Press
Onzo awarded ZigBee certification for new in home display
Onzo, a leading supplier of customer intelligence tools for energy utilities, is pleased to announce that it has received ZigBee Smart Energy certification for the new Onzo ZigBee display.
The Zigbee display is the next generation version of the company’s award-winning energy display, which gives consumers real-time information about how much electricity they are using in their home and how much it is costing them.
It builds on previous capabilities by being able to communicate wirelessly with the new ZigBee enabled smart meters that are being installed in tens of millions of homes across the world. Onzo has used its expertise with in-home displays (IHDs) to design a highly cost effective unit with an industry leading set of features.
Unlike other displays, utilities can configure it to offer the appropriate set of features for individual customers, based on the specific tariff or fuels used in their home. It provides information relating to both electricity and gas consumption, making it ideal for consumers using multi-fuel tariffs to get a fuller picture of their total energy consumption. It also has a suite of tools designed to help users understand and get the most from “time-of-use“ tariffs, where pricing changes over the course of the day as the load on the grid varies.
By enabling utilities to let their customers know when it is a cheaper time to use electricity it can improve the effectiveness of time-of-use tariffs, which have had limited success to date due to a lack of understanding by end users. Messages can also be sent directly from the utility to individual displays, providing utilities with another way to support a consumer’s specific needs. The Onzo ZigBee display can also show water use information where available.
As well as showing basic information such as instant power consumption, energy used and actual spend information over different time periods, it includes intelligent EnergyToolsTM which help customers to understand their usage at a glance, and compare against personal targets. Independent reviews show that customers love the tactile nature of the display and appreciate the use of clear information. The ability to carry the display around their home teaches them about the consumption of individual appliances, engaging them in energy saving.
Consumers can upload data from their display onto Onzo’s web portal, where insights derived from advanced data analytics are presented, allowing them to review their energy use over time and receive energy-saving tips via multiple platforms including web, email, printed reports, text messages and smart phone apps.
For utilities, Onzo’s single button ZigBee pairing mechanism makes installation straightforward, significantly simplifying deployment to their customers’ homes. It supports ECC certificates, allowing utilities to provision security and pairing through their installed meter infrastructure. This means that the display can be shipped to consumers to fit themselves, removing the cost of an installer visit.
Joel Hagan, CEO of Onzo, said: “Today marks a new and important phase in our plans to offer ground-breaking in-home-displays and services around the world. ZigBee is leading the way in ensuring the interoperability between in-home-displays and smart metering, which is why we’re so proud of our ZigBee display.
“As global utilities prepare to roll out smart meters to millions of homes, this new product opens up a whole host of new opportunities for us. We look forward to helping those already pressing ahead with a residential smart meter roll-out to build better relationships with their customers through our new and improved products. The display is already deployed in trials with a major utility. It has the most competitive price point for this functionality and is available now.”
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Technical information contact:
Nick Hunn, +44 (0) 7768 890 148
nick.hunn@onzo.com
About ZigBee Smart Energy
ZigBee Smart Energy is the world's leading standard for interoperable products that monitor, control, inform and automate the delivery and use of energy and water. It helps create greener homes by giving consumers the information and automation needed to easily reduce their consumption and save money, too. This standard supports the diverse needs of a global ecosystem of utilities, product manufacturers and government groups as they plan to meet future energy and water needs. For further information please visit http://www.zigbee.org
