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In demand response programs, a customer agrees to reduce or shift their electricity use in exchange for utility bill credits or other incentives. The Communications Standards Alliance, which runs Matter, is the nonprofit OpenADR Alliance We’ve demonstrated how the two protocols will work together to automate this process.
Matter will handle in-home communications between a connected smart electrical device, such as an electric vehicle charger, heat pump, or solar installation, and an energy gateway that collects data in real time. Then the OpenADR 3 protocol will handle the communication between the gateway, utilities and the network. This should enable a comprehensive path from the grid to the electrical appliances in your home.
When energy demand is high, these devices can make small shifts or reductions in energy use, perhaps via a Home energy management system. For example, the freezer can delay the defrost cycle, the washing machine can wait to start loading, or the hot water tank can pause heating.
Traditionally, DR programs have focused on the HVAC systems, the largest energy consumer in your home. But by connecting more electrical appliances in people’s homes to the grid, utilities could see significant overall benefits. This has been difficult so far with multiple fragmented standards, but a press release From CSA and the OpenADR Alliance promise that the partnership should make it easier for manufacturers to develop products capable of working with DR software and for utilities to have a “unified and scalable mechanism for demand response.”
With the trend toward electrification, connecting more devices to DR programs can unlock savings for homeowners while helping utilities balance grid needs.