Intamac sponsors SMART Energy Summit 2010

Parks Associates welcome Intamac as a sponsor for Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, hosted in cooperation with Austin Energy on January 25-27.

Intamac Systems offers a unique service platform through which consumers can manage and control devices in their home or business (SOHO) using a range of different devices from mobile phones to picture frames.

Together with device manufacturers Intamacoffers a range of innovative and exciting new services for the home including Security, Video, Smart Energy, Care and Control. These services allow their partners to exploit their core capabilities to generate strong new revenue streams. They now have platforms deployed to support the rollout of these new services on three continents; Europe, North America and Australia.

For more information about Intamac, please click here.

George Arnold, National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability at NIST, to keynote Parks Associates’ Smart Energy Summit

Parks Associates announced today that George Arnold, National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), U.S. Department of Commerce, will deliver the afternoon keynote “NIST Smart Grid Interoperability Standards and the Home Area Network” at Smart Energy Summit.

Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, hosted by Parks Associates in cooperation with Austin Energy on January 25-27 at the Hyatt Regency, Austin, Tex., focuses on the opportunities and challenges in residential energy technologies and identifies business strategies for in-home energy monitoring and management systems.

Sessions will include research from Parks Associates’ Residential Energy Management project, which features nationwide consumer surveys and industry profiles to assess the market for energy-related digital systems and services. The most recent consumer survey reports 80-85% of U.S. households are willing to pay for in-home energy monitors if these solutions can lower their electric bills.

In his keynote on January 26, 1:45 p.m., Dr. Arnold will discuss the challenges that need to be addressed in developing the interface between the Smart Grid and the Home Area Network. NIST is coordinating the development of a robust, interoperable framework of technical standards that will help transform the nation’s electric infrastructure into an “energy internet.”

Dr. Arnold was appointed National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability at the NIST in April 2009. He is responsible for leading the development of standards underpinning the nation’s Smart Grid. He joined NIST in September 2006 after a 33-year career in the telecommunications and information technology industry.

For the full press release, click here.

The Road Ahead

President Barak Obama has compared the development of the smart grid to that of the national highway system and to support this effort the government has committed over $3.4 billion in smart grid investment grants through the stimulus bill.

On October 27^th, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced winners of the grant program and also announced loan guarantee programs over $16 billion for utilities and technology developers who did not receive any funding. The White House has, on a regular, basis indicated the need to tackle energy challenges and the importance of being independent from foreign sources of energy. Parks Associates will hold a work shop at the Smart Energy Summit on January 27^th 2009 that will shed light on the activities and initiatives being undertaken by utilities involved in the smart grid and what the impact of the stimulus funding will be on smart meter and other technology deployments.

Why a Smart Grid and why now?

The growing interest and media coverage around the smart grid has led a number of people inquiring about what the buzz is all about, why is the smart grid so important and why now?

This topic is very large to be covered in one blog post, but to give as broad of an overview as possible; here is why the smart grid is important.

- The cost of energy is rising and there is no turning back

- Natural energy resources are limited and are being depleted

- The power grid is over 100 years old and is in dire need for an upgrade

- Carbon emission and environmental hazards are going to cause a greater strain on the already tight energy crisis

- The population is growing and so is the demand of energy

These are some of the energy challenges we face today. The above seem like an amalgamation of all the fears bunched into one single paragraph but with the existing technology and research being conducted they are not insurmountable. Can a smart interconnected power grid solve all problems? No, but it is one of the most critical components to tackling all these challenges. It helps us address all of the above and gives us greater insight into how we can address and come together to resolve them. The smart grid is just one of piece of the puzzle.

An intelligent interconnected power grid offers stakeholders and consumers the ability to manage energy with real-time data, utilities can now deploy energy efficient programs with more insight into customer usage and based on the cost of electricity. A smart grid will make renewable energy apart of everyday life by integrating wind and solar power with the grid. Parks Associates’ Smart Energy Summit will include leading smart grid experts who will share their thoughts on the development of the smart grid and what we can expect.

Parks Associates welcomes Smart Energy Summit Sponsors

Direct Energy, Exceptional Innovation, HAI, iControl Networks, INSTEON, and OpenPeak support industry event

Parks Associates today announced the early sponsors for Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, hosted in cooperation with Austin Energy on January 25-27 at the Hyatt Regency, Austin, Tex. The conference focuses on the opportunities and challenges in residential energy technologies and identifies business strategies for in-home energy monitoring and management systems.

