Appendix C Home TechnologyIndustry Associations and Organizations

The associations and organizations listed in this appendix contribute trade practices, regulations, standards, guidelines, and certifications for the various building, design, contracting, and technical aspects of a home technology integration or home automation project. The associations and organizations listed (in what is a long but hardly a complete list—new groups emerge every day) can provide you with education and information concerning new developments, practices, and standards that affect the installation of home systems.

I have listed the associations and organizations alphabetically with a brief overview of their mission or function, along with their Web site address.

Trade Association

www.1394ta.org

Promotes the 1394 standard for data communication, which establishes a scheme that manages the digitization, compression, and synchronization processes of data sent over twisted-pair wire.

Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA)

www.acca.org

The ACCA is the U.S. trade association for heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) contractors.

Air Diffusion Council

www.flexibleduct.org

The Air Diffusion Council is an industry association that represents the manufacturers of flexible air ducts in North America.

American Lighting Association

www.americanlightingassoc.com

The American Lighting Association is a trade association made up of lighting manufacturers, retailers, distributors, manufacturer representatives, component manufacturers, and lighting industry companies that provide residential lighting.

American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

www.ansi.org

ANSI is a private, nonprofit organization that administers voluntary standards for the U.S.

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (AHRAE)

www.ashrae.org

AHRAE develops and publishes standards for uniform methods of testing and rating equipment and accepted practices for the HVAC industry worldwide.

Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM)

www.AHAM.org

AHAM is a trade organization representing the manufacturers of household appliances and the products/services associated with household appliances.

Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG)

www.bluetooth.com

The Bluetooth SIG is a trade association consisting of members from the telecommunications, computing, automotive, industrial automation, and network industries working together in the development of the Bluetooth wireless technology.

Builder Officials and Code Administrators International (BOCA)

www.builderonline.com

One of the three national building codes for residential and commercial construction.

Canadian Home Builders Association

www.chba.ca

Canada’s residential construction industry association.

Canadian Standards Association (CSA)

www.csa.ca

CSA is a nonprofit membership-based association that operates in Canada and around the world to develop standards that enhance public safety and health.

CEBus Industry Council (CIC)

www.cebus.org

The CIC provides information to the design and development community on CEBus and CEBus Home Plug & Play.

Computer Technology Industry Association (CompTIA)

www.comptia.org

CompTIA is a global trade association that promotes industry standards, professional expertise, skills education, and relevant business solutions to the information technology industry. CompTIA is the sponsor of the HTI+ certification exams.

Construction Safety Council (CSC)

www.buildsafe.org

The CSC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of safety and health interests in the field of construction throughout the world.

Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)

www.ce.org

The CEA is made up of more than 1,000 companies in the consumer technology industry, providing information, market research, and education.

Continental Automated Buildings Association (CABA)

www.caba.org

CABA is a nonprofit industry association that promotes advanced technologies for the automation of homes and buildings in North America. Its mission is to encourage the development, promotion, pursuit, and understanding of integrated systems and automation in homes and buildings.

Council of American Building Officials (CABO)

www.iccsafe.org

A subsidiary of the International Code Council, CABO provides residential-only building codes that are compiled by BOCA, Southern Code, and UPC.

Custom Electronic Design Installation Association (CEDIA)

www.cedia.net

CEDIA is a worldwide trade association that focuses on the planning and installation of residential electronic systems. CEDIA is the sponsor of the CEDIA Professional Certification program.

Door and Hardware Institute (DHI)

www.dhi.org

DHI serves as a resource for education and information on doors, hardware, security, and specialty products for the architectural openings industry.

DSL Forum

www.dslforum.org

An international consortium of nearly 200 service providers and equipment manufacturers focusing on developing broadband DSL to its full potential.

Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA)

www.eia.org

The umbrella association that includes the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA), the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), and CEBus (Consumers Electronics Bus) Industry Council, and produces the CES show. EIA activities include standards creation and government lobbying.

Energy Information Administration (EIA)

www.eia.doe.gov

Independent agency within the Department of Energy (DOE) that develops surveys, collects energy data, and does analytical and modeling analysis of energy issues.

Ethernet User Alliance (EUA)

www.science.edu/EUA

The Alliance’s purpose is to promote development of Ethernet standards and the interoperability of hardware platforms, operating systems, and applications.

European Commission (EC)

The products and services directorate for the European Union.

European Home Systems Association (EHSA)

www.domotics.com/homesys/Ehsa.htm

EHSA is an open organization that supports and promotes the home systems industries in Europe.

Extend the Internet Alliance (ETI Alliance)

www.emware.com/partner/eti %20alliance

The ETI Alliance provides networking and remote management solutions that allow timely and accurate transfer of information between devices, people, and enterprise business systems.

Federal Communication Commission (FCC)

www.fcc.gov

Regulates the radio frequency spectrum within the United States. The FCC is responsible for allocating empty frequencies to new HDTV broadcasters who in turn will phase out the use of their current VHF/UHF and SHF frequencies.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

www.ferc.gov

An independent federal regulatory agency in the Department of Energy. Has jurisdiction over interstate electricity sales, wholesale electric rates, and hydroelectric licensing, as well as natural gas pricing, oil pipeline rates, and gas pipeline certification.

Fiber to the Home (FTTH) Council

www.ftthcouncil.org

The FTTH Council is a market development organization working to educate, promote, and accelerate fiber optic cable to homes.

HiperLan2 Global Forum (H2EF)

www.hiperlan2.com

HiperLAN2 is an open forum to promote a global interoperable standard for high-speed wireless LAN products.

