STMicroelectronics (ST) announced that Enel has selected ST to be its key semiconductor partner in the Energy@Home consortium launched by Electrolux, Enel, Indesit and Telecom Italia in October 2009, with the objective of helping private home owners and customers use electricity in a more efficient way.
The Energy@Home initiative will develop a system in which “smart appliances” will be able to independently manage themselves, thereby adjusting the power being used across the entire home and avoiding consumption peaks and overloads. The project is a further step towards the development of the so-called "smart grid," which, in the future, will allow information from appliances to "self-program" depending on power supply and price. As a result, appliances will start functioning at non-peak (and therefore at less expensive) times of day, avoiding meter shutdowns due to overloads and automatically balance consumption without jeopardizing proper execution of equipment.
