Traditional demand response approaches often deliver unpredictable or undesirable load shapes, preventing a utility from realizing the full benefit of its residential demand response assets. To mitigate this, many utilities use cycling strategies that jeopardize customer comfort and, consequently, customer satisfaction and program retention rates. What utilities really want is a demand response resource that behaves like generation while ensuring customer comfort. 

Firm Load Dispatch is a new demand response technology that achieves a stable target load curve by coordinating the duty cycles of a population of devices through advanced machine learning, thermal modeling, and real-time device communication. Firm Load Dispatch:

• Optimizes load shape, producing a curve similar to one from a generation resource
• Delivers sustained MW reduction over the course of a demand response event
• Ensures customer comfort, driving program retention