By John Antonchick, NCN Associates (June 29, 2011)
Moderator: Farhan Abid, Parks Associates
Panelists:
- AlertMe, David Bercovich
- Ingersoll Rand, Aine Denari
- Powerhouse Dynamics, Martin Flusberg
- Blue Line Innovations, Peter Porteus
- Sigma Designs/Zwave Alliance, Bill Scheffler
Farhan reviewed the market and terminology, e.g. as used by Parks. “iREM” solutions are independent of the electric utilities and are the focus of this panel discussion. A key question is whether the utilities will play a role with iREMs as opposed to HANs (Home Area Networks supported by utilities) and smart meters. Parks believes the iREM market will expand and evolve much faster than the utility-driven HAN market.
AlertMe’s David said he agrees with Parks analysis that the iREM market will develop faster than HANs. David reviewed AlertMe’s products emphasizing that their purpose is to help consumers understand their energy usage, control their products, etc. Their goal is to provide a broad connected home service. In North America, they are working with service providers, e.g. telcos, to help them differentiate and add services. The homes they implement are online and “it’s not hard to do”. In the UK, their customers save an average of 13.5% but additional services can in some cases increase the savings to 17%.
Ingersoll Rand’s Aine Denari reviewed their product offerings which are focused on comfort, safety and convenience using the Schlage and Trane brands. In the residential sector, they have a division focused on connected home systems with a product line called Schlage LiNK using Zwave communications implemented in thermostats, light/appliance modules, and controllable door locks. Monitoring and control are both supported, including remote connection (e.g. to second homes). They have about 8000 HVAC dealers, sell to builders, and distribute through retail/etail.
Powerhouse Dynamics Martin said they are an iREM with an energy management product. They monitor at the circuit level to provide monitoring of hard-wired devices. They have an analytics engine that is used to provide alerts, suggestions for energy savings, etc. The platform is “open”, does monitoring, has plug-level controls, and allow other companies like Control4 to integrate Powerhouse’s information into their systems. Martin believes that consumer adoption will mainly be driven by an effective value proposition (although there is no single value proposition). Pricing must match the value and there is a need to provide greater awareness of the product category. Effective distribution channel(s) are also needed. Powerhouse uses a variety of dealer/installers including solar installers, energy efficiency companies, security companies, HVAC dealers, etc. The products are sold online. They are not selling via utilities but are also selling through companies that sell solutions.
Blue Line Innovations Peter Porteus said they expect that they are now mainly for their energy monitoring product. They are partnering with others to enable data access to real-time electricity usage data from virtually any meter (old analog or smart meters). Their meter adapters use a sensor to retrofit most meters. They provide the resulting meter data to a monitor and WiFi bridge. They have a Blue Line to Zigbee, and a Zwave chip/bridge from Blue Line. Their analytics monitor the power usage to identify power usage patterns, “vampire” usage, etc. Initially, they worked exclusively with utilities. They have about 150 thousand users today. The market is very fractured resulting in their strategy being “selectively open”. They feel this is very confusing for the utilities where it is difficult to sort through many products and services. They partner with Lowes, FRYs, etc. and some online suppliers but believe that “the market is not there” at this point. They like the Lowe’s approach with a “destination center” and are suggesting that the retailers should in general support this type of approach, i.e. having a system in one retail location. They also believe that electric utilities can stimulate usage by providing rebates and information. Consumer motivations are a balance between saving money and not compromising comfort. Kids can often be important for consumer engagement. Their work with more than 125 utilities indicates that presence of suitable devices, e.g. electric water heaters, are important but kids can drive the interest and motivation. They have partnered with Google and Microsoft but utilities and consumers wanted more flexibility and variation than these solutions.
Sigma Designs Scheffler said there are more than 500 interoperable HAN products that can be controlled with Zwave (none of them smart meters). Sigma recently announced a new STB box that supports full HD internet video and includes Zwave and HPNA technology to connect compatible devices. They are using various customers/channels with an emphasis on the security market, e.g. ADT, Vivint and Schalge LiNK. One of their partners called Blue Logics implemented a system in a Wynn hotel with about 60 thousand Zwave devices. “Only Zwave is fully interoperable”.
Questions and Discussion
Ingersoll Rand’s Aine said that the retail channels they use have evolved from their prior distribution but that the channels where they have more control, e.g. HVAC, has been more effective. Those channels have the ability to interact more with consumers.
Martin was asked why they decided not to go through the utility channel (since he has a background in utilities). Martin said that utilities move more slowly and will pilot test for extended periods. Even though they have done direct load control previously, they are reluctant to provide in-home products (beyond the smart meter).
AlertMe’s David was asked about their savings numbers. David said these were from the UK with hundreds of customers over a six month period. The solution included energy monitoring and some plug-level control but no HVAC. They have had great success with British Gas who has moved rapidly from a pilot to large scale deployment. David feels that this rapid adoption was due to competition in the UK and that AlertMe’s products give them a means to differentiate their services.
Blue Line’s Porteus said he agrees that utilities often have a five year (vs. a one year) timeline but he sees no difference between US and Canadian usage/adoption, e.g. with utilities.
Sigma’s Scheffler was asked about second source chip availability. Bill said that last month Mitsumi announced availability as a second source.
