Multiple alliances collaborate to launch Consortium for SEP 2 Interoperability

Paul Buckley

October 29, 2011

Paul Buckley

HomePlug Alliance, Wi-Fi Alliance and ZigBee Alliance has signed an agreement formalizing the Consortium for SEP 2 Interoperability. The Consortium will provide the Smart Grid ecosystem with confidence in application and device interoperability. The ecosystem embraces utilities, product vendors and consumers.

The agreement defines the structure for the Consortium as it develops an interoperability testing suite. Plans for the Consortium were announced in August 2011.

The Consortium is focused on accelerating the market availability of interoperable Smart Energy Profile 2 (SEP 2) products so that consumers can enjoy the numerous energy management benefits of the Smart Grid via wired and wireless networks. SEP 2 is an Internet Protocol-based application selected in 2009 by the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as a standard for home energy management devices.

The Consortium will create and maintain a comprehensive test and certification test suite to validate interoperability for a variety of wired or wireless devices. Products to be certified as a result of the Consortium's work are expected to include thermostats, appliances, electric meters, gateways, electric vehicles, and countless other devices in the Smart Grid.

"Product interoperability is essential to the realization of the Smart Grid. The Consortium will work to enable interoperability validation across the diverse Smart Grid ecosystem," said Edgar Figueroa, chairman of the Consortium.

For further information: http://www.sep2i.org.

This article originally appeared on EE Times Europe.