ZigBee Turns Up (And Down) The Heat

Milan, Italy - A new ZigBee-based heating control system using Ember's wireless networking technology promises to bring the convenience of remote control and energy savings to millions of European residents who must operate their radiators manually.

4-NOKS, S.R.L., a Conegliano, Italy-based systems designer of ZigBee solutions, has developed a number of ZigBee-based devices that enable manufacturers of heating and refrigeration products to add wireless monitoring and control capabilities.

The first commercial product using the technology is the new Cyclope® interactive thermostat control from Kalirel, a French radiator manufacturer, for monitoring and control of radiators in the home. Taking advantage of ZigBee's mesh networking and two-way communications capabilities, Cyclope is the first wireless device of its kind that can receive, display and alter the current room temperature and radiator settings. ZigBee radios in each radiator throughout a house or apartment create a self-forming, self-healing wireless network that lets each radiator communicate with the remote control anywhere in the residence.

Cyclope also enables users to record how much heat they have consumed over time. With these controls and information, users can optimize their thermostat settings to save heating costs and conserve energy. Additional 4-NOKS products are also being integrated into a soon-to-be-announced wireless sensing system from a major refrigeration company.

The 4-NOKS modules were developed on Ember's first-generation ZigBee-compliant platform, the EM2420 radio coupled with EmberZNet networking software. The company plans to utilize Ember's next generation ZigBee-compliant EM250 ZigBee system-on-a-chip (SoC) going forward. This 802.15.4/ZigBee-based semiconductor system integrates a programmable microprocessor, RF radio, network protocol stack and memory into a tiny, single-chip solution smaller than a shirt button. The EM250 offers dramatic reductions in component size, cost and power consumption, while providing a critical rapid application development environment.

"The Ember EM250 was the only ZigBee SoC in production, enabling us to meet the aggressive development schedule and supply commitments demanded by our customers," said Corrado Marchetti, CEO of 4-NOKS. "Besides, Ember offers the most reliable, proven and easy to use platform with best-in-class features. Ember offered everything – including the hardware, software and development tools – in a single, integrated platform that dramatically reduced our development costs and timetable."

SOURCE: Ember Corporation