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Matter launched to the public in 2022, promising a streamlined way to connect all your smart devices. Since its debut, the Connectivity Standards Alliance has continued to churn out updates to the interoperability standard, making it compatible with more devices and ironing out a few of its wrinkles. That trend continues today with the launch of Matter 1.4 — an update that expands its energy-tracking abilities and aims to make it easier than ever to create a robust home network.
For Matter users looking to lower their energy bills, they’ll be glad to know that the energy tracking features rolled out in update 1.3 are now coming to more devices for Matter 1.4. Energy reporting and management is now available for the following device types:
- Solar Power: Devices using solar power, such as inverters, individual and panel arrays, and hybrid solar/battery systems
- Batteries: Wall batteries, storage units, and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)
- Heat pumps
- Water heaters
Along with these newly supported devices, Matter 1.4 brings enhancements to Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE). You’ll now be able to dictate when you want your car to charge, giving you the freedom to pick optimal times for your area that may result in lower costs. Smart thermostats now also support scheduling and preset modes like Vacation Mode.
Matter 1.4 isn’t also about improving energy usage — it’s also about laying the foundation for further network enhancements. Home routers, modems, access points, and other devices can now be designed with more support for Matter-based devices. In other words, it should be easier for users to add gadgets to their Thread networks instead of having to build a new one. Expect to hear more about this in the future.
Plenty of smaller features have been added with Matter 1.4, and you can learn more about everything it has to offer on the official Matter website.
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