Direct Energy, Exceptional Innovation, HAI, iControl Networks, INSTEON, and OpenPeak are all early sponsors of the event.

Direct Energy is one of North America’s largest providers of energy and energy-related services. The company has over five million residential and commercial customer relationships, providing choice and support in managing their energy costs through innovative products and services.

Exceptional Innovation manufactures Life|ware®, enterprise software solutions designed to seamlessly connect data and devices for integrated automation and control. Life|ware’s Energy Management Solution provides an efficient, elegant approach to complete residential management, benefiting both energy consumers and utility providers alike.

HAI (Home Automation, Inc.) manufactures integrated automation and security products for residential and commercial use. Its solutions allow utilities to implement time-of-use rating structures, manage demand response during peak demand events, and send custom messages to customers.

iControl Networks, a leader in broadband home management, recently announced its ConnectedLife Energy Management solution enabling utilities and service providers to offer customers the ability to monitor, control and automate their energy usage via the web, mobile phone or touchscreen.

INSTEON is an award-winning home area networking (HAN) technology, currently in trials with four of the top 10 U.S. utilities. Its unique dual-band, mesh, wireless network makes it ultra-reliable and cost effective for energy management, demand response and load-shedding.

OpenPeak Inc. creates, designs, and develops innovative systems and devices that enable simple control of home energy usage, VoIP telephony, digital media, Internet content, and consumer electronics on a single touchscreen device.

Other supporters include AltEnergyMag, CABA, CEDIA, Energy Priorities, Home Toys, Mercom Capital Group, Smart Grid Today, VB/Research, and WinSmartGrid.

For more information, visit www.smartenergysummit2010.com.

U.S. Department of Commerce, Austin Energy to keynote Smart Energy Summit

International research firm Parks Associates announced executives from Austin Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will keynote the Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer. The two keynotes provide unique perspectives from business and governmental sides of the residential energy management (REM) industry, offering expert insight on successful deployment strategies and the impact of U.S. funding for smart grid projects.

Recently, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced over $3 billion in funding for smart grid projects, with matching private-sector funds pushing the total over $8 billion. This funding has implications for technology developers, utilities, and end users, and today there is the right mix of government incentive, competition, and societal pressure to make smart energy solutions viable.

Dr. George W. Arnold, National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability, NIST, U.S. Department of Commerce, will be the luncheon keynote on Tuesday, January 26. He will provide insight into government initiatives for promoting smart grid projects.

Andres Carvallo, CIO, Austin Energy, will present the morning keynote “A New Journey: Utility 2.0” on January 26. He will share his vision of the utility of the future, informed by his company’s experiences developing and deploying its Smart Grid. Mr. Carvallo will also highlight new business models and technologies designed to transform consumers into “prosumers” - producers and consumers all in one.

For more information, visit www.energysmartsummit2010.com

INSTEON sponsors SMART Energy Summit 2010

Parks Associates and the SMART Energy Summit welcomes INSTEON as a new 2010 sponsor.

INSTEON is a proven, award-winning home area networking (HAN) technology that is currently in trials with 4 of the top 10 U.S. utilities, serving over 10 million customers. INSTEON has been used in homes since 2005 and has a record of over 28 billion successful messages. Its unique dual-band (radio frequency and powerline), mesh, wireless network makes it ultra-reliable. Its innovative simulcast design allows it to be the most cost-effective HAN available. INSTEON enables energy management, demand response, scheduled load-shedding, real-time email reporting and alerts, daylight harvesting and automated control or response. With over 100 INSTEON products selling in the marketplace – all of which are completely backwards and forwards compatible - INSTEON is the proven HAN solution.

For more information, visit www.insteonsmartgrid.com.

HAI sponsors SMART Energy Summit 2010

The SMART Energy Summit welcome HAI Smartgrid Solutions as its newest sponsor for the January 2010 event.

HAI (Home Automation, Inc.) is a privately held manufacturer of integrated automation and security products for residential and commercial use based in New Orleans, LA. Incorporated in 1985, HAI has developed a full line of Home Area Network (HAN) products for utility customers including Programmable Communicating Thermostats (PCT), In Home Displays (IHD), and Load Control Modules (LCM). The HAI HAN products allow utility customers to implement time of use rating structures, manage demand response by shedding load during peak demand events, and send common custom informational messages to the customer.

