SAN ANTONIO, Jan. 28, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DistribuTECH -- Comverge, Inc., the leading provider of Intelligent Energy Management solutions for residential and commercial & industrial (C&I) customers, today announced a new suite of IntelliSOURCE advanced applications for demand management that transform demand response into a real-time operational resource for utilities. Used in conjunction with Wi-Fi enabled smart thermostats, control switches and other grid-connected devices, the new advanced applications offer utilities unparalleled levels of reliability, predictability and availability when forecasting and executing demand response control events. These new advanced applications transform demand response from a resource typically used for emergency peak load reduction to a quick-responding, clean energy operational asset.
Benefits to Utilities
Utilizing big data analytics and two-way device telemetry, the improved forecasting capabilities enable utilities to leverage demand response as an everyday component of the supply mix, better integrate renewable sources of energy, facilitate real-time energy trading decisions, and participate more effectively in capacity and energy markets.
"While demand response has traditionally served as an emergency last line of defense to address peaks in energy demand, it is now realizing its full potential as a real-time operational resource and a critical part of our nation's energy mix," said R. Blake Young, president and CEO, Comverge. "With the new IntelliSOURCE advanced applications, our utility customers are now able to optimize the speed, predictability and accuracy of their demand response programs. As a result, utilities can better solve operational challenges, reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction."
The Next Generation of Demand Response
The core of this platform is a machine learning system that processes real-time streams of data to make precise predictions and solve for complicated cost and location-based demand management scenarios. These enhancements give utilities granular insight into the demand response resources available at any given time and enable IntelliSOURCE to execute precise and flexible control, all while consistently learning from new environmental factors.
The first two advanced applications developed for the IntelliSOURCE platform are Demand Response Optimization and Retail Device Aggregation. Key features and benefits of the new advanced applications include:
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Demand Response Optimization: The proliferation of two-way devices that produce constant telemetry has opened the door to a more surgical approach for demand response. The optimization engine is capable of determining - in real-time - the most cost-effective assets, taking into account customer fatigue, thermodynamic structural properties and relevant environmental factors such as localized weather and humidity. The software also accounts for customer behavior and preferences to create a customized plan by premise that optimizes each dimension of the problem for each customer. The system reacts to faults and changes in the world in real-time to correct and track to a desired load drop, load shape or cost curve. Following an event, IntelliSOURCE can also calculate customer incentive payments based on their actual participation, helping to eliminate free riders and improve program cost-effectiveness.
- Retail Device Aggregation: By using open API standards to connect third-party thermostats, Retail Device Aggregation allows utilities to gain the same deep level of insight into their customers' energy usage as with Comverge-supplied devices. This enables utilities to distill high-quality, predictable megawatts from all the participating energy management devices within its service territory, regardless of each device's unique capabilities and characteristics. By harnessing third-party and consumer-purchased thermostats, Retail Device Aggregation provides the technology to reduce the capital and operational costs seen in traditional demand response programs. Comverge has already connected IntelliSOURCE with Pro1 thermostats and A. O. Smith water heaters and is in the planning stages with other leading providers of smart thermostats.
About IntelliSOURCE
Comverge's IntelliSOURCE is an enterprise-class software platform and operating environment that makes intelligent energy management possible. IntelliSOURCE provides a consistent infrastructure for command and control while creating a critical, two-way, real-time communication link to utilities' residential and C&I customers.
About Comverge
Comverge delivers a comprehensive suite of intelligent energy management solutions that enable utilities, grid operators, and commercial and industrial organizations to optimize their energy usage in order to reduce costs, meet regulatory requirements, and support sustainability initiatives. With 30 years of experience helping customers implement innovative demand-side management programs, Comverge has deployed more than five and a half million energy management devices, recruited over one million residential customers into mass market demand response programs, and served thousands of commercial & industrial customers. For more information, visit www.comverge.com and follow us on Twitter at @Comverge.