With an Internet connection, utility companies will be able to adjust thousands of participating customers’ thermostats in the event of an emergency to prevent rolling brownouts, according to a recent announcement by Sage Systems, a provider of technology for networking everyday devices via the Web.

The new technology will be featured in the Cisco Systems Internet Homes’ Briefing Center in San Jose, designed to exhibit consumer solutions and Internet technologies currently available.

The product, known as Sage’s Aladn (Autonomous Local Area Distributed Networking), is designed to manage energy usage. It will be featured in the Internet Home, along with an Aladn Internet gateway and Aladn-enabled thermostats and light switches. Attendees will also see how consumers can intelligently control their home’s energy usage via an Internet Web browser either in the home or remotely using the system.

“Managing energy consumption benefits both the consumer and the provider,” said Mark Dwight, manager of Cisco’s Consumer Solutions Team. “The application is especially interesting as the popular press chronicles our nationwide energy woes.”

Showing energy providers how they can leverage Internet technologies to enable new management tools is the goal of Sage System’s president and CEO, Steve Raschke. In addition, it can provide consumers with powerful, intuitive mastery over their home and business environments. Energy providers, homebuilders and broadband providers will be able to form closer connections to their customers as well.

Published: January 12, 2001

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