You can choose what loads you want to curtail, when you want to curtail them and for how long and LCA Control will take care of the rest, best of all, the results of our automatic load shedding can be viewed throught the displays and reports of the ION® System.  It’s a perfect match of real world technologies that will help you minimize your electricity costs.

ION® is a registered trademark of Sneider Electric.

Real Time Demand Response

Demand Response programs are quickly becoming the vehicle that are used by Electricity Market Operators and Utilities to reduce electrical grid load when demand is high or generation capacity is interrupted.  Industrial, commercial and aggregated energy users reduce their load to a contracted level when they receive a signal from the Utility or Market Operator.  

The main benefit for customers to participate in DR programs is the monetary benefit of cutting load and being paid for it at the market rate which is typically high (hence the reason for the request to reduce load).  For some customers, the challenge is to keep operating while meeting the contractual agreement of the DR load reduction and this is where an real time energy management system can help.  

Ideally a system will allow you to monitor, control and report on electricity use 24/7 and also manage the DR scenario when required.  This gives you the best of both worlds by optimizing electricity use all the time and verifying electricity billings for the maximum economic benefit of your Company.

Here are some steps to help you prepare for participating in a Demand Response Program.

1)  Identify which electrical loads can be reduced to meet the contracted target

2)  Plan in what order or priority the loads will be shed in order to meet the required target in the time frame alotted.

3)  Decide how you will notify key staff members that curtailment is pending or under way. Options include email, pages, walkie talkies, flashing lights, buzzers etc.

4)  Plan how the actual electrical loads will be reduced. Ie: manual load reduction, automated curtailment

5)  Identify the energy monitoring and reporting that will be required to ensure compliance and generate the necessary reports, including monetary reports so you will know how much you will receive for your curtailment scenario.

To ensure compliance and ensure maximum benefit from Demand Response Program participation it is best to have a fully automated real time Energy Management and Control System in operation and the system should handle all of the requirements listed above in order to make sure you get the maximum economic benefits. 

A REAL TIME system is a system that monitors and controls electrical load on a minute by minute basis.  Our system also has the ability to retrieve timely electricity pricing data in order to log the price information into the data base with the usage information for each electricity metering point that is included in the system. Being able to quickly adjust load based on the minute by minute readings is a serious advantage that can provide additional monetary benefits.

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Meter it

In order to control peak demand and save money, it is important that the Software you choose to be able to read the on-site utility meter(s) on a minute by minute basis.  This means either communicating directly with the meters or having pulse metering signals made available to bring into data acquisition equipment (DAQ).  If the facility is supplied with electricity by more than one meter then all supply meters will need to be included in the data collection. The Energy Management Software will either talk directly to the meters or the DAQ and centralize the data at the computer.  In the case of multiple supply meters, the software must be able to add or totalize the meters in order to get a “Facility Total” consumption reading on a minute by minute basis.

Control it

In order to control loads within the facility and save money, the Software must be able to take the Total Facility load and compare it to a Peak Demand Target  or  Hourly KWh target.  When the forecasted demand or consumption is predicted to exceed the set targets, the Software must then reduce the load according to the “Curtailment Strategy” that you have configured.  The Curtailment Strategy will decide what loads are shed, how much and in what order. 

The Sofware you choose should also support multiple curtailment strategies so that you can choose different scenarios based on production requirements or based on whether you are activating the strategy based on peak demand targets, hourly kWh targets, a Demand Response Signal or a Target Price point (a electricity price threshold)

Confirm it

It is also important that the Software have the ability to generate reports that clearly indicate savings, curtailment events and Demand Response Compliance.  Multiple users should be able to access the information in a timely manner and to be able to generate reports that clearly show DR compliance, Peak Demand Control Savings, load profile changes and savings achieved through electricity price based curtailment.

Versatility and expandability are also important, both in terms of configuration and being able to add additional meter(s), sub-metering and control points.  So be sure you can expand as your requirement change over the coming years.