tendril

Start-up Tendril announced today that it's opening up its smart-grid communications platform to more developers.

The Tendril Connect Platform Application Developer Program will allow developers to build on Tendril's platform for energy management and services for both utilities and consumers. The platform has the ability to reach 70 million households connected to the smart grid, according to Tendril.

Launched two years ago, Tendril's platform already includes a range of companies from ThinkEco to Siemens that use the platform. The company also offers compatible hardware in the form of smart thermostats and communication tools to go with its … Read more

When it comes to making the electric grid smarter, utilities are sometimes on the sidelines.

Home security company Vivint today announced a deal with Tendril to fill out its home security offering with enhanced energy-management features. The deal shows how home automation systems can be expanded through cloud-based smart-grid services.

Vivint earlier this year rebranded itself (it was called APX Alarms) and launched an energy-management package to complement its home monitoring service. For $57.99 per month--an additional $8 a month over the security service--a customer gets a wireless thermostat, a smart plug to control lights or small appliances, and … Read more

Industrial giant Siemens is investing in smart-grid start-up Tendril and the two will market Tendril's home energy system to utilities.

The companies announced today that Siemens Venture Capital has invested an undisclosed amount in Tendril and will offer Tendril's products initially in the U.S. and Canada.

Siemens is one of the largest suppliers of power distribution equipment to utilities and commercial building management systems, but it lacks consumer-facing products.

Tendril makes software and in-home gadgets for consumers to monitor and manage home energy. A number of utilities are using Tendril's gear as part of smart-grid trials. … Read more

Tendril is trying to make the smart grid smarter about people.

The company announced today the release of Energize, an application that seeks to improve energy efficiency with a simple user interface and techniques borrowed from the field of behavioral science.

The product combines Tendril's software for managing home energy with tools that Tendril gained from its acquisition last year of Grounded Power, a small company with experience in smoking cessation efforts and other programs that rely on social psychology.

There are dozens of companies that make dashboards to give consumers a real-time display of their energy use via … Read more

Smart-grid company Tendril Networks said it has acquired Grounded Power, a small company with expertise in the social aspects of energy efficiency.

Boulder, Co.-based Tendril makes devices and software for presenting electricity usage information to consumers. It makes a small countertop display called the Vision designed to help people better manage home energy and reduce electricity use. People can also access that data via smartphone applications or a Web portal.

By buying Newton, Mass.-based Grounded Power, Tendril hopes to add some of the techniques Grounded Power has developed for personalized energy management, said Tendril CEO Adrian Tuck today. … Read more

NEW YORK--Even with dozens of smart-grid trials starting this year, it's still an open question how engaged consumers will be in managing their home energy consumption.

Start-up Tendril Networks next week plans to unveil an in-home display system that's geared at consumers who aren't particularly tech-savvy or willing to spend a lot of effort on home efficiency. It's an attempt to give people simple tools for cutting energy consumption by 5 percent to 10 percent.

The primary unit is a touch-screen display called the Vision which was designed with design consultancy Ideo. Rather than provide a … Read more

Imagine a refrigerator smart enough to cut your electricity bills.

Smart-grid start-up Tendril and General Electric later this year will test a smart-grid system that will allow GE's networked home appliances to take advantage of cheaper electricity rates, the companies announced Wednesday.

The joint development deal calls for GE to speak to Tendril's smart-grid software in a range of GE appliances--dishwashers, washing machines, refrigerators, and water heaters--over Zigbee wireless networks.

The integration will allow consumers to control their appliances from different points, such a Web browser, iPhone, or in-home display.

GE's support for Tendril's software for utilities … Read more

Smart-grid company Tendril has raised an additional $30 million in venture funding to expand the reach of its home energy monitoring gear.

VantagePoint Venture Partners on Tuesday announced the series C round for the Boulder, Colo.-based company. The money will be used to grow Tendril's network of manufacturing and distribution partners.

Tendril makes small displays for consumers to see how much electricity a home is consuming. The company also makes software for utilities to run energy-efficiency programs that allow consumers to take advantage of lower rates at off-peak times.

The Tendril displays use Zigbee wireless to connect to … Read more

I talked this week with Adrian Tuck, CEO of Tendril, about interesting ways the U.S. power delivery grid could be modernized. Tendril, it needs to be said, could gain a lot from the nationwide adoption of smart grid technologies, since it makes software and designs hardware that collects electricity use data from appliances and then processes that data for utility companies and consumers.

The big idea that Tuck and I discussed is a concept that's only now boring its way through the thick bureaucracies of the utility companies: what if, instead of power companies charging for electricity at … Read more