DR Max: 2027 Enrollment Is Now Forming

100%From Missed DR Targets to 100% Compliance and 15% More Curtailment

A large national retail facility running 10 rooftop units was under-delivering on its demand response commitments, and comfort-driven mid-event overrides kept giving up the curtailment it had already earned. DemandQ's DR Max platform, powered by the IDO engine, took over automated coordination across all 10 units. On a real, program-dispatched event, the facility hit 100% billing-interval compliance with zero manual intervention and zero comfort complaints.

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100%
Billing-Interval Compliance: 56.7 kW
Average Curtailment Delivered: 44%
Below Baseline: +15%
Curtailment vs. Pre-IDO Performance: 0
Comfort Complaints: $2.7M/yr
Illustrative 500-Store Portfolio Revenue

Overview

This facility runs 10 independently controlled rooftop units and was already enrolled in a demand response program. Manual coordination could not reliably hold all 10 units below the curtailment target for a full multi-hour event, so the site kept falling short, and DR performance is settled against the same 15-minute billing-interval meter data utilities use to bill demand: partial compliance means partial or forfeited revenue, no matter how close the event came to the target.

When occupied zones drifted warm during an event, staff reverted setpoints mid-event to resolve comfort complaints, which gave up the curtailment target for the rest of the window. Missed targets on one side and comfort overrides on the other both ate into the site's DR revenue. DemandQ's DR Max platform, powered by the IDO engine, replaced manual coordination with a closed-loop system across all 10 RTUs.

The Challenge

Manual Coordination Could Not Hold the Target

01
The facility ran 10 independently controlled rooftop units, and manual coordination could not reliably hold all 10 below the curtailment target for a full multi-hour event window.
02
DR performance settles against 15-minute billing-interval meter data, not intention, so partial compliance meant partial or forfeited program revenue no matter how close the event came to target.
03
When occupied zones drifted warm during an event, staff reverted setpoints mid-event to resolve comfort complaints, which gave up the curtailment target for the remainder of the window.
04
Missed targets and comfort-driven overrides worked against each other, both suppressing the facility's demand response program revenue.
05
No automated, closed-loop coordination existed across the 10 RTUs: every event depended on manual, error-prone staff response in real time.

The Solution

Automated, Closed-Loop Coordination Across All 10 RTUs

DemandQ's DR Max platform, powered by the IDO engine, coordinates the full event automatically: precooling, curtailment, and post-event recovery, with no manual dispatch step and no capital expenditure.

Automated Precooling

Ahead of the event window, the IDO engine plans a precool depth and duration across all 10 RTUs, building a thermal buffer the facility coasts on once the event begins.

Closed-Loop Multi-RTU Coordination

DR Max reads real-time zone temperature and site demand data from the existing building automation system and issues synchronized setpoint commands automatically, with no manual dispatch step for staff.

Built-In Comfort Safeguards

A per-zone comfort threshold is enforced automatically throughout the event, eliminating the manual mid-event overrides that had been forfeiting curtailment.

No-Hardware Integration

DR Max connects through direct APIs, BACnet and other open protocols, or DemandQ's EZConnect module. No capital expenditure, no equipment replacement, and no subscription: DemandQ keeps a 10% aggregation fee, the facility keeps 90% of settlement, paid by ACH 55 to 60 days after settlement.

Verified Results

Every complete 15-minute billing interval during the event averaged below the 78.8 kW curtailment target, with zero manual intervention. The result restates consistently, 54.7 to 64.2 kW of curtailment, 43% to 47% below baseline, under all six major US ISO default customer-baseline methodologies, so the finding is not an artifact of one favorable baseline choice.

Billing-Interval Compliance (16 of 16): 100%
Average Curtailment Delivered: 56.7 kW
Reduction Below Baseline, Every Interval: 44%
Curtailment vs. Pre-IDO Performance: +15%
Manual Setpoint Interventions: 0
New Daily Demand Peaks Created: 0
Comfort Complaints: 0
RTU Zones Within Comfort Threshold: 10 of 10

Consistent Across Every Major US ISO Baseline

Every region measures curtailment against a customer baseline, but each grid operator defines that baseline differently. The event restated under each ISO's own default methodology, computed from the same interval meter data:

Baseline methodology	Curtailment	Below baseline
CAISO (10-in-10, primary basis used throughout)	56.7 kW	44%
PJM	64.2 kW	47%
ERCOT	≈ 55.2 kW	43%
NYISO	54.7 kW	43%
ISO-NE	≈ 62.7 kW	46%
MISO	56.7 kW	44%

Illustrative

At National Scale

An illustrative 500-store portfolio, sized to DemandQ's deployed footprint, already earning PJM-region DR program revenue at pre-IDO performance, priced two ways: before DR Max and with DR Max's uplift.

Before DR Max

25.0 MW
Dispatchable curtailment (50.0 kW per site, pre-IDO): $2.3M/yr
PJM-region DR program revenue

With DR Max

28.8 MW
Dispatchable curtailment (57.5 kW per site, with IDO): $2.7M/yr
PJM-region DR program revenue

Illustrative only: per-site performance varies with BAS platform, RTU count, program enrollment, and climate. The same uplift adds further revenue in California and Texas regions, plus a higher per-event payout on energy-settled programs like California's ELRP. DR Max is delivered on a revenue share with no subscription: facilities keep 90% of every settlement dollar.

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