These brief notes are in no particular order. There were many other exhibitors, ranging from electric car charging stations to power industry consulting firms, that I did not interview for this article.

Ziphany is demonstrating their software platform that mediates between the utility’s demand-response signals and the building’s automation system. When the utility makes a DR call, the Ziphany system receives the signal, applies the customer’s business rules (e.g., for offered compensation and shed duration), and decides what predefined load-shedding program to apply. Then it orders that program to be executed on the existing building-automation system.

Arch Rock is showing their wireless monitoring devices. Sensors are installed in electrical access panels and connected to a router over an IP mesh network. It's a quick way to get basic monitoring data (but not controls) for small buildings or spaces, but whole facilities could be monitored this way. Data is fed up to a database and made available to applications that use it for reporting.

KMC Controls recently introduced a combined sensor and controller for small commercial buildings. It can sense temperature, humidity and occupancy, and control connected loads such as HVAC or lights. It can be installed alone or integrated into a larger KMC or other automation system using BACnet.

Adura is demonstrating their wireless lighting controls. The light controller installs in the ceiling, alongside a light ballast. One controller can manage two loads -- whether individual bulbs, or whole banks of fixtures -- and dimming control is available. Daylight and occupancy sensors connect over the same ZigBee wireless network to adjust lighting levels in a very granular way. A gateway connects the devices to a browser-based enterprise portal. With a click of a mouse, or a demand-response signal from the utility, the system can adjust lights to save energy. Or you can press the multi-function wall switch.

Cypress Environmental Systems president Harry Sim showed me the components they’ve added since I last saw him at AHR in Chicago -- a wireless analog-to-digital adapter for pneumatic thermostats, a steam trap monitor, and a transducer receiver -- plus their original product, the analog gauge reader. With the thermostat adapter, older buildings that use pneumatic thermostats (and there are a lot of them) can participate in automated demand response, without converting the underlying infrastructure to direct digital controls.

Ember announced a new chipset before the conference, and is talking about their various system-on-chip offerings and development tools for ZigBee wireless networks. The chips are embedded in devices by other manufacturers, who use the tools to program functionality into them. Like cell phones and PDAs, wireless sensors and controls are becoming powerful little computers. The new ARM chipset extends battery life and makes for more compact electronics in devices.

Cimetrics, a long-time player in intelligent building automation, is showing its components for embedded BACnet networking of sensors and controls. They have a system on a chip and an OPC server, plus routers and interfaces.

Cisco’s exhibit now features building control technology obtained in January 2009 with the acquisition of Richards-Zeta. Building automation networks in a building can be connected through RZ Mediator, which translates data to XML before it's shipped over the enterprise IP network to other applications. Building subsystems, regardless of protocol, become web services. Eventually, Mediator will link into Cisco's new EnergyWise strategy, which uses Cisco Catalyst switches to monitor and control the power consumption of any IP device. (Play my 2007 "Insight" interview with Edward Richards, co-founder of Richards-Zeta.)

Ice Energy has an Ice Bear unit on the expo floor. The unit stores energy at night by making ice, then uses that ice during the day to compress coolant. Utilities like the ability to reduce afternoon peak demand this way. That's why the company has shifted to a model of working through utilities to get its cooling units onto commercial buildings. In addition to the mechanical energy storage unit, Ice has a suite of offerings for utilities to manage the installed units. (Play my 2007 interview with Ice Energy president Greg Tropsa.)

ConnectivityWeek 2009 web site.