SAN JOSE, Calif., April 12, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Commercial buildings will soon be able to connect to the "Smart Grid" with ease thanks to a new strategic relationship between industry alliances LonMark® International and OpenADR. LonMark, a non-profit association for the certification, education and promotion of interoperability standards for control networking, and the OpenADR Alliance, a nonprofit corporation created to foster the development, adoption and compliance of a Smart Grid standard known as Open Automated Demand Response (OpenADR), today announced that they are working together to enable interoperability between certified products that will better enable commercial buildings to manage their energy uses on the Smart Grid.
The "Smart Grid" - digital networks connecting utilities, power-delivery systems and buildings - is designed to keep these buildings from overtaxing the power grid or having to reduce power consumption. Today, more than one-third of U.S. commercial buildings have some form of energy management and control systems installed, which makes them ideal candidates to participate in utility mandated Demand Response programs using standard interfaces such as OpenADR.
"In order for buildings to benefit from OpenADR they must have automated control systems that can be programmed to respond to price and DR event signals without negatively impacting comfort or productivity," said Girish Ghatikar, a member of the OpenADR Alliance board of directors. "Having access to energy management systems based on technology like LonMark standards can help people better manage their energy consumption."
LonMark allows buildings connected to the smart grid to utilize granular automation and enhanced control strategies to better maximize energy efficiency, without impacting client comfort and productivity. Buildings participating in an OpenADR program can leverage the existing building automation systems and protocols through a well-defined, standard interface to accept the OpenADR signal using a common language over any existing IP-based communications network such as the Internet. Through a pre-programmed set of events, the building automation system can reduce load according to the messages it receives. In addition, it may bring real-time energy consumption information back to the utility or service provider.
"One of our primary goals at LonMark is to help all buildings – whether commercial, industrial or residential – enjoy a more secure and intelligent energy infrastructure," said Tracy Markie, chairman of LonMark International. "Working with OpenADR and other organizations with similar goals facilitates this process, making ubiquitous energy conservation and management much more obtainable by all."
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About LonMark International
LonMark International is a non-profit corporation supporting the testing and certification of products, people and companies supporting the ISO/IEC 14908 body of standards. Its nearly 400 members manufacture, distribute, develop, install or use systems based on these standards. For more information about LonMark International, please visit www.lonmark.org.
About OpenADR Alliance:
The OpenADR Alliance is fostering the development, adoption, and compliance of the Open Automated Demand Response (OpenADR) standard through collaboration, education, training, testing, and certification. The OpenADR Alliance intends to work with related organizations such as the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel, Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS), North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB), Utilities Communications Architecture International User's Group (UCAIug), Wi-Fi Alliance™, ZigBee Alliance™ and others as appropriate.
The OpenADR Alliance is open to all interested stakeholders sharing a common interest in facilitating and accelerating the use and adoption of the OpenADR standard for price- and reliability-based demand response. More information can be obtained at http://www.openadr.org/
CONTACT:Shannon Mayette LonMark International Tel: +1 602.882.4733 shannon.mayette@lonmark.org Barry Haaser OpenADR Alliance Tel: +1 408 778 8370 barry@openadr.org