RICHMOND, Va. - Tridium Inc. has added two major manufacturers to its roster of Niagara Appliance partners, a group with the goal of establishing its Niagara Framework as the standard platform for connecting diverse smart devices and managing them over the Internet.

The latest manufacturers to adopt Niagara are Lochinvar, a developer of water-heating products and technologies, and The Watt Stopper, a manufacturer of automated lighting and power control products.

"Remote devices are becoming ubiquitous throughout the economy," said John Petze, president and CEO of Tridium. "By embracing the Niagara standard, manufacturers of diverse products from lighting controls to boilers and HVAC systems ensure that they all work well with each other for the benefit of the ultimate customer, the building owner intent upon managing costs. Niagara is the most specified platform for device management and Internet-based automation."