The ZigBee Allianceannounced that an update to ZigBee® Smart Energy™ version 1, the first and only widely available Advanced Metering Infrastructure standard, is now available for product development and public download.
ZigBee states that the ZigBee Smart Energy is the industry leading standard helping to create greener homes by giving consumers the information and automation they need to easily reduce their energy consumption and save money. ZigBee Smart Energy version 1.1 adds several important features including dynamic pricing enhancements, tunneling of other protocols, prepayment features, over-the-air updates and backwards compatibility with certified ZigBee Smart Energy products version 1.0. These features not only make it easier for consumers to use, but also make it ideal for utilities and energy service providers to deploy and operate. Plus, the over-the-air update feature enables easy upgrades to existing installations.
"The new features of ZigBee Smart Energy reflect real-world Smart Grid experience gained from the millions of implementations of ZigBee Smart Energy in the market today," said Bob Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance. "ZigBee Smart Energy products that have been ZigBee Certified make it easy for utilities and governments to deploy smart home solutions that are secure, easy-to-install, interoperable and most importantly, consumer friendly."
Utilities and consumers can select from a growing list of interoperable ZigBee Smart Energy Certified products ranging from thermostats to meters. The new ZigBee Smart Energy 1.1 products below have been independently verified to be fully interoperable and have earned the right to be branded with the ZigBee Certified logo and the ZigBee Smart Energy icon on product packaging and advertisements. These marks are designed to clearly communicate interoperability.
More news and information regarding the latest developments in Smart Grid electronics can be found at Darnell’s SmartGridElectronics.Net.
