Toshiba Buys Out Smart Grid Start-up Consert

After buying Landis+Gyr close to two years ago, Toshiba is making another, albeit, much smaller acquisition in the smart grid sector. Last week Toshiba announced that it plans to acquire start-up Consert, which had been building a smart home service.

Founded in 2008, Consert connects devices in the home like a water heater, heating and air conditioning units, pool pumps, and thermostats. The connected devices all talk to a smart meter, which has a Consert gateway inside, and Consert had been utilizing Verizon’s 3G network to connect back to its data centre.

The Consert service monitors the energy consumption of these devices and uses them to participate in automated energy efficiency programs. Overall Consert had said its system can help a home owner save 10 to 20% on an energy bill. The company has completed trials in Fayetteville, N.C., with Rockwood Electric Utility, with CPS Energy, and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative, but there are no plans for large commercial deployments.

Consert had managed to bring in a variety of high profile backers including GE Energy Financial Services, Verizon Ventures, Qualcomm and Constellation Energy. The company had raised at least $25 million. The companies wouldn’t disclose the terms of the deal. Toshiba says Consert will be integrated into Landis+Gyr.