Whisker Labs Receives Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) Award
- Feb 22, 2017
Joint award grant with University of Maryland supports research to explore potential economic benefits that peak load management can deliver through Whisker Labs’ Connected Savings platform
Oakland, Calif. and Germantown, Md. – February 21st, 2017 — Whisker Labs, which is bringing next-generation home energy intelligence technologies to market, today announced that it has been awarded a joint grant from the Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) Program to study the potential economic benefit of shifting customers’ electricity use (loads) through the use of its Connected Savings energy management platform. The research will be conducted in collaboration with Steven Gabriel, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland.
The study will investigate peak load management as part of utility Demand Response (DR) programs. Stochastic optimization models will be developed and implemented to enable Retail Electric Providers (REPs) and utilities to predict when and how it is best to shift load away from high-priced power procurement periods. In most energy markets, the price of electricity stays under $50/MW for the majority of the year; however, that price can spike to over $1,000/MW for brief periods when the grid is stressed. A portion of the rates charged to customers covers financial hedging positions that REPs must use as protection against such high priced periods. The research team looks to determine optimal DR strategies that can serve as a lower cost replacement for these hedging positions, limiting REP’s risk, and ultimately, reducing customers’ electricity rates.
Whisker Labs’ Connected Savings℠ Intelligent Demand Side Management (IDSM) platform is a comprehensive demand response management system (DRMS) with tailored DR control strategies, intelligent energy efficiency and embedded customer engagement, in a scalable solution to fit utility and REP needs. The advantages of this intelligent demand response approach are proven: a residential customer program in Texas found Connected Savings provided 13 percent more capacity per home or 1.76kW/home compared to the 1.5 kW/home market participant average during summer 2015.
“Connected Savings is the first in the industry to combine big weather data and analytics to deliver intelligent demand side management and energy efficiency programs,” said Amena Ali, chief revenue officer, Whisker Labs. “Whisker Labs is thrilled to extend our collaboration with MIPS to further explore how shifting customer loads can tangibly benefit utilities, retail electric providers and ultimately, their customers.”
The MIPS program supports the development and commercialization of products and processes in Maryland through industry/university research partnerships. MIPS provides matching funds, matched by participating companies, to pay for the university research.
“MIPS is focused on bringing the inventive minds and extensive laboratory resources of the University System of Maryland (USM) to bear by supporting university-based research projects that help Maryland companies develop innovative technology-based products,” said MIPS Director Joseph Naft. “We hope our collaboration with Whisker Labs yields a better understanding of the potential economic benefits of intelligent demand response.”
About Whisker Labs
Whisker Labs, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Earth Networks, delivers next generation home energy intelligence technology to realize the full potential of the connected home. Whisker Labs’ sensing and software platform optimizes connected devices, and brings non-connected devices online for home efficiency, fault detection, and peace of mind. Our platform is used by market leaders for enhanced energy efficiency and intelligent demand response. For more information, visit www.whiskerlabs.com.
About the Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) Program
MIPS, a program of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) in the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, supports university-based research projects to help Maryland companies develop technology-based products. Commercial products benefiting from MIPS projects have generated more than $30.3 billion in revenue, added thousands of jobs to the region, and contributed to successful products such as Martek Biosciences’ nutritional oils, Hughes Communications’ HughesNet™, MedImmune’s Synagis®, and Black & Decker’s Bullet® Speed Tip Masonry Drill Bit.
