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Cleantech

PG&E plans to start testing out home energy gadgets and software starting in March 2012 with a small group of customers, and the utility unveiled details of its plan this week. Here’s what you need to know. Read More »

Internet giants Google and Microsoft have officially given their web-based energy management tools the Donald Trump (as in You’re Fired!), and lannounced that they would be closing them down. But there are still over a dozen options trying to tackle this difficult market. Read More »

 
 

On the heels of Silion Valley startup iControl securing a deal to provide its software for Comcast’s new home security and energy management service, iControl announced that it has raised another $50 million in a Series D round from its long list of high profile investors Read More »

California’s groundbreaking set of rules on utility customer energy data are facing comment from the smart grid industry this week, and there’s still plenty of confusion over the fine print. In short, CPUC’s rules will need to change to avoid stifling the smart grid-home energy marketplace. Read More »

The Evolution of Home Energy Management

Tendril Networks is finally seeing some of its dozens of utility pilots blossom into full-scale commercial deployments numbering in the millions of homes. But where does Tendril’s classic model of in-home devices linked to smart meters fit into today’s brave new world of home energy management? Read More »

California Lays Out Smart Meter Privacy Rules

California’s utility regulator has proposed rules on how home energy devices should protect smart meter data privacy — and whether the device is “locked” into one company’s platform or technology or not will be a big deal. Read More »

Consumers Will Lead the Way for Smart Grid Adoption

How do we get consumers to use less energy and to use it smarter? State and local governments might be able to incentivize smart grid rollouts, but to ensure adoption, utilities will need to educate consumers and giving them the right tools, such as peak pricing. Read More »

At Green:Net next week, we’ll be exploring how adding IT technologies to anything from the power grid, to data centers, to buildings, to lighting can lead to energy efficiency and a more sustainable consumption of increasingly-constrained resources. Read More »

Smart grid network players are slowing choosing their preferred startups to provide applications and devices at the edges of the network. On Tuesday, Cisco announced that it has made an equity investment in, and created a distribution partnership with, Control4. Read More »

It’s time for the home energy management firms that have been leading the pack to bulk up. Home automation company Control4, is in the process of raising $25 million and has closed $15 million of that round, according to a filing. Read More »

Schneider Electric launched a bare bones, utility-centric line of home energy management gear on Tuesday, staking its claim to the residential energy market on the premise that homeowners will choose elegant simplicity over flashy high-tech. Read More »

Is 2011 the year that consumers will finally warm to using gadgets and software to manage their home energy consumption? Startups like Tendril and Control4 are using the DistribuTECH show this week to tout new deals and partnerships that they hope will build up the market. Read More »

More Must Reads

Silver Spring Networks, which builds smart grid networks for utilities, today announced a reseller partnership with Control4, a startup that provides home automation gear and services. This deal between the two leaders in these spaces shows how the smart home sector is maturing. Read More »

For the first time, power company NRG Energy and its utility Reliant Energy are making a showing at the massive gadget love-fest CES. Why? As Reliant Energy President Jason Few told me, this is the beginning of the “digitization of the power grid.” Read More »

Motorola has touted its plans for the so-called smart home for years, and now it’s planning to acquire its way in with a startup that highlights energy management: 4Home. Will more telcos and service providers get into smart energy, too? Read More »

You know a problem has gotten out of hand when there’s a task force created to address it. Today PG&E and partners announced the creation of the “Smart Grid Task Force” that will tackle an area that has been sorely needed for the smart grid: public … Read More »

Consumer electronics bigwig Belkin has just launched a $30 device that can measure household power use by watts, dollars and carbon footprint from any appliance or device that plugs into a wall socket. But will consumers pay for DIY home energy management? That’s still unclear. Read More »

Whether you see Apple’s tablet the iPad as the catalyst of a digital media revolution, or just another gadget that Steve Jobs wants you to spend your hard-earned cash on, it’s hard to avoid the black hole that is the iPad buzz this week. But beyond … Read More »

While there could be a variety of effects of the success of the iPad on the energy consumption of computing (Greenpeace’s and other’s takes here), applications developed for the iPad could also play a role in promoting fuel economy and home energy efficiency. Read More »

Distributech, the once-sleepy power grid trade show, has been transformed into a high-profile smart grid showcase over the past couple of years — this year’s show in Tampa, Fla. is no exception. Here’s 10 things you should pay attention to coming outta Distributech this year. Read More »

The disgruntled backlash over the installation of smart meters in a couple communities in the U.S. (currently Bakersfield, Calif., and Dallas, Texas) has rattled utilities, tech vendors and smart grid startups. In an attempt to start to create a better way to communicate with … Read More »

When it comes to smart grid data, how much is enough — and how much is too much? That question could pit the IT industry’s hopes to use smart grid data to help people save energy — and make money — against customer privacy and data … Read More »

If 2009 was the year that the smart grid became a hot buzz word and utilities first started to look into energy management devices for their customers, 2010 will be all about how to tackle the emergence of the consumer energy management market. If you need … Read More »

Consumer electronics makers, utilities and software designers have launched some interesting products at CES. How about a Zigbee-enabled thermostat? Read More »

People Power, the latest Silicon Valley venture focused on the home energy management space, will officially launch today, hoping its consumer-friendly product design and open-source home area network platform will make it stand out in an increasingly crowded industry. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup has … Read More »

While the idea of an investment bubble growing for the smart grid isn’t new, the rhetoric around the question of whether or not we’re in the midst of a smart grid bubble has only risen in recent weeks. At the AlwaysOn Going Green conference in … Read More »

The current momentum behind the smart grid industry, which includes billions of dollars from the smart grid stimulus funds, is convincing utilities to partner up with new startups. Here’s the latest: Two year-old startup EnergyHub, which makes a sort of ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) for … Read More »

The idea behind vertically integrated companies is that each of its subsidiaries produces a part of the value-chain that, when connected together, delivers a stronger force. Think of steel barons owning mines, mills and railways, or American Apparel controlling production, distribution and marketing. For the smart … Read More »

Scan our list of the companies lining up to get a piece of the roughly $4 billion in stimulus funds for the smart grid and here’s what you’ll find: utilities far and away dominate the queue. But dig a little deeper and you’ll see that … Read More »

This week, once again, we heard even more noise from both startups and large firms looking to grab a piece of the smart energy home space. On Wednesday dueling announcements emerged from energy management startup Tendril and conglomerate General Electric about a smart appliance partnership, … Read More »

Home automation company Control4 is already predicting annual revenue of around $70 million from its wireless home entertainment, security and lighting management products. Now the company has set its sights on one of the buzziest areas in cleantech: smart meters. On Wednesday morning, Control4 will … Read More »

Foundation Capital will open the doors to its new green offices, decked out with technology from its cleantech portfolio companies, next Monday. The firm is pursuing LEED certification. Read More »

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