The CSA has released Matter 1.5 which improves the IoT standard with native camera support, overhauled energy management, and more.
Matter 1.5 targets the friction that has long plagued smart building projects: the inability to decouple hardware procurement from software management. By standardising how devices report energy usage and stream video, the update lays the groundwork for true multi-vendor ecosystems.
Cracking the energy data black box
For utility providers and sustainability officers, the headline feature is the overhaul of energy management. Matter 1.5 introduces a dedicated device type for electrical energy tariffs.
Previously, getting granular data on pricing or carbon intensity out of the grid and into edge devices required a mess of bespoke APIs or vendor-specific platforms. The new ‘Tariff Information’ cluster fixes this by structuring complex pricing models, like Time of Use (TOU) and block tariffs, into a format devices can actually understand.
Utilities can now push tariff schedules and grid carbon data directly to the edge. This allows hardware to do the math itself and estimate costs or shed load based on pre-set user preferences or regulatory caps, rather than waiting for a command from a central server. It’s a step towards automated demand response that doesn’t rely on a single vendor’s cloud.
The update also lands right as the EV sector faces new legislative pressure. Bidirectional charging and state-of-charge reporting are now certifiable under Matter. This aligns with emerging requirements in markets like the EU, where vehicle-to-grid (V2G) integration is moving from a nice-to-have to a compliance issue. For corporate fleets, this means charging infrastructure can finally communicate grid connection details and stick to power limits without custom integration work.
On the reporting side, the ‘Electrical Energy Measurement’ cluster has been beefed up to handle time-varying tariffs. This gives CFOs and energy managers the data lineage they need to accurately audit consumption history.
Matter 1.5 gains native support for cameras
Surveillance has always been the stubborn outlier in IoT, often forcing companies to buy cameras and Video Management Software (VMS) from the same supplier. Matter 1.5 challenges that lock-in by adding native support for cameras.
The spec leans on WebRTC to handle live video and audio streaming. This provides a standard way to handle two-way audio and remote access via STUN and TURN protocols, cutting out the proprietary cloud relays that often introduce latency and security risks.
Privacy and control haven’t been ignored. The ‘Camera Control’ cluster standardises pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) commands and allows for the definition of privacy zones; a must-have for compliance in shared corporate workspaces. Devices can dump footage to local storage or cloud destinations based on event triggers, giving security architects the flexibility to choose cameras based on optics rather than API compatibility.
To make this work, the transport layer needed a rethink.
While UDP is great for flipping a switch instantly, it struggles with the heavy lifting required by video. Matter 1.5 adds full support for TCP. This ensures reliable delivery for large data packets, which is critical for high-fidelity sensor logs and OTA firmware updates.
Tighter control over the physical environment
Beyond power and video, the update tidies up controls for “closures” like automated shades, gates, and garage doors. The Alliance moved to a modular cluster design, meaning a manufacturer can build a sliding gate or a rotating blind using the same set of code blocks.
For facility managers, this unifies access control with environmental systems. An automated building could coordinate blind positioning across different hardware brands to manage thermal gain, cutting HVAC costs. Precise position reporting is also part of the package, which improves safety monitoring for heavy automated gates.
Even landscaping gets a look in. New support for soil sensors lets devices report moisture and temperature data natively. Instead of running sprinklers on a timer, irrigation systems can now talk directly to sensors and water valves via the ‘Valve Configuration and Control’ cluster to water only when necessary, ticking another box for corporate water conservation goals.
How Matter 1.5 is reducing the code burden
The biggest barrier to IoT adoption hasn’t been the hardware; it’s been the cost of maintaining codebases for half a dozen different ecosystems. Matter 1.5 allows manufacturers to build against a single standard, theoretically lowering the barrier to entry for new devices.
This release follows the quality-focused updates of 1.4.1 and 1.4.2, which concentrated on testing and developer tools. The goal is a stable foundation where engineering teams spend time on product features and not debugging connectivity.
Matter 1.5 marks the point where the standard sheds its “smart home” training wheels. By addressing the data-heavy requirements of energy and video from cameras, the CSA has removed significant technical roadblocks to unified building management with Matter.
See also: CSA releases Zigbee 4 and Suzi standards for IoT resilience
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