Development of a residential appliance control interface (ACI) module using smart systems

Smart system pilot projects provide for valuable lessons learnt in terms of demand response programs. These programs are an important safety net until new capacity comes online in South Africa. Strategies within the demand response programs include time of use tariff and real time load limiting schemes. Appliance control technologies can assist users that are part of these programs in managing loads. One approach to appliance control is using off the shelf home automation technologies that provide for automatic load control. This can be done with smart systems which provide the control signals in real time to the home automation devices. An interface module is required between the smart system and the home automation units. A simple interface unit was developed under Eskom Research. This interface provides for automated switching but does not provide for any intelligent load sensing. This is left for further development.