People don't really notice that their compressor pump is being cycled to reduce system demand. Are you working in this area too?
https://www.peco.com/Savings/ProgramsandRebates/Residential/...
> During high summer energy use periods, PECO Smart A/C Saver works to reduce electricity usage by "cycling" central air conditioners throughout the region
> Using around 1000 volunteer households, trials to date indicate a 19 - 35% reduction in peak load where direct load control demand management is utilised.
There is a 19 - 35% percent reduction in power usage using the technique. Payment for opting into the program looks like a great idea. Could the concept be extended to freezers and fridges? Imagine if you controlled a network of these small appliances and sold the ability to reduce peak demand to your distribution company.
[1] http://www.etsautilities.com.au/centric/our_network/demand_m...
At my last startup, we had a prototype going at my house where we had a specialized smart meter with relays attached to the hot water heater, and an internet enabled thermostat. We could monitor, control and schedule peak load over the course of the day pretty easily. It was pretty labor intensive to set everything up (it was mainly the tapping of the mains and running the relays to the hot water heater), but actually worked well based on some simple schedules. I estimated that I saved about 15 to 20% of my power bill once it was in place.
The great thing about all of this, is that like most internet applications, the benefits become more pronounced and easier to achieve at scale. The more you can feed into a system, from both the supply side and the demand side, the better you can get at predicting and controlling the nature of the grid. And that transitions into some pretty serious effects on the economics of the situation, without really needing any major technology breakthroughs.