ATLANTA, March 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Atlanta's first Smart
NeighborhoodTM, a development of Georgia
Power and PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM), will feature the latest
home innovation technologies thanks to collaboration with leading
partners from multiple industries. The Georgia Power Smart
Neighborhood, a part of Pulte's Altus at the Quarter development,
is located in Atlanta's Upper West
Side, one of the city's most vibrant and popular areas.
"Developing the Smart Neighborhood is just one of the ways that
we are staying at the forefront of emerging technology while
ensuring that we are prepared to continue to meet our customers'
changing energy needs," said Pedro
Cherry, executive vice president of customer service and
operations for Georgia Power. "We are proud to unite industry
leaders that bring a shared commitment to customer innovation, as
well as unmatched industry expertise in their areas, and understand
the value that a smart, connected new home offers for
homebuyers."
"We are always looking for new ways to innovate and provide
consumer inspired features in our homes," said Brent Landry, vice president of operations for
PulteGroup. "The convergence of multiple, high-quality partners on
this particular community is sure to yield some exciting results
for each of us and our homeowners."
State-of-the-art home automation, solar energy and battery
storage are key elements of the Georgia Power Smart Neighborhood.
Participating partners include:
- Alarm.com – Home buyers look for security and peace of mind and
Alarm.com delivers innovative home security technology. Alarm.com's
smarter home security solutions include professional monitoring and
connect a wide array of smart devices, making them easily
controlled through a single, intuitive mobile app for home
owners.
- GreenMarbles – The smart home of the future is fully automated
with all home systems connected. GreenMarbles, known as Green
Automation in Georgia, is an
institutional integrator specializing in home automation and energy
management solutions. With GreenMarbles, the home automatically
responds to the homeowner's activities, location and schedules,
integrating thermostats, locks, lights, garage doors and water
sensors.
- Hannah Solar – Georgia is a national leader in solar energy,
with solar installations of all sizes in place across the state and
more customers considering solar for their homes and businesses
every day. The Georgia Power Smart Neighborhood will demonstrate
the effectiveness of residential solar energy with full-service
solar integrator Hannah Solar
installing rooftop solar panels and battery storage for each
home.
- Mercedes-Benz Energy – Mercedes-Benz Energy provides home
energy solutions to support the transition to a sustainable future.
Their home batteries maximize clean energy usage by storing solar
energy for use when the sun isn't shining. Mercedes-Benz Energy
Storage Home also gives Smart Neighborhood homeowners additional
peace of mind with a reliable and safe source of backup power.
- Sunverge Energy – The Sunverge Energy Distributed Energy
Resource (DER) control and orchestration platform is an
edge/cloud-based virtual power plant, residential battery, and home
energy management systems (HEMS) control software, which allows
utilities to control and orchestrate renewable DERs for better
integration with the distribution grid and core utility operations.
For Smart Neighborhood residents, Sunverge Energy's platform will
enable the full value stacking of benefits from the Mercedes-Benz
Energy battery, in conjunction with managing load via smart
thermostats and grid-interactive water heaters, by forecasting and
scheduling operations to automatically provide energy bill savings
when paired with Georgia Power's Smart Usage or Nights &
Weekends energy rate.
Georgia Power is the largest electric subsidiary of Southern
Company, which emphasizes the importance of robust research and
development to better serve customers. The Smart Neighborhood
initiative, including separate projects with Georgia Power and its
sister operating company Alabama Power, reinforces Southern
Company's commitment to research and development (R&D) to
benefit 9 million customers in the United
States. Georgia Power also continues to conduct R&D
through programs developed with and approved by the Georgia Public
Service Commission such as separate solar energy research projects
with the University of Georgia and
Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
In addition to the technology partners above, Georgia Power is
also collaborating with Southern Company R&D to better
understand the interactions between rooftop solar and in-home
battery storage and the existing electric grid for energy efficient
homes. Additional research partners include the U.S. Department of
Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which will be developing
the Smart Neighborhood's home energy optimization platform that
will intelligently schedule each homes' major appliances, in
coordination with solar and batteries, to minimize cost while
optimizing each homeowner's comfort. Additionally, the Electric
Power Research Institute (EPRI) is providing design guidance, data
analysis and final reports for the Smart Neighborhood project.
The partnership with Georgia Power is another example of
PulteGroup's commitment to sustainability. The first 46 townhomes
developed at Altus at the Quarter will be a part of the Georgia
Power Smart Neighborhood and will feature the Hutton floor plan
featuring 2,349+ sq. ft. four-story townhome with 3-4 bedrooms and
2-car garage. The community is located at the intersection of
Marietta Boulevard and Bolton Drive. Development is underway with
the grand opening scheduled for later this year. Click here to
learn more.
About Georgia Power
Georgia Power is the largest
electric subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), America's
premier energy company. Value, Reliability, Customer Service and
Stewardship are the cornerstones of the company's promise to 2.5
million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159
counties. Committed to delivering clean, safe, reliable and
affordable energy at rates below the national average, Georgia
Power maintains a diverse, innovative generation mix that includes
nuclear, coal and natural gas, as well as renewables such as solar,
hydroelectric and wind. Georgia Power focuses on delivering
world-class service to its customers every day and the company is
consistently recognized by J.D. Power and Associates as an industry
leader in customer satisfaction. For more information,
visit www.GeorgiaPower.com and connect with the company
on Facebook (Facebook.com/GeorgiaPower), Twitter
(Twitter.com/GeorgiaPower) and Instagram
(Instagram.com/ga_power).
About PulteGroup
PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM), based
in Atlanta, Georgia, is one of
America's largest homebuilding companies with operations in
approximately 50 markets throughout the country. Through its
brand portfolio that includes Centex, Pulte Homes, Del Webb, DiVosta Homes and John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, the
company is one of the industry's most versatile homebuilders able
to meet the needs of multiple buyer groups and respond to changing
consumer demand. PulteGroup conducts extensive research to
provide homebuyers with innovative solutions and consumer inspired
homes and communities to make lives better. For more information
about PulteGroup, Inc. and PulteGroup brands, go to
pultegroupinc.com; www.pulte.com; www.centex.com; www.delwebb.com;
www.divosta.com and www.jwhomes.com. Follow PulteGroup, Inc.
on Twitter: @PulteGroupNews.
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SOURCE Georgia Power