Open standards solutions and leadership
Expand your options and protect your investments
As a leader in the energy industry, Tendril builds solutions that adhere to open standards. Uncompromising use of open standards facilitates rapid, secure integrations with the Tendril Connect™ platform; promotes interoperability among Tendril and third-party applications; and protects customer control over investments and data.
No one likes to be locked into using a particular product or technology, which is exactly what proprietary systems do. When it comes to smart energy solutions, Tendril Connect is all about freedom of choice. Everyone—providers, developers and customers alike—can keep their current and future options open.
A champion of open standards
Tendril’s commitment to open standards extends far beyond our own organization. We help lead the industry in developing, adopting and advancing new standards, thereby ensuring the long-term viability of the marketplace. We also have an aggressive partner program dedicated to supporting a large ecosystem of third-party Home Area Network (HAN) devices leveraging open-standard interoperability.
Tendril is working to help evolve and promote the following open standards, among others:
- Smart Energy Profile (SEP). SEP is the application-level protocol that Tendril and other energy industry leaders are using to foster increased adoption of interoperable devices in the home. Beginning with the 2.0 specification, SEP supports multiple MAC/PHYs such as IEEE 802.15.4, WiFi and HomePlug.
- Open Automated Demand Response (OpenADR). The OpenADR standard outlines specific communication models that use the Internet to send Demand Response signals to end-use customer systems. Tendril provides an OpenADR-based interface to the Connect platform and is working to standardize OpenADR2 in the OpenADR Alliance.
- Green Button/Open Automated Data Exchange (OpenADE). Green Button and OpenADE specify standardized formats and mechanisms for exchange of usage information. Tendril Connect provides Green Button interfaces for importing and exporting usage information. A Tendril staff member currently chairs the OpenADE Task Force, which is responsible for identifying use cases and defining secure inter-system interactions between utilities, consumers and trusted third parties.
- IEEE 803.15.4 and IEEE 802.11 (WiFi). Tendril promotes use of 802.15.4 and WiFi for HAN communications.
- OpenHAN. OpenHAN is a set of standards for HAN device communication, measurement and control.
- IEC 61968/61970. Tendril Connect implements a subset of the Common Information Model (CIM) supporting meter reading for our application programming interfaces (APIs). Tendril advocates continued adoption of the CIM standard and exposure of the CIM model to external clients via an evolution of the existing APIs.
Tendril actively participates in the following open alliances and work groups:
- Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP). This NIST-initiated public/private partnership identifies, prioritizes and addresses new and emerging requirements for Smart Grid standards. Members of Tendril staff serve as SGIP Plenary Secretary, on the SGIP Governing Board and on the Smart Grid Testing and Certification Committee (SGTCC).
- Open Smart Grid Users Group (OpenSG). Tendril staff members are extremely active within the OpenSG, including chairing the OpenADE Task Force and participating in the OpenSG Technical Committee.
- OpenADR Alliance. Tendril is an active member of the OpenADR Alliance, formed to accelerate the development, adoption and compliance of Demand Response standards throughout the energy industry.
- Demand Response and Smart Grid Coalition. The Demand Response and Smart Grid Coalition is the trade association for companies that provide smart meters and other products and services supporting Demand Response and Smart Grid technologies. A Tendril staff member currently chairs this organization.
To learn more about Tendril Connect™ please contact Tendril to speak with a technical specialist today.