Kudos to Home Grid Forum, which today is announcing that the G.hn standard for wired home networking was honored by two leading industry publications.

 In their 2009 year-end issues, Electronic Design praised G.hn for its efforts to consolidate the various fragmented home networking standards into one common worldwide format, and Embedded Computing Design awarded the technology with the “Deep Green Editor’s Choice” award for its ability to efficiently connect homes using existing wires. These awards reaffirm the growing support for G.hn as the next-generation standard for wired home networking while also recognizing its support for Smart Grid applications.

In its annual Best Electronic Design issue, Electronic Design also praised HomeGrid Forum for delivering on the promise of seamless home networking. According to Louis E. Frenzel, communications editor at Electronic Design, G.hn is a technology “that all designers can agree upon and use to work toward everyone’s benefit.  This innovative new standard will also co-exist with the multiple technologies that have been competing in this space for the past several years.”

Embedded Computing Design bestowed its Deep Green Editor Choice award on G.hn because it is “creating greener places” through environmentally friendly design. Don Dingee, editorial director, selected the G.hn standard for making an impact on a bigger scale than just a single product. “The reality is that most homes are wired with coax, phone, or power cables, so a home networking standard that comprehends the Smart Grid on an international scale is both timely and practical.”

“In the past year, G.hn has emerged as the next-generation standard for the wired home network thanks to the many contributions from HomeGrid Forum and ITU-T member companies around the world,” said Matthew Theall, president of HomeGrid Forum. “It's an honor to win the Deep Green Editor’s Choice designation fromEmbedded Computing Design, and gain the recognition of Electronic Design.”

HomeGrid Forum is going beyond the notion of just having a wired home network in the house. 

Today, the organization announced that the ITU-T G.hn workgroup has agreed upon a number of key specifications that together form the baseline requirements for G.hn Smart Grid products.  The study group also agreed on the addition of an Appendix to the G.hn standard that provides insight to the use of G.hn-based products in Smart Grid applications. These agreements, reached at the latest ITU-T G.hn workgroup meeting in Valencia, Spain from November 16-20, build on G.hn’s highly flexible, parameterized architecture which was approved earlier this year. 

G.hn Profile for Smart Grid 
At the Valencia meeting, the G.hn workgroup completed its definition of a “low complexity” profile targeted at Smart grid applications. A “profile” is a minimum set of G.hn parameters and specifications that define a specific system to meet a targeted range of applications. This profile makes it possible for multiple manufacturers to develop products that deliver the low power consumption, low cost, performance, reliability, and security that is required for Smart Grid and other lower bit rate applications. The profile specifies minimum requirements for features including: signal bandwidth, data modulation methods, transmitter linearity requirements, and Forward Error Correction (FEC), while maintaining interoperability with fully-featured G.hn products.

Smart Grid products that will benefit from G.hn include:

- Smart Meters 
- In-home displays (IHD) and smart thermostats
- Plug-in Electrical Vehicles (PEV) and Electrical Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE)
- Smart household appliances such as washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems
- Energy System Interface (ESI) devices

As a complement to the ITU-T’s work, HomeGrid Forum will provide Smart Grid-related certification testing for G.hn products and this work is underway in HomeGrid’s Compliance and Interoperability Workgroup.

G.hn Guidelines for Smart Grid Applications
At the Valencia meeting the G.hn work group also agreed on an Appendix to the G.hn standard that provides guidelines for using G.hn in Smart Grid applications and for how they work with other G.hn-connected consumer devices in the home. The Appendix reflects recommendations and requirements from NIST, the Open Smart Grid Users Group, and other organizations that are focused on implementing the proliferation of the Smart Grid.

The Appendix is a convenient way to provide guidance to G.hn product developers and users, while preserving all of the previous G.hn definitions. The Appendix describes how G.hn devices can be used as part of application layer Energy Management System (EMS) software that resides above the G.hn physical layer (PHY) and data link layer (DLL). It also shows how G.hn Smart Grid devices interface to a service provider’s Smart Grid access network via the Energy Service interface (ESI) to support secure end-to-end smart grid services between the service provider and home.

Smart Grid applications that will benefit from G.hn include:

- Utility-based Demand Response programs via broadband internet connections or Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) systems
- Remote troubleshooting to minimize cost
- In-home device support of automatic Demand Response programs using real-time pricing information
- Flexible control of appliances to reduce power consumption during peak periods

G.hn Capability for Smart Grid and Multimedia Applications
Virtually all devices that consume energy or share information can benefit from G.hn technology.  G.hn’s connectivity over power lines, coaxial cabling, and telephone wires provides greater coverage, performance, and reliability throughout the home than technologies that operate over a single wire type, and this enables users to build integrated, whole-home networks.

Beyond Smart Grid, G.hn provides a single, unified home networking technology for multimedia voice, video and data communications that is fully interoperable with its Smart Grid derivatives.  Through one worldwide standard, G.hn will unify home networking of digital content and consumer devices over any wire -- coax cable, telephone wires, and power lines. With G.hn, service providers will deploy new offerings, including IPTV, more cost effectively and consumer electronics and smart appliances manufacturers will provide powerful devices for connecting all types of entertainment, home automation, appliances, and security products throughout the house while greatly simplifying the consumer purchasing and installation process.