBee Smart Energy public application
profile. ZigBee Smart Energy offers utility companies a global open standard
for implementing secure, easy-to-use wireless home area networks for managing
energy. The profile also offers product manufacturers access to a burgeoning
green marketplace by establishing a standards-based technology for new
products designed to enhance energy management and efficiency by consumers
everywhere.
ZigBee Smart Energy enables wireless communication between utility
companies and common household devices such as smart thermostats and
appliances. It improves energy efficiency by allowing consumers to choose
interoperable products from different manufacturers giving them the means to
manage their energy consumption more precisely using automation and near
real-time information. It also helps utility companies implement new advanced
metering and demand response programs to drive greater energy management and
efficiency, while responding to changing government requirements.
ZigBee Smart Energy offers innovative electric, gas and water utilities
support for advanced metering, demand response, load control, pricing, and
customer messaging programs. It provides communication and control for
devices such as in-home displays, programmable communicating thermostats,
water heaters, lighting, smart appliances, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles,
plus energy service portals and energy management systems. For a more
detailed list of features, see
http://zigbee.org/imwp/download.asp?ContentID=12484.
With the global energy crisis, many countries are facing energy supply and
demand imbalances that will require alternative energy management and
efficiency solutions like ZigBee Smart Energy. For example, North American
Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) reported that electricity demand in
the United States is expected to increase by 135,000 megawatts in the next
decade yet only 77,000 megawatts of new resources have been identified,
creating a shortfall of 58,000 megawatts -- an amount equivalent to 110 large
power plants. Energy management and efficiency solutions can bridge the gap.
For example, the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory released the results of a year-long study two weeks ago showing
that households with digital tools controlling temperature and price
preferences saved on average 10 percent on utility bills. The study also
showed that if households have digital tools to control temperature and price
preferences, peak loads on utility grids can be cut by up to 15 percent
translating into $70 billion dollars saved over a 20 year period on new power
plants and infrastructure expenditures.
"ZigBee Smart Energy was the result of a powerful collaboration between
leading utility companies, product manufacturers, and technology suppliers,
ensuring the latest features are built in to meet current market demands,"
said Bob Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance. "ZigBee Smart Energy
provides a critical piece to many energy management and efficiency programs
underway today because it creates a global, open standard allowing energy
consumers information and control over their energy use and helps utility
companies expand relations with their customers while planning for a greener
future."
A number of Alliance members are currently building products that will be
certified by the Alliance to support ZigBee Smart Energy. These companies
include: Cellnet+Hunt, Ember, Freescale Semiconductor, Itron, Tendril and
Texas Instruments, who are ZigBee Alliance Promoter member companies and
members of the Board of Directors which is responsible for setting the
Alliance's direction in the energy sector. Some of the other members building
ZigBee Smart Energy products include: Alektrona, Computime, Comverge,
Control4, Corporate Systems Engineering, Daintree Networks, Digi
International, Elster, Energate, Frontline Test Equipment, Golden Power,
Greenbox Technology, LS Research, PRI Limited, Radio Thermostat Company of
America, Riga Development, Trilliant Networks and Wireless Glue Networks.
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 manufacturers worldwide.
Membership is open to all. Additional information can be found at
http://www.zigbee.org.
Contact:

Kevin Schader
ZigBee Alliance
kschader@inventures.com
+1 925-275-6672

Whitney Liem
GolinHarris for ZigBee Alliance
wliem@golinharris.com
+1 714-662-5111

SOURCE ZigBee Alliance

Kevin Schader of ZigBee Alliance, +1-925-275-6672, kschader@inventures.com; or
Whitney Liem of GolinHarris, +1-714-662-5111, wliem@golinharris.com, for
ZigBee Alliance