Dialogue Between Smart Homes and Utilities

Itron and Tendril Create Dialogue Between Smart Homes and Utilities
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.24.08

Tendril and Itron are pairing up to solve the issue of communication between smart meter-equipped homes and utility companies. Their new solution would allow for a two-way communication between smart meters and utilities without the need for a home to have a broadband connection.

The whole point of a smart home energy system is to allow interactive communication between utilities and the home. While smart meters seem to be going up everywhere, the issue of standards in terms of broadband connection abilities by the home and appliances is problematic. But standardization could be less of a problem with Tendril and Itron’s new networking system.

OpenWay by Itron is an advanced metering infrastructure, and a collaboration with Tentrials Residential Energy Ecosystem means two-way communication that goes beyond the smart meter and into the home to the appliances themselves through a Home Area Network (HAN). Using the ZigBee platform, the connection allows users’ appliances and utilities to talk to each other without the need for a broadband connection.

"This collaboration is a big step on the nationwide path to energy efficiency," said Adrian Tuck, CEO, Tendril. "It's one thing to turn down a thermostat but quite another to enable a true two-way conversation between utility and consumer. That's where the benefits of AMI accrue and energy efficiency becomes a reality."
Since cable, broadband and other networking capabilities vary among utility markets, smart energy is just as much a royal pain to utilities as it is the best way forward for energy consumption and monitoring. Extending a utility’s ability to communicate with homes means faster and easier adoption of smart metering across the board.