Home monitoring and remote control for the next generation: energy management and home security from your Intamac portal account. http://www.intamac.com/ Your copyright information Wed 17 Feb 2010 17:22 GMT The ‘connected home’ is really starting to become a reality. With more and more devices that link to the home network arriving in stores the prices are plummeting. Broadband is cheaper and service providers are under pressure to find new ways to exploit their mobile and fixed broadband networks. In addition, concern for carbon emissions and new smart grid strategies are driving the deployment of still more networked devices. There are challenges though.Kevin Meagher, CEO at Intamac Systems, gave his insight and opinion on the subject of the connected home to Hometoys.com, the respected home technology e-magazine.  Click here to read what he has to say on the subject. http://www2.intamac.com/blog/broadband-a-new-utility.html Wed 10 Feb 2010 21:47 GMT It has been well documented in the press of late that we can all expect our energy bills to dramatically rise over the next few years.  In spite of news that British Gas has just cut its prices by 7% - saving its customers an average of around £55 per year on their gas bills - the outlook for the longer term is much bleaker.  Energy regulator OFGEM has warned that by 2020 we could expect to see energy bills breaking the £2000-a-year mark (a 25% increase on current levels), whilst the comparison website U-Switch warns that if wholesale energy costs rise as the world moves out of recession, bills could be higher still, quoting the alarming but ‘worst case’ figure of £4000.  As energy prices rise, it is very much a reality that significant numbers of people will be faced with the prospect of unaffordable bills.OFGEM commented that there was ‘reasonable doubt’ about whether the energy market would be able to deliver sustainable supplies over the current decade.  With the threat of power shortages and soaring costs, it is safe to say that the energy market is in turmoil.  So what is being done about it?To try and combat this situation the government is mandating the introduction of something called the ‘smart meter’ – a two-way communicating device that once installed at the home shows exactly how much gas and electricity is being used, meaning the end of the estimated bill and enabling up to the minute information on usage and costs.  For the homeowner, the key component of this new capability is the in-home display (IHD) that will allow them to see exactly what they are using and when.  With more information available, consumers can take control of their bills as well as reducing their carbon footprint.  For the supplier, a ‘smart grid’ enables them to manage demand and improve the efficiency of the network, so it would appear to be win-win.Stephen Cunningham, UK and Ireland Chief Executive for Landis + Gyr, heralds the ‘smart grid’ a ‘potentially more profound step than North Sea gasification’, whilst The Energy Retail Association comments, ‘the technological advance would be the equivalent of using wireless broadband instead of sending a telegram’.As one of Europe’s worst energy wasters, the impact that ‘smart monitors’ could have would be enormous.  It has been estimated that our bad habits in the UK, such as leaving appliances on standby, could be costing as much as £11bn a year.  Research from Finland in 2008 found that in-home displays brought average energy savings of 10.3%.  In light of the predicted hike in energy costs over the next decade this represents a significant saving.The government’s target is ambitious and spans an entire decade (fitting 49 million meters by the end of 2020) which means that as a consumer you may not be taking advantage of this money saving technology until 2020, by which time you could have already been subjected to 10 years of steadily increasing energy prices.  However, this need not be an obstacle, as there is technology available now that can offer the same benefits and more.Intamac’s system provides an alternative to replacing the current energy meter with a new ‘smart meter’.  By fitting a device to the existing meter the same ‘smart’ features can be enabled and visually presented not only on an IHD, but also via the web, using Intamac’s own web platform.  Using a central hub and a broadband connection, consumers can link and control devices (including the ‘smart monitor’) in the home.  