Demand Response (DR)
Customers are incentivized to reduce or shift their electricity use when the grid is under stress — like hot afternoons when air conditioning drives peak demand.
Our Technology
How it works
Our technology is changing the HVAC industry — with guaranteed energy savings, plug-and-play architecture, and real-time monitoring.
Key Highlights
Our technology is changing the HVAC industry
- Guaranteed HVAC electrical/gas savings of 20%
- Plug-and-play architecture, 24/7 system monitoring, cloud reporting
- Utility rebates, capturing grid revenue, and system ROI's of less than 2 years
30–100% Utility Rebates
System ROI's of 1–3 years
Immediate 20–35% Cost Savings
Real-time cell/device monitoring
Smart Grids
Electric and gas grids are becoming “smart”
The U.S. electric grid is evolving from a one-way power delivery system into a smart, interactive network. With the rise of smart meters, connected devices, and digital controls, utilities can now adjust electricity demand in real time.
Peak Pricing
Utilities use time-of-use and critical peak rates to reflect the true cost of electricity during high-demand hours, encouraging customers to move usage to off-peak times.
Benefits
These programs improve grid reliability, cut greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the need for expensive peaker plants, and help customers save on energy bills.
Pricing
Types of demand-response pricing
Time-of-Use (TOU) Pricing
Electricity costs vary by time of day. Peak hours (late afternoon/evening) are more expensive; off-peak (overnight or midday) is cheaper. Encourages shifting usage to low-demand hours.
Critical Peak Pricing (CPP)
On high-demand days, utilities declare “critical events.” Prices can spike 2–10× higher during a few hours — a strong incentive to cut back when the grid is stressed.
Real-Time Pricing (RTP)
Prices fluctuate hourly (or sub-hourly) based on wholesale market conditions. Mostly applied to large commercial or industrial customers — flexible, but requires active monitoring or automation.
Direct Load Control (DLC)
Utilities remotely cycle specific customer equipment (HVAC, water heaters, EV chargers). Customers receive bill credits or payments in exchange. Often automated and easy to participate in.
Carbon Reduction
Turbocharge your savings potential with carbon reduction
In today's energy-savings environment, carbon reduction can significantly boost your company's compliance and savings efforts. Gridwise directly reports carbon reduction from our systems.
National Trends
Cost variability
- Standard residential electricity: 10–20¢/kWh (average retail in 2025)
- TOU peak periods: 20–40¢/kWh (2× or more the off-peak rate)
- Critical Peak Pricing: up to $1.00/kWh+ in extreme cases
- Wholesale spot market spikes: occasionally exceed $9,000/MWh ($9/kWh) in rare emergencies (e.g., Texas 2021 freeze)
Savings potential
- Customers shifting load to off-peak can save 10–30% annually
- Large industrial customers may negotiate real-time rates, saving millions annually
Direct Load Control
How DLC reduces carbon
When utilities cycle or curtail equipment like HVAC units, water heaters, or EV chargers during peak demand, they reduce the need to turn on fossil-fuel “peaker plants” — often the most carbon-intensive generators on the grid.
By shifting or lowering demand, DLC allows more of the system's electricity to be served by cleaner, base-load or renewable resources already on the grid.
Widespread participation effectively flattens peak loads, which can delay or avoid the need for new fossil-based infrastructure.
Carbon incentives
- Utilities and grid operators can quantify avoided emissions from DLC events and use those reductions to meet regulatory or voluntary carbon goals.
- Customers may become eligible for carbon credits or incentives where load reductions are tied to greenhouse-gas (GHG) savings.
- DLC programs integrating with smart thermostats, batteries, or EV charging align with corporate sustainability commitments, measurably reducing Scope 2 emissions.
DLC not only saves money and keeps the grid reliable, but it also creates measurable carbon benefits that can unlock carbon incentives or credits for both utilities and participating customers.
The Solution
The Gridwise solution & savings guarantee
Customer pain points
- Rising peak energy costs (TOU, CPP, RTP) with pricing variability up to 10× higher
- HVAC and building systems drive large portions of peak demand
- Sustainability and carbon-reduction targets are increasingly mandatory
Gridwise plug-and-play solutions
- Gridwise AI/ML nodes unlock energy savings, guaranteed in writing
- Plug-and-play node integration monitors your grid use in real time
- Automated demand/response (DR) shifts load during utility peak events
- Direct Load Control (DLC) reduces reliance on carbon-intense peaker plants
- Utility and carbon incentives: capture 30–100% rebates, ROI in 1–3 years
Smart Grid
Gridwise as a gateway to the smart grid
How it works
- Gridwise nodes connect HVAC and building systems to the grid and Gridwise's platform via 5G and Wi-Fi
- Real-time monitoring enables optimization, shifting usage away from critical peaks
- Automated signals participate in the utility demand/response market
- Customers receive on-bill credits, guaranteed savings, and carbon credits
Benefits
Financial
Guaranteed 20% savings — customers typically see 30–35%.
Operational
Seamless integration, zero downtime, cloud reporting, 24/7 monitoring.
Sustainability
Reduces kWh reliance, lowers emissions, and avoids peak plants.
Guarantee
Gridwise's cost savings guarantee
Gridwise positions itself as a trusted cost-savings partner driving bottom-line savings for every deployment.
- 20% energy cost savings guaranteed in writing
- Guarantee underwritten by Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies
- Platform allows 24/7 monitoring of systems and real-time cost savings
- True plug-and-play — installation under an hour for most HVAC units
- Extensively tested and validated by the DOE
- Patented AI/ML technology
Next Steps
Contact us for a demo
The Gridwise team will put together a full cost-savings evaluation and project demo installation to prove, in real time, the cost savings you'll be able to deploy across your assets.