Agrion

Smart Grid Asset Management

26 April, 2012 8:30-9:30am San Francisco / 11:30am-12:30pm New York / 4:30-5:30pm Paris and Frankfurt

Managing Peak Load and Improving Efficiency through Two-Way Communicating Thermostats

Traditional residential demand response programs have relied on one-way air conditioner load switches. This blunt technology has proven effective, but it has also caused utilities to waste millions of dollars on loads behind disconnected and inoperative switches.

A new generation of demand response technology has arrived in the form of the two-way communicating thermostat. With this technology, not only can utilities see online systems and available capacity in real time, but they can now know exactly which customers are contributing to load reduction programs, thereby eliminating free-ridership. EnergyHub CEO Seth Frader-Thompson will discuss how the advances in technology, usability, and analytics of smart thermostats present a unique opportunity for the energy management space. Pulling data from operational programs in the field, Seth will show both how utilities can achieve better demand response yields and how consumers can be guided to reduce their energy consumption through two-way communicating thermostats and their associated software platforms.

Guest Speaker: EnergyHub, Seth-Frader Thompson, Founder & CEO

Seth Frader-Thompson is the founder and CEO of EnergyHub, a venture-backed startup based in Brooklyn, NY that develops load management systems and energy efficiency tools for utilities and their end customers. Prior to entering the cleantech space, Seth built electromechanical systems for NASA and the Department of Defense while at Honeybee Robotics. Drawing from his background in robotics and engineering, Seth now works to bring intelligent design and robust software technologies to the energy utility sector. Together with the team at EnergyHub, Seth's goal is to provide better program returns for utilities through demand response solutions that combine comprehensive dispatching and monitoring systems, low-cost commercially available wireless thermostats, and consumer-engaging software tools.