Direct Load Control

Consumers have traditionally underutilized proper control settings and HVAC system maintenance, with complexity of operation and lack of information often cited as root causes. Direct load control allows a utility to turn on and off specific appliances during peak demand periods.  Remote appliance controllers (RACs) can manage appliances such as water heaters, pool pumps, and air conditioners.  Load management saves money for both a utility and its customers by reducing the need for generation capacity and minimizing the amount of energy the utility must purchase on the open market at peak demand periods. RACs can be programmed to response to time-of-use tiers, critical peak pricing events, and direct load control events.

Empowering consumer control is paramount to successful consumer adoption:

• Utility program flexibility – load controllers can be used for winter electric heating peak management, summer electric cooling peak management, water heating, and pool pumps.  Combined with a PCT, the RAC can provide a complete energy management control package.
• Opt-out mode – enabling consumers to selectively opt-out from a particular DLC or CPP event is critical for consumer satisfaction, and the SecureMesh DLC Switch utilize two-way communications so that the utility can know if the consumer overrides an event.  Physical buttons on the RAC and opt-out buttons on a consumer portal provide two ways the consumer can opt-out of an event.

The multi-tier Smart Grid architecture from Trilliant provides the necessary components to enable direct load control. With a multi-tier network that reaches into the home, the SecureMesh communications infrastructure provides the two-way communication to enable signaling to load controllers. The UnitySuite Demand-Side Management application provides the demand response, direct load controls, and customization through SOAP-based APIs to enable custom applications.