SAN RAMON, Calif., Jan. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — The ZigBee® Alliance, a global ecosystem of companies creating wireless solutions for use in energy management, commercial and consumer applications, and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) today announced their collaboration on ZigBee Smart Energy™ standard development. Their efforts will make ZigBee Smart Energy the preferred technology supporting Plug-In Electric Vehicles (PEV) and enabling essential vehicle to grid (V2G) communication and power capabilities.

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ZigBee Smart Energy is the market leading home area network and advanced metering infrastructure standard for the Smart Grid. The collaboration recognizes the important role SAE plays as the focal point for integrating automobile communication with emerging energy management requirements. Using ZigBee Smart Energy to define how PEVs and the grid interact, whether at the consumer’s home or at a remote location, will be one of the goals the two groups address. Ultimately, this initiative will provide future PEV drivers with the real-time information needed to control their transportation energy use, manage their charging costs and receive utility incentives for participating in PEV programs. It also provides the essential control functions necessary to safely manage the charging of PEVs while maintaining grid integrity.

“Adding ZigBee Smart Energy to PEVs will give automakers and utilities a common language to manage the charging, storage and use of energy in PEVs,” said Richard Scholer, SAE Hybrid Vehicle Communications Task Force Committee Chair. “SAE’s formidable task is to help coordinate the urgent efforts of many different companies, industries and disciplines. It realizes the faster standards appear, the sooner electric-powered vehicles can gain consumer acceptance as a new and reliable mode of transportation.”

Work between the groups is already underway with completion targeted for this year when ZigBee Smart Energy version 2.0 is scheduled for completion. SAE joins ZigBee Smart Energy development efforts, which are led by some of the largest utilities, suppliers and technology companies in the world.

“With an estimated 40 million smart meters integrated with ZigBee Smart Energy in homes, SAE’s involvement will give consumers an effective way to manage their PEV energy needs,” said Bob Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance. “With SAE and ZigBee working together to create the needed standardized infrastructure, millions of consumers will be able to take advantage of rechargeable vehicles, speeding their adoption and allowing everyone to benefit.”

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 allowing consumers the means to manage their energy consumption more precisely using automation and near real-time information and additionally gives consumers the ability to choose interoperable energy saving ZigBee Certified products from a variety of different manufacturers and connect them into a home energy management network. It 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. For more information and a list of ZigBee Certified products, visit: www.ZigBee.org/SmartEnergy.

About SAE

SAE International is a global association of 115,000 engineers and related technical experts in the automotive, aerospace and commercial-vehicle industries. SAE International’s core competencies are life-long learning and standards development. SAE International’s charitable arm is the SAE Foundation, which supports many programs, including A World in Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series. SAE International Ground Vehicle Standards Technical Committees are leading the vehicle transportation industry in the development of standards to provide the safe and effective implementation of hybrid/electric vehicles. SAE International standards play a key role in market access, reducing costs, increasing productivity, improving market position and advancing new technologies. To find out more about how SAE International is addressing the challenges of transportation connectivity visit the new vehicle electrification portal at http://www.EVSAE.COM

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 members 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