From the Editor
Many facility managers are probably already involved in a demand-response program. It’s a simple way to shave a few bucks here and there off of your monthly utility bill by undertaking temporary and voluntary reductions in energy use — lowering lighting, increasing the set point on the HVAC system slightly, or turning off a couple of elevators. (If you’re not, see the “Green Strategies” article directly below for a primer.)

But until recently, if you got notification from the utility of a demand-response event, which usually coincided with the afternoon peak hours when electricity demand is very high and expensive to produce, it came via text message, e-mail or phone call. Then you’d implement your demand-response plan and notify your occupants that you would be in a demand-response event for the next several hours or so.

These days, a new strategy called automated demand-response is becoming increasingly popular, especially as facility managers prepare their facilities and operating procedures to benefit from smart grid when it finally appears.

Automated demand-response allows the utility to send a notification to a facility’s building automation system, at which time, the BAS automatically initiates a pre-designed demand-response plan. So, with automated demand-response, the process of responding to an event is much easier, indeed it’s automatic. Not only that, but when smart grid arrives, facility managers will have more options about how to take advantage of real-time pricing and how to run facility equipment based on the specific cost of a kilowatt hour at a particular time.

Automated demand-response is all the rage these days at trade shows and among utilities and ESCOs. So, I’d like to hear from you. Has anyone out there implemented an automated demand-response program? What have been the benefits?

Cheers,

Greg Zimmerman, editor  

Green Strategies
Demand-Response Programs: Get Paid to Use Less Energy

In the News
National Action Plan Seeks Coalition for Demand Response
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s National Action Plan on Demand Response Report, available on this site, calls for a national coalition of public institutions and private sector organizations from across the country. The coalition would help states, localities and regions develop and deploy successful demand response programs.

Green Multimedia
Facility Focus: Demand Side Management Programs and Demand Response
Watch Rick Lubinski, President of Think Energy Management, explain why a utility would want to pay its customers not to use the only thing it sells.

GreenTech Conference & Exposition

Managing and Controlling Your Energy Costs