NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. & TAIPEI, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tri Cascade, Inc., an advanced energy-efficiency solution provider, announced today the availability of the elka 700-10, an energy gateway thermostat with energy in-home display. The elka 700-10 is one of the most comprehensive products of its kind that allows homeowners to more closely monitor and manage their energy usage.
The system is equipped with ZigBee Communication, a low-power wireless network standard, and is embedded with an Energy Efficient-Comfort Management application, helping bridge communication between the utility company and consumer. The elka 700-10 is built on a smart energy platform, allowing homeowners to reduce their energy consumption and costs by up to 35 percent in the first year. Pricing for the elka 700-10 starts at $995.
“This product will change the way homeowners use and manage energy,” said Roy Ting, Tri Cascade’s vice chairman. “For the first time, with the elka 700-10, homeowners can gain insight into how their energy behaviors impact their energy costs and the environment. With the help of elka 700-10, they will be notified of changes that need to be made to reduce costs and better predict energy needs based on weather patterns. At the same time, utilities will better understand their customers and improve communication based on customers’ needs.”
The smart energy in-home display of elka 700-10’s household energy usage data provides profile reports and household energy use information while simultaneously calculating real-time energy load data such as kilowatts, voltage, amps and power from such household devices as an HVAC, pool pump, water heater and other electronic devices. The Energy Efficient-Comfort system of elka 700-10 also features over-current detection on each end point, providing consumers with information on the safety of their energy levels.
The elka 700-10 also provides the ability for utilities to send out demand response messages to the household such as events schedule, canceling of messages, support confirmation or mechanism for time-of-use pricing and price tiers. In addition to the capability of two-way communication between the device and the utility, the thermostat enables utilities to balance demand and supply by reducing consumption and shedding load during times of critical peak demand.
The elka 700-10 features an LCD touch display built with Windows Embedded Compact 7, and is equipped with the latest Freescale i.MX28 technology, providing sophisticated remote management capabilities such mobile monitoring from iPhone or smart phones.
“Consumers want to make the smartest decisions possible about their home energy consumption so they can lower their energy bills,” said D’Arcy Salzmann, senior product manager for Windows Embedded at Microsoft. “Windows Embedded Compact 7 is the ideal operating system for Tri Cascade to select for the elka 700-10, offering advanced support for touch-enabled displays and making it easy to deliver an intuitive, enjoyable experience for consumers. Microsoft’s Silverlight for Windows Embedded allows Tri Cascade to rapidly develop and customize the user interface without extensive modifications to the underlying software logic of the elka 700-10. The result is an innovative system that helps the consumer take control of their home energy use.”
“By using Freescale’s i.MX28 and ZigBee solutions, Tri Cascade promises a rich user interface and a home area network for demand response and energy monitoring in their elka 700-10 smart thermostat,” said Sujata Neidig, an i.MX marketing development manager. “They should be well positioned in the early stages of a market that is currently seeing widespread pilots and is predicted to see growth.”
For any information inquiry of the product, please contact info@tricascade.com or visit us at our CES booth #70413 in the Venetian Ballroom, Level 2 in Las Vegas to see the product function in a model home. For information about Tri Cascade, please visit: www.tricascade.com.
About Tri Cascade, Inc. Tri Cascade is committed to finding innovative, environmental friendly solutions for today’s growing energy needs. Tri Cascade empowers consumers with tools to identify and manage the energy consumption in the home, while simultaneously helping utilities wirelessly manage data and balance the grid. Tri Cascade focuses on bringing advanced ZigBee wireless innovation to Home Energy Management System (HEMS), Home Area Network (HAN) and Home Energy Gateway (HEG) into the Smart Grid deployment market. Tri Cascade’s mission is to develop innovative technologies and products that lead the wave of digital convergence with the utility and the consumer alike.
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