Home Power Management for Energy Efficiency through Smarter Appliances Adapters

The technology to support the fully integrated electricity Smart Grid is mostly available today. Because the capital and installation costs for enabling smart transmission lines and distribution substations are high, utilities and their regulating organizations are reluctant to invest the resources and pass the resulting costs on to the ratepayers. On the demand side it is more likely that businesses will be able to demonstrate that the costs for upgrading to Smart Grid capable demand response devices, such as Smart Meters and centralized automated control systems, can be recovered and will become bottom line benefits as electric rates increase and demand response and time of use pricing become available. Residential energy use is still a large component of delivered electric power. The residential customer base is large and the ability to drive consumer electric usage behavior to models which will be more efficient and conservative is not well known. This research focuses on residential demand side behaviors and will investigate the market potential for a smart appliance adapter plug, which would help the consumer learn and practice automatic and programmed electric use through a centralized home automation and control console. This smart adapter plug and control console technology will be developed and shown to be capable of enabling consumer behavioral changes which can contribute to a reduced energy use and lowered utility costs. A survey is conducted which will evaluate typical consumer attitudes about conservation, energy efficiency and willingness to use this new capability to actively control the total residential energy use