The Energy@Home project has moved one step closer to being brought to market. According toa representativeof Telecom Italia, the platform is scheduled to undergo field testing in 100 homesover the coming months. The Italiantelecoms giant is working with two appliance manufacturers, Electrolux and Indesit Company, as well as Italy’s largest power company, Enel S.p.A. to develop the residential energy management solution which is reportedly a blend of four Zigbee standards – ZigBee Home Automation, ZigBee Smart Energy, ZigBee Telecom Services and ZigBee Gateway.
The platform will provide homeowners with information on their energy consumption and consists of the following devices that together, will create an interoperable Home Area Network (HAN):
Telecom Italia briefly flirted with the home automation market back in 2009 when it partnered with BTicino to provide a solution in new houses. The agreement revealed that customers would be able to remotely control lighting, security and comfort of the home environment helping to optimize energy consumption.