"smart meter" articles

Safety and security in the home has expanded beyond the long-term mainstays of burglar and fire alarms. There are now varied smart home devices that provide security and safety in the home  as well as convenience and peace of mind for the consumer. Key industry players are leading various sales channels for these devices, with security system providers at the forefront of that effort. Security system providers represent the sales channel for about one-third of all the safety...

Parks Associates research shows that 51% of U.S. broadband households find an IoT device that alerts them to smoke and fire to be highly appealing, and 41% find a device that alerts them to a water leak highly appealing. The international research firm will explore how insurance companies can leverage these smart home solutions to avoid costs, mitigate damage, and increase customer value and satisfaction during the complimentary webcast “ Insurance: Impact of IoT in the U.S....

Parks Associates home energy management research finds that only 30% of the 160 million meters in the United States have been upgraded to smart meters. This means that a majority of meters have no communications within U.S. broadband households. To complicate the matter further, there are over 10 million load control devices deployed using hundreds of different demand response communication approaches.  No single technology is used by more than 10% of utilities. As...

According to John Chambers, CEO at Cisco , the Internet of Things (IoT) will create $14 trillion in profits over the next 10 years by putting objects like cars, door locks, appliances, and smart meters on the Internet. Cisco believes that by 2017, there will be about 2.8 billion machines on the Internet, which is about 30% of the devices connected to the internet worldwide, up from 960 million devices and 17% in 2012. These devices will lead to the creation of new apps,...

Concerned that the new, digital electrical meters are unhealthy, expose customer data to computer hackers and terrorists, or give the government a tool of control? There's hope, you might not have to get a smart meter after all. Key lawmakers have threatened to propose legislation requiring utilities to allow customers to decline a smart meter, unless the commission creates a way for people to opt out pronto. Some electricity customers worry the digital meters, which use wireless...

Energy management is moving into mainstream markets. Smart meter deployments will reach 56 million by 2015, at which time 45% of U.S. households will have a smart meter. Smart meters and the data they generate will enable utilities to add services to improve their relationship with consumers. Energy management systems can mine each customer's smart meter data and provide meaningful comparisons, individualized recommendations, and real-time feedback on usage anomalies. Broadband and...

Telecom equipment maker Ericsson has predicted there will be 50 billion devices connected to data networks by 2020. They predict those connected devices won’t just include computers and smartphones, but cars, homes and industrial devices, as well. For this type of convenience, the potential for hackers, cybercriminals and armies, is eminent-all those newly networked machines represent billions of new targets. The security problem will be much bigger than trying to secure your laptop...

A 3D TV? A smartphone? A smart meter? Digital Lifestyles: Outlook 2010, a new industry report focuses on the consumer, with an emphasis on expanding and enhancing user experiences in communications, entertainment, support, and connectivity. This report provides analysis, forecasts, and industry and consumer drivers for a variety of digital lifestyle categories including: Access Services, Television Services, Mobile Services and Devices, Digital Media and Gaming, Trends in...