Newsletter – December 2013

THIS MONTH…..
–TRENDS
–EYE CATCHING
–DISCUSSIONS
–EXISTING CODE
–SECURITY
–LASTLY

–TRENDS
The stuff going on in the big picture now…..

US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, current and past average…..

Electricity Price per KWH

Year	September	October	Trend	% Change
2013	$0.137	$0.132	Decrease	-3.65%

Year	October	Trend	% Change	% Since
2003	$0.093	Same	0.00%	0.00%
2004	$0.094	Increase	1.08%	1.08%
2005	$0.102	Increase	8.51%	9.68%
2006	$0.112	Increase	9.80%	20.43%
2007	$0.117	Increase	4.46%	25.81%
2008	$0.126	Increase	7.69%	35.48%
2009	$0.126	Same	0.00%	35.48%
2010	$0.127	Increase	0.79%	36.56%
2011	$0.130	Increase	2.36%	39.78%
2012	$0.128	Decrease	-1.54%	37.63%
2013	$0.132	Increase	3.13%	41.94%

–EYE CATCHING
The stuff that has caught our eye…..

Demand Response

• IEEE approves a new standard designed to support low-frequency, narrow-band Power Line Communications and Smart Grid applications.
• A report describing new Demand Response opportunities in Texas.
• Growth from a past article announcing a Demand Response mapping partnership, identifying localities that have Demand Response offerings.
• A map from Google, identifying localities that have Automated Meter Reading offerings.

Smart Grid – Consumer

• A discussion of how the consumer impacts the Smart Grid.
• An info-graphic illustrating the importance of residential Demand Response.

Smart Grid – Producer

• A report finding Oklahoma Gas and Electric is the world’s highest ranked Smart Grid project.
• A report calculating the global Smart Grid Technology market is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 29.47 percent over the period 2012-2016.
• A report of Smart Grid technology investment forecasts over the period 2012-2030.
• An article describing Smart Grid infrastructure investment to reach $274.9 billion in emerging nations.
• An article indicating the Smart Grid is driving current housing design and construction.
• A report sharing why Asia represents the next frontier for Demand Response programs.
• A commentary stating the Smart Grid is the future of energy conservation in India.
• An article that Pakistan is struggling to develop cost-effective, energy-efficient alternatives to their current infrastructure.
• An article sharing Smart Grids are key for meeting rising energy demand in Saudi Arabia.

Smart Grid – Security

• A report describing security is still a very big problem for the Smart Grid to overcome.
• An article recommending the Smart Grid use the learning of IT for reducing the potential of suffering a security compromise.

–DISCUSSIONS
The stuff we are talking about now…..

2013
The launch of the GNU remotecontrol software project this year resulted in all things moving much faster than we originally expected. Comments and recommendations came in faster, as did new people wanting to participate in the project. We have met people from many parts of the world. We have worked with some very, very sharp folks doing what they do very well. This year has clearly shown us the need and the want for GNU remotecontrol to be a part of the Smart Grid. There is always something to be thankful for, through an attitude of gratitude. We are grateful for being part of a software project that has people wanting to accomplish the goals of the project, along with end-users that contribute back to the project.

2014
We plan to continue our research focused on the empathic design approach and further develop GNU remotecontrol. Working directly with end-users is a sound plan for understanding how to meet their needs, through their interaction with what is being offered to them. Our plan for 2014 is structured into three separate, but interconnected, efforts. These efforts are arrived at from the feedback we have received and the direction of where we believe GNU remotecontrol should go.

• Demand Response – OpenADR is the way we are going to implement this functionality in GNU remotecontrol.
• Unattended Server Side Automation – There are many different options available to increase automation of GNU remotecontrol to support Demand Response. We have a list of about two dozen recommendations from both ourselves and end-users. We plan to test PHP and SQL stored procedures to accomplish this effort.
• Power Line Communication – There are millions of miles of electrical wiring in this world waiting to be used for gaining access to a networked HVAC thermostat. It makes sense to try to use those wires for implementing GNU remotecontrol on a large scale basis. IEEE has provided GNU remotecontrol a complimentary copy of IEEE 1901-2010, IEEE Standard for Broadband over Power Line Networks: Medium Access Control and Physical Layer Specifications. The reason they provided this copy to us is so we can gain sufficient knowledge to discuss field testing requirements of Power Line Communication (PLC) devices and speak to the standard in collaborative efforts within the Energy Management industry. GNU remotecontrol is grateful to IEEE for their support to further develop this software project.

Talk to us with your comments and suggestions on our plan for the next year.

OTHER TYPES OF THERMOSTATS?
Many people have asked us about adding other types of thermostats to GNU remotecontrol. There are three questions that need to be answered before we can offer GNU remotecontrol support for any IP thermostat. These questions are:

• How to CONNECT to it (NETWORK).
• How to READ from it (CODE).
• How to WRITE to it (CODE).

It is our hope to have dozens and dozens of thermostat types that work with GNU remotecontrol. Let us know if you designed or manufactured a device and you would like to test it with GNU remotecontrol.

–EXISTING CODE
The stuff you may want to consider…..

BUGS
We have 0 new bugs and 0 fixed bugs since our last Blog posting. Please review these changes and apply to your GNU remotecontrol installation, as appropriate.

TASKS
We have 0 new tasks and 0 completed tasks since our last Blog posting. Please review these changes and apply to your GNU remotecontrol installation, as appropriate.

–SECURITY
The stuff you REALLY want to consider…..

BREAKING AND BYPASSING
A presentation from the Black Hat Briefings – 2013 USA Conference describing breaking home security systems and bypassing buildings controls.

REMEMBER
GNU remotecontrol relies on OS file access restrictions, Apache authentication, MySQL authentication, and SSL encryption to secure your data. Talk to us you want to find out how you can further strengthen the security of your system, or you have suggestions for improving the security of our current system architecture.

–LASTLY
Whatever you do…..don’t get beat up over your Energy Management strategy. GNU remotecontrol is here to help simplify your life, not make it more complicated. Talk to us if you are stuck or cannot figure out the best option for your GNU remotecontrol framework. The chances are the answer you need is something we have already worked through. We would be happy to help you by discussing your situation with you.

…..UNTIL NEXT MONTH!