Dive Brief:
- Tendril yesterday released the results of the summer rollout of its Orchestrated Energy platform, showing it had reduced utility HVAC load by 85% during demand response events in addition to other savings.
- Tendril says its platform calculates a home’s thermal mass, predicts consumer behavior and integrates with connected devices, to create a "unique dispatch schedule for every home, every day."
- Tendril rolled out the platform in 15 states, including the territories of AEP's Indiana Michigan Power and Xcel Energy.
Dive Insight:
Results from a season operating in more than a dozen states show Tendril was successful in developing an energy management platform that allows utilities to craft virtual power plants on their systems.
On days when Orchestrated Energy was in control of the thermostat, utilities were able to reduce HVAC load by an average of 85% during the demand response window, while also delivering an additional 14% of HVAC energy efficiency savings.
Tendril also said the results indicate customer comfort increased with the platform in use: utilities saw a 33% decrease in the number of times a customer adjusted their thermostat.
Tendril CEO Adrian Tuck said the results "are the culmination of years of groundbreaking work and lay a solid foundation for a future where utilities are taking innovative approaches to solving complex demand-side challenges."
Xcel Energy tapped Tendril's platform this year, and believed it could reduce cooling load by up to 50%, and lower overall consumption by up to 20%. Navigant expects the strategy to grow into a $3 billion market with some 20 million customers involved — up from about 50,000 at the beginning of last year.
