Customer Compliance Prediction for Demand Response

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Solution Overview

Problem

Utilities face challenges in predicting customer compliance with demand response requests, leading to uncertain success of demand response events and potential need for short-notice requests and inadequate resources.

Innovation Solution

A method to predict customer compliance by analyzing demand response information, historical data, behavioral patterns, and occupancy ratios to identify and select customers with higher likelihood of compliance, using a system that adjusts compliance probabilities based on these factors.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If utilities send demand response requests without predicting customer compliance, then more customers can be targeted broadly, but the success rate of demand response events decreases and short-notice requests are needed

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesuccess rate of demand response eventsVSAvoidcomplexity of customer selection process
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary analysis of customer compliance probability before sending demand response requests. By calculating compliance probabilities in advance using historical data and behavioral patterns, the utility can pre-identify customers most likely to comply, thereby increasing the success rate of demand response events without requiring complex real-time decision-making during the events themselves.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses customer's own historical data and behavioral patterns to predict their future compliance behavior. Each customer's past responses to demand response requests, along with their consumption patterns and occupancy data, are used to self-evaluate their likelihood of future compliance, eliminating the need for external assessment mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Measurement precision

If utilities analyze detailed customer data to predict compliance, then customer selection accuracy improves, but data processing requirements and system complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveaccuracy of compliance predictionVSAvoidcomplexity of data processing system
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the compliance prediction process into distinct analytical components: historical demand response response analysis, behavioral pattern recognition, occupancy ratio calculation, and compliance probability synthesis. Each component processes specific types of data independently, allowing for modular system design that improves prediction accuracy while managing complexity through functional decomposition.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system incorporates feedback loops where actual customer compliance behavior is continuously fed back into the prediction model. Historical data from past demand response events is used to refine and update compliance probability calculations, improving measurement precision over time while the automated feedback mechanism prevents manual intervention complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Adaptability or versatility

If utilities send short-notice demand response requests, then response timing flexibility improves, but customer compliance likelihood decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetiming flexibility of demand response requestsVSAvoidcustomer compliance rate
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary identification of compliant customers before demand response events are initiated. By calculating compliance probabilities in advance based on historical behavior and current conditions, the utility can pre-select customers who are most likely to comply even with short-notice requests, thereby maintaining timing flexibility while preserving compliance rates through data-driven customer selection.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP2652855B1Systems and methods for predicting customer compliance with demand response requests
Publication Date: 2019.06.12 ABB (SCHWEIZ) AG
  • EP2652855B1 patent drawingFigure 1

AI summary

Systems and methods for predicting customer compliance with requests to participate in demand response events are disclosed. The systems and methods may include receiving demand response information for a demand response event, receiving information for a customer, and determining or adjusting for the customer a compliance probability for the demand response event based at least partially on the demand response information and the received customer information.