Behind the Scene: A New Solution for Connecting Consumers with Their Utilities

Line Goyette

Would you like your thermostat to interact with your utility in real-time? Or integrate with an award-winning Weather Solutions application to provide accurate weather forecasts and alerts that, in turn, enable you and your utility to make wiser home comfort decisions? Frederick Morency, Vice President of Small Buildings Systems (SBS) at Schneider Electric, thinks so. So, when Schneider Electric set out to develop a smart thermostat, it leveraged the company’s product expertise in Europe and Asia and built an entirely new home energy management solution. Recently, I met with the team that has been working with passion for two years on developing WiserAir, a smart thermostat that Schneider will launch in a few weeks.

Schneider Electric’s Small Building Systems (SBS) division, responsible for development of this new product, is located in Montreal’s Mile End neighbourhood. This location has a sense of place for the team, and was selected for its proximity to Montreal’s software development ecosystem. “Mile End Montreal is a convergence of all cultures,” says Frederick Morency. “After checking with our employees, we realized that almost all live along the subway or commuter train line. So we chose this place to set up operations because it reflects not only the mixture of our expertise but it also corresponds to the way of life of young professionals who are part of the team.” The facility includes a rooftop terrace, café 2.0, workspaces that maximize natural light, and above all a team spirit that translates into a continuous sharing of knowledge that is fostered by a collaborative workspace configuration. One could even speak of knowledge convergence in the context of developing this new product.

The SBS is an R&D centre that focuses on creating technology for smarter, more energy efficient buildings. The research centre is the culmination of a project started four years ago when Schneider Electric acquired Viconics Technologies (2011) and SCL Elements (CAN2GO brand, 2013). Both Montreal companies had developed industry-leading expertise in the field of building automation. The combined expertise of these two companies created the intellectual foundation for what is now known as SBS. “With the acquisition of these two companies, we had no doubts about our HVAC and connectivity skills,” says Patrick Lemire, p.Eng., Manager R&D. It was therefore with this combined expertise that the team has begun the development of WiserAir, which actually seems to have little in common with its predecessor, the programmable thermostat.

What’s interesting about this new thermostat is that it allows homeowners and small buildings to participate in local utilities’ demand-response programs as well as live weather forecasts. “Technology today allows us to apply in the field of residential and small building control systems that were formerly reserved for large corporations,” explains Frederick Morency.

The team worked for six months with a design firm. “We wanted a unique product. We thought long and hard about the ergonomics of the product, its use, and the interaction between the user and the product. We wanted to eliminate the gap between using the thermostat and a smart phone. We wanted the customer experience to be the most user-friendly as possible.”

As for connectivity of the new thermostat withall residential control systems, here’s a compelling angle: WiserAir will allow users to act on their usage. “WiserAir will allow homeowners to become savvy and start acting on their own energy consumption without being disrupted by a new technology. The interaction between homes and utilities is fairly new and complex. It’s about balancing kilowatts, not energy. You will know how many kilowatts you need at every moment, your peaks during the day, so you will be able to cut the loads when they’re not needed,” says Dan Boucher, Director of Schneider Electric Canada’s Utility segment. “With demand response, or demand management to include all benefits, utilities can make demand more flexible to match generation peaks when it really matters.”

One could conclude by saying that the world is becoming more complex, but change is essential. Smart homes are happening now, and on summer days — days of scorching heat — the entire WiserAir team is monitoring their home temperature and comfort level on their smartphones.

View the Schneider WiserAir Sneak Peek video here…

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Line Goyette is Managing Editor of EIN; linegoyette@kerrwil.com.  @linegoyette

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