Honeywell (News - Alert) announced the initiation of a smart grid project to enable connection of around 30 commercial and industrial buildings in the Thames Valley area in London by SSE plc.

Honeywell will be responsible for the installation of automated demand response (Auto DR) technology in selected locations as a part of the Sterling New Thames Valley Vision (NTVV) project. This project was given to Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution (SSEPD) by U.K. energy regulator Ofgem.

In a release Stewart Reid, NTVV Project Director at SSEPD said, “NTVV has the potential to revolutionize our existing networks, and help us to manage resources and equipment more effectively as the U.K. heads toward a low-carbon economy. We’ll need to collaborate with our customers to achieve these goals and see Auto DR as a one of the key tools to make that a reality.”

According to officials this deployment will be able to reduce electricity consumption temporarily in case spikes occur. With expected growth in demand for electricity, transmission and distribution, bottlenecks can be eliminated for the future. Building operators will be able to reduce their energy use, carbon dioxide emissions and also their utility bills.

This deployment will enable customers to control their peak electricity use thereby reducing the load on local networks and substations implementing an agile grid and eliminating the occurrence of disruptions during upgrades.

Paul Orzeske, president of Honeywell Building Solutions remarked, “A smarter grid is essential to balancing supply and demand in the most efficient, sustainable way possible. But utilities also need to connect with their customers in new ways and Auto DR creates those bonds. It’s flexible enough to meet a variety of energy challenges, from daily grid congestion issues to intermittency concerns that stem from micro-generation.”

Honeywell is expected to offer consulting and engineering services besides implementing the technology. These measures will help customers reduce energy use without affecting their activities and day-to-day consumption. Users will be able to reduce their operating costs and remain in line with the Carbon Reduction Commitment legislation, added officials.

The agreement between Ofgem, SSE and Honeywell entails the publishing of details on the project and its effectiveness for other distribution network operators (DNOs) in the United Kingdom.

Recently Honeywell Sensing and Control (S&C) announced the launch of a new easy-to-use, full-featured website that makes it easy for developers and OEMs to find order and purchase the right sensing and control components for their industrial, medical, transportation, test and measurement, or aerospace solutions.

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