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Quick Take: This is just a concept and still in development. But it brings us a step closer. If adopted, it will take a great weight off of consumer electronics manufacturers. They can simply build in a compatible socket. As technologies evolve, the sockets will remain the same even as the modules that plug into them change. – Jesse Berst

An interoperability workshop hosted by EPRI last month marked a step forward in the industry effort to connect residential appliances with the smart grid.  The workshop demonstrated how a modular communication interface enables any end device to work with any communication system through user installed plug-in communication modules.  This practical approach, as EPRI explains, eliminates the problem of rapidly evolving communication technologies and allows products to be produced today that can work in demand response systems of the future.

EPRI started work on this collaborative industry project that has involved 65 companies, including appliance manufacturers, communication system providers and utilities in 2008. The resulting specification has been contributed to NIST and related standards activities and is targeted to be made an open standard going forward.

Download Communication modularity – a practical approach to enabling residential demand response to learn more about the workshop and the overall project.

Jesse Berst is the founder and chief analyst of Smart Grid News.com. He consults to smart grid companies seeking market entry advice and M&A advisory. A frequent keynoter at industry events in the US and abroad, he also serves on the Advisory Council of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Energy & Environment directorate.