Electrical utility companies have all experienced a dramatic increase in the costs to serve their customers and these steeply increased costs have not always been offset by commensurate increased rates. This problem has been compounded as the energy base shifts toward a greater use of electricity. One of the more significant causal factors is the need for these utilities to provide and maintain generating facilities and distribution networks which are ample by a safe margin to meet the demand for electric power during periods of peak or maximum demand that occur only during certain times of the day, week and year. In a particular area or community, for example, these periods of peak or maximum demand occur only during certain months of the year, and during these months, only under particular conditions. The rate of electrical power consumption during other than these peak periods in most communities is considerably less than the peak demand, and accordingly a substantial percentage of the generating facilities and transmission networks of a utility company, representing a considerable capital investment, remains idle a good portion of the time. This substantially increases the overall operating costs of a utility which in turn increases the cost of electricity to the consumers. For every kilowatt of peak load over average load, a utility must invest hundreds of dollars in extra capacity. Thus it behooves the electric utilities to make much more efficient use of their facilities and to reduce the peak load in a particular area or community during periods of expected maximum demand.
In the past, various load controllers were utilized in different systems and different methods were employed to predeterminately limit the peaking-type demands on the power generating capacity of the electrical utility companies; however, one of the disadvantageous or undesirable features of at least some of such prior art load controllers is believed to be that they were generally much too complex both in design and operation so as to incur the resultant disadvantageous or undesirable feature of being generally too expensive for wide spread commercial usage in a power distribution system or network.
In some of the other prior art load controllers, a radio-type signal emanated from the utility company to disconnect a certain group or groups of their power customers' loads from the power line; however, at least one of the disadvantageous or undesirable features of this particular prior art load controller is believed to be that the customers' loads may be disconnected for an inordinately long period of time at the whim of the utility company causing inconvenience and/or uncomfortable conditions for such customers while other customers are provided with power. Also such radio actuated prior art load controllers possibly could be undesirably actuated by a spurious signal. In still some others of the prior art load controllers, a ripple signal is emanated from the utility company through their power network lines to disconnect their power customers' loads from the power line; however, at least the disadvantageous or undesirable features of this particular ripple signal load controller is believed to be generally the same as those discussed hereinabove with respect to the radio signal type load controller.
In another one of the prior art time and temperature related type load controller, the theory of operation is generally based upon preconceived or predicted periods during which peaking-type demands were known to occur in the past. A photocell device is responsive generally to the first light of day for actuating a timer which, in effect, sets the prior art device to be operative only during the predicted period of peaking-type demands for taking the regulated load off the line. This prior art load controller is also provided with an atmospheric temperature sensing mechanism which is operable generally to take the load off the line if the sensed atmospheric temperature exceeds a selected value when such prior art device is set to operate during the predicted period. The load thereafter is off the line until the sensed atmospheric temperature falls below the selected value thereof and/or until the time of the predicted period of the peaking-type demand passes for that particular day.
In at least those past load controllers which were actuated in response to a preselected level of the atmospheric temperature indicative of the occurrence of peak power demand periods on the utility company's lines, such load controllers, or at least the temperature sensing element, were necessarily mounted outdoors so as to be subjected to the atmospheric temperature. Due to the outdoor mounting of some of these past load controllers, it was necessary, if not mandatory, to provide a tamper-proof housing to encase the electrical operating component units of such past load controllers from the stand-point of safety and also vandalism. Typically, these tamper-proof housings were provided in various forms to meet utility company requirements. One such tamper-proof housing was that of the well known utility company watt-hour meter with, of course, slight modifications. The typical watt-hour meter housing has a base to which are attached the electromechanical watt-hour meter components, and the base may be plugged into a utility company receptacle therefor. A clear glass or plastic-type cover is attached to the base to encase the electromechanical watt-hour meter components, and a seal is connected between the base and the cover so as to prevent or afford an indication of surreptitious or other unauthorized access into the watt-hour meter housing. The seal itself may take the form of a small steel cable passing through a stationary hasp arrangement on the cover and base of the watt-hour meter housing with the ends of the cable being sealed or joined together in a lead or other malleable wafer. While such watt-hour meter type housings may, in some instances, be desirable for encasing the electromechanical or other power controlling units of a load controller, it is believed that at least one of the disadvantageous or undesirable features thereof is that such housings are unnecessarily complex and much too expensive for the usual load controller mechanism. An analogous disadvantageous or undesirable feature of the watt-hour meter type housing is believed to be that they contain some features not required for many load controllers and lack certain other features which are desired; therefore, in many instances, modification of some expense may be required.