Bidgely | AI-Powered Energy Analytics for Utilities
Modern home exterior with pool at dusk

Behind the Summer Peak

How appliance-level load intelligence reveals new summer peak management strategies

Summer peak is more concentrated than utilities have historically been able to address. With behind-the-meter intelligence, mitigation can now focus on a narrow window of peak hours, the specific parts of the distribution system most impacted, and the customers best positioned to help.

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How Disaggregation Moves the Needle

Summer peak loads fall into two categories. Structural loads (refrigeration, lighting, always-on devices) run continuously and offer little opportunity for load management. Flexible loads (HVAC, water heating, pool pumps, EV charging) can be shifted, curtailed, or coached.

76%
of feeder load at the critical summer hour was cooling

8760 Disaggregated Demand Curve (Total Demand)

At a critical summer hour, feeder load hit 98.3% utilization. Cooling drove 1,483 kW of the 1,963 kW total demand, with the rest split across always-on devices, pool pumps, water heating, and a small number of EVs.

Not All Cooling Load is the Same

Whole-home AMI profiles can't distinguish between cooling load that can be shifted and cooling load that can't. Appliance-level disaggregation can.

01

Behavioral Load

Shiftable

Homes where pre-cooling, setpoint adjustments, or TOU rate signals can reduce peak demand.

A 2°F thermostat increase can cut peak cooling load by 10-15% per home

Pre-cooling & setpoint coaching during the peak window

02

Equipment Waste

Addressable

Degraded or poorly maintained systems consume far more energy than necessary to hold the same setpoint.

A degraded AC can use up to 40% more energy than an efficient equivalent

HVAC servicing referrals, rebates, or replacement incentives

03

Saturated Equipment

No Flexibility

Units running at maximum output, no cycling, no modulation, no curtailment capacity.

Look like high-usage targets but offer zero demand response potential

Weatherization and equipment replacement programs

    Disaggregation varies dramatically across utility populations. The homes driving disproportionate peak load fall into the low and very low efficiency bands.

    Disaggregation heatmap showing HVAC degradation.

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    The Targeting Payoff

    Behind-the-meter intelligence delivers value on two fronts. It pinpoints which grid assets are under the highest strain, and which customers will deliver the greatest impact per incentive dollar.

    Grid Management

    A modest 8.7% cooling reduction combined with shifting EV and pool pump loads dropped a critical feeder from 98.3% to 90% utilization. No capital investment required.

    98.3% → 90%

    feeder utilization with targeted intervention, not infrastructure upgrade

    6.5 Days

    a year is all the demand response needed to address on this feeder

    Hours of peak stress versus weeks of capacity strain determines whether demand response or infrastructure upgrades are the right answer.

    Demand Response Program Impact

    Disaggregation narrows the customer pool to the homes that will deliver the greatest grid impact, dramatically reducing program cost while increasing per-kW impact.

    21,000 → 369

    homes narrowed to the cooling DR candidates that matter most

    3x

    per-kW impact from precision targeting compared to broad outreach

    <50%

    of the program cost compared to broad-based customer outreach

    3 hrs
    vs 160 hrs

    to segment top-decile cooling users versus traditional manual analysis

    Total Homes
    Homes not enrolled in cooling DR Programs
    Homes with Cooling appliances
    Homes with Inefficient Cooling
    Top 30% of Consumption
    Owned Homes

    Hours of peak stress versus weeks of capacity strain determines whether demand response or infrastructure upgrades are the right answer.