For more information, visit smartgrid.homeauto.com.

SMART Energy Summit - Speakers & Advisory Board Announced

Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, hosted by Parks Associates has announced the preliminary list of speakers and Advisory Board members.

Confirmed speakers:

Susan Cashen, VP, Marketing, Control4
Steve Cashman, Chief Strategy Officer, Exceptional Innovation
David Dollihite, VP, Direct Energy
David Friedman, Senior Director, Strategic Marketing, ZeroG Wireless, Inc.
Dan Gittleman, Chairman & CEO, OpenPeak
Vince Groff, Executive Director, Cox Communications
Jim Johnson, President & CEO, uControl
Thomas Pickral, Business Development, HAI

Current Smart Energy Summit Advisory Board participants:

Andres Carvallo, Chief Information Officer, Austin Energy
Steve Cashman, Chief Strategy Officer, Exceptional Innovation
Ken Wacks, Member, GridWise Architecture Council, U.S. Department of Energy
Brian Woods, CMO, OpenPeak

The event, January 25-27, 2010, in Austin, Tex., features a unique combination of market research, featuring results from Parks Associates' landmark Residential Energy Management service, and real-world expertise derived from Austin Energy's Smart Grid, the largest working Smart Grid in the U.S.

For more information, visit www.smartenergysummit2010.com.

Parks welcomes iControl Networks, 2010 Sponsor

Parks Associates welcomes iControl Networks as a new 2010 SMART Energy Summit Sponsor.

iControl Networks, a leader in broadband home management, recently announced its ConnectedLife Energy Management solution enabling broadband companies and other service providers to enhance interactive service offerings for a complete broadband home management experience. Additionally, it allows utilities to implement demand response and energy efficiency services to control peak energy usage, optimize existing infrastructure and minimize future investment.

An extension of iControl’s existing ConnectedLife broadband home management suite, iControl’s low-cost energy management solution provides enhanced functionality for its partners and enables consumers to monitor, control and automate their energy usage and maximize efficiency to meet their monthly expenditure and carbon footprint goals.

For more information, visit www.icontrol.com

Smart Energy Summit to focus on in-home energy management and control solutions U.S. Department of Commerce, Austin Energy to keynote conference

International research firm Parks Associates announced the preliminary agenda and current speakers, sponsors, and advisory board for the Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer. This conference, hosted in cooperation with Austin Energy on January 25-27 at the Hyatt Regency in Austin, Tex., focuses on opportunities in residential energy management and the challenges of bringing Smart Grid technologies to U.S. households.

Sessions include the latest consumer research from Parks Associates’ landmark Residential Energy Management service, which surveys both consumers and utilities on attitudes and trends in this growing industry. Early sponsors for Smart Energy Summit include Direct Energy, Exceptional Innovation, HAI, iControl Networks, and OpenPeak. Event supporters include AltEnergyMag, CABA, Energy Priorities, Home Toys, SmartGrid Today, VB/Research, and WinSmartGrid.

Andres Carvallo, CIO, Austin Energy, will present the keynote “A New Journey: Utility 2.0” on Tuesday, January 26 at 9:30 a.m. He will share his vision of the utility of the future, informed by his company’s experiences developing and deploying its Smart Grid.

Dr. George W. Arnold, National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability, National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce, will also be a keynote speaker at the conference.

For more information, visit www.smartenergysummit2010.com.

What is the smart grid?

The term “Smart Grid” describes the infrastructure required and the resulting benefits when adding network communication and computer processing capabilities to electricity generation, distribution, and management systems.

Key Smart Grid benefits:

• Overall energy efficiency and accommodation of alternative energy
• Service reliability that ensures consistent delivery as population density increases
• Repair and maintenance capabilities to pinpoint issues and outages
• Peak-load and demand-response management

Utilities are investing in Smart Grid technologies to lower operating costs, avoid building new generation plants, and allow the use of alternate sources of energy, such as wind and solar power. Utilities plan to have about 50M AMI capable meters installed within the next 4-5 years; Parks Associates projects 44 M to be installed by 2012.