The debate over whether utilities want to use public networks, like cell phone company infrastructure, or build out their own private networks for their smart grid deployments, rages on. On one hand smaller utilities don’t generally want to have the responsibilities — and expenses — of an IT company, which has to manage, build and upgrade a digital network. But on the other hand, a variety of utilities that want to have more control over their networks, and plan to use the networks for other digital services (like voice and video) are opting to build out their own digital grids.

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Hawaiian Electric Co., the state's primary utility, had envisioned a $115 million smart grid project reaching 451,000 locations on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island. But the utility's proposal fell apart when the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission on Monday denied a request for expanded testing of the technology on Oahu.

The "smart grid" concept relies on installing new electric meters that can wirelessly communicate with the utility, allowing it to better distribute power and handle additional renewable energy.

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Ecotality unveiled Tuesday what will be one of the first commercially available charging stations specifically designed for electric vehicles and plug-in electric vehicles.

The Ecotality Blink line of charging stations, which will initially be implemented as part of the national EV Project, consists of a free-standing commercial model and a wall-mountable home model both made to work via a 240-volt AC input.

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In addition to introducing America to the basics of a an EV charging station, Ecotality announced Wednesday it has signed an agreement with Qualcomm to implement its technology into Blink stations so that the stations can communicate over cellular networks. The Qualcomm tech will allow the charging stations to use cell networks to transfer usage data, as well as perform firmware updates. But the Blink stations, according to Ecotality specs, will also have the capability to use LAN, wireless IEEE 802.11g, or ZigBee to communicate.

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For several years Future has invested significant capital and resources into building a new organization that brings together synergistic partners to build integrated solutions in conjunction with their customers. "Synapse now completes a key phase in this long term strategy, especially for the energy and lighting markets," said Frantz Saintellemy, Corporate Vice-President, WW Advanced Engineering Group and Chief Technical Officer at Future Electronics. "Synapse's wireless technology, called SNAP, is the critical glue that provides a complete, wireless control and monitoring solution for today's complex machine-to-machine networks, and will tie together our advanced offerings."

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SimpleHomeNet announced today that their Smart Energy Plug-in Load Controller and their Smart Energy HAN Range Extender have been awarded ZigBee SE certification. This increases their SE certified product line to three, completing a suite of products that interface wirelessly with the Electronic Service Portal (ESP) to enable Home Area Networks (HAN) to successfully communicate with the Smart Grid.

The Smart Energy Plug-in (120V/15A) load controller (ZOE-MP1) allows control of appliances and lighting based on demand response and price events from a utility. Load management is also possible with consumption measurements via an integrated highly accurate energy meter. The ZOE-MP1 plugs into any indoor outlet and complies with UL508 and CSA22.

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The “Internet of Things” will explode over the next several years as connectivity comes to everything from cameras to heart-rate monitors to earthquake sensors to pets. But as Laurie Lamberth writes in a comprehensive new report over at GigaOM Pro, a host of hurdles must be overcome as the space evolves. And we must keep the Internet of things in perspective as we build an always-on, always-connected world.

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Following the recent adoption of Bluetooth version 4.0 specs by the Bluetooth SIG, UK’s CSR announced it has readied an highly integrated single-mode, single-chip Bluetooth low energy platform, CSR µEnergy, to address the needs of ultra low power connected devices.

With RF, baseband, microcontroller, qualified Bluetooth v4.0 stack, and customer application running on a single chip, the CSR µEnergy platform is architected to  provide everything required to create a Bluetooth low energy solution that promises to enable ultra low power connectivity for applications previously limited by the power consumption, size constraints and complexity of other wireless standards.

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ISA-100.11a certification testing is being conducted for the WCI by National Technical Systems, Inc. (NTS), an independent third-party engineering, testing and certification company.

Notable among suppliers in this initial launch is Nivis LLC, earning certification for its ISA-100.11a communication protocol stack. Nivis is the first to have an ISA-100.11a-certified protocol stack—enabling integration of ISA-100.11a wireless communication technology into real-world industrial plant applications.

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Constant technological innovation has been the great driver of industrial progress for ages. But the societal benefits inherent in the promise of technological progress usually depend on its widespread use and deployment, a process that has historically been mid-wived by the use of standard interfaces and components. Standards play a key role in helping us to harness and roll out technology for the betterment of society. From transportation to communications, no major industry has ever grown its way to becoming a societal building block without first figuring out ways to standardize new technology and processes – creating systems to mass produce progress, if you will.

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Standards bodies such as NIST, ASHRAE and the IPSO Alliance — with dozens of leading IT and Building Automation companies in tow — have taken an early lead here, promoting IP as the preferred standard to connect smart buildings along with the millions of smart objects that reside under their roofs.

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