The overriding benefit of this method is, scope.  Using the Intamac web platform consumers can not only monitor the overall energy usage at their home, but control individual devices and program the service to intelligently act on their behalf (to reduce their bills and carbon footprint).  By way of an example, this could mean programming the system to automatically turn off devices once a homeowner has left their property, thus saving money that would otherwise have been spent on wasteful practices such a leaving appliances on stand-by. http://www2.intamac.com/blog/the-dawn-of-smarter-energy.html Mon 18 Jan 2010 20:54 GMT Hey, we have packed our suit cases again and are off to USA where our CEO, Kevin Meagher will be participating on key panel discussing Smart Energy. for more click here... http://www2.intamac.com/blog/usa-smart-energy-summit.html Wed 13 Jan 2010 15:57 GMT Hi, you know one of the things that struck us at CES was the number of people that asked us whether we were Zigbee or Zwave! It was of course a question we could answer as we cover both, after all we are an agnostic platform provider. But perhaps this is a slightly worrying trend in how technology is dominating the Smart Energy debate. What about the consumer experience, I hear you say.... Yes what about the poor old consumer, how will they adopt Smart Energy? http://www2.intamac.com/blog/ces-smart-energy.html Tue 12 Jan 2010 17:40 GMT The D-Link Home Monitoring Starter Kit – CEA Innovations 2010 Design and Engineering Awards HonoreeEver wish you could keep an eye on your home while you’re away? Good news - we’ve got it covered. It’s called the D-Link Home Monitoring Starter Kit and it offers an affordable and reliable way to achieve a high level of security for your property. Whether you’re just down the street or halfway around the world, it lets you see what’s going on at home. http://www2.intamac.com/blog/things-just-get-betterd-link-wins-ces-award-powered-by-intamac-systems.html Tue 12 Jan 2010 17:23 GMT Hey, wanted to take the opportunity to thank all our partners at CES for great hospitality. http://www2.intamac.com/blog/thank-you-partners-at-ces.html Tue 12 Jan 2010 17:21 GMT Well CES came to an end on Sunday much to the delight of my body, if you have walked the boards for a week at a show, you will know what I mean. Anyway, the pain was worth it as the show was a great success for our partners, D Link, Thomson and Alcatel Lucent (ng Connect) http://www2.intamac.com/blog/we-leave-ces-with-great-memories-and-a-bright-future.html Fri 8 Jan 2010 09:31 GMT D Link launches new product at CES, signalling a revolution in the Connected Home market, powered by Intamac Systems platform and software... http://www2.intamac.com/blog/ces-latest-d-link-shows-the-future-of-connected-home-with-global-launch-of-my-d-link.html Fri 8 Jan 2010 09:23 GMT if you were wondering what the car of the future had in store for you then take a look at the ng Connect connected car with Intamac software for the Connected Home http://www2.intamac.com/blog/ces-latest-intamac-systems-revs-up-with-ng-connect-connected-car.html Fri 8 Jan 2010 09:20 GMT CES attendees on first day, have welcomed D Link\'s move into Connected Home market, powered by Intamac Systems   http://www2.intamac.com/blog/ces-lastest-a-great-first-day-comes-to-an-end.html Wed 6 Jan 2010 14:30 GMT More news on our partnership with D LinkClick here for more... http://www2.intamac.com/blog/ces-latest-dlink-now-has-thingamajigs-that-will-remotely-monitor-your-house-for-security-breaches-amazing.html Tue 5 Jan 2010 21:53 GMT Alcatel Lucent\'s NG Connect Program puts Intamac in the fast lane with 4G/ LTE Connected Car development, demonstrated at CESclick here for more... http://www2.intamac.com/blog/ces-latest-intamac-systems-moves-into-fast-lane-with-ng-connect-connected-car.html Tue 5 Jan 2010 16:01 GMT Even before the official launch at CESIntamac’s work with D-Link is making news.Read more about this exciting collaboration... http://www2.intamac.com/blog/ces-latest-dlink-unveils-connected-home-solutions-.html Wed 16 Dec 2009 22:08 GMT We attended Swindon WiFi Digital City launch today, and Caroline Spellman MP was very interested in our new Smart Energy service. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/0,1000000085,39884653,00.htm http://www2.intamac.com/blog/swindon-council-launch-wifi-digital-city.html