Modstroem, a Danish utility company, is guaranteeing its customers savings on their electricity bill with a new energy-monitoring product based on Z-Wave tools. The Modstroem solution allows the company to advise consumers on how to reduce their energy consumption. The savings can then be returned to the household or can be reinvested in CO2 quotes that Modstroem buys and destroys. An ordinary household with an average consumption of 4000 kW/hr. per year can save the environment at least two tons of CO2 per year, the company said.
The system uses a small digital camera mounted on the meter to read energy usage, which customers can view it on a Web site. Z-Wave permits control of devices to reduce energy use through the same wireless technology and the same gateway that is used for the monitoring. Since the meter does not have to be replaced, installation is simple.
The Modstroem offering is supported by the Danish Energy Savings Trust (DEST), an independent subsidiary of the newly established Energy & Climate Ministry in Denmark. After intensive in-house research, DEST publicly recommended Z-Wave over competing technologies, primarily due to the large variety of products available from members in the Z-Wave Alliance, its superior interoperability, better range, low power consumption, and the fact that Z-Wave is not affected by the growing interference from WLAN/Wi-Fi and other devices that work in the 2.4-GHz band.
“Modstroem is a tremendous example of how a scalable, yet simple solution can make this world a little greener,” said Tony Shakib, the CEO of Zensys, the company behind the Z-Wave technology. “Hand in hand with the marketing drive to explain consumers how energy can be saved, we expect it to be highly effective. We believe that a system like Modstroem’s that is easily installed and does not require an overhaul of the energy metering infrastructure is a very attractive addition to the many other energy conservation solutions that have been developed by Z-Wave Alliance members.”
Modstroem
www.modstroem.dk