Home Audio Video Interoperability Association (HAVi)

www.havi.org

The HAVi Association is a member organization that promotes the use and development of the HAVi standard for home entertainment AV networks on the IEEE-1394 digital interface.

Home Phoneline Networking Alliance (HomePNA)

www.homePNA.org

The HomePNA is a nonprofit association of companies that work together to ensure adoption of the HomePNA phoneline networking standard.

HomePlug Powerline Alliance (HomePNA)

www.homeplug.org

The HomePlug Alliance is a member organization that promotes and develops the use of HomePlug standards and products.

Infrared Data Association (IRDA)

www.irda.org

Trade association of computer and chip manufacturers creating standards for high-speed communications for infrared media.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

www.ieee.org

International professional society that issues standards and rules for electrical and electronic devices. It is a member of ANSI and ISO.

International Code Council

www.icc-es.org

The focus of this council is to develop technical reports containing descriptions of building construction materials, products, systems, or subsystems and how they meet the model codes.

International Committee on Information Technology Standards (INCITS)

www.incits.org

INCITS is the primary U.S. organization for standardization in Information and Communications Technologies (ICT). INCITS serves as ANSI’s Technical Advisory Group to ISO.

International Communication Industry Association (ICIA)

www.infocomm.org

ICIA is a worldwide organization that provides education, training, and certification for communications technologies.

International Electrical Testing Association (NETA)

www.netaworld.org

The National Electrical Contractors Association, founded in 1901, is the leading representative of a segment of the construction market that includes over 70,000 electrical contracting firms. NETA is an accredited standards developer for ANSI and defines the standards by which electrical equipment is deemed safe and reliable.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

www.iso.ch/iso/en/ISOOnline.openerpage

A network of national standards institutes from 148 countries working in partnership with international organizations, governments, industry, business, and consumer representatives.

Konnex Association Convergence of EHSA, BCI, EIBA

www.konnex-knx.com

Konnex was created from the merger or BCI (Batibus Association), EIBA (EIB Asssociation), and EHSA (European Home Systems Association) to promote KNX, a standard for electrical, HVAC, telecom, and related services.

Mechanical Contractors Association of America

www.mcaa.org

A trade organization with a membership of more than 2,000 contractors that is dedicated to excellence and committed to quality in mechanical contracting.

National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)

www.nahb.org

The NAHB is a federation of more than 850 state and local homebuilder associations in the U.S.

National Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors

www.naphcc.org

A professional trade association for contractors who work in the plumbing/heating/cooling industry.

National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI)

www.nari.org

NARI is a professional association for the residential remodeling industry that provides education and member networking.

National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association (NBFAA)

www.alarm.org

The NBFAA is the trade association offering services and representation to the electronic security systems industry.

National Center for Standards and Certification Information (NIST)

www.nist.gov

NIST is a non-regulatory federal agency within the U.S. Commerce Department’s Technology Administration.

National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards (NCSBCS)

www.ncsbcs.org

NCSBCS provides the public and private sectors with a national forum for coordinating building code and public safety interests and concerns about building construction codes and regulations.

National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA)

www.necanet.org

NECA represents over 70,000 electrical contracting firms and 650,000 electrical workers in countries around the world and provides continuing education and current information.

National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)

www.nema.org

Establishes standards and ratings to be followed in the construction of electrical components and materials. Primarily determines sizing requirements based on electrical power for such items as receptacles and enclosures. Its goal is to ensure high safety ratings and interchangeable parts.

National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA)

www.nfpa.org

NFPA is a non-profit organization that is the worldwide leader in providing fire and electrical safety standards and guidelines to the public.

National Safety Council

www.nsc.org

A nonprofit membership organization focused on protecting life and promoting health through a wide range of information, training, products, programs, and advocacy.

Open Mobile Alliance (OMA)

www.wapforum.org

The Open Mobile Alliance was established by the consolidation of the WAP Forum and the Open Mobile Architecture Initiative to drive the growth of the mobile wireless industry.

Security Industry Association (SIA)

www.siaonline.org

The SIA is a full-service, international trade association focused on promoting growth, expansion, and professionalism within the security industry by providing education, research, and technical standards.

TechHome Division of CEA

www.ce.org/div_comm/division_main.asp?DivisionID=19

The Home Automation and Networking Association (HANA) merged with CEA to become the TechHome Division of CEA, an association for professional home system integrators and manufacturers of home control and networking products.

Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)

www.tiaonline.org

A branch of the CEA, the TIA is a communications and information technology association that focuses on standards development, domestic and international advocacy, and market development and promotion programs. TIA works in conjunction with several organizations, including EIA and ANSI, to develop and publish telecommunications and networking standards.

Underwriters Laboratories, Inc (UL)

www.ul.com

UL is an independent, nonprofit product safety testing and certification organization that tests products for public safety worldwide.

Universal Plug and Play Forum (UPnP)

www.upnp.com

The UPnP Forum is an industry initiative to enable simple and robust connectivity among stand-alone devices and PCs from many different vendors.

Window and Door Manufacturers Association

www.wdma.org

The Window and Door Manufacturers Association promotes the interests of the window, skylight, and door industry.

Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA)

www.wi-fi.org/OpenSection/index.asp

The Wi-Fi Alliance is a nonprofit international association formed to certify interoperability of wireless LAN products based on IEEE 802.11 specification.

Wireless LAN Association (WLANA)

www.wlana.org

The Wireless LAN Association is a nonprofit educational trade association of the leaders and technology innovators in the wireless LAN technology industry.