Microwave Engineering Europe - October 2008 - (Page 27)

LOW POWER RF 27 energy. This change in behavior also beneﬁts utility companies. The concerted effort of their customers can actually shave peak consumption and avoid the need for producing electricity when it is expensive (and less proﬁtable) to do so. Smart energy network Interval pricing represents just the beginning of where AMI and Smart Energy can both save money and have a positive effect on our environment. To take optimizing consumption one step further, Smart Energy also supports the scheduling of events and external control of smart appliances which can be power cycled (in the case of an HVAC system), or switched off (in the case of a pool pump) based on time-of-day pricing. On the Smart Energy side, this includes load control devices that can be controlled remotely by either a user or utility company directly. Smart Energy also extends out to a bigger picture concept that is referred to as the OpenHAN. OpenHAN focuses on supporting twoway communications between the utility and the home area network (HAN). In proposed usage cases (no ﬁnal decisions have been made at this point), utilities will maintain a proprietary communication backbone to the electric meter, which will serve as a gateway to the ZigBee Smart Energy network. This network will comprise devices like those already discussed, and support a load and energy management system that includes load controllers on the Smart Energy network, as well as bridge to a separately maintained home automation (HA) network. The entire system provides direct access to usage data and pricing, and supports load control integration and secure twoway communications for on-demand load shedding. Furthermore, it ensures a future path to augmenting the functionality of the OpenHAN with future products and devices capable of leveraging data sent from the utility company. In this scenario the Smart Energy network is essentially controlled by the utility company, while the HA network remains open to the customer. New devices can be integrated into the system and registered with the utility based on what the service provider offers. While not part of initial trial deployments or the core of Smart Energy, the infrastructure put in place by the utilities will serve as a launching point for future “smart energy” technology. We can envision a not too distant future where our washer and dryer, dishwasher, refrigerator, pool pump, lights, HVAC, TV, other electronics and a myriad of other devices in and around the home connect into the network, turn on and off automatically based on time of day, and shut down or power cycle during times when the cost of electricity is especially high. In this scenario some devices will be controlled by the home owner, some by the utilities, and others could be controlled via an optional service where the utility is given control but the home owner has override control and an opt-out feature for certain critical devices such as medical equipment. To put the scope of this effort into perspective, Chartwell AMR Report, November 2006[1], stated AMI technology is projected to double purchases of automated meters in the next four years. With over 100 million housing units in the United States, there is a large market for this technology. Signiﬁcant energy and money can be saved through the deployment of AMI and smart metering. Although initially focused on the U.S. market, Smart Energy promises to become a global standard as well, being initially considered as a solution in both Europe and Asia markets. With oil prices and electricity costs hitting record highs almost daily, and with an increasing concern for carbon emissions and the environment, we are likely to see an increasing demand for AMI and other forms of smart energyefﬁcient technologies in the near future. ZigBee is one technology that is making this all possible. About the author Brian M. Blum is a ZigBee product marketing engineer with Texas Instruments where he is responsible for 802.15.4 and ZigBee Low Power RF product line. He received his Master’s of Computer Science with a focus on Wireless Sensor Networking from the University of Virginia. References [1] The Chartwell AMR Report 2006, 11th Edition, November 2006. This article has been reprinted courtesy of Green Supplyline — www.greensupplyline.com. Ember, Skyworks partner on Zigbee modules Skyworks Solutions (Woburn, MA) and Ember Corporation (Boston, MA) will combine their RF and controller devices to create a family of modules aimed at ZigBee wireless networks. The modules will target a wide range of industrial and consumer applications including smart energy meters. Analysts said the new modules will extend the range previously offered by Ember’s Zigbee products, making them better suited for uses such as smart meters. The duo faces a growing range of competitors including giants such as Texas Instruments and Freescale who support a broader range of protocols. The new devices will be based on Skyworks’ existing 8- x 8-mm Sky65336 and Sky65337 modules that integrate 2.4 GHz transceiver components including low noise ampliﬁers, harmonic ﬁlers and power ampliﬁers. The modules include baluns from Skyworks that provide differential ports to Ember’s transceivers. The new modules will sport Ember’s Em250 or Em260 integrated Zigbee controllers. The controllers include IEEE 802.15.4 radios, microprocessors, memory and peripherals needed to support the full Zigbee Pro software stack provided by the company. With transmit power at up to 20 dBm the modules can support the kinds of ranges required by smart meters, once a limiting factor for Zigbee, said Mareca Hatler, director of research at On World, a market watcher in San Diego. While Ember has focused on Zigbee other companies also support protocols such as Wireless HART and the emerging 6LoWPAN standard for Internet protocol in sensor networks. Dave Culler, a UC Berkeley professor who developed the TinyOS software for sensor networks, is championing 6LoWPAN for running IPv6 over 802.15.4. Hatler pegs ZigBee chipset annual growth at about 50 percent a year, accelerating to more than 100 percent per year over the next ﬁve years. Much of that growth will be driven by initiatives such as smart meters to conserve energy on the electric grid, she added. www.mwee.com/210700027 Microwave Engineering ● October 2008 ● www.mwee.com 026_027_MWEE.indd 27 6/10/08 8:13:19 http://www.greensupplyline.com http://www.mwee.com/210700027 http://www.mwee.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Microwave Engineering Europe - October 2008

Microwave Engineering Europe - October 2008 Contents Comment News Cover Feature: AWR's AXIEM Software Brings 3D Planar Electromagnetic (EM) Simulation "Up Front" RFID: Augmented Reality: Beyond RFID and QR Codes for Mobile Phone Platforms Filters & Frequency Synthesis ZigBee Goes Green with Support for Smart Energy Simplify Mobile Data Applications and Services Test Enabling the State-of-the-Art in Automatic Test Equipment National Physical Laboratory Test Facility Aids Development of Next-Generation Antennas Selecting the Synthetic Test Environment for Transmit-Receive (T-R) Modules in a Phased Array Radar System Products Calendar

Microwave Engineering Europe - October 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.