The ZigBee Allianceannounced that an update to ZigBee® Smart Energy™ version 1, the first and only widely available Advanced Metering Infrastructure standard, is now available for product development and public download.
ZigBee states that the ZigBee Smart Energy is the industry leading standard helping to create greener homes by giving consumers the information and automation they need to easily reduce their energy consumption and save money. ZigBee Smart Energy version 1.1 adds several important features including dynamic pricing enhancements, tunneling of other protocols, prepayment features, over-the-air updates and backwards compatibility with certified ZigBee Smart Energy products version 1.0. These features not only make it easier for consumers to use, but also make it ideal for utilities and energy service providers to deploy and operate. Plus, the over-the-air update feature enables easy upgrades to existing installations.