Landis+Gyr and Sense have announced a partnership that makes Sense technology available on Landis+Gyr’s Gridstream Connect IoT platform, enabling utilities to provide a wide range of home energy management services to consumers.
As part of this agreement, the Sense home-energy app, which monitors and measures energy used by electrical devices, will be available as an application that can be uploaded to the Connect IoT platform within Landis+Gyr’s advanced meters.
The Sense app has the potential to deliver many benefits to energy consumers, including:
- Improved efficiency – the app allows consumers to see in real time how much energy their appliances, lighting and other devices are consuming and discover ways to reduce their energy bill.
- Reliability and security – consumers can also remotely view which electrical devices are on at home and be alerted to issues with critical appliances that may need repair.
- Demand response – detailed, real-time energy information can help consumers and utilities shift the timing of energy use to better address supply, reduce costs and make the grid more reliable.
“The Sense application is a great example of how our IoT platform brings value to utilities and consumers. Applications such as this use the distributed computing power of our meters and devices to enable a wide range of benefits without requiring installation or maintenance of additional hardware,” said John Radgowski, vice president of Portfolio Management at Landis+Gyr.
Landis+Gyr also announced it has joined Schneider Electric, Energy Impact Partners, Shell Ventures, Prelude Ventures, Capricorn Investment Group and iRobot in bringing Sense’s B round funding to US$20 million. With this addition, Sense has received a total of US$40.6 million in funding since its founding in 2013.
“We’ve invested in Sense because of its unique capabilities at the intersection of energy and the smart home,” said Prasanna Venkatesan, president and CEO of the Americas region at Landis+Gyr. “Smart-home devices are already changing how homeowners relate to their home energy. With Sense, utilities will be able to offer consumers a unique view of their energy use at a level never offered before. We see this as a continual evolution in how grid-edge intelligence can and will support the future of energy management and delivery.”
Sense CEO Mike Phillips added, “We have found the key to engaging consumers around energy is to provide real-time, detailed views of energy and device activity, and to interface with an increasing number of smart home devices. We’re excited to be working with Landis+Gyr, which shares our vision that the core infrastructure of the smart grid should support consumer-facing technologies such as Sense, providing significant benefits to utilities and their customers.”
Smart meters offer the potential for consumers to make more informed energy choices. However, according to the Residential Energy Consumption Survey, only 8% of households reported being aware that they had access to hourly or daily data, and just 4% said they had accessed or viewed that data. Intuitive, engaging apps will make smart meters an integral part of the smart-home experience.
Gridstream Connect links intelligent devices with flexible communication options for a variety of functions, ranging from advanced metering and distribution automation to consumer engagement and street-light management. With the addition of Gridstream Connect Apps to the portfolio, utilities are able to access a variety of software applications to smart devices to enable grid-edge applications for smart communities while supporting new energy distribution strategies.
