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Core Technology

The agent is what
makes everything work.

One software agent, running on in-home displays, consumer access devices, residential gateways and connected devices. It handles real-time data, edge processing, protocol translation and cloud analytics. Everything else we build sits on top of it.

What the Agent Does

One software platform.
Every device it runs on.

The agent sits between the hardware and the services that run on it. It does the hard parts: real-time data ingestion, protocol translation, sub-second edge processing and secure cloud sync.

On an IHD or CAD it runs the Zigbee HAN to the SMETS2 Comms Hub, manages 10-second ESME feeds and bridges broadband to cloud tariff services. On a residential gateway it adds Wi-Fi mesh management, home automation and demand response.

Without it, these are devices that show meter reads or route broadband. With it, they're a real-time platform for energy, connectivity and care.

Edge Processing

Data normalisation at the source.

Raw telemetry from meters, sensors and appliances is cleansed, normalised and structured at the edge before anything reaches the cloud or a local display. This reduces bandwidth, improves latency and keeps sensitive data on-device by default.

Protocol Translation

One data model, many device languages.

Zigbee SEP for smart meters, Matter and Thread for smart home devices, Modbus for solar inverters, OCPP for EV chargers, cloud APIs for heat pumps. The agent presents a single unified data model regardless of the underlying protocol.

Cloud Synchronisation

Edge-first, cloud-extended.

Tariff schedule resolution (including all 48 daily Agile half-hours), cross-device scheduling, consumption pattern analysis and the GDPR-compliant analytics pipeline run in the cloud. Control decisions execute locally without a cloud round-trip.

Embedded electronics and radio hardware, the physical layer the agent runs on
Dual-band
2.4 GHz & 868 MHz Zigbee SE
12+
Protocols supported
Rust
Memory-safe core

Agent Data Pipeline

From meter to cloud in milliseconds.

Two simultaneous data paths. Local: 10-second electricity and 30-minute gas reads from the SMETS2 Comms Hub over Zigbee SE. Cloud: dynamic tariff data, Agile pricing, demand response signals and fleet analytics over broadband.

ESME

10-second electricity consumption via HAN

GSME

30-minute gas reads via Zigbee SE (868MHz)

AGENT

Edge processing, cleansing, protocol translation

MQTT

Local publish to apps and Matter devices

CLOUD

Tariff resolution, scheduling, fleet analytics

OpenADR

Demand response signals from grid and supplier

Data normalisation happens at the edge before anything reaches the cloud, the display or a third-party device.

Protocols & Standards

Open standards throughout.

The agent is built on published specifications rather than proprietary interfaces. Metering data, device protocols, cloud telemetry, demand response and remote management all use open standards.

Smart Metering

SMETS2, GBCS, DLMS/COSEM

Full SMETS2 compliance including GBCS messaging, DLMS/COSEM data objects and Zigbee SEP 1.4 for HAN communication with the Comms Hub. SEC Framework compliant.

Smart Home & IoT

Matter, Thread, Zigbee

Multi-protocol support for smart home devices. Matter 1.x for new ESA-compliant appliances, Thread for low-power mesh and Zigbee for legacy devices and security sensors.

Energy Devices

Modbus, OCPP, SunSpec

Modbus TCP/RTU for solar inverters, OCPP 1.6/2.0.1 for EV chargers and SunSpec for battery storage systems. Direct local integration without cloud intermediaries.

Demand Response

OpenADR 3.0

OpenADR 3.0 Virtual End Node (VEN) capability for receiving demand response signals from DSRSPs and energy suppliers. Bridged to local Matter devices via the OpenADR-Matter interworking specification.

Cloud & Telemetry

MQTT 5.0, MQTTs, USP TR-369

MQTT 5.0 for local pub/sub messaging, MQTTs (TLS 1.3) for cloud telemetry and USP TR-369 for remote device management, firmware updates and configuration.

Data & Privacy

GDPR, DAPF, ISO 27001

Consumer consent management per GDPR Art. 6(1)(a), DAPF consent capture for data sharing, and ISO 27001-aligned security management across the full data lifecycle.

OpenADR & Matter Bridging

Let the grid talk to every device in the home.

The OpenADR 3 to Matter interworking specification (March 2025, OpenADR Alliance and CSA, DESNZ-sponsored under the IDSR programme) defines how demand-side response providers manage energy smart appliances via Matter.

The agent is the natural bridge. It already sits on the gateway, already receives cloud tariff and grid signals, and already controls local devices over Matter, Zigbee and other protocols. With OpenADR 3.0 VEN capability, it turns DSR events into Matter commands and coordinates appliance response in real time.

It also publishes live smart meter consumption, generation and tariff state over the local network. Any Matter-compliant ESA in the home can read that data and respond, no separate cloud connection required.

