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Home Energy Management System technology consists of hardware and software which are linked and integrated to monitor energy usage, providing feedback on energy consumption and enhancing control over appliances and devices that use energy in the home. Simply put, these systems allow households to manage their energy consumption more effectively. Most importantly, home energy management systems allow users to have more control over power intensive loads and at the same time, customize power consumption to their specific needs.
Home energy management systems normally consist of a device which serves as the platform upon which communication between the user, the household appliances and devices and sometimes even the utility firm takes place. There are two main ways to install the device; physically on the electrical switchboard of the house or virtually especially in cases where the system operates entirely on a wireless network.
The software used in Home Energy Management Systems is responsible for the moderation of incoming and outgoing data and communication. For example, software, through the interface, allows users to have access to the monitoring and controlling functions of the home energy monitoring system. With the ability to monitor energy use, this allows consumers to get various feedbacks from the system including which devices are turned on/off and even the individual energy consumption of specific devices.
On the other hand, the control function allows users to control appliances either via a user interface (known as a remote control) or through rule-based control which is based on scheduling and optimization. For example, a user could schedule an appliance to switch on at a certain time.
A technology that has emerged in recent years with the purpose of enhancing the sustainability of energy consumption is the smart grid. This technology is the industry’s response to the rising demand for electricity as well as the need to reduce carbon emissions and in so doing, conserve the environment. Indeed, smart grid technology makes use of computer technology to enhance the functionality of the power system and in so doing, helps to optimize the system’s capabilities.
Enhancing the network
A demand charge is a tariff set by your energy distributor that determines the highest power demand over a 30-minute interval and this amount is used to calculate the demand value. This is then multiplied by your network’s daily demand charge rate to calculate the total cost of the demand tariff. The peak usage resets each month, meaning you only need to hit your peak once for that demand rate to apply every day for the entire month.
Electricity usage rates with demand tariffs are considerably lower than usage rates on a single rate tariff. So long as your electricity usage is stable you can avoid exorbitant demand charges, this makes it possible for a demand tariff to save you money.
Controlling electrical peak demand charges is best accomplished through automated load shedding and load time shifting. Gswitch is ideally positioned to achieve this for your business with no day to day loss of output.
It just makes sense for businesses of all sizes to understand their energy use and costs, a simple way to do this is to monitor energy use and anaylse the data on a daily basis. Demand charges can be huge and there is a simple solution. A Gswitch can monitor energy use and give you data on how you can better utilise the way you use energy. With this data you can formulate a plan to cut wastage and better manage the power you import. Gswitch provides live data so you know at every minute/hour what your load profile is and this in turn allows you to act in real time.
Electrical Load factor is a measure of the efficiency of electrical energy usage. You will need to calculate your load factor to determine if Load Control will give you a good Return On Investment.
To calculate your load factor take the total electricity (KWh) used in the month and divide it by the peak demand (power)(KW), then divide by the number of days in the billing cycle, then divide by 24 hours in a day. The result is a ratio between zero and one.
| Load Factor | >0.75 | 0.50 – 0.75 | 0.35 – 0.50 | 0.20 – 0.35 | 0.10 -0.20 | < 0.10 |
| Benefit of Demand Control | Limited Benefit | Possible Benefit | Yes Depends Upon Return | Good Potential | Excellent Potential | Easy Money |
If your load factor ratio is above 0.75 your electrical usage is reasonably efficient. If the load factor is below 0.5, you have periods of very high usage (demand) and a low utilization rate. This puts you in the perfect position to install a Gswitch.
http://www.demandcharges.com/Web_Pages/Articles/Electrical_Load_Factor.html
