January 11, 2010

CES 2010 Reveals Ripe Competition

Alright here it is.. after some logistical juggling and tricky air travel in the middle of the winter, the post heard round the world has finally arrived.

Everything about the show in insanely large. The booth displays, the televisions, and of foremost importance the competition. Aside from the large companies vying for the most extravagance booth, the show was stuffed to the brim with smaller businesses looking to make a few magical first impressions.

One place where that competition was brewing from all angles with everyone looking over their shoulder was the field of home energy management. Everything was up for grabs. The meters, the displays, the accessories, and even the communication technology to integrate all the madness. Unfortunately some of these ventures will fall flat because their devices will be based on a communication system that will end up going extinct (think vcr vs betamax or the contemporary version - Bluray vs HD-DVD).


Bulogics - http://www.bulogics.com/index.html
One of the companies, Bulogics is taking no chances. Their devices are based on a communication standard called Z-wave that is in direct competition with the much more successful to date, Zigbee. However in their latest iteration, they have added a simple functionality update to be able to work with all the possible outcomes (Z-wave, Zigbee, or WiFi). Bulogics has developed a Smart Grid Controller that can send and receive signals from a customers' smart meter. If the price electricity goes up, the customer can use a Bulogics surge protector to manage specific home electronics automatically. You would also be able to control your air conditioner over the internet and change the temperature based on different price points that you choose. In the end, a utility customer with a smart meter and dynamic rates like Power Smart Pricing can see energy cost savings automatically. No more checking the prices and scrambling around the house.

4Home Energy - http://www.4home.com/
Aside from the actual equipment and communication standards, companies are competing in the area of software. Just like Power Smart Pricing's new Bill Comparison Tool, utilities are looking for ways to take all this new information and communicate it effectively to their customers. 4Home Energy has developed software that is designed to be "plug and play" for utilities' new expansion of a smart meter system. From the brief demo, it is clear that they have managed to incorporate a lot of the important aspects of managing your home energy usage. You would be able to control your HVAC equipment, your lights, and your larger appliances over the internet or through an in-home display.

So what does all this mean? Things are in good shape. Healthy competition will ensure that the best will eventually make its way to the top. In the meantime, hurdles will have to be crossed to bring this emerging field to fruition. For starters, every company is somewhat waiting and watching for the continued expansion of smart meters in residences.

The so called silver bullet, the necessary component to all this is quite clear... these companies need customers with dynamic pricing. The traditional flat rate would stifle extended innovation. Customers want more for less while the flat rate's offer of less for less leave these competitors racing without a spur.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am the sort of guy who loves to try bran-new things. Right now I am building my personal solar panels. I'm making it all by myself without the help of my staff. I'm using the internet as the only way to acheive that. I discovered a really amazing website that explains how to create pv panels and so on. The web site explains all the steps needed for photovoltaic panel construction.

I am not sure bout how precise the information given there iz. If some experts over here who had xp with these things can have a see and give your feedback in the page it will be grand and I'd extremely treasure it, because I really enjoy solar panel construction.

Thanks for reading this. You guys are great.

Matt Scallet said...

We can take a look at it. What's the website?

Blog Widget by LinkWithin