The QualityLogic Test Harness, is now authorized by CSEP to be used by major industry bodies for their SEP2 certification, and this authorization is therefore an important milestone for the industry.
San Diego, CA (PRWEB) February 03, 2015
QualityLogic’s SEP 2 Functional Test Suite and Ad Hoc Testers have been approved by The Consortium for Smart Energy Profile 2 Interoperability (CSEP) as an official CSEP Certification Test Harness. After a year of comprehensive and rigorous testing, the approval by CSEP means that the QualityLogic test tools are now ready for use by the industry to ensure interoperability of products implementing the IEEE SA-2030.5-2013 SEP 2 Application Protocol Standard.
The SEP 2 standard is agnostic as far as how the messages are transported. SEP 2 is an application-only layer designed to work with any underlying communication protocol supporting TCP/IP, such as ZigBee, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and HomePlug. The standard has been adopted by the Society of Automotive Engineers as the interface standard between utilities/grid operations and Electric Vehicle charging systems to integrate EVs better into grid operations. It is also being considered for adoption as the interface standard between utilities and emerging "smart" inverters that will integrate renewable energy, electric vehicles and other distributed energy resources (DER) into grid operations. SEP 2 has been identified for adoption as an official standard in at least two countries for energy management communications within residential buildings and between such buildings and utility operations. The approval of a certification test harness will enable the industry to move forward with implementing interoperable, certified products based on the SEP 2 standard.
CSEP is not itself a test and certification organization but is made up of four major industry alliances that design and manage such programs: Wi-Fi Alliance, Bluetooth Special Interest Group, ZigBee Alliance and HomePlug Alliance. "The job of CSEP was to provide the industry with standard testing for conformance and certification," according to Edgar Figueroa, Chairman of CSEP and President and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance. "The QualityLogic Test Harness, is now authorized by CSEP to be used by major industry bodies for their SEP2 certification, and this authorization is therefore an important milestone for the industry."
Major technology, utility and test labs worldwide have joined the community of QualityLogic SEP 2 test tools users in order to move the technology to maturity and interoperability. QualityLogic SEP 2 test tools have been in use since 2012 and are considered the de facto standard test tools for this specification.
"The tools are now approved as the official industry test tools for SEP 2, and we look forward to working with our partners and industry alliances to develop conformance and certification programs that will mature SEP 2 for its intended applications," said James Mater, GM, Smart Grid, QualityLogic. "We are in fact announcing our own Conformance Test Program for SEP 2 at DistribuTECH with the goal of jump-starting a formal industry program."
The official QualityLogic CSEP approved SEP 2 Test Tools will be demonstrated in booth #4013 at DistribuTECH in San Diego, February 3-5.
ABOUT QUALITYLOGIC
QualityLogic designs, develops and sells smart grid test tools and associated training and support services, as well as advanced testing services. The Company was selected by the OpenADR Alliance to develop the official conformance and interoperability test tool for OpenADR compliant products, and has been delivering SEP 2 conformance and interoperability test tools worldwide since 2012. QualityLogic is the testing partner for the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration, the largest project of its kind in the U.S., focused on developing and demonstrating Transactive Energy technologies. The Company also offers test and certification program consulting and services for Smart Energy technologies and web and mobile applications. QualityLogic is an active participant in Smart Grid standards activities and conferences. For more information, visit http://www.qualitylogic.com.