UK firm Geo has developed an open specification that lets OpenADR and Matter work together, enabling mass-market, consumer-friendly grid demand response.

Demand side response service providers (DSRSPs) and energy smart appliance (ESA) manufacturers can use this bridging specification to unlock the inherent energy flexibility that’s contained in household white goods appliances, EV charging, water heating, electric heating, and solar and battery storage systems.

The OpenADR open standard is already widely used in industrial and commercial applications. Combined with smart-home standard Matter, it can deliver customer facing options that make mass market adoption realistic.

Contributions from both OpenADR Alliance and Connectivity Standards Alliance members have delivered a specification that allows both standards to work together seamlessly.

The project builds on prior DESNZ sponsored work (DSR Ready) that evidences how multiple home appliances can be co-ordinated and controlled with Matter, reducing bills and carbon footprint for every home, bringing the interoperability vision to life.

“Consumers want simplicity,” said Rolf Bienert, managing director of the OpenADR Alliance (www.openadr.org). “This specification bridges grid control with home energy management, making energy flexibility seamless.”

Tobin Richardson, CEO of the Connectivity Standards Alliance (csa-iot.org), added: “Marking a pivotal moment in energy evolution, the OpenADR specification enables communication between utilities and consumers, allowing Matter devices to respond to those energy signals. It’s an impressive step forward in enhancing grid efficiency and paves the way for a more sustainable, greener future.”

And Patrick Caiger-Smith, Geo (geotogether.com) chair, said: “Keeping consumers’ hard-earned money in their pockets by providing meaningful carbon reduction to millions of homes, simply and cost effectively, has always been central to our mission. A series of DESNZ-sponsored projects have helped to make this vision a reality and this latest OpenADR and Matter bridging specification means those benefits can now be delivered sooner, not least because the commercial value for ESA manufacturers and flexibility service providers is now clearer than ever.”

The combined OpenADR and Matter specification can be downloaded at geotogether.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Matter_OpenADR3.x_Interworking_Spec_v1.0.pdf.