PECO Energy Co. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.) and Invensys (London, England), in cooperation with Comcast Corp., are testing an energy management system designed to benefit homeowners, utilities and the environment.

The new product, “GoodWatts^™,” allows utilities to remotely control air-conditioning systems and other high-load appliances over a managed and secure IP network. Homeowners can view their electricity consumption and access their system over the Internet. GoodWatts operates over the existing cable infrastructure to give both utilities and homeowners a tool to help manage energy consumption.

The trial includes more than 100 PECO and Comcast residential customers in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The companies offered this select group of homeowners the opportunity to have GoodWatts-enabled components installed in their homes. As a result, the utility can reduce capacity requirements during some peak periods and when wholesale rates warrant that other forms of capacity are more economically viable.

The GoodWatts system works by shifting large household energy loads from peak to off-peak times of the day (when energy is usually less expensive for the utility to generate or purchase). The system gathers data on the immediate (real-time) energy requirements of specific loads in each home that can be used to reduce utility system stresses during peak demand periods. This means the utility has the ability to control loads during peak periods in an environmentally sensitive and cost-effective way.

In addition, the system enables the homeowner to proactively manage monthly energy costs. The system can be installed in any home with access to a cable network. A customer who uses the GoodWatts system does not have to subscribe to any cable services to benefit from this system.

A home in which the GoodWatts system is installed contains several energy management devices, including a new whole-house electric meter, an advanced thermostat for heating and cooling equipment, and sub-meter controls for major electrical appliances, such as water heaters and pool pumps.

Using Comcast's cable network to ensure the integrity, security and privacy of the data, the GoodWatts system communicates with these various devices and allows the utility to see exactly how much energy is being consumed and by which appliances.

By supplying real-time, verifiable data on energy usage, the GoodWatts system allows the utility to more effectively exercise a load-management plan across the connected GoodWatts devices. The GoodWatts system represents a new paradigm in the way utilities perform load management, manage their capacity portfolio, meet security and reliability requirements, and how they interface with their residential customers.
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