Patent ID: 8332055

Claim:
A system comprising: a head end server; a mesh gate in communication with the head end server; a plurality of target devices, wherein each of the target devices is in communication with the mesh gate and each target device belongs to one of a plurality of target device classes; a request interface in communication with the head end server receiving an instruction to control energy use of target devices belonging to a selected target device class; and a scheduler in communication with the head end server, the scheduler receiving the instruction and identifying one or more target devices belonging to the selected target device classes; wherein the head end server creates a message for the mesh gate in communication with the identified target devices via the mesh gate to limit energy use of the identified target devices, and transmits the message to the mesh gate; and wherein the mesh gate, upon receiving the message, authenticates the message, removes message headers, and provides a table request to each of the identified target devices to control energy use of the identified target devices.