At CES, Smart Energy Abounds

By John Laposky On Jan 30 2012 - 6:01am

LAS VEGAS — As a backdrop to the thousands of new products introduced at CES that draw power, there seemed to be almost as many solutions for boosting, controlling, monitoring and supplying that power.

“Smart energy” was a term thrown about the show by major component manufacturers as well as accessories suppliers. With energy costs continuing to rise, the industry has narrowed its focus to the conservation of energy through control and monitoring of power draw, especially when components and devices are not in use.

For example, Panasonic introduced its new Viera Smart TVs with auto sensors to cut down on “vampire power,” while fellow TV supplier LG rolled out its Home Energy Management System, designed to monitor and control energy use across a future network of LG HomNet smart appliances and components.

Several companies offered off-the shelf solutions for monitoring and controlling home energy use.

Monster introduced its HDP950 G+ GreenPower Bar, an entry-level power management solution that offers surge protection as well as vampire power waste reduction at a suggested retail of $199.95. The step-up HDP 1250G+ PowerCenter ($229.95) is designed for use with home theater systems, adding power conditioning to its surge protection and energy reduction capabilities. The products become that much more efficient, Head monster Noel Lee said, with the addition of Monster’s Power App, which will allow users to remotely monitor and manage home power consumption working with the entire line family of Monster Power brand Power- Center products.

The power management component was developed by People Power, an open-source management Cloud services and applications company. Monster is pairing the Power App with a range of PowerCenter outlet bar products, including the PRT 100M ($59.95), PRT 100MC ($69.95) and PRT 300MC ($119.95). The PowerCenters work in conjunction with Monster’s Gateway GTW 100 ($59.95) to enable the wireless Power Control App to not only monitor energy but to schedule and manage power use outlet by outlet.

Start-up FutureDash introduced its EnergyBuddy home energy-monitoring system. The EnergyBuddy is small gateway device that connects to a home network via Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Future- Dash CEO Kevin Strong described the company’s first product: “Historically, home energy management systems are passive and somewhat non-descript.
EnergyBuddy changes that. In addition to delivering energy management dashboards on computing and mobile devices, it features a unique translucent top that glows with changing colors to give a simple and easily understood visual indication of energy consumption as it happens.”

The EnergyBuddy gateway acts as an energy-monitoring hub. It collects data in real-time from a current sensor and transmitter installed at the electrical panel for whole home readings. Individual appliances and circuits can be monitored and controlled from FutureDash provided or other compatible smart plug products as well as Zigbee-enabled smart energy meters and sensing devices. Energy information is relayed in real-time via the user’s home network or the Internet.

Homeowners can monitor and manage electricity consumption and view historical usage — at home or remotely — on a dashboard-style graphical user interface (GUI). Dashboards are accessible from PC web browsers, mobile apps for iPhone, iPad and Android platforms and on selected smart TVs. It features proprietary GridLock encryption technology for data protection.

Home-improvement retail giant Lowe’s announced at CES that it will begin selling a Cloud-based homemanagement system called Iris that allows customers the ability to monitor and control their home’s systems and energy use from anywhere using a smartphone or computer. The Zigbee- and Z-Wave enabled system will be based on U.K.-based AlertMe’s Smart Home platform and home hub.

Iris will include energyand home-management applications to monitor and control thermostats, smart plugs, lighting, door locks, motion sensors, and external energy sources such as solar panel systems and wind turbines, among other things. AlertMe’s data services provide recommendations on how to reduce consumption or use energy more efficiently.

Austin, Texas-based Allure Energy was at the show to introduce Ever- Sense, a home environment and energy management device that replaces a home’s thermostats. The unit features Allure’s proprietary Proximity Control technology with privacy protection.

Available for sale directly to consumers in early 2012, an additional portable countertop unit will allow music to be streamed anywhere in the home from a connected PC and offers complete control of all other EverSense units throughout the home. It features built-in Wi-Fi, speakers and a capacitive touchscreen.

Allure Mobile is a smartphone app that works on select Apple and Android devices to control Eversense products. EverSense manages energy use based on how far, or near, each user may be from their home. As homeowners leave their residence, the temperature of their home is altered based on how far away they are from home. As they return, Allure Mobile automatically creates the environment the user has preset. Adjustments are determined on the user’s smartphone based on current location. The user’s location remains on the smartphone and is never sent into the Cloud, ensuring privacy, the company said.

Wireless Glue Networks an-nounced the debut of SmartLook, its secondgeneration in-home display device that gives electricity customers wireless access to their smart meters for real- time monitoring of energy usage, while giving utilities a direct connection to customers. The SmartLook is manufactured by Hosiden offers a feature-rich GUI, is over-the-air upgradeable and can store historical usage data for later retrieval and analysis by customers. “We’re very excited about our presence in the NRG Energy booth,” said Peter McCabe, president/CEO of Wireless Glue Networks. “We believe SmartLook provides a crucial step towards empowering consumers to make intelligent energy decisions based on real-time information.”