By Sharon Jayson 

It’s only been a few years since the names Siri and Alexa appeared on our cultural landscape, but if you haven’t escaped the advertising for the two digital personal assistants from Apple and Amazon, you likely are curious about what they can do. 

Now there’s another big player in the voice-activated device field: “OK Google” is the command used to activate Google Home, just like saying “Alexa” to activate the Amazon Echo or “Hey Siri” to talk to your iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch. The trio of companies – Apple, Amazon and Google — is vying for attention and illustrating why voice control is the next big thing in home automation. 

“At some point relatively quickly, people will realize how nice and convenient it is. The reason why it’s so popular is because it actually works pretty darn well.” — Dave Pedigo, of CEDIA, a trade association for the connected home

Voice control is “the biggest story in the industry” because of the convenience, said Dave Pedigo, vice

president of emerging technologies for CEDIA, an Indianapolis-based international trade association for the connected home. 

Devices that use voice commands allow consumers to control actions by saying commands aloud rather than touching a smartphone screen switch to make something happen in the home. Voice command can be as simple as checking on the weather or adding items to your to-do list, or as sophisticated as controlling lighting or window shades, or adjusting the thermostat. Pedigo estimates that by year’s end, as many as 15 percent of homes across the country could have some kind of voice-control feature. 

“Right now, a lot of it is the ‘cool factor,’ but not for long,” Pedigo said. “At some point relatively quickly, people will realize how nice and convenient it is. The reason why it’s so popular is because it actually works pretty darn well.” 

Google Home’s voice-connected smart home system comes in an array of colors, above.

Voice control requires a few must-haves, Pedigo said: A home must be Wi-Fi enabled and each product to be controlled through voice has to be a smart product compatible with that home’s voice service, as in “Works with Alexa” or “Works with Google Home.” 

For more specific commands, a homeowner would have to do some extra setup, such as creating what’s termed “a scene” that encompasses a series of actions, he says. Creating a “goodbye scene” to leave each day, for example, would turn off all the lights and adjust the thermostat in several rooms, while a command to “watch a movie” could turn on the TV and dim the lights. 

For a preview of what consumers can expect this year, we explored CEDIA’s international trade show in Dallas last fall, where almost 19,000 attendees roamed the convention, gazing at products exhibited by more than 500 global companies. 

Several sessions focused on voice control, with experts such as Charlie Kindel, of Amazon, explaining the idea behind the voice. 

The Amazon Tap, above left, is an Alexa voice-enabled portable Bluetooth speaker. The Echo, center, is the main hub for controlling Alexa-compatible devices. The Dot, above right, accesses Alexa around the house but individual Dots are needed for each room.

“The idea was to create a computer in the cloud that will take care of customers’ everyday things — whether

it’s their shopping lists, playing music, keeping track of schedules, ordering pizza, keeping control of their devices that are around them,” he said. Alexa “is that computer in the cloud that powers all these experiences.” 

Although voice has a lot of promise, it’s not perfect for every situation, said Alex Capecelatro, CEO of Josh.ai, a standalone artificial intelligence platform named Josh, which uses voice control for wireless connected home devices. 

“Voice is not the only solution that I think is going to replace everything,” he said. “Our guiding principle is what is simplest for the end user — what’s going to make their life really natural and really easy.” 

Dan Quigley, also of Amazon, said this technology will evolve, but for now “We’re at Day One with voice.” 

Each of these companies has its own set of compatible smart products, although some work with other companies’ products. Apple’s Home app communicates through Siri from any iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch to connected devices that control its HomeKit products. Only products certified as “Works With Apple HomeKit” can be used to activate garage door openers, lighting systems, thermostats, door locks, air conditioning/heating and window shades, to name a few. Amazon’s voice control of Alexa can do the same but with products that are compatible. For example, Vivint home security products are compatible with Alexa. Google Home works with a variety of smart products offered by such brands as Philips, Samsung and Nest, which Google owns. Amazon Alexa also works with Nest products. 

