Automated Demand Response Supervisor for Multi-Site Enterprises
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Solution Overview
Problem
Implementing automated demand response systems in multi-site enterprises is complex due to varying communication protocols and data formats among electricity providers, independent system operators, and aggregators, leading to increased costs and complexity in deploying demand response strategies across multiple sites.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an automated demand response service with processing engines for each unique protocol or data format normalizes event data, allowing for a standard demand response strategy to be deployed across the enterprise, and the use of an auto DR gateway to manage event distribution and reduce network vulnerabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If automated demand response systems are implemented across multiple sites with varying communication protocols and data formats, then demand response coverage and enterprise-level control are improved, but system complexity and deployment costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an enterprise-level automated demand response supervisor service as an intermediary between utility providers and site-level automated demand response services. This supervisor service receives demand response events from multiple utility providers with different protocols, normalizes them, and distributes them to sites, thereby reducing system complexity while maintaining broad adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is segmented into distinct hierarchical levels: enterprise-level supervisor service, site-level automated demand response services, and utility provider interfaces. Each level handles specific functions independently, allowing the system to scale across multiple sites without proportionally increasing overall complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If demand response strategies are deployed site-by-site, then customization to local needs is improved, but deployment time and operational efficiency decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The enterprise-level supervisor service provides universal functionality by managing demand response events across multiple sites through a single centralized platform. This allows standardized deployment procedures that can be applied universally across all sites, significantly improving deployment efficiency while still allowing site-specific configurations when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The supervisor service performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring and pre-testing demand response strategies at the enterprise level before deployment. This includes normalizing communication protocols and validating event parameters in advance, which streamlines the actual deployment process across multiple sites.
3Ease of operation
If manual monitoring and management of demand response events is performed at each site, then local control flexibility is improved, but labor costs and operational overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service capabilities through automated demand response services at each site that can independently receive, process, and execute demand response events. The enterprise-level supervisor automatically monitors and manages events across all sites, eliminating the need for manual intervention while maintaining local control flexibility through automated decision-making.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple communication protocols are supported at each site, then protocol compatibility is improved, but site system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The enterprise-level supervisor service acts as an intermediary that handles protocol conversion and normalization. Instead of requiring each site to support multiple communication protocols directly, the supervisor receives events from various utility providers using their respective protocols, normalizes them to a standard format, and then communicates with sites using a unified protocol, thereby reducing site system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An approach for management and monitoring of auto demand response in a multi-site enterprise. It may provide awareness of upcoming demand response events, monitoring actual responses to demand response events, analysis of energy management and command system performance, an ability to opt-out of a demand response event, and management and control of the demand response strategy. At the enterprise level, an auto demand response supervisor may add management and monitoring functionality. Added capabilities may incorporate message exchanging with the site-level auto demand response service, support for user interfaces that allow event monitoring and enable management actions such as opting-out of an event. At the site level, functionality may be an extension to the auto demand response service. Added capabilities may incorporate message exchanging with the enterprise-level auto demand response supervisor service, and an event response mechanism and user interface that enable a management decision to opt-out an event.