Patent ID: 7822503

Claim:
A method for providing energy management functionality for store or dispense equipment, comprising: retrieving, via at least one portable device or wireless network, demand data from the store or dispense equipment, wherein the demand data includes usage information associated with the store or dispense equipment; providing the demand data from the at least one portable device or wireless network to a processing center remote from the store or dispense equipment, the processing center comprising one or more computers, wherein the processing center is operative to: analyze the demand data to determine a demand pattern; prepare an instruction set for the store or dispense equipment by at least: identifying an operating template from a plurality of operating templates, wherein the operating template is identified from the plurality of operating templates based upon the identified operating template being a closest match for the determined demand pattern, the identified operating template specifying predetermined time periods and corresponding predetermined modes of operation for at least one component of the store or dispense equipment during the predetermined time periods; and loading, via the at least one portable device or wireless network, the instruction set onto the store or dispense equipment, wherein the store or dispense equipment operates, at least in part, according to the instruction set.