Zeno Swijtink
02-21-2010, 10:19 PM
Where fantasy becomes reality
Utility companies team up with electronic businesses for appliance efficiency (https://www.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100218/LIFESTYLE05/100219456/1315&Title=Where-fantasy-meets-reality-)
By NATHAN HALVERSON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Thursday, February 18, 2010 at 11:56 a.m.
Has your dishwasher ever talked back to you?
No? Well, give it a few years.
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=SR&Date=20100218&Category=LIFESTYLE05&ArtNo=100219456&Ref=AR&Profile=1315&MaxW=250&border=0
Wireless hardware in PG&E smart meters is not yet
active pending an agreement on what software
standards should be adopted and used by all appliance makers.
The long-fantasized automation of our homes, including disagreeable dishwashers, is finally close to becoming reality, according to industry experts.
“We've moved away from the fantastic realm, to the practical realm,” said Tim Woods, a partner in the Michigan-based consulting firm Poco Labs and an expert in smart-home technology. “The technology has finally gotten to the point it is mass consumable.”
The coming revolution has less to do with a shift in technology and more to do with an explosion of consumer demand for energy-saving services and products.
Consumers want to reduce their monthly bills, and many want to also reduce their impact on the environment. As a result, energy companies are joining forces with electronics companies, retailers and appliance makers to outfit homes for the 21st century, Woods said.
Enter the argumentative dishwasher.
In the not-to-distant future, your dishwasher might criticize your decision to run it at 4 p.m., when energy use is peaking and consequently the most expensive. Instead, your dishwasher might suggest you wait a few hours until energy rates drop. It could even offer to automatically start when energy rates drop to a more modestly priced level, said Paul Moreno, a PG&E spokesman.
Starting this month, PG&E began installing so-called smart meters in Sonoma County homes. The new PG&E technology has elicited a hostile reaction from some advocacy groups who fear over-charging and overzealous use of remote termination of people's service due to late payments. But it also is opening the door for a new wave of energy-sensitive appliances.
The PG&E meters are equipped with WiFi hardware that can communicate with home appliances, delivering energy-price updates to the machines every six seconds, Moreno said. Machines can than make decisions — or allow consumers to make decisions — based on energy prices.
“These are all features that are coming,” he said. “We are working with other industries to establish an open architecture design.”
These high-tech appliances could be on showroom floors within two years, he said.
In January, a consortium of businesses announced plans to work collectively to integrate the smart-home experience for consumers. The consortium, dubbed the Home Energy Manager, includes Best Buy, Whirlpool, a Houston-based energy company, thermostat manufacturer Lennox and software developer OpenPeak.
The wireless hardware in the PG&E smart meters is not yet active pending an agreement on what software standards should be adopted and used by all appliance makers, Moreno said. Once that happens, PG&E will build the necessary back-end software, and upload it to the meters, so third parties can develop applications for consumers.
Eventually, people will be able to control their homes from a device such as the Apple iPad or iPhone. But for consumers to embrace the new technology, it has to makes things easier, and not more complicated, Woods said.
“We've always made the assumption that a smart home means more engagement with the home. But in my mind, a smart home means less engagement with the home,” he said. “We're talking about simplifying. Consumers only want to spend time managing their home when absolutely necessary.”
You can reach Staff Writer Nathan Halverson at 703-1577 or [email protected].
Utility companies team up with electronic businesses for appliance efficiency (https://www.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100218/LIFESTYLE05/100219456/1315&Title=Where-fantasy-meets-reality-)
By NATHAN HALVERSON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Thursday, February 18, 2010 at 11:56 a.m.
Has your dishwasher ever talked back to you?
No? Well, give it a few years.
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=SR&Date=20100218&Category=LIFESTYLE05&ArtNo=100219456&Ref=AR&Profile=1315&MaxW=250&border=0
Wireless hardware in PG&E smart meters is not yet
active pending an agreement on what software
standards should be adopted and used by all appliance makers.
The long-fantasized automation of our homes, including disagreeable dishwashers, is finally close to becoming reality, according to industry experts.
“We've moved away from the fantastic realm, to the practical realm,” said Tim Woods, a partner in the Michigan-based consulting firm Poco Labs and an expert in smart-home technology. “The technology has finally gotten to the point it is mass consumable.”
The coming revolution has less to do with a shift in technology and more to do with an explosion of consumer demand for energy-saving services and products.
Consumers want to reduce their monthly bills, and many want to also reduce their impact on the environment. As a result, energy companies are joining forces with electronics companies, retailers and appliance makers to outfit homes for the 21st century, Woods said.
Enter the argumentative dishwasher.
In the not-to-distant future, your dishwasher might criticize your decision to run it at 4 p.m., when energy use is peaking and consequently the most expensive. Instead, your dishwasher might suggest you wait a few hours until energy rates drop. It could even offer to automatically start when energy rates drop to a more modestly priced level, said Paul Moreno, a PG&E spokesman.
Starting this month, PG&E began installing so-called smart meters in Sonoma County homes. The new PG&E technology has elicited a hostile reaction from some advocacy groups who fear over-charging and overzealous use of remote termination of people's service due to late payments. But it also is opening the door for a new wave of energy-sensitive appliances.
The PG&E meters are equipped with WiFi hardware that can communicate with home appliances, delivering energy-price updates to the machines every six seconds, Moreno said. Machines can than make decisions — or allow consumers to make decisions — based on energy prices.
“These are all features that are coming,” he said. “We are working with other industries to establish an open architecture design.”
These high-tech appliances could be on showroom floors within two years, he said.
In January, a consortium of businesses announced plans to work collectively to integrate the smart-home experience for consumers. The consortium, dubbed the Home Energy Manager, includes Best Buy, Whirlpool, a Houston-based energy company, thermostat manufacturer Lennox and software developer OpenPeak.
The wireless hardware in the PG&E smart meters is not yet active pending an agreement on what software standards should be adopted and used by all appliance makers, Moreno said. Once that happens, PG&E will build the necessary back-end software, and upload it to the meters, so third parties can develop applications for consumers.
Eventually, people will be able to control their homes from a device such as the Apple iPad or iPhone. But for consumers to embrace the new technology, it has to makes things easier, and not more complicated, Woods said.
“We've always made the assumption that a smart home means more engagement with the home. But in my mind, a smart home means less engagement with the home,” he said. “We're talking about simplifying. Consumers only want to spend time managing their home when absolutely necessary.”
You can reach Staff Writer Nathan Halverson at 703-1577 or [email protected].