Zigbee standard addresses energy harvesting apps

The Zigbee Alliance has provided details on Zigbee Green Power feature set to establish a global, standard technology for self-powered devices operating through energy harvesting techniques. These devices will communicate seamlessly with existing Zigbee and Zigbee PRO networks and will enable maintenance free, environmentally friendly products that eliminate the need for wires and batteries.

The Zigbee Green Power standard is expected to be available to members by the end of 2009. Zigbee will offer an established, competitive marketplace for deploying switches, sensors and controllers using harvested energy in residential, commercial and industrial environments.

The Zigbee Green Power is expected to work seamlessly with Zigbee and Zigbee PRO networks and enjoy all of Zigbee's numerous strengths.

Bob Heile, chairman of the Zigbee Alliance, added, "Zigbee Green Power provides the world with a true standard for control and sensing products that can utilize harvested energy."

This addition of Zigbee Green Power to the Zigbee family significantly expands the options

available to manufacturers, further strengthening its leadership position as the global standard for wireless building automation devices offering a single, easy to install and use network. These networks offer superb interference immunity and capabilities to host thousands of devices. With its ultralow-power requirements, Zigbee devices today run on regular batteries for years, eliminating the need for wiring to a power source and offering unparalleled maintenance convenience and installation flexibility.