JLM and Honeywell Target AC Peaks

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The retail cost of JLM’s Energizr 200 energy storage and management system along with Honeywell’s Lyric smart thermostat — and a Fronius primo inverter — is roughly $22,000. The Fronius Symmetric DC Regulation (SDCR) inverter would be needed even if a homeowner has a mono-directional DC to AC inverter already installed in their PV system.

Rocklin, California-based JLM helps customers seeking to remotely “pre-cool their home during less expensive hours and avoid peak rates during the dinner hour,” the company says. A key to the system is JLM’s intuitive Measurz software application for smart phones, that enables control of both the the inverter and thermostat, notes Roman Couvrette, manager of the joint Honeywell program at JLM. “Everybody is afraid of how difficult these apps can be to operate, but ours is very simple,” he assures.

JLM is now rolling out a demonstration program with utility APS in Phoenix, where 75 homes will be outfitted with the storage+thermostat technology, along with the Fronius primo inverter. The primo inverter is less expensive than a standard bi-directional inverter, Couvrette notes. The aim is to shave AC costs at the test homes and use the resulting statistics to support a rate change for residential customers in the state, based on demand charges. The new rates are expected to take effect as soon as the end of this year.

Apart from the APS project, JLM has partnered strategically with Honeywell to respond to RFPs across the country involving demand or time of use charges, Couvrette says. Honeywell has a well-oiled Smart Grid Solutions (SGS) team that has already forged relationships with a host of U.S. utilities seeking to switch their customers to smart thermostats. The SGS initiative is part of Honeywell’s Building Solutions unit, based in Golden Valley, Minnesota. Photo Credit: YouTube

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