Today, energy management and efficiency has become a key battle cry, cutting across multiple industries and drawing modern society into a unified quest — to effectively address global energy issues. Why has the issue of energy management and efficiency become so critical? The answer lies in understanding global macro trends like scarce energy resources, increased competition for resources and global warming, which when combined, are driving a strong need for increased energy efficiency. A recent International Energy Agency forecast, for example, suggested that the worldwide demand for electricity will rise to 30,116 billion kilowatt-hours in 2030. That number is more than double the 2003 level. And, according to the North American Electric Reliability Council, in the next decade alone, the United States will need to build an additional 160 large power plants to meet demand. Moreover, despite high energy prices through 2030, Asian energy demand and subsequent growth is expected to be even higher at around 2% a year.

These statistics are sobering to a society that in many cases — especially in the United States — has come to expect energy on demand. Luckily, potential solutions are available to help fight the predicated global energy crisis on the horizon. One such avenue is the utilization of a wireless communication technology like ZigBee. Its ultralow-power features, low cost, ease of installation, interoperability and mesh capability make it ideal for emerging energy management and efficiency solutions such as home automation systems. In this capacity, the technology can be used to help utility companies cut their costs while also empowering consumers to make informed decisions about when to use electrical appliances.

The charge to use ZigBee as the technical foundation for emerging energy management and efficiency applications is being led by the ZigBee Alliance and its member companies. Their goal is to deliver solutions that help consumers, businesses and utilities improve efficiency, reduce the need for new power plants and save money. Those efforts appear to be paying off. Some of the world's leading and innovative energy companies, ranging from utilities to suppliers have recently joined the alliance and are relying on ZigBee solutions. Utilities such as CenterPoint Energy, Southern California Edison and Sempra Utilities are working alongside other member companies to use existing low cost and easily installable ZigBee products and services. As a result of these alliance member's efforts, more ZigBee products are being shipped to utility companies around the world than ever before.

CenterPoint Energy, for example, is promoting and deploying intelligent grid technology. It is using ZigBee to provide a crucial link in making its advanced metering infrastructure upgrade an even more robust reality. Ember, a provider of ZigBee networks for smarter, more energy-efficient buildings and homes, is now providing its second-generation chips and third-generation software for use in building automation, integrated home automation and advanced metering. In 2006, The Westmont Hospitality Group used Ember's wireless technology to eliminate energy waste and reduce costs up to 40% at its Comfort Inn and Holiday Inn properties. In fact, using the Ember-enabled WiSuite Environmental Management System from Riga Development, Westmont expects to save millions of dollars annually by automating and controlling the energy efficiency of every hotel room, while enhancing the comfort of occupants. According to the company, it is the ZigBee industry's first significant building automation deployment, and demonstrates the dramatic energy conservation and cost savings potential of ZigBee technology.

Another application, a refrigerator magnet from Southern California Edison, monitors household energy use, allowing the consumer to gauge power consumption in the same way that utilities read an electrical meter. The magnet-lined plastic card, designed by Talon Communications of San Diego, houses a wireless microchip based on ZigBee. The device is being studied by the California utility as part of a pilot program aimed at one day cutting costs by eliminating the need to manually read meters. It would also enable consumers to see how much electricity they're consuming — high, medium, or low — and make adjustments accordingly, especially in periods of peak demand when consumption can be critical.

These examples offer a sampling of the ways in which ZigBee can be used for emerging energy management and efficiency applications. To understand how ZigBee is, and will continue to be, used by global energy companies and suppliers, Emerging Wireless Technology interviewed three companies: Cellnet Technology, CenterPoint Energy and Itron. What follows is a detailed look at those discussions.