Echelon Ships LonWorks 2.0 Platform for Smart, Energy-Aware Networks
(Frankfurt, Germany - April 12, 2010) - Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ: ELON) announced today that is has started shipping its LonWorks® 2.0 platform, which is used by OEM product manufacturers and system integrators to create and implement next generation control networks and smart energy management solutions. The announcement was made today at the 2010 Light+Building event in Frankfurt, Germany, http://light-building.messefrankfurt.com/
The LonWorks 2.0 platform brings a new level of performance and simplified installation to control networks based on the ISO/IEC 14908 body of standards. It is fully compatible with the 90 million intelligent LonWorks devices already deployed worldwide. (See related press release dated April 12, 2010 for additional details.)
Products in the LonWorks 2.0 platform have greater functionality, faster operating speeds, simpler installation, and can be incorporated into systems at a cost of up to 50% less than products from the previous generation. With LonWorks 2.0, the installation process has been streamlined by eliminating the device credits normally associated with Echelon’s LNS® network operating system.
“We're excited by the response we've had from customers, and the LonWorks 2.0 platform is attracting a new audience. There is a new wave of companies rushing to develop energy-aware products and devices to take advantage of the smart grids that are being deployed by utilities worldwide,” said Bob Machlin, Echelon’s senior vice president, products. “With the new FT 5000 Smart Transceiver, manufacturers can get a four-fold increase in processing power and throughput at half the cost of previous designs, and with the Neuron 5000 Processor also address RS-485 and other transceiver applications.”
Customer Response to LonWorks 2.0
“DEMAN specializes in the design and manufacture of high quality air-conditioning controllers. Our new range of HVAC controllers is based on the FT 5000 Smart Transceiver, enabling us to reduce the production cost of the controller by 30%. This reduction allows us to be very competitive in the marketplace,” said Hannes Smit, director, DEMAN. “In the past, we experienced some resistance from building owners to using our products due to the additional cost of the LonWorks interface and the license fee for each unit installed under LNS. Since there are no longer device credits required, arguments against using our controllers disappear.”
“Zytron has been developing products based on LonWorks technology for over 12 years and we’ve had very good success in the building automation market,” said Andrew McCartney, managing director of, Zytron Ltd. “We believe the reduced cost, increased Neuron processor speed, and the removal of device credits are key factors allowing us to remain competitive in the current market place.”
LonWorks Spotlight: Energy and Cost Savings Worldwide
Environments using LonWorks technology are achieving extraordinary energy and cost savings, and better overall operational efficiency. For example:
- The City of Oslo developed a Lonworks based smart street lighting system that reports energy savings of over 50%;
- Italy’s Enel utility company has implemented 30 million smart meters connected by LonWorks technology, and has reported a savings of 500 million Euros annually;
- Spanish grocery chain Alcampo reduces energy usage by 20% in a Barcelona superstore;
- Boeing’s Long Beach plant saves $1 million in energy costs annually; and
- Munich, Germany has reduced driving times around the city ring road by as much as 22%, reducing the amount of fuel wasted and pollution created waiting in traffic.
LonWorks technology is also the core control networking technology used in Echelon’s Networked Energy Systems (NES) smart grid solutions deployed by utilities worldwide in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, and other countries.
New LonWorks 2.0 Products
LonWorks 2.0 components and tools now shipping include: the Neuron® 5000 Processor, the FT 5000 Smart Transceiver, the FT-X3 Communications Transformer, the NodeBuilder® FX Development Tool, the ShortStack® FX Developer’s Kit for host processors, Mini FX Evaluation Kit, and the LonScanner™ FX Protocol Analyzer. With these components and tools, everything required to evaluate, develop, and ship LonWorks 2.0 products is now available.
The LonWorks integration tools—the LNS Turbo network operating system and LonMaker® Turbo Integration Tool—are fully compatible with the new LonWorks 2.0 products and have been updated to no longer charge device credits or LonMaker credits when used with LonWorks 2.0 devices.
The LonWorks 2.0 platform is featured this week at the 2010 Light+Building event in Frankfurt, Germany, http://light-building.messefrankfurt.com/ . Visit Echelon and partners in the LonMark booth, hall 9.0 booth E10.
More information about the LonWorks 2.0 platform and the entire suite of products can be found at http://www.echelon.com/lonworks.
About Echelon Corporation
Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ: ELON) is leading the worldwide transformation of the electricity grid into a smart, communicating energy network, connecting utilities to their customers, enabling networking of everyday devices, and providing customers with energy aware homes and businesses that react to conditions on the grid.
Echelon's NES System – the backbone for the smart grid – is used by utilities to replace existing stand-alone electricity meters with a network infrastructure that is open, inexpensive, reliable, and proven. The NES System helps utilities compete more effectively, reduce operating costs, provide expanded services and help energy users manage and reduce overall energy use. Echelon's LonWorks® Infrastructure products extend the smart grid, powering tens of millions of energy aware, everyday devices made by thousands of companies – connecting them to each other, to the electricity grid and to the Internet. LonWorks based products work together to monitor and save energy; lower costs; improve productivity; and enhance service, quality, safety, and convenience in utility, municipal, building, industrial, transportation, and home area networks.
More information about Echelon can be found at http://www.echelon.com.
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Echelon, LonWorks, LNS, LonMaker, LonScanner, Neuron, NodeBuilder, ShortStack and the Echelon logo are registered trademarks of Echelon Corporation registered in the United States and other countries. Other product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.
This press release may contain statements relating to future plans, events or performance. Such statements may involve risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with uncertainties pertaining to market acceptance of Echelon’s existing and new products and services and the timing and level of customer orders; risks relating to the timing of availability of LonWorks 2.0 products; risks that Echelon offerings do not perform as designed and that liability may accrue as a result; the growth of the LonWorks industry; and other risks identified in Echelon's SEC filings. Actual results, events and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Echelon undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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Allyson Stinchfield Atomic Public Relations +1 (415) 402-0230 allyson@atomicpr.com |