Patent ID: 7783390

Claim:
A method for deferring demand for electrical energy, comprising the computer-implemented steps of: (1) automatically estimating a cost over a forecasting period for electrical energy at a location, wherein the forecasting period is divided into at least three zones, said zones delineating different modes of operation derived either from a change in the relative prices of multiple sources of energy or changes in demand relative to capacity of the multiple sources, and wherein the cost of electrical energy is estimated based on a forecast of demand for electrical energy in each zone; (2) determining a demand for electrical energy by one or more devices at the location for which energy consumption can be deferred; (3) identifying a zone of the at least three zones in which an available marginal power supply capacity is greater than an electrical load of at least one device of the one or more devices; (4) repeating step (3) to identify contiguous zones having a total duration exceeding a duration of time during which the at least one device is to be operated; (5) selecting a plurality of the identified contiguous zones as a lower-cost time period; and (6) automatically deferring electrical consumption for the at least one device from a higher-cost time period to the lower-cost time period, including the computer-implemented step of issuing a command to the at least one device to cause the deferral to occur.