Why LonWorks?

For more than 15 years, companies have been using Echelon’s LonWorks control networking technology for a variety of home automation applications. Here’s why it’s the best solution for suppliers of home automation products.

Affordability

Echelon’s family of smart transceivers for twisted pair and power line communications are priced competitively with wired and wireless alternatives. When you factor in the cost of the transceiver and accompanying components, Echelon’s products are typically less expensive and provide higher reliability.

Reliability

Echelon’s transceiver family offers two of the most reliable communication options available: twisted pair and power line. Many companies offer twisted pair solutions for complete systems, leveraging a structured wiring environment for communication and control. For retrofit applications in existing homes that lack a structured wiring infrastructure, Echelon’s power line transceiver provides an extremely reliable and cost-effective solution.

Flexibility

Because a home automation network can consist of a single product, such as a ceiling fan and its accompanying light switch, or a complete lighting control solution consisting of several hundred products, the ideal technology platform supports any number of products.

The LonWorks platform uses a peer-to-peer communication architecture, which means there’s no need for a central computer or controller. Every product can communicate with every other product on the network, regardless of manufacturer. Because products are connected logically rather than physically, you can connect products that are located several hundred meters apart without needing costly repeaters, routers, or extenders. This helps reduce system costs, while providing a more flexible and scalable solution.

Ease of Use

Most home automation products are too complex to install and often require special hardware or software tools. The ideal technology platform for home automation offers a range of installation options, from those aimed at consumers to those more suited for professionals.

The LonWorks platform offers the most powerful set of installation options in the industry. Echelon’s patented Interoperable Self Installation (ISI) library lets you create products that can install themselves once they’re plugged in to an electrical outlet. The ISI library also supports controlled enrollment -- a simple, tool-free installation method in which a consumer plugs a product into an electrical outlet and presses a button to introduce the product to the network. For more complex networks that require professional installation, the ISI network can be converted to a managed network through a dedicated network management software tool.

User interfaces are also critical to ease of use. Consumers should be offered a wide range of user interfaces such as thermostats, touch-screen displays, home or mobile phones, televisions, and computers. Since the LonWorks network doesn’t require a central computer or controller to manage the devices, the user interface can reside on any platform. Echelon’s LonBridge, an application programmers interface (API) for user interface development, lets you develop a wide range of devices. LonBridge supports the dynamic discovery of new devices containing the ISI library, greatly enriching the user experience.

Compatibility

The LonWorks platform provides a standardized, proven way to ensure that products from multiple manufacturers are compatible. Competing technologies have tried to duplicate Echelon’s interoperability standards but have never succeeded in delivering such a robust and reliable solution. The proven profile model has been used successfully by companies offering LonWorks based solutions for over 15 years. Profiles ensure multi-vendor conformance by offering standardized characterizations of the device, its communication attributes, and configuration properties.

Standardization

The LonWorks protocol has been adopted by the following leading standards authorities:

ANSI – U.S.	CECED – Europe	IEEE – U.S.
ASHRAE – U.S.	CEN – Europe	IFSF – Europe
CEA – U.S.	GB – China	SEMI – U.S.

Standardization means that the protocol is open and can be hosted on a variety of semiconductor chips. It also means that you don’t have to pay royalties to use it. Standards-based solutions offer a competitive source of supply and ensure the long-term viability of a technology platform.

Proven

More than 30 million power line transceivers from Echelon have been deployed in electricity meters and home automation applications worldwide. Enel SpA of Italy deployed the largest utility metering infrastructure in the world when it installed over 27 million meters powered by Echelon’s technology. The popularity and reliability of LonWorks technology has made it the platform of choice for companies seeking a cost-effective, reliable communication solution in a home or automated metering infrastructure.

Secure

Products using the LonWorks protocol are installed in thousands of critical applications, including commercial buildings, industrial plants, electricity meters, homes, airplanes, and trains. All network operations (including network management) are performed using a full sender authentication. This provides a guarantee of sender authenticity, which cannot be forged or hacked. Manufacturers can enable sender authentication as an extra security mechanism, creating security firewalls where appropriate. And because the protocol is typically embedded in silicon, authentication is guaranteed to work throughout the network, regardless of individual product implementation choices.

Innovative

Echelon’s power line chipset offers two unique features that are attractive to companies seeking to differentiate their products. The chipset overcomes the problem of homes that lack a neutral wire from the lamp to the wall switch -- a wiring architecture seen in half of the homes in the U.S., and one that affects homes in other parts of the world, as well. Echelon’s power line chipset can communicate in the absence of power, making it a powerful and reliable solution.

The chipset can also measure the amount of energy that a particular device generates. This allows products to interact with home energy management systems provided by a homeowner, an electric utility, or another service provider.

Global Solution

The LonWorks platform delivers a standard solution that can be used worldwide. Just as many power suppliers are now international, Echelon’s solution offers a single component with international acceptance. Whether your company prefers twisted pair or power line communications, Echelon has a solution to meet your global needs.

Wired or Wireless?

One of today’s most heated discussions involves whether to offer a wired or wireless product. Although the idea of going wireless is seductive, it also comes at a cost. Be sure to consider the issues affecting a wireless product offering:

Is wireless the best solution for your application?

In a typical mesh network, communication is managed by a master (or coordinator) device, which coordinates and routes messages over the network. This device cannot reliably use a battery and must be powered.

There are also full-function and reduced-function devices in the mesh network. Full-function devices pass or forward messages to other devices in the mesh network. These devices can be put to sleep but they’ll be forced awake whenever messages are broadcast over the network, making them inefficient for batteries.

Reduced-function devices sit on the edge of the mesh network. They’re ideal for long battery life, given their ability to sleep for long periods of time without interruption. If most devices in the mesh network need some type of power, why not use power line communications, which delivers better performance and reliability without the inconvenience of replacing batteries?

Can your product operate for several years without needing a battery change?

Replacing batteries every few months is not an acceptable alternative. If the wireless device can be put to sleep for long periods of time and is not part of the main mesh network, it’s an ideal candidate for wireless. If it needs power, consider power line for more reliable communication.

What is the communication distance requirement?

Communication distance is one of the primary weaknesses of wireless communications. The effectiveness of any wireless mesh network depends on a large number of devices passing messages through the network. If a device is in one room in a house, it’s unlikely that it will be able to reach a remote part of the house unless you install another device to forward messages. This adds unnecessary cost and complexity. A peer-to-peer solution, such as the LonWorks platform, lets you install devices in remote locations in a home and reliably connect them using existing power wiring.

Is the wireless technology proprietary?

Most of today’s wireless technologies are proprietary. Proprietary solutions limit the market by creating too many standalone solutions. Consumers want to be able to choose from a variety of products and easily add them to their home network. Proprietary solutions also run the risk of backward compatibility, product obsolescence, component shortages, and increased cost.

What is the actual cost of implementation?

Some wireless silicon vendors claim to offer $1 or $2 solutions, but these figures are for very high-volume production and exclude the real cost of the product such as additional components and antennas. Echelon’s power line transceivers are typically less expensive than wireless alternatives and provide higher reliability.

How important is it for your product to connect to other complementary third-party products?

Interoperability is a critical factor in the consumer mass market. While the Zigbee protocol is years away from deploying a proven and reliable method for ensuring interoperability, products certified by the Digital Home Alliance leverage over 15 years of experience and interoperability, and will be guaranteed to interoperate.