Phillips Hue Ambience bulbs let the user change the look and feel of a room with voice commands. The bulbs work with a variety of voice-command devices.

If all this sounds overwhelming, enter the “home technologist,” a new name for the point person to help consumers integrate their home technology so that products can work together with compatible wireless systems. 

“They need somebody to help them through this and to have full understanding of it,” said Suzie Williford, of the National Kitchen and Bath Association. “They need a technologist.” 

Smart features aren’t without risk. Security continues to be a concern, as last fall’s hacking of some smart home gadgets illustrates. With more consumers adopting internet-connected devices in their homes, some products have higher security standards than others. Security experts warn consumers to make sure the products they buy have built-in precautions to reduce the chances of being hacked. 

“We are going to have to start seeing stronger security in home networking,” said Pedigo, of the trade association. “The culprit is the general lack of security awareness nationwide — from the consumers to the manufacturers.” More than 60 percent of individuals have some concern about someone accessing their devices without permission, and the owners of smart products have even more concern, according to Dallas-based market research and consulting company Parks Associates, which was among the presenters at CEDIA. 

Siri’s voice commands for Apple devices can be used to control a variety of products including the August Smart Lock, above.

“Once you own a product, you get a sense for the potential risk,” said Tom Kerber, of Parks. “The door locks

risk (for being breached) is much more obvious. A thermostat is not. It depends on the type of systems and products.” 

Kerber said each product working independently with different apps is one approach, particularly for the do-it-yourself market, while products that work as a system with a central controller often require a service provider. However, he noted that the Open Connectivity Foundation, an industry group dedicated to developing standards and certification for devices, is working to make devices compatible with one another, and to bypass the need for a service provider. 

New data suggests about 15 percent of all households have some type of smart product. Most of these categories have a combined growth rate of nearly 20 percent, Kerber said. 

“The key here is to just make it simple for the consumer,” said John Ouseph, of GE Consumer & Industrial, “to make purposeful ‘smarts.’ It has to make it smarter for the consumer to use and simpler for the consumer to use.”

By Will Holford

Winters in Central Texas are typically mild, sunny and beautiful. They’re our reward for enduring long, hot Texas summers. But as all Texans know, winter weather can change from incredibly pleasant to bitterly cold in a matter of hours. 

Weather is the driving factor in how much electricity is needed. Hot summer temperatures lead to high demand for energy to cool Texas homes and businesses. The top 10 hourly peak demand records for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, which manages the electric grid for most of the state, were all set during August. 

But for Bluebonnet, it is the coldest winter mornings that result in the highest demand for electricity. Peak demand for energy occurs at the moment when the most megawatts of electricity are needed to provide enough power to every Bluebonnet member. 

Nine of the top 10 monthly peak demand records for Bluebonnet’s electric distribution system were set during January, February or March. Only the 10th highest peak record was set in August. 

“Bluebonnet’s peak demand for power is almost always during a winter month,” said Eric Kocian, Chief Engineer and System Operations Officer for the co-op. “Since we see a spike in demand on cold days, particularly in the mornings, it’s almost certainly attributable to homes’ and businesses’ heating systems. Especially on days when temperatures are in the 20s, electric heat systems require a lot of power and really turn the meters.” 

John Osgood, a Bluebonnet member who owns a farm in Uhland and owns a heating and air conditioning business with his brother, Charles, confirmed cold temperatures cause heating systems to use more electricity. Osgood used his own home and farm as examples. 

“I’ve got heat pumps at my home and at the farm,” Osgood said. “They are energy efficient and require very little electricity to run the units. But if I go to electric mode (on the heating system), they draw about 70 amps, five times more electricity than when using the heat pump.” 

Electric demand at the consumer level is how much electricity a home or business needs to power every electric device in use at that given moment. Demand changes from moment to moment as air conditioners in the summer and heaters in the winter cycle on or off. 

At the consumer level, demand is measured in kilowatts, except at large industrial and commercial facilities, where it’s measured in megawatts. One megawatt is enough to power about 200 homes during periods of peak demand. 

