The Z-Wave Alliance, an open, global consortium of companies deploying Z-Wave, has announced the final winner of the Z-Wave Labs IoT startup competition. Dutch startup FlexSol Solutions has taken the prize for its NxT solar powered outdoor lamp and will receive Z-Wave Alliance membership and access to the new Z-Wave IoT-ready 500 series development kits.
NxT is an outdoor lighting solution that powers itself with integrated cylindrical solar panels in a bollard-style light. The NxT receives its energy from the sun and stores it in a high-capacity integrated battery that allows the RGBW LED lights to be powered throughout the night. The NxT isn’t even a plug-and-play lighting solution: it requires no cords or cables. The solar lamp can be placed anywhere to provide lighting in any color of the rainbow.
With this smart solar powered solution, homeowners and commercial property owners can control outdoor lighting remotely using an app. The NxT can be set to automatically adapt to sunrise and sunset, eliminating the need for users to control it manually. Lighting can be personalized by adjusting color and timing of individual NxTs or a cluster to fit activity or mood and users can set custom scenes. Adding to a property’s security, a homeowner could set a scene so the NxT outdoor lights turn on when an intruder is detected.
“By building Z-Wave into the NxT solar lighting solution, we have unlimited opportunities. When connected to other Z-Wave devices, the NxT can strengthen home safety, and provide increased comfort and convenience with an element of entertainment,” said Lennert van den Berg, CEO of FlexSol Solutions. “Combining a solar solution with Z-Wave connectivity, we can create a fully wireless sustainable lighting product.”
“There are a lot of untapped potential synergies between sustainable energy solutions and the smart home, and the NxT solar lighting solution meets a unique need,” said Mitchell Klein, executive director of the Z-Wave Alliance. “We are excited to welcome FlexSol Solutions and their innovation around renewable energy and IoT to the Z-Wave ecosystem.”
FlexSol Solutions expects to integrate Z-Wave technology in 2017 and is the final company to win the two-year long Z-Wave startup competition. Started in May 2015, Z-Wave Labs is a global competition designed to encourage IoT innovation on the Z-Wave platform. The Z-Wave Alliance plans to launch a new startup initiative in the fall of 2017.
