Several significant announcements came out of last week’s Distributech conference in San Diego.  We wanted to use this special edition to give you the highlights. From the hundreds of companies, announcements and conference sessions, these four stood out for their long-term implications.

Ice Energy makes it easier for utilities to say yes. As Erich Gunther pointed out in a recent Tech Take review, Ice Energy has developed a distributed energy storage product that works with existing air conditioning systems to shift peak loads shifting using innovative technology. But Ice Energy has also innovated on the business front, as we learned when we sat down with company executives:

• Ice Energy has done sophisticated financial analysis that lets utilities compare the costs with traditional ways of addressing energy peaks (e.g. natural gas peaking plants). This same comparative analysis is helpfl when approaching regulators.
• They give customers the option of buying the system or letting Ice Energy or their partners own it using a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
• Ice Energy is also working with major air conditioning manufacturers about building equipment that is “Ice-ready.” (The product can also be retrofitted to most existing AC units.)

   Quick Take: Other startups could take lessons. Ice Energy makes it easy for utilities to purchase by doing their homework for them and providing alternatives for implementation. And by the way -- utilities looking for “shovel-ready” projects to gain funding from the stimulus need look no further than Ice Energy for a project that addresses key problems while immediately putting installers to work.

   Erich Gunther’s review of Ice Bear Energy Storage

   Ice Energy home page

Is Control4 the ultimate Trojan Horse?  Control4 makes home automation systems (think touch screens for controlling music, video, lights, and HVAC) with the added feature of allowing remote control via the Internet or a smart phone. The company’s Home Energy Manager products provide a platform for advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and demand response programs. Using ZigBee, WiFi, or Ethernet, Control4 products let users manage power usage by programming thermostat, and (optionally) lights, spa or pool, sprinklers, and more. The system can provide alerts during peak pricing events and let the user decide what changes (if any) to make. It can also provide comparison data to other homes of similar size and help the user determine how to save on utility bills. Control4 claims to be the first company to include all the essential pieces for the home environment, including home area network, in-home display, and a smart thermostat.  While pundits have spent years debating who would eventually own the home media space, Control4 has been quietly building a platform and a channel to market.  The company is partnering with high-end custom audio-video shops and with big-box retailers for installation.

   Quick Take: Privacy-minded utility customers who have resisted smart thermostats and monitoring technologies may throw the doors wide for a glitzy home entertainment package that happens to include energy market. It needs to bring prices down, but Control4 may have found the ultimate way to get load control and energy management into the homes of skeptical consumers.

   Control4 press release on Home Energy Manager

   Control4 home page

Lockheed announces management tools for utility execs. Lockheed Martin, known for command & control for the defense industry, surprised some by showing up at Distributech with an enterprise dashboard for utilities known as the Smart Energy Enterprise Suite (SEESuite). To our knowledge, this is the first system that attempts to give utilities a complete overview of the entire enterprise – the operational side, the front office (customer) side, the back office (financial side), and the regulatory side –from an easy-to-scan interface. It also provides alerts via email, computer, or mobile phone when things go out of bounds. Disclosure: Lockheed Martin is an advertiser and client of Smart Grid News.

   Quick Take: When combined with SAP’s announcement that it will soon connect meter data with the SAP back office suite, utility executives may finally be getting the management tools that execs from other industries have had for many years.

   SEESuite brochure (PDF)

   Lockheed Martin energy solutions page

   SAP for Utilities page

ZigBee passes critical mass. We've been touting ZigBee as the likely winner of the home area networking space for years now.  At Distributech, it was clear that ZigBee has passed the tipping point. All new technology standards operate on a trickle-down basis. First they are proven out with expensive gear for high-value applications. Eventually, prices come down and the standard moves down to mass markets. That process is underway now with ZigBee.  For example, TimeLox, world’s leading supplier of ZigBee devices, announced last year it had crossed the milestone 20,000 ZigBee devices installed in hotel rooms worldwide. Last week, Control4 announced it will be relying on ZigBee for its Home Energy Manager products, as reported above.

   In addition, the ZigBee Alliance is certifying third- party testing houses and shifting from evangelism to helping with deployment, working with various partners to get ZigBee to work seamlessly with other standards.

   Quick Take:  The ZigBee Alliance has been clever and aggressive about moving this standard forward rapidly, especially considering the electric power industry’s fractious approach to standards. 

   ZigBee Alliance home page

   TimeLox announcement on ZigBee in hotels

   ASHRAE story on BACnet connecting with ZigBee (PDF)