Demand Response

Grid-to-appliance in real time

OpenADR 3.0 demand response events received from the DSRSP or energy supplier are translated into Matter commands and dispatched to local ESAs: dishwashers, dryers, washing machines, EV chargers, heat pumps, batteries and solar inverters.

Data Publishing

Real-time meter data for every device

The agent publishes live SMETS2 consumption, generation, export and tariff state over the local home network. Any Matter/Thread/Zigbee-connected device can read this data and respond, without needing a separate cloud integration.

Orchestration

Coordinated, not competing

The agent coordinates appliance response against the Agile tariff curve so devices are not all competing for the same cheap half-hours. Battery, EV, heat pump and ESA schedules are optimised together, not independently.

Why This Matters

Flexibility revenue at household scale.

Flexibility programmes can now reach beyond the usual EV chargers and batteries, down to individual appliances. White goods, heating and water heating become flexible assets. Households pay less, suppliers earn flexibility revenue, the grid gets response when it needs it.

Security

Secure by design. Compliant by default.

Your customers trust you with their data. Our job is to keep that trust intact. Every layer, silicon to cloud, is engineered for security and built to TSA, PSTI, NCSC Secure by Design and ISO 27001.

Hardware & Core

Secure Boot, Rust and Erlang.

Hardware-backed encryption and X.509 device identity from first power-on. A memory-safe Rust core eliminates buffer overflows and data races; Erlang handles fault-tolerant concurrency proven in carrier-grade telecoms. No C/C++ in the critical path.

Communications

End-to-end encryption.

MQTT over TLS 1.3 for device telemetry and mutual TLS between endpoints and cloud. Certificate-managed identity across the full pipeline. Encrypted in transit and at rest.

Application

Sandboxed isolation.

LXC containers with strict process-level isolation and least-privilege access. Atomic firmware updates either fully apply or fully roll back, no partial states.

Compliance & Privacy

TSA, PSTI, ISO 27001 and GDPR.

Compliant with the UK Telecommunications Security Act, PSTI Act and NCSC Secure by Design. ISO 27001-aligned security management, plus privacy-by-design consent capture, audit logging and retention policies at platform level.

RF Coverage

Dual-band radio. Whole-home reach.

The agent operates across 2.4GHz and 868MHz simultaneously, connecting SMETS2 Comms Hubs, smart meters, Matter/Thread devices and Zigbee sensors from a single platform.

At 2.4GHz, the agent communicates with Zigbee 3.0, Matter, Thread and Wi-Fi HAN devices: smart plugs, TRVs, motion sensors, door contacts and smoke detectors. This is the standard band for most smart home products and supports mesh networking, where each device extends the network's reach.

At 868MHz, the agent connects to the SMETS2 Comms Hub and gas meter via Zigbee SE (SEP 1.4). Sub-GHz signals penetrate walls and floors significantly better than 2.4GHz, making 868MHz the backbone for whole-home metering coverage in typical UK housing stock.

The interactive model below uses log-distance path loss with empirical wall attenuation values for late-Victorian residential construction (solid red brick internal and external walls) to visualise signal propagation across a 4-bed Victorian semi-detached at both frequency bands. It accounts for door openings, floor penetration and device placement.

2.4 GHz

Zigbee 3.0 · Matter · Thread

Standard smart home frequency. Mesh networking extends effective range across devices.

Wall loss
8 dB
Topology
Mesh
868 MHz

Zigbee SE (SEP 1.4) · SMETS2 HAN

Sub-GHz band. Superior wall and floor penetration through solid brick.

Wall loss
5 dB
Reach
Whole home
Open interactive RF coverage model

Interactive 3D model. Drag to rotate, scroll to zoom, toggle frequency bands. Open full screen

Where It Runs

Same core. Different surfaces.

IHD and CAD agent platform

Energy Platform

IHD & CAD

The agent on SMETS2 consumer access devices. 10-second electricity data, 48-rate Agile pricing, solar, battery, EV and heat pump scheduling. Full PPMID prepayment support.

Explore the IHD & CAD platform

Fleet Operations

Device Management

Commissioning, fleet management and field service for VWAN device ecosystems. USP TR-369 remote management, MQTT 5.0 telemetry, DAPF consent capture and real-time security monitoring.

Explore the device management platform
Device management platform

Residential Gateway

Intelligent Home Platform

The agent on operator gateways. Connectivity, energy management, security, family controls and OpenADR-Matter demand response in one platform.

See the home platform

Connected Care

Assisted Living Extension

On-device inference, spatial awareness and life-safety telemetry. Care services built on the same device connectivity layer.

See the care platform

Work With Us

Talk to us about the agent.

Evaluating platform partners, exploring demand response or planning a device programme? We'll show you the agent running on production hardware.