The Societal Impact of Demand Response:

The ultimate goal of this CEC-funded project is to increase energy efficiency in California. Basic research at Berkeley in wireless-based technologies will eventually be used by industry to create products that will monitor electricity use and lower it when prices or demand are high – hence the project is entitled “Demand Response.” This automatic load reduction will avoid rolling blackouts in California’s summer heat and is estimated to be able to save as much as $10 billion in California's energy costs (see slides). Industry will eventually equip the eleven million homes in California with smart, indoor thermostats that will be based on the results of our fundamental research. Future devices will contain small cheap radios (powered by energy scavenging) to receive emergency signals and up-to-date price information from the utility companies to drive more efficient electricity use. This multi-disciplinary research is a ‘flagship’ project in CITRIS, involving 3 COE departments and Berkeley’s Department of Architecture.

For more information please go to our Demand Response website here.