ZigBee Alliance Announces Unanimous Approval of Draft 0.7 Smart Energy Profile Version 2.0

SAN RAMON, Calif., Aug. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The ZigBee® Alliance, a global ecosystem of organizations creating wireless solutions for use in energy management, residential, commercial and consumer applications, today announced the Smart Energy Profile version 2.0 draft 0.7 was unanimously approved in the latest Smart Energy Working Group letter ballot.  This successful vote is a major milestone in the completion of the Smart Energy 2.0 standard and keeps it on schedule.

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While work remains resolving comments received during the letter ballot process and from the public, the 0.7 draft is now implementable and enters a testing phase. During this phase, product developers test products designed to conform to the draft for functionality and interoperability. This testing period not only helps product developers improve their products, but also identifies any errors and provides valuable feedback for final clarifications in the standard.

Over the next several weeks, the Working Group may conduct a series of quick recirculation ballots to approve technical changes made to integrate comments received during the letter ballot process.  Integrating comments increases the level of overall consensus on the draft standard by ensuring the needs of the broadest stakeholder community are met when the standard is completed.

"The ZigBee Alliance is pleased that through the collaborative efforts of the many members of the Smart Energy Working Group, and our open, transparent and consensus oriented standards development processes, we have been able to achieve a successful vote for Smart Energy 2," said Bob Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance.  "These efforts will result in Smart Energy 2 being a standard that meets the needs of a very broad set of stakeholders worldwide."

All materials for Smart Energy 2.0 can be found at www.ZigBee.org/SmartEnergy. The Alliance will announce future public comment periods based on the successful completion of future development milestones.

Smart Energy 2.0 will provide an IP-based energy management solution capable of running on a variety of both wired and wireless communication protocols, including those supported by the HomeGrid Forum, the HomePlug Powerline Alliance, the Wi-Fi Alliance and the ZigBee Alliance.  Smart Energy 2.0 already has attracted strong support from leading smart meter manufacturers, device and appliance manufacturers, utilities, energy service providers and various government and standards organizations around the world.

ZigBee Smart Energy – The Standard for Smart Metering and Energy Management in Home Area Networks

ZigBee Smart Energy enables energy service providers and utilities to wirelessly communicate with and manage common household devices such as smart thermostats, in-home displays and appliances. It improves energy efficiency by giving consumers the means to manage their energy consumption more precisely using automation and near real-time information to save both money and energy. ZigBee Smart Energy also helps utilities and energy providers implement new, advanced metering and demand response programs to drive greater energy management and efficiency, while responding to changing government requirements. Today utilities and providers can choose from more than 100 ZigBee Smart Energy Certified products. For more information and a list of ZigBee Certified products, visit: www.ZigBee.org/SmartEnergy.

ZigBee: Control your world

ZigBee offers green and global wireless standards connecting the widest range of devices to work together intelligently and help you control your world. The ZigBee Alliance is an open, non- profit association of approximately 400 organizations driving development of innovative, reliable and easy-to-use ZigBee standards. The Alliance promotes worldwide adoption of ZigBee as the leading wirelessly networked, sensing and control standard for use in consumer, commercial and industrial areas. For more information, visit: www.ZigBee.org.

SOURCE ZigBee Alliance