VIENNA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ: ELON) today announced the availability of the NES ControlPoint, an embedded module that allows manufacturers to build intelligent smart grid devices based on the Open Smart Grid Protocol (OSGP) standard used by Echelon’s Networked Energy Services (NES) System, a market leading smart grid infrastructure. NES ControlPoint enables devices connected to the low voltage grid, such as solar inverters, electric vehicle chargers, load control modules, and power quality sensors, to become intelligent end points in a smart grid – extending the smart grid beyond the meter. The ControlPoint can work in concert with the recently announced Echelon Control System (ECoS) and Edge Control Node to expand the breadth of applications to go beyond smart metering. Utility solution providers EnergiMidt and Ubitronix will be the first to leverage the ControlPoint in their smart grid devices. The announcement was made today at the Metering Europe event in Vienna, Austria, where Ubitronix is demonstrating their ControlPoint enbabled load control module.
“Within our grid we have several thousand specialized electricity meters with M-bus output”
NES ControlPoint is an embedded module that reduces development time and expense for manufacturers by providing a low-cost, compact distributed control network abilities for their products. ControlPoint modules provide secure, scalable control networking services to the device as well as critical information about the health of the distribution line itself. Grid information is used by the Echelon Control System (ECoS) platform, via third party applications, or “ECoS apps”, to make local, autonomous control decisions to improve grid reliability and lower operating costs.
“Within our grid we have several thousand specialized electricity meters with M-bus output,” said Erling Vendelbo Klemmensen, head of metering at EnergiMidt, a leading energy company in Denmark with 176,000 electricity customers that is currently deploying the NES system to all its customers. “With the NES ControlPoint we can economically add these special meters into our NES smart grid infrastructure, and easily, securely and efficiently manage our grid as one integrated system.”
“The NES ControlPoint allows us to combine two proven communication technologies (PLC and RF) to deliver a very high performance and efficient infrastructure,” said Hermann Trottler, Director of Systems EVB Energy Solutions/Diehl Metering. “Doing so creates new opportunities for us to expand existing projects and create new types of energy solutions.” EVB/Diehl is developing a wireless connection to M-bus based meters, e.g., water, gas, and heat, to extend their NES System across the full suite of utility offerings using a single, smart grid infrastructure.
“With the NES ControlPoint module, in just two months we were able to adapt our existing Load Management Module product from one that operated as a slave device to one that operates as an autonomous, intelligent device on the low voltage grid,” said Christoph Schaffer, CEO of Ubitronix, a solution provider and system integrator of unified intelligent energy management systems. “This represents a significant value to us in accelerated time to market, and opens new product opportunities, and lowers deployment costs for our utility customers.”
Devices containing NES ControlPoint modules are automatically managed as part of the smart grid by ECoS powered Edge Control Nodes or Data Concentrators. As part of this management process, the system automatically determines which low voltage transformer powers the device. Knowing where loads are connected within the grid is an essential piece of information needed to increase grid reliability and efficiency through demand response and micro distribution automation applications. With this information, devices powered by ControlPoint modules and ECoS apps can work together to meet next generation demand response challenges, optimize local grid efficiency, predict power outages before they occur and rapidly restore service, and implement other smart grid services.
About Echelon Corporation
Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ: ELON) is leading the worldwide transformation of the electricity grid into a smart, communicating energy network, connecting utilities to their customers, enabling networking of everyday devices, and providing customers with energy aware homes and businesses that react to conditions on the grid.
Echelon’s NES System – the control networking infrastructure for the smart grid – enables intelligent distributed control applications and devices that deliver maximum reliability, survivability and responsiveness. Through the ECoS platform, the NES system enables any device, speaking any protocol, connected over any network to be integrated into local decision making and connected securely to enterprise IT systems through virtually any IP network. The NES System helps utilities compete more effectively, reduce operating costs, provide expanded services and help energy users manage and reduce overall energy use.
Echelon’s LonWorks® Infrastructure products extend the smart grid in to smart buildings factories, homes and other systems, powering tens of millions of energy aware, everyday devices made by thousands of companies – connecting them to each other, to the electricity grid and to the Internet. LonWorks based products work together to monitor and save energy; lower costs; improve productivity; and enhance service, quality, safety, and convenience in utility, municipal, building, industrial, transportation, and home area networks.
More information about Echelon can be found at http://www.echelon.com.
Echelon, LonWorks, and the Echelon logo are registered trademarks of Echelon Corporation registered in the United States and other countries. Other product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.
This press release may contain statements relating to future plans, events or performance. Such statements may involve risks and uncertainties, including the risk associated with uncertainties pertaining to market acceptance of the NES ControlPoint power line communications module; the risk that the NES ControlPoint does not perform as designed and that liability may accrue as a result; and other risks identified in Echelon’s SEC filings. Actual results, events and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Echelon undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
