Patent ID: 7363031

Claim:
A system for monitoring and controlling one or more electric users that communicate over a first communication network, the system including: A. one or more nodes for communicating between respective ones of the one or more electric users over the communication network and communicating peer-to-peer with each other; and B. a transmitter/receiver incorporated into a given one of the one or more electric users for communicating between the communication network and a remote network or remote terminal, the transmitter/receiver and the given electric user sharing the same node, the transmitter/receiver receiving SMS messages from the remote network or remote terminal and transmitting SMS messages to the remote network or remote terminal, the SMS messages from the remote network having coded therein control instructions including at least one of: i. a start instruction, for the immediate start of the operation cycle of an electric user; ii. a stop instruction, for the immediate stop of the operation cycle being executed by an electric user; iii. a pause instruction, for the pause of an electric user; iv. a delay instruction, for a delayed execution of an instruction to an electric user; v. a reset instruction, for the cancellation of all setting information of an electric user operation cycle; vi. a self-test instruction, for the execution of a self-test routine of said electric user; and vii. a get instruction, for the transmission of status information or configuration parameters of an electric user.