Carrier Corp. and Silicon Energy Announce ComfortChoice - Saving Energy and the Environment.

Business Editors

FARMINGTON, Conn. and ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2000

Carrier, Silicon Energy, emWare and AT&T Team to Deliver a Complete

Solution for Utilities to Better Manage Energy Demand While Enabling

Residential Customers to Retain Comfort Control

Through a new program to help utilities reduce demand, save energy and the environment, and enhance customer value, Carrier Corporation, the world leader in air conditioning, refrigeration and heating systems, and Silicon Energy, the leader in energy e-business and enterprise energy management (EEM) solutions, are teaming up this summer to offer utilities the ComfortChoice program. The ComfortChoice program is an Internet-based, residential demand-side management solution that enables utilities to recognize peak demand savings without compromising homeowners' comfort and control.

With Carrier's emWare(R)-enabled Internet-communicating thermostat and Silicon Energy's energy management software, utilities can temporarily adjust homeowners' temperature setpoints during peak demand times to reduce energy usage. Homeowners have full flexibility to override a temperature setback directly from their thermostat or remotely over the Web.

This charter program, scheduled to run from June through September, will allow utilities to offer their residential customers a Carrier Energy Management Interface (EMi), an Internet-communicating programmable thermostat. EMi, designed, manufactured and marketed by Carrier Electronics, a division of Carrier Corporation uses emWare's device networking software to remotely monitor and control the EMi thermostats. emWare's software enables the communication and data transmission to and from the homeowner's EMi, the Internet and the utility. AT&T Global Network Services will provide nationwide network connectivity.

With high peak demand for electricity and volatile energy prices forecasted for this summer, Carrier and Silicon Energy have developed ComfortChoice to offer utilities a direct and easy way to manage residential peak electricity usage. John Woolard, CEO of Silicon Energy, said, "With this program, utilities can reduce wholesale energy purchase costs during peak hours. An innovative approach to energy load management, the program allows utilities to temporarily adjust temperature without interfering. This in turn means improved electric system reliability for all customers."

Using a Web browser interface, a utility operator accesses Silicon Energy's energy curtailment program to initiate a thermostat setback, specifying how many degrees and for what duration. At any time the homeowner can choose to override the setpoint change directly through the EMi, and a message will be transmitted via the Internet back to the utility. The customer can also remotely access the EMi from a Web browser to obtain status, adjust setpoints and perform overrides.

"This program offers cost savings to utilities, more reliable comfort and control to residential customers, and greater energy conservation to all of us who are committed to protecting the environment," said Kenneth Fox, vice president and general manager of Carrier Electronics. "By reducing demand during peak hours this summer, utilities could realize substantial savings depending upon wholesale energy prices, marginal generation costs and the number of homes participating in the ComfortChoice program. Homeowners can enjoy lower than normal electric bills. This reduced power consumption will lead to more reliable power supply and mitigate the need for increased production capacity, which reduces investment, preserves natural resources, and lowers harmful air emissions."

"Energy management is one of the key applications which will take advantage of the networked, embedded intelligence that's finding its way into the items of everyday life," said Dan Greenberg, Director Embedded Internet and Pervasive Computing Practice for Harbor Research. "As Carrier, Silicon Energy, emWare and AT&T have recognized, only a cross-industry alliance can bring these applications to market. The ComfortChoice program brings together devices and software with providers of applications services and advanced networking to provide a complete solution for utilities. We anticipate a warm welcome by utilities and energy services companies (ESCOs) that want to offer leading-edge packages to their customers."

Carrier and Silicon Energy have just successfully completed a similar residential program with Puget Sound Energy (PSE) in the Seattle area, where more than 100 households tested technology that let homeowners monitor and adjust their home heating systems while they were away. The program allowed PSE to activate thermostat setbacks to help with energy load management analysis. Feedback from test-participants will help PSE better serve its residential customers.

Carrier Corporation is the world's largest manufacturer of heating, air conditioning and refrigeration systems and equipment. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX), provider of a broad range of high-technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries. For more information visit http://www.carrier.com.

Silicon Energy Corporation, the global leader in Enterprise Energy Management solutions, is a privately held technology company based in Alameda, Calif. Silicon Energy's product suite is a powerful business-to-business enterprise management application that reduces energy costs by five to 20 percent by optimizing energy management and procurement across an enterprise. Silicon Energy allows real-time assessment and intelligent control over enterprise-wide energy usage as well as comprehensive reporting and monitoring capabilities through a Web browser. In addition to its software, Silicon Energy hosts Application Service Provider (ASP)-based energy management services more practical for utilities and enterprises. Silicon Energy also offers value-added services designed to provide ongoing support to its installed base. For more information visit http://www.siliconenergy.com.

emWare provides a device networking infrastructure capable of making a wide range of devices found in homes, businesses and factories communicate with each other and with people. emWare is founder of the Extend The Internet (ETI) Alliance -- a group of technology companies cooperating to provide complete, solutions based on standard Internet technologies that enable any electronic device to be managed and controlled over the Internet. Established in May 1996, emWare Inc. is a privately-held company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. For more information visit http://www.emware.com.