RWE Makes Affordable Home Automation a Reality for

Every German Household with “SmartHome”

Energy | RWE Effizienz

RWE Effizienz bundles all energy efficiency initiatives within the RWE Group. In 2009 the company set out

to create a secure and easy-to-use home automation solution for the consumer market. Branded

SmartHome, the bespoke IoT solution would enable homeowners, regardless of their technical know-

how, to reduce energy consumption and cut utility costs by controlling the heating and electrical

appliances in their homes through a network of intelligent devices.

In 2011, iQuest was engaged as a partner in an international team, under the lead of Microsoft

Consulting Services, to develop the SmartHome platform including the frontend, backend and central

control unit. iQuest was then quickly selected as Product Care Partner and entrusted with the software

maintenance of the live version deployed to customers. One year later, iQuest was appointed main

Strategic Software Development Partner for the project. During the span of the collaboration, iQuest has

continuously supported RWE in further developing the SmartHome platform and in delivering seven

major product releases.

The Business Context

iQuest is an innovative

partner on our successful

way to become the

market leader in

consumer home

automation.

Dr. Norbert Verweyen

Managing Director, RWE

Effizienz

Remote

Control

Nodes

Energy | RWE Effizienz

Software Services Case Study

RWE SmartHome is a comprehensive family of

intelligent devices that users can install in their

homes and configure according to their needs in a

very short timeframe and without any previous

technical knowledge. An intuitive interface makes

SmartHome very easy to operate locally from a PC,

tablet or smartphone, or remotely via the internet

The Solution

A secured wireless network

within the house connects any

household appliance, radiator

and lamp with the SmartHome

central control unit – to provide

intelligent, centralised control of

heating and energy

management.

The SmartHome system is operated on a

high-performance RWE infrastructure and is

maintained in all areas of the solution by the

iQuest Product Care Team.

The engagement with RWE Effizienz marked

iQuest’s first major project in what is today an

industry trend - the Internet of Things. Our agile

and flexible approach, and deep expertise in

cloud technologies, allowed us to successfully

deliver complex solution packages and versions

with high-quality in the given timeframe.

The successful delivery of the solution was also a

result of a combination of local, and near-shore

resources and IT services provided by iQuest.

Covering our delivery and support

methodologies, project structure, as well as the

configuration and distribution of our teams, this

tailored approach ensured that iQuest was able

to supply flexible and scalable services based on

an optimised price and performance ratio.

Smartphone (remote)

Laptop (remote)

PC

Internet

WLAN-Router SmartHome

Controller

Smartphone

SmartHome Service

Portal (www)

Mobile HTML

WebserverRelay Service

(OCS)

SmartHome Backend

Thermostat

Electrical

adapter

Wall-mounted

transmitter

The SmartHome architecture is designed as a

platform to integrate with a wide range of partners

(e.g. new partner devices like washing machines,

tumble dryers and dish washers can now be

connected with already existing SmartHome

devices). Virtual devices like the Sunrise/Sunset App,

Wake-On-LAN, SMS and eMail Actuator enrich the

functionality of the system.

Energy | RWE Effizienz

Software Services Case Study

As essential development partner, iQuest helped

RWE Effizienz realise their vision, making

SmartHome a continuous success story and

establishing RWE as the market leader in consumer

home automation.

The first version of SmartHome was released in

March of 2011, and has since won several industry

awards for security, reliability, usability and design.

The Business Impact

SmartHome provides intelligent smart meter and

photovoltaic integration plus electric car charging to

control the energy management in a modern

household.

Integration beyond Home

Automation

Extensibility

Key Benefits:

SmartHome features a new wireless solution based

on the highest encryption standards for security and

data protection. An IPV6 based protocol ensures a

high security and confidentiality standard, while the

remote firmware update option keeps all devices up

to date at all times.

Security and reliability

• Development

• QA & Testing

• Product Care

• Microsoft Windows CE

• Windows Azure

• Embedded 6.0 R3

• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2

• Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2

• Communications Server 2007

• Microsoft Silverlight 5

• Microsoft Visual Studio

• Windows Phone

Services and Technologies

Copyright 2015, iQuest Group. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the express written permission from

iQuest. All other product names, service marks, and trademarks mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

iQuest is an independent, global IT services and solutions provider that for more than 17 years has been delivering

first-class software solutions to leading companies in Life Sciences, Telecom, Transportation, Financial Services, and

Energy. With a growing international presence, iQuest provides a full range of software development services,

integration services, and software products, all of which rely on the latest commerce, cloud, big data, and analytics

platforms.

Headquartered in Germany, iQuest currently employs more than 600 people, distributed across delivery centers in

Romania, as well as local and affiliate offices in Europe, the US and Asia.

www.iquestgroup.com

About iQuest

RWE Effizienz GmbH is a service provider for energy-efficient infrastructure and a subsidiary of RWE Deutschland.

Its main focus is the development and commercialisation of intelligent efficiency solutions and products. From e-

mobility through distributed energy generation right up to the “SmartHome” home automation system and energy

consulting – RWE Effizienz is an expert in everything related to energy efficiency, setting new product standards by

implementing innovative approaches.

Under the brand name RWE SmartHome, RWE Effizienz develops products that are designed to help customers

save energy and preserve the environment.

www.rwe-effizienz.com

About RWE Effizienz