The Energy Flexibility Platform & Interface (EF-Pi) aims to create an interoperable platform that is able to connect to a variety of appliances and support a host of Demand Side Management (DSM) approaches. This way the energy management system (EMS) hardware does not need to be changed when a consumer switches from one service to another. At the same time the Energy Flexibility Platform & Interface makes it easier for service providers to introduce new services, since they do not have to provide the EMS hardware to their consumers to go with it.

The Flexiblepower Alliance Network (FAN) is a network of companies and institutions that jointly develop and manage the international FAN standard. FAN is a new open standard that connects (household) devices with energy management services. FAN gives users control over the energy consumption in their house or building.

FAN can be built into devices and energy management services of diverse manufacturers. Thanks to FAN, they can work together as a team – to decide whether to use, store or sell locally produced energy, for instance, or to determine which device should be switched on first. Controlling the energy services on a smart phone or tablet, users can set the energy preferences, ensuring that devices are turned on, off or down whenever they want. FAN makes it easy to use renewable energy and will mean significant savings on your energy bill. www.flexiblepower.org