With many companies gaining financial support from the federal government in regards to funding for smart grids, the People Power Company, an energy efficiency company providing residential monitoring and control systems, recently announced similar good news in regards to its attempts at manufacturing smart controllers. 

Gene Wang, People Power’s CEO, said that energy home can reduce its carbon footprint while saving money. And now, with People Power’s latest news, the company can assist consumers is working toward improving the environment.

In the form of a small business innovation research-small business technology transfer grant, People Power won support from the federal government on Nov. 24, 2009. In a group of six applicants, People Power won part of a Phase I grant of roughly $150,000, and is now eligible to compete for a Phase II grant of roughly $1 million in the summer 2010. 

“Winning this grant means that policy makers are interested enough in our business model to be investors and see how our solution helps consumers get tangible benefits from the Smart Grid,” Wang said.

This funding grant comes on the heels of People Power’s announcement of a Series A funding closed from a consortium of investors to support commercialization of the company's inaugural product offering. Included in the Series A funding will be a focus on open source implementation of wireless sensor networks in home energy monitoring and control systems. 

With the new funding, according to company officials, People Power plans to distribute the company’s Open Source Home Area Network, or “OSHAN,” a free, open source wireless software and Sensor Ultra Radio Frequency, or “SuRF,” the company’s low-cost hardware and software development kit —to engineers early next year. 

At an industry event in Copenhagen, Wang discussed the topic of reducing individual carbon footprints and how consumers all over the world can each make a difference to address an issue that has profound global consequences. “We believe that the Smart Grid starts in the home,” Wang said. “We’re empowering people to save money while going green.” 

Coincidentally, a Siemens (News - Alert) European Green City Index report, published recently, named Copenhagen the top European country in the role of climate protection.

John Teeter, People Power’s Chief Scientist and Principal Investigator for the SBIR grant, said that, with open source, consumers can afford to do things that previously were out of reach because they cost too much.

And, utilities won’t need to fear proprietary vendor lock-in. “Also, developers can design more easily for interoperability which is critical as we work on Smart Grid standards such as Smart Energy Profile 2.0,” Teeter said. 

Learn more about Smart Grid technology at the Smart Grid Summit, an event collocated with ITEXPO East 2010, to be held Jan. 20 to 22 in Miami. This is the event you need to attend if you want to understand the role that IP communications technologies will play in how the Smart Grid evolves – not just for making utilities more efficient, but also for enabling the Smart Home and a new generation of communications innovations. Register now.