Does AI ‘manipulate thermostats’ in Texas to help save money? What a tech company says
As the scorching Texas heat forces people to stay indoors this summer, some struggle to get cool while saving energy.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has issued several warnings of potential power outages over the past few months, urging people to conserve as much electricity as they can. GridBeyond CEO Michael Phelan says artificial intelligence could help. His company helps utility agencies manage energy distributions using technology.
“If an air conditioning system is installed in a home we would connect it with the power grid to make it aware of what’s going on. It would know to pre cool on certain days and use less power at the times when the grid is under the most pressure, with the help of AI,” Phelan said. “This means the air conditioner wouldn’t be on that much at the peak which would help the grid. It would also save money.”
Phelan says AI can also help balance Texas power grids to avoid a potential energy crisis in the future. The state already suffered when three winter storms hit in 2021.
Phelan said AI is already being used by utility companies in Texas to regulate consumer thermostats. GridBeyond works with a few. If a consumer is running a smart thermostat that is subscribed to an energy savings program, a utility company already has access and control over that system.
“We work with them to manipulate thermostats and various systems so people are comfortable. We’re able to spread out the load a little bit, so the peaks aren’t quite as high,” he said. “That kind of thing is very much of interest to utility companies because they only have so many power plants. There’s only so much solar and wind available that can be stored.”
Some people wonder if AI tools could be exploited to violate consumer privacy as they become more prevalent in companies across the nation. For the energy sector, Phelan said no.
“The data is not that intrusive, it’s not going to tell you a whole lot other than the fact that people wanted to cool the building for the day and these were the temperatures the building achieved. I don’t see people using the data for any other purpose than learning about occupancy.”
Phelan says AI could be used to save energy in more than homes and buildings in the future. It could help conserve costs in electric cars too.
“Say I need my car at 7 p.m. and I need it for a few hours, I would charge it at a time when the grid is not under pressure and AI tools will generally help with that. Utility companies will probably start bringing up more tariffs to encourage people to keep away from those times as well.”