Conquering summer blackouts and demand charges with smart panels

According to research conducted by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (NOAA), last year was the warmest on record. When analyzing climate records between 1850-2023, the organization found that the top 10 warmest years all occurred within the past decade. Things aren’t looking to be much different for 2024 as an intense heat dome settles over the northeast this summer. All this heat means increased demand on the electrical power grid.

What causes strain on the power grid?

Multiple factors can contribute to strain on your local power grid including aging or damaged equipment and even cyberattacks, but the top contenders all center around high demand and the inability to keep up with that demand. Extreme weather events like heatwaves often contribute to this increased demand.

When comparing appliances by how much electricity they consume in an average household, central heating and cooling regularly take the top spot. And that’s not really a surprise to homeowners when they view their monthly utility bill. Electricity prices spike during the summer and winter months when consumption is often the highest, primarily due to the HVAC unit trying to maintain a comfortable temperature. But there’s something else to consider about these heavy consumers, they run in cycles.

Air conditioning isn’t designed to run continuously throughout the day. It only powers up when needed to maintain its setting. As you can imagine, it takes a considerable amount of electricity to get things up and running each time a cycle occurs – that’s because the motor is operating from a dead stop. The surge of current that helps power up appliances from a dead stop is known as the inrush. Locked rotor amps (LRA) is a rating that gives an approximation of this inrush current. Each appliance has an LRA rating that indicates just how much of an inrush is needed to help power it up. The LRA rating is often 2 to 3 times higher than the operating current. HVAC units have a high LRA rating. When multiple units with a high LRA rating are pulling from the power grid at the same time, this can cause a strain. The result leads to power outages, a worst-case scenario when temperatures are at their most extreme.

How does a smart panel help homeowners during a power outage?

Smart panels are increasing in popularity because they help homeowners manage their energy use and extend their backup power supply. This is especially useful during a power outage. The number of power outages in the United States has steadily increased over the past two decades with the majority resulting from weather-related events. The longevity of these power outages has also increased. So, it makes sense that homeowners would want as much control during these blackouts as possible.

The Lumin Smart Panel is an energy management device that gives homeowners with solar + storage more flexibility during a power outage. Homeowners often turn to storage systems when they want to keep essential appliances running during an outage. However, what most homeowners don’t know is that the list of appliances they can back up with their solar battery is very limited and can’t be easily changed when priorities shift. This is where a Lumin Smart Panel can be a great asset. Our smart panel features 12 circuits that homeowners can connect to their electrical loads. Using the Lumin app, these loads are organized by homeowner preference and are automatically shed off as the solar battery depletes. This setup helps extend the battery runway, powering the homeowner’s highest priority appliances for as long as possible. Homeowners can also change their preferences at any time, depending on their current energy needs. Choosing what loads are shed and what loads stay only takes a quick swipe, no electrician needed.

The Lumin Smart Panel isn’t only useful during a power outage, it also has another use case. If the homeowner prefers, they can use their Lumin Smart Panel to mitigate demand charges from their local utility company.

What are demand charges and how can they be reduced?

Why are utility bills costs often higher in the summer? It could have to do with fees that the utility company can tack on when electrical demand is higher than usual. These fees are called demand charges and while not all homeowners have to worry about them, they are becoming more common. Demand charges aren’t about how much electricity is consumed throughout the month, but rather the maximum amount of power output during a specific period of time. Usually during times of day when electrical demand is at its highest. An example of this would be in the late afternoon after homeowners are returning from work and starting their nightly routines. This is when those major amps that an HVAC requires come into play. Any electrical appliance that requires more electricity to power on is going to have an impact on how high the demand charges get.

The Lumin Smart Panel can be programmed to mitigate those larger electrical loads when demand charges kick in. Those times of day are usually listed on the local utility’s website. Homeowners can use the Lumin app to designate heavy loads like an electric vehicle charger to shut off during peak demand times. This also goes for loads that automatically cycle on and off such as an air conditioner or pool pump. Keeping these loads from powering on temporarily during the most expensive times of the day can help keep costs down, with very little effort from the homeowner. But demand charges aren’t the only fees that a Lumin Smart Panel can help with. This same scheduling functionality can also be applied to decrease time-of-use rates as well.

Intelligent, easy-to-install and retrofit ready, the Lumin Smart Panel offers homeowners plenty of value, especially during the year’s most demanding months. To find out more about how the Lumin Smart Panel works, schedule a meeting with our team.