Harmonizing Energy Efficiency: TONE Technology and the Evolution of Automated Demand Response (ADR)

Revolutionizing Energy Conservation with TONE Technology's Audio QR Communication and Adaptive Logic in the Era of Smart Demand Response

Author: Ward Christensen

November 17,2023

I think we can all agree that wasting energy is not a good thing. Whether you're on the right side of the aisle or the left side of the aisle politically, using energy more efficiently is beneficial to everyone. TONE technology has created an entirely new method of two-way digital communication that uses the simplest form of wireless connection known to mankind, sound waves. The frequency of these sound waves is just below the range of human hearing, so it can be used in any environment at any time without disturbing the occupants. Since the wireless signals are limited by the physical constraints of how simple sound travels, it is as secure as a private conversation between two people in an encrypted language. TONE technology creates a unique method of tracking, counting, and communicating with people or assets within a space.

Automatic Demand Response (ADR) is the California Utility's creation for interactivity between energy consumption devices and energy providers. The problem is, unless the current power consumption of each individual device is available in real time, there is no easy way to intelligently reduce loads on a granular level that can provide the aggregate demand reduction required to avoid a blackout without effecting occupants. Utilities are faced with the impossible task of predicting how much power to supply to meet the highly variable energy demand for all their customers without over-producing energy, and if they get it wrong, the result can be catastrophic! If demand exceeds supply, there are only two solutions, either increase supply which can overload the power grid, or decrease demand by turning off power. TONE provides a third solution, reduce demand in aggregate by providing the optimum level of power required by each device based upon conditional logic of how the physical environment will be used by the occupant in real-time.

ADR was designed from a Utility's perspective, but the same logic can be applied to renewable energy applications where conditional logic can be customized to accommodate the variable limited energy storage available throughout the year in truly off-grid solar island applications.

From an energy efficiency perspective, this is how it can be achieved. Conditional logic (AI) is applied to determine how an occupant interacts with every physical object within its physical environment, and based upon these AI algorithms, energy can be utilized in its most efficient manner. The simplest example is turning off a light when it is not needed, but this principle can be applied to any device with a TONE-Tag embedded. Whether it is the delivery of information to occupants within a space, counting the people within a space to determine HVAC load criteria, or providing information for emergency personnel, TONE provides the data required passively. Since a TONE-Tag can both send and receive data in real-time, metered energy levels can provide the required individual data that can be aggregated in real-time.

California's Title-24 energy mandates have been extremely successful in reducing peak demand loads by limiting consumption, and thereby providing more predictable demand limits. To this end, there has been a 0% per capita increase in energy consumption since 1973 in CA versus 5% for the rest of the US on average, and zero new power plants were built during this period. Device efficiency standards and mandated limits are great, but they can only go so far. I believe the future of energy conservation will be in networked energy solutions where the strategic design and deployment of the Sequence of Operations (SoO) of a building incorporates conditional logic and AI to create a more functional physical environment that is efficient enough to function as a solar island regardless of building size.

About Chris Controls

Ward Christensen is the founder of Chris Controls, a consulting firm that focuses on system controls that promote energy conservation through open standards and secure network integration. Chris Controls' specialty is working with manufacturers with innovative product solutions that challenge the status quo of current industry standards. To reach out to Ward for more information, head over to www.chriscontrols.com today.