Yvan Castilloux: Education and Standards

1. How are low-income consumers best served by home-to-grid technology?

I agree that instituting an education program about the benefits of home-to-grid technology would greatly benefit everyone, including low-income consumers. Communication standards should also be simple enough to be implemented in low-cost devices that everyone can afford and that can be subsidied by utilities or third parties.


2. What standard data communications interfaces(s) should be supported by appliances and the smart meter or data gateway so that appliance manufacturers can cost-effectively produce smart appliances that can communicate with the Smart Grid anywhere in the nation?

First, a hardware connection standard, such as U-SNAP, would provide a way for manufacturers to be future proof in the short term without having to choose a technology. As the use cases and requirements in the home become proven on the field, the manufacturers will be able to choose a few candidate standards. I think it would be premature to choose a technology in the near term.

3. How can communication between smart appliances and the Smart Grid be made "plug and play" for consumers who do not have the skills or means to configure data networks?

In order to be "plug and play", home-to-grid technology has to be extremely reliable and easy to use, with minimal user intervention. For example, if a smart dryer is installed in a basement, the consumer should only have to turn ON the dryer to make it work. If the communication technology is wireless, its range should cover the whole house as much as possible such that no repeater or intermediary node is needed for the dryer to speak to the primary gateway. Repeaters not only make it extremely difficult for the system to be installed but also add considerable costs to the system. Repeaters also reduce reliability since if one repeater fails, the whole system may stop functioning and require expert troubleshooting.

Home-to-grid technologies should go through certification processes that test and certify "plug and play" operation before products are shipped to consumers.


4. If gateways or adapters are needed, who should pay for them: the utility or the consumer?

For home products not interacting directly with the electric grid, I think the consumer should pay for the gateways and adapters in order to ensure that he/she chooses the best product for his/her needs. Utilities and third parties can then compete and offer subdidy for the hardware in order to offer their value-added services.