Homeowners Reduce Peak Demand Costs

Challenge:

A homeowner wants to minimize the premium he pays for his electricity during periods when the utility company uses peak demand pricing.

Solution:

The homeowner had his electrician install Akida’s e-LOK system to help regulate the electricity demand during peak demand periods. The electrician configured the system using the utility company’s rate schedule to set the demand limits for the system. The homeowner identified the largest electrical loads that could be managed by the system and prioritized them for winter and summer. The electrician examined the loads to be managed to determine if any of them were already on a low voltage switch such as a thermostat or if they were on a timer switch. The pool pump was one of the loads to be managed by the e-LOK and since it was on a timer switch, the e-LOK was configured to operate it with the system’s timer settings. The AC system, which was also to be managed by the e-LOK was wired by the electrician so that the thermostat switch was utilized to turn the system on and off. The e-LOK was connected to the homeowner’s router with an Ethernet cable so that it could be accessed via a computer in the home or via the Internet.

Results:

The homeowner was impressed with the “set and forget” nature of the system and did not have to devote any time to manage and operate the e-LOK once it was configured. A difference was noticed in the utility bills immediately as the demand was managed to be within the utility company’s limit during peak demand periods. No premium charges were incurred and the load prioritization resulted in a minimal impact to the livability in the home. Reviewing the data on their computer allowed the homeowners to become much smarter in their energy consumption to further reduce their costs. The homeowner is reviewing internet based services that analyze energy usage data to provide tips on managing costs and he is happy that the e-LOK is able to forward data files in a universally accepted format so that decoding charges are not incurred.

Conclusion:

The e-LOK is a simple to use energy management system with a state of the art hardware system that delivers intelligence, flexibility and digital communication.