19th Jan - Sumitomo Forestry, Toshiba Join In Smart-Home Energy Systems

Sumitomo Forestry Co. and Toshiba Corp.  will co-develop home energy management systems (HEMS) for smart homes.

The systems use information technology to control and manage power to the home and optimize electricity consumption.

Sumitomo Forestry, a leading builder of single-family homes, has been procuring HEMS systems from Toshiba whenever a customer requested the technology. Toshiba approached Sumitomo Forestry with the joint-development proposal, aiming to secure clients for its HEMS products.

Through the tie-up, Sumitomo Forestry will tailor HEMS to include specifications optimized for the home designs it offers. Starting later this year, it will begin marketing smart homes that feature power control systems, storage batteries and other products procured from Toshiba.

As a first step, the company will offer smart homes with systems that feature a screen on which the owner can monitor such factors as the electricity output from solar panels, the level of power stored in the household batteries and overall energy consumption.

In the future, the HEMS features will be enhanced to include such functions as automatic control over air conditioners and other appliances based on indoor and outdoor temperatures and humidity. It will also provide support for charging electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.

The tie-up between Sumitomo Forestry and Toshiba is just the latest in a string of HEMS partnerships between homebuilders and electrical machinery makers.