Electric consumption is the amount of electricity used over a period of time, usually a 29- to 31-day billing period. At the household level, consumption is measured in kilowatt hours. The typical home in Bluebonnet’s service area uses about 1,200 kilowatt hours of electricity per month. 

At the utility level, peak demand is how much energy is needed to provide power to every utility customer. Peak demand at the utility level is measured in megawatts, and consumption is measured in megawatt hours. 

Confusing? It can be, especially because electricity can’t be seen like water. Here is an analogy that might help: Electric demand is like the amount of water, measured in gallons per minute, flowing through a hose. At peak demand, the water is flowing at full force. At lowest demand, the water is merely trickling out. Electric consumption is equivalent to how many gallons of water you use during a billing period. 

ERCOT manages the majority of the state’s electric grid, but every electric utility plays a role in providing safe, reliable power to Texas consumers. From ERCOT to the smallest electric utility in the state, the electric grid must be designed and built to be able to provide enough energy to meet peak demand. As the state’s population increases, so too does demand for energy. 

Bluebonnet owns and maintains more than 11,000 miles of electric distribution lines that carry power from 44 electric substations to more than 91,000 meters. Aggregated across its entire system, the co-op uses peak demand data as one way to measure growth on its electric grid. It also looks at the peak demand data at the substations and the power lines, called feeders, which carry power from the substations to the meters. Bluebonnet’s substations provide power from two to as many as five feeders. A feeder can serve several thousand meters along dozens of miles of line. 

“The peak demand data at the feeder level shows us how that section of line is performing and if we need to make improvements in order to serve the electric load, especially during periods of peak demand,” Kocian said. “We constantly look at the data from the substations to the last meter at the end of the line to ensure reliability and plan for future growth.”

By Will Holford 

Recently, one of Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative’s tree-trimming contractors went to the home of a Bluebonnet member in Lee County to alert the family that some tree work was needed on their property and a crew would return in a few days to do the work. 

The contractor’s visit occurred just as the mother was preparing to run errands in town while her children stayed home. She felt a little uncomfortable and, after the contractor left, she made two phone calls: first to the Lee County Sheriff’s office and next to Bluebonnet’s member services. 

She did the right thing. She asked questions and learned the contractor’s crew and the work being planned were legitimate. 

If you are not comfortable with someone or something happening on your property or at your home or business, Bluebonnet wants you to make a phone call to be safe and sure instead of wondering and worrying. 

Bluebonnet has dozens of employees and contract crews working in the 14 counties the co-op serves. They are trimming trees, clearing land, inspecting and replacing equipment, building new power lines and restoring power during outages. 

Bluebonnet requires its employees and contract workers to drive company vehicles marked with Bluebonnet’s and contractors’ logos and wear easily identifiable company uniforms. Bluebonnet’s vehicles typically are white with a blue Bluebonnet logo on the hood and doors. The trucks range from half-ton to large bucket and digger trucks. Bluebonnet contractors use their company trucks or vehicles with a Bluebonnet logo on the doors or hood. Bluebonnet’s contract employees should be in their company uniforms, which vary depending on the contractor and the type of the work they are doing. 

Bluebonnet encourages members to be diligent and aware of who is at their home or on their property and what work is being performed. 

Maintaining more than 11,000 miles of Bluebonnet’s power lines over 3,800 square miles is never-ending work. Most of the time Bluebonnet crews and contractors work during business hours on jobs scheduled days or weeks ahead of time. On planned jobs, we notify co-op members in advance by phone or by visiting their homes and businesses about what work will be done, when and where. But sometimes, especially during storms and outages, work is performed at all hours, with no advance notice. 

Contact Bluebonnet if someone claiming to be a Bluebonnet employee or contractor is on your property or at your home or business and is not driving a company truck or wearing a proper uniform or if something seems suspicious. Call Bluebonnet’s member services at 800-842-7708 Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. After business hours or on weekends, if you are suspicious of a worker, call 911 or contact your local law enforcement agency.