Residential Internet-of-Things (IoT) Meets Utility Demand Response (DR)

KITCHENER, Ontario - Feb. 8, 2016 - PRLog -- 2D2C, Inc. and Rainforest Automation Inc. have teamed-up to provide Home Automation for residential electricity consumers and Demand Response for utilities from one package. 2D2C, Inc. designs and manufactures SafePlug® brand plug-load and wired-load controllers and Rainforest Automation provides Eagle-C brand gateways with cloud storage of and access to data. The combined SafePlug/Eagle-C product suite enables consumers to reduce their electric bills, improve home security and increase convenience. Electric utilities can use the system to reduce their operating costs and provide more efficient customer service.

For homeowners, SafePlug smart receptacles provide remote on/off control, fire and shock prevention, and damage protection for plug-in appliances, such as home theater components, window air conditioners, dehumidifiers, space heaters, electric fireplaces, bathroom and kitchen appliances, and any other 15 Amp or smaller plug-in loads. Only patented SafePlug receptacles can precisely identify what appliance is plugged in and can alert when it is unplugged, to track appliances. On/off remote control can enable energy savings, simulate occupancy in buildings, ensure appliances are shut off when leaving the house, and turn lights on from the car when arriving home at night. For safe remote control, SafePlug will only turn on or off the target appliance; it rejects on/off commands to unknown appliances. SafePlug will never accidentally turn off critical equipment such as medical, health, safety, IT, or food storage devices. The SafePlug wired-load controllers provide the same remote or 24/7 scheduled control, plus safety features for water heaters, pool pumps, electric baseboard heaters, whole house air conditioners, furnaces, and other high-power loads.

For utilities, SafePlug controllers reduce the need for new transmission and distribution (T&D) upgrades and additional generation resources by reducing peak loads through accurate Demand Response (DR). SafePlug helps integrate renewable generation (RG) including solar PV and wind turbine by dynamically shedding and adding loads based upon the dynamic generation output and grid conditions. Typical SafePlug installations provide 2kW to 20kW of load control per house. Due to patented automatic system integration features, SafePlug / Rainforest receptacle kits can be shipped directly to and installed by non-technical homeowners in minutes. SafePlug controllers reduce the true cost of a DR solution with the following features:

•          Two-way ZigBee and OpenADR communication for DR confirmation

•          Local opt-out from DR event participation

•          Includes 1% or better power, current and voltage measurement for M&V by load

•          Extend the life of consumer devices by protecting from surges, overloads and bad power

•          Designed for a 20 year life,

•          Fast and easy to install.

Furthermore, the SafePlug wired-load controllers save money by controlling up to four loads with a single controller. The SafePlug / Rainforest systems use ZigBee and Open ADR standard communication for simplicity, security and interoperability.

Steve Montgomery, Executive V.P. of  2D2C, Inc. stated: “All SafePlug load controllers include load protection from overloads, surges and bad power conditions, shock protection, and fire prevention. Only SafePlug patented plug-load controllers use RFID tags to identify target loads, to prevent accidental shut-off of critical loads, and to identify unplugging of appliances. This advanced technology won SafePlug the prestigious CES ‘Best of Innovation’ award and caused the United Nations to choose SafePlug as one of the ‘Top 100 Innovative Companies’ world-wide.”

2D2C, Inc. (d/b/a SafePlug), founded in 1998, has offices in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada and Lincolnshire, Illinois, USA. The company mission is to safeguard life, health and property through electrical distribution system technology.  The company has been actively involved in developing electrical safety standards with UL and CSA for residential housing and convention centers. In addition, 2D2C, Inc. holds numerous patents for its progressive technology in electrical safety and energy.

Located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Rainforest Automation Inc. manufactures EAGLE meter monitors and EAGLE-C ZigBee gateways for the utility industry for Demand Response and Energy Efficiency applications.