Demand Response is a term that often confuses consumers, but is well-known to large industrial consumers of electricity. In a consumer context, it describes the ability for consumers to reduce their electrical demand in response to a request from the electric company.
Typically, demand response is used to reduce non-essential energy usage during peak load times, such as by raising air conditioning thermostats on extremely hot summer days. In return for their cooperation, customers receive a discount or rebate on their energy purchases.
Demand response programs are not widely available to consumers and small businesses today. However, as smart electricity meters are deployed more widely, demand response will become common--at least for customers with an energy management system capable of responding to a smart grid's automated conservation requests.
The Visible Energy Smart Outlet is such a system. Since it is software-driven and Internet-connected, a Visible Energy Smart Outlet can easily be configured to work with emerging demand response standards and provide flexibility in how customers respond. For example, an electric heater might automatically be turned off in response to a request, except when certain conditions occur, such as a customer override.
We understand demand response to be only one of many ways electricity customers are given incentives to conserve, including shifting energy-intensive activities, such as laundry and battery charging, to off-peak times. As a software-driven smart power system, the Visibe Energy Smart Outlet can be configured to give customers maximum energy savings and convenience.
Visible Energy demand response-compatible products using our Smart Outlet technology include the UFO Power Center, the Monostrip Corded Outlet, electric panel load monitors, and usage displays. We also offer secure and authenticated access and control network to aggregate demand response capacity, override curtailment, automation, consumption and real-time data reporting.
Demand response and distributed energy are just two of the ways consumers are learning to work with their power providers to save energy and reduce their electric bills.