Q3 2008

There has been a significant increase in activity in the last few months that I wish to share with you. There is good news, interesting news, and some sad news.

First, the sad news: The industry lost two well-respected individuals this last quarter. Bea Yormark, President of Echelon, passed away suddenly in April. Also, Al Mouton, President of Loytec Americas, was killed in a tragic car accident. Our hearts and prayers go out to both of their families, co-workers, and to the industry at large. Please see our memorial to both in the issue July issue of the LonMark Magazine. We will miss them both.

LonMark International has been diligently working towards greater market awareness and acceptance of open LON systems. One of the hurdles we have addressed is the need for competent, trained installers and integrators. LonMark International launched our first public training class this past quarter to rave reviews. This one-day training class is a preparatory course for professionals wishing to become certified. The training is designed as a refresher class for people already familiar with the basic concepts and those that have had prior training and field experience. The class was first offered in Baltimore, MD, and soon afterwards, was also offered in San Jose, CA. As we refine the material and ensure the class meets the needs of the attendees, we will be expanding the schedule. We are also offering a “Train-the-Trainer” program to allow existing or new training/testing centers to offer this class. If you are interested, please contact LonMark directly for details at testing@lonmark. org.

There has been a significant increase in the Automated Demand-Response (ADR) arena and LonMark’s technical team has been meeting to develop the necessary standards. Several Utility Task Group meetings have been held to evaluate the methodology and direction we need to take in order to present the market with a comprehensive set of building level functionality. The task group has established an action plan and, with the help of some industry leaders like Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, Enernoc Corporation, Akuacom Corporation, Constellation Energy, and others, the direction is taking shape. The objective is to produce a basic system architecture and a series of profiles and functionality along with interfacing to Web services to respond to ADR signals. For more information, or if you would like to support this effort, please contact tech@lonmark.org.

The LonMark Certified Professional Credentialing Program is growing rapidly. We have now reached 200 certified professionals around the world. As we look forward, we have ambitious plans to offer the credentialing program in several different languages. Currently, the test is available in English and German. Soon, we will begin translation into Spanish and Russian as we open testing and training centers in these countries. This summer, we plan to update the existing set of test questions and make the test even better and more comprehensive. During Q4 of this year, we plan to begin the development of the Installer level exam and plan to have it online sometime during the first half of 2009.

The LonMark Magazine is now being published in Chinese and in Japanese. The two new editions add to the current International and European editions under the LonMark International publishing umbrella. Other affiliate organizations publish local editions in Russia, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. The magazines are now making their way into well over 20,000 peoples’ hands quarterly. We receive ongoing praise for the quality of the publication, the timeliness of the information, and the dedication to open systems using LON. We appreciate all of the great stories coming to us from around the world. Any LonMark member can submit a story, news piece, case study, new product information, and, of course, an advertisement. The magazine is completely self-funded through advertising and gives us the ability to get the latest information into the hands of industry members around the globe at no cost. Please consider supporting this effort by advertising and contributing articles. Visit www.lmimagazine.com for further information.

This issue of the magazine focuses on Home Automation. Anyone who has been in this industry for many years is looking forward to the day when LON becomes a household name and there will be a LON Depot aisle at the local home store. Although we are not quite there yet, we are seeing significant steps to this becoming a reality. As the breadth of commercial products grows, new areas of application are being sought. Volumes are increasing which drives down pricing. Soon the tipping point will be reached where the price of the hardware and ease of installation will make the home market a truly viable business opportunity. We are seeing pockets of installed solutions around the world now. Strong innovation and new standards are making this dream a reality. Recently, LonMark released the new guideline for ISI – Interoperable Self Installation – a mechanism for auto-installing LON devices. This advancement in network management is a necessity when it comes to the home market. A handful of companies have now released their ISI enabled products and more are to come this year.

 

Ron Bernstein
Executive Director

 

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