Matter & OpenADR link up for home energy management

The Connectivity Standards Alliance and the OpenADR Alliance have signed a liaison agreement covering grid-connected residential energy management, linking the work of two standards bodies active in smart home systems and electricity demand response.

The agreement sets out how the groups plan to divide responsibilities between their protocols. Matter, the smart home standard overseen by the Connectivity Standards Alliance, is intended to manage communication inside the home between appliances and an energy gateway. OpenADR 3 is designed to handle communication between that gateway, utilities and grid operators.

The structure is meant to create a single path for information to move from the electricity grid to devices in the home. It is also intended to reduce confusion for manufacturers that have had to navigate multiple standards as demand grows for connected energy products such as electric vehicle chargers, heat pumps, solar systems and home batteries.

Utilities are also under pressure as power systems take in a larger share of renewable energy and households add more electric equipment. In that environment, demand response systems that can adjust electricity use in response to grid signals have become more important in balancing supply and demand.

Protocol split

The liaison agreement establishes a clearer division between applications inside the home and utility-facing systems. For appliance makers and service providers, that could mean a more defined technical path for building products that can participate in flexibility programmes.

The Connectivity Standards Alliance is best known for Matter, a protocol backed by many of the largest consumer technology and electronics groups. Its board includes representatives from Amazon, Apple, Google, Huawei, IKEA, LG Electronics, Schneider Electric, Siemens and Samsung Electronics, reflecting broad industry support for a common smart home standard.

The OpenADR Alliance focuses on standards for demand-side energy management and distributed energy resources. Its OpenADR framework is used for communication between utilities and energy assets involved in load management, including demand response and electric vehicle charging.

The aim is to make those layers work together more smoothly as homes add more devices that can shift their electricity use. Regulators in some markets have already shown interest in requiring OpenADR 3, adding relevance to efforts to align it more closely with the smart home systems used by device makers.

Jon Harros, Head of Testing and Certification at the Connectivity Standards Alliance, said the arrangement is intended to simplify adoption across the market. "This collaboration is about enabling utilities, manufacturers and platforms to make things simpler for everyone across the energy ecosystem," Harros said. "By bringing the energy ecosystem together, our members are creating a clear roadmap for device makers, and enabling utilities to scale with confidence, resulting in trusted, reliable solutions consumers can depend on."

Industry pressure

The move comes as manufacturers look for ways to connect consumer devices to utility programmes without building separate integrations for each market or operator. A common approach could reduce development and maintenance demands for companies producing connected appliances and residential energy equipment.

Device makers could also gain easier access to flexibility schemes that pay or reward households for shifting power use. Consumers, in turn, could receive bill credits or other incentives if their devices can respond to grid signals under utility programmes.

For utilities, the appeal is a more standardised route to demand response across a growing base of connected household equipment. That matters as networks seek more controllable load to help manage peaks in electricity demand and the variability associated with renewable generation.

Rolf Bienert, Managing and Technical Director of the OpenADR Alliance, said the group sees the link-up as a way to extend participation in these programmes to newer categories of smart home products. "OpenADR has been a proven standard for demand side management and flexibility since 2012," Bienert said. "By working with the members of the Connectivity Standards Alliance, we can help position the next generation of smart home devices to participate in the flexibility programs that utilities and governments are counting on."

The agreement highlights how standards bodies are trying to reduce fragmentation as the home becomes a more active part of energy systems, spanning appliances, vehicle charging, battery storage and solar generation. Together, Matter and OpenADR 3 are intended to provide an end-to-end communications pathway from grid operators to individual devices in the home.