HOUSTON - Direct Energy and Exceptional Innovation announced that they have partnered to develop a new energy management solution for reducing energy consumption and lowering energy costs in the home. According to the companies, their home energy management solution leverages electronic devices and existing infrastructure within the home and it also provides a platform to integrate future smart grid technologies into the home in a manner that is cost effective and simple to use.

“While many companies have approached disparate pieces of the energy management equation, Direct Energy has been investing to understand how all the pieces fit together from the consumer’s point of view,” said David Dollihite, vice president of product and business development, Direct Energy. “The work we’ve done in seeking to integrate technology with energy management leads us to believe that consumers want simple solutions that require minimal setup time, little to no cost, and have a familiar user interface. While there are many energy efficient technologies looking for a market, the typical homeowner is waiting on the development of a consumer-friendly energy management solution.”

Direct Energy and Exceptional Innovation said they are working with several major service providers and device manufacturers to build the right approach for consumers and they are looking to broaden that group to bring home energy management solutions to market as quickly as feasible.

Exceptional Innovation’s Life|ware™ is said to be a software and hardware automation solution for digital living. Its Web services technology is a way to connect a smart meter and devices such as thermostats, and handle data exchanges from the home and the utility company.

“Web services are at the core of the Life|ware solution and applying that foundation to effective energy management really starts to show the strength and extensibility of our technology,” said Steve Cashman, chief strategy officer at Exceptional Innovation. “Working with Direct Energy to minimize the impacts of energy consumption on the environment is very rewarding for us. We look forward to using our combined research and technology to help consumers be more aware of and better manage energy usage in their home environment.”

For more information, visit www.directenergy.com or www.life-ware.com.

Publication date: 04/20/2009