Matter 1.3 smart home spec adds support for EV chargers, rain sensors, and other devices

Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) has announced the Matter 1.3 specification for smart home devices, adding support for EV chargers, home appliances, water management, and energy management devices.

Matter is a smart home interoperability standard built through the collaborative efforts of popular technology companies. Samsung and Google are among the members and early adopters of the first specification Matter 1.0 released in October 2022.

The Matter 1.3 specification and SDK are now available for device makers to integrate into their new and existing products. In a blog post, the alliance stated:

This latest release marks an important step forward, enabling devices that can be more helpful to users in the kitchen and laundry room, enhance entertainment and smart home interaction on screens, and make the smart home more efficient and safer with new energy and water management support.

 

The addition of these new device types and functionalities in Matter 1.3 enables product manufacturers and controllers to begin implementing and certifying these features into new and existing products.

The updated smart home specification will equip EV chargers with consumer-friendly features such as the ability to start/stop charging manually, adjust the charging rate, or decide how many miles to add by a specified departure time.

Matter 1.3 enables energy devices to report data in real-time such as voltage, current, and power consumption or generation. The specification now supports water management devices like rain sensors, controllable water valves, and leak and freeze detectors, allowing users to monitor and manage water "in and around their homes."

Microwaves, oven ranges, cooktops, extractor hoods, and laundry dryers are now a part of Matter's expanded list of supported appliances. The alliance explains that users will be able to control features such as cooking time, power level, and mode of operation for microwaves. They will get notifications such as "food ready" or "end of cycle" when the microwave gets the job done.

Matter already supports laundry washers and the new update will let users set the dryer mode and target temperature on their laundry dryer, the alliance said, adding that users will be able to remotely start or stop their dryer if the local safety regulations allow it.

Adding more to the TV functionality, Matter 1.3 improves interaction with devices in the home, allowing other Matter-enabled devices to send notifications to TVs or other devices with screens. For instance, it will notify through the TV when a robot vacuum gets stuck or the laundry is done.

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