COPENHAGEN–The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers has issued a white paper detailing guidelines to encourage the use of smart grid-enabled home appliances, to coincide with the United Nations Climate Change Conference taking place here.
Titled “The Home Appliance Industry’s Principles & Requirements for Achieving a Widely Accepted Smart Grid,” the publication sets out three requirements for a smart grid:
1. The development of uniform pricing- and usage-information standards regarding residential electricity, that would provide a harmonized way of communicating local rate and timing information.
2. Open and limited standards and protocols for communications with “smart” appliances, which would ensure a national marketplace allowing such appliances to be used anywhere in the country.
3. The ability for consumers to control and monitor their own appliances, rather than a utility.
An AHAM statement said smart appliances would promote energy efficiency and environmental protection by reducing peak energy demand and making the power grid more efficient. They would also save consumers money through reduced electric bills, and help reduce the need for additional power plants.