Pool Automation Load Prioritization for Safe Demand Response
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for controlling electricity demand in pools and spas, such as turning off water pumps, pose health and safety concerns and fail to effectively manage overall load reductions, leading to low customer retention in demand response programs.
Innovation Solution
A pool automation system that categorizes and prioritizes pool components based on health, safety, and power usage, allowing for customized and holistic demand responses tailored to individual pool needs, including partial or full compliance with load reduction requests, and aggregates responses across multiple systems for enhanced load mitigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If water pumps are turned off to reduce electricity demand, then power load is reduced, but health and safety concerns arise
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments pool equipment into multiple controllable components (pumps, heaters, lights, cleaners, etc.) and selectively controls non-critical components during demand events while preserving critical safety functions. This allows load reduction without compromising health and safety by dividing the system into controllable segments with different priority levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different control strategies to different equipment based on their specific characteristics and importance. Critical safety equipment maintains full operation while non-critical equipment undergoes load management, creating localized quality differences in control intensity across the pool system.
2Ease of operation
If simple load reduction methods are used, then implementation is easy, but customer retention in demand response programs is low
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts control strategies based on real-time conditions including user preferences, equipment status, and demand event characteristics. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to maintain customer satisfaction while meeting load reduction goals, improving retention through flexible rather than rigid control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback loops that monitor equipment performance, user satisfaction, and demand response effectiveness. This feedback enables continuous optimization of control strategies to balance load reduction with customer retention, allowing the system to learn and adapt to individual pool owner needs.
3Device complexity
If individual pool systems are controlled independently, then system complexity is low, but aggregate load mitigation is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple individual pool control systems into a coordinated aggregate response. By combining load reduction efforts across many pools and applying optimization at the aggregate level, the system achieves significant total load mitigation while keeping individual pool system complexity manageable through standardized control interfaces.
Data Source
AI summary
A pool automation system is connectable with one or more pieces of equipment associated with a swimming pool or spa. The pool automation system may receive a demand event with a requested load reduction, and the pool automation system may determine a demand response for the one or more pieces of equipment associated with the swimming pool or spa based on the demand event and based on information gathered by the pool automation system about the at least one piece of equipment. The demand response may be based on a prioritization of the one or more pieces of equipment associated with the swimming pool or spa. The pool automation system may implement control of the one or more pieces of equipment associated with the swimming pool or spa responsive to the demand event.