‘Internet of things’ is energy’s future

Published Thursday, 30th September 2010

It’s been called the “internet of things,” a future in which devices can communicate with one another across society’s infrastructure much the way people communicate with one another via the web today.

Machines connected to this new internet, though, won’t be Tweeting or Facebook-friending so much as sending data back and forth to manage all the device-based services we’ve come to depend on: electricity, water, traffic management and much more. Currently, much of the focus is on electricity, with countries across Europe and the globe aiming to build a smart grid that can manage energy demands more efficiently and incorporate the increasing amounts of renewable, yet intermittent, power from sources like the sun and wind.

It’s a tall order, but development is already under way with a growing number of smart electricity meters being deployed in households in many regions. These meters are designed to help utilities deliver services more quickly and enable people to use energy more efficiently in hopes of cutting their power bills … something that’s likely to grow in importance as energy costs are expected to keep rising.

In Europe alone, spending on such smart electricity meters is projected to reach up to $25 billion by 2020. Some of the industry’s key leaders plan to discuss both the opportunities and challenges this rollout offers during the Greenbang Smart Grid European Conference 2010, set to be held in London from 9 am to 5 pm Thursday, 21 October.

To be hosted at the Kyocera Technology Suite, the day-long event will present Greenbang’s recent market research into this sector and will feature the following speakers:

Dan Ilett, Managing Director & Founder, Greenbang
Steve Cunningham, CEO, Landis+Gyr
Michael Anderson, Senior Vice President, NES Sales & Market Development, Echelon Corporation
Joel Hagan, CEO, Onzo
Andrew Jones, Managing Director, S&C Electric Europe
Dr Mark England, Chief Executive Officer, Sentec
James Pace, Senior Director Business, Silver Spring Networks

In addition to covering Greenbang’s smart-grid market research, the conference will address the key issues the industry must tackle to achieve a successful smart meter rollout across Europe, including: strategic partnerships, regulatory mandates, interoperability and, of course, funding.

On the agenda for the Greenbang Smart Grid European Conference 2010:

An Overview of the European Smart Grid Opportunity: What’s driving change? Definitions, standards and market projections
The Comms Layer: What role will telcos play? How will consumer security concerns be addressed?
Integrating Centralised Renewables & Local Renewables: Solutions and storage
Control & Automation: How will transmission & distribution assets be controlled and automated?
Smart Meter Case Studies & Lessons Learnt
Future Opportunities: How far will smart grid allow utilities into the home? The Home Area Network “beachhead”
Why are business customers different?

This conference will bring together the most influential organisations involved in the rollout of European smart grid – these include power companies, smart meter and smart grid deployment companies, technology providers, financiers and regulators.

Registration for the conference is open now.

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