Digi Announces Zigbee Smart Energy Certified Esp Gateway Built Upon Industry's First Zigbee Smart En

< BACK TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY starstarstarstarstar   Science - Information Technology Press Release
30th June 2009, 11:53pm - Views: 943





Science Information Technology Digi International 1 image





MEDIA RELEASE PR35244


Digi Announces ZigBee Smart Energy Certified ESP Gateway Built upon Industry's First ZigBee

Smart Energy-Ready Module


MINNETONKA, Minn., June 30 /PRNewswire-Asia/ --


- New comprehensive Smart Energy product family expands iDigi(TM) Energy offering -


    Digi International (Nasdaq: DGII) today introduced a comprehensive Smart Energy product family,

including the industry's first ZigBee Smart Energy ready modules and certified Energy Service Portal (ESP)

gateways built on these modules. The ZigBee Smart Energy public profile defines how a collection of

devices works cooperatively within a network, enabling utilities to intelligently manage energy loads, monitor

energy use and optimize consumption. As a device communication standard for home area networks

(HANs) selected by the U.S. Department of Energy in their initial standards framework for Smart Grid

development, ZigBee Smart Energy is a key technology for addressing America's energy management

needs in the future. With the release of ZigBee Smart Energy ready modules and gateways, Digi is making

this technology more accessible than ever before.




    Digi's new ZigBee Smart Energy product family includes the XBee(R) and XBee-PRO(R) SE ZigBee

modules and ConnectPort(TM) X2 ESP certified gateway. Built upon the existing XBee and XBee-PRO ZB,

the new XBee and XBee-PRO SE modules feature firmware that simplifies the development work required

to develop and certify a ZigBee Smart Energy device. The ConnectPort X2 ESP gateway provides the

connection between a consumer's HAN and an energy service provider over a broadband or cellular

connection.


    "We developed a new programmable and controllable thermostat using the XBee SE module," said

Michael Kuhlmann, president, Residential Control Systems. "The XBee SE module made the development

process easy and reduced development time of our industry-leading product by almost half."


    "Digi is taking a leadership role in creating the Smart Grid," said Joe Dunsmore, CEO, Digi International.

"Our March launch of iDigi Energy makes creating wireless energy management applications incredibly

easy. And now with this Smart Energy launch, our OEM customers can quickly create the interoperable

thermostats, in-home energy displays, metering devices and load controllers needed to make the Smart

Grid a reality."


    Digi ZigBee Smart Energy products also expand the recently launched iDigi Energy wireless M2M

solutions bundle, which features the hardware, hosted software and services necessary to quickly and

easily integrate Smart Grid devices. iDigi now includes Smart Energy ready hardware as well as Smart

Energy software support through the iDigi platform, a Platform as a Service (PaaS) that connects remote

assets to a customer's applications.


    "The ZigBee Smart Energy profile is the standard for Smart Grid applications," said Benno Ritter, vice

president of marketing at the ZigBee Alliance. "With the release of Digi's new product family, the company

is driving the energy industry forward by making it easier for OEMs to develop ZigBee Smart Energy

devices."


    XBee and XBee-PRO ZB ZigBee modules feature ZigBee Smart Energy-ready firmware for supporting

the implementation of each of the eight devices defined in the ZigBee Smart Energy public application

profile. These include ESPs, metering devices, in-premise display devices, programmable communicating

thermostats (PCTs), load controllers, range extenders, smart appliances and prepayment terminals.

Developers making these devices can now use Digi's Smart Energy products and iDigi Energy bundle to

dramatically reduce the development and certification time, and overall expertise required, to produce a

ZigBee Smart Energy product.


    Additionally, XBee and XBee-PRO ZB ZigBee modules handle networking, joining, authentication and

key establishment functions, and provide simple network and module configuration via the XBee Application

Programming Interface (API). Customers can also upgrade their existing XBee and XBee-PRO ZB modules

with Smart Energy firmware free of charge.


    The ConnectPort X2 ESP enables energy service providers to deploy HAN devices that are completely

managed by the Digi gateway over a broadband or cellular connection, allowing Smart Grid services to be

deployed in areas not covered by Smart Metering networks. Once a Smart Meter is installed, the gateway

can join that network providing programmable energy services in the home and secondary communication

paths over public networks for enhanced energy service offerings. The ConnectPort X2 ESP was tested

and certified using National Technical Systems' (NTS) ZigBee Smart Energy (SE)Test Harness.


    Digi has launched a development program for those interested in leveraging these products immediately.

For more information on this program, and to get started developing around Smart Energy today, visit

http://www.digi.com/smart-energy . For more information about iDigi Energy, visit http://www.idigi.com .


    About Digi International


    Digi International is making wireless M2M easy by developing reliable products and solutions to connect

and securely manage local or remote electronic devices over the network or via the Web. Digi offers the

highest levels of performance, flexibility and quality, and markets its products through a global network of

distributors and resellers, systems integrators and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). For more

information, visit Digi's Web site at http://www.digi.com , or call +852-2833-1008.


    About RCS


    RCS creates innovative products for the energy management and controls market. For 20 years, it has

been a leader in providing this market with a wide range of communicating thermostats and HVAC control

products, including zone controls and dampers. RCS has developed advanced, next generation thermostat

products that communicate with Utility Meters and support Demand Side Management (DSM) programs

providing energy savings to the end users and grid reliability to the Utilities. RCS also provides system level

solutions for monitoring and actively controlling energy consumption. These products include energy

manager controllers and monitoring devices like communicating electric and water meters. For more

information about RCS, visit http://www.resconsys.com .


    ZigBee: Control your world


    ZigBee is the global wireless language connecting dramatically different devices to work together and

enhance everyday life. The ZigBee Alliance is a non-profit association of more than 300 member

companies driving development of ZigBee wireless technology. The Alliance promotes world-wide adoption

of ZigBee as the leading wirelessly networked, sensing and control standard for use in consumer

electronics, energy, health care, home, commercial and industrial areas. For more information, visit: 



    About NTS


    National Technical Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of engineering services to the defense, aerospace,

telecommunications, automotive and high technology markets. Through a world-wide network of resources,

NTS provides full product life-cycle support, offering world class design engineering, compliance, testing,

certification, quality registration and program management. For additional information about NTS, visit

website at http://www.ntscorp.com , or call 800-270-2516.


    All brand names and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective

companies.


   Press Contacts:


     Kylie Chan

     Channel Marketing Manager, Asia Pacific 

Science Information Technology Digi International 2 image

     Digi International    

     Tel:   +852-2833-1008

     Fax:   +852-2572-9989 

     Email: kylie.chan@digi.com


SOURCE  Digi International




To view this and other AsiaNet releases please visit http://www.asianetnews.net






news articles logo NEWS ARTICLES
Contact News Articles |Remove this article