System and method for demand mitigation of commonly scheduled thermostats

1. A thermostat for a multi-thermostat temperature control system comprising:

a load shedding event recovery controller comprising at least one processor communicatively coupled to at least one memory device, the load shedding event recovery controller configured to:

receive one or more input signal commands permitting a recovery from a demand management system load shedding event;

determine a pseudo-random starting time window from which a recovery starting time is selected, the pseudo-random starting time window based on a value accessible to the thermostat and unique to the thermostat, the pseudo-random starting time window including a primary delay window and a secondary delay window within the primary delay window; and

start an operation of a conditioning unit associated with the thermostat at the selected recovery starting time.

2. The thermostat of claim 1 , wherein the pseudo-random starting time window is based on a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the thermostat.

3. The thermostat of claim 1 , wherein the primary delay window comprises a selectable time period and a pseudo-random starting time and a pseudo-random ending time.

4. The thermostat of claim 3 , wherein the primary delay window comprises a pseudo-random delay time and a selectable time period about the pseudo random delay time.

5. The thermostat of claim 1 , wherein the load shedding event recovery controller is further configured to determine a condition score based on an environmental parameter accessible to the thermostat to provide a sooner starting time for conditioning units associated with conditioned spaces that are determined to be outside a predetermined comfortable state.

6. The thermostat of claim 5 , wherein the load shedding event recovery controller is further configured to adjust a starting position of the thermostat based on the determined condition score.

7. The thermostat of claim 5 , wherein the environmental parameter includes at least one of temperature, humidity, and enthalpy.

8. A method of managing a recovery of a plurality of independent autonomous conditioning units from a load shedding event, the plurality of independent autonomous conditioning units each comprising a respective thermostat device controlling an environment of a respective conditioned zone, said method comprising:

receiving, by each of the thermostat devices, a load shedding recovery notification;

selecting, by each thermostat device, a value that is unique to the thermostat device;

retrieving, from a memory of the thermostat device, a first time period value;

retrieving, from the memory of the thermostat device, a second time period value;

pseudo-randomly generating a primary time delay window using the selected unique value, the retrieved first time period value, and a first selectable set of randomization rules from a plurality of sets of randomization rules;

pseudo-randomly generating a secondary time delay window within the primary time delay window using the selected unique value, the retrieved second time period value, and a second selectable set of randomization rules from a plurality of sets of randomization rules, the first and second selectable sets of randomization rules are at least one of the same and different; and

restarting each of the plurality of independent autonomous conditioning units at a starting time that is delayed from the receipt of the load shedding recovery notification by an amount defined by the secondary time delay window.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising storing, in a memory of the thermostat device, one or more values that are unique to the thermostat device.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising storing, in a memory of the thermostat device, one or more locations of values that are unique to the thermostat device.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein selecting a value that is unique to the thermostat device comprises selecting a value that is at least one of static and dynamic.

12. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

determining a condition score for at least some of the conditioned zones based on an environmental parameter detected by the thermostat associated with that conditioned zone; and

adjusting the starting time of at least some of the plurality of independent autonomous conditioning units using the respective condition score.

13. A temperature control system comprising:

a plurality of independent autonomous thermostats, each thermostat comprising at least one processor communicatively coupled to at least one memory device, the plurality of independent autonomous thermostats configured to:

receive one or more input signal commands permitting a recovery from a demand management system load shedding event;

determine, by each of the plurality of independent autonomous thermostats, a pseudo-random starting time window from which a recovery starting time for that thermostat is selected, the pseudo-random starting time window based on a value accessible to the thermostat that is unique to the thermostat, the starting time window comprising a primary delay window and a secondary delay window within the primary delay window; and

start an operation of a conditioning unit associated with the thermostat at the selected recovery starting time.

14. The temperature control system of claim 13 , wherein the pseudo-random starting time window is based on a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the thermostat.

15. The temperature control system of claim 13 , wherein the primary delay window comprises a selectable time period and a pseudo-random starting time and a pseudo-random ending time.

16. The temperature control system of claim 15 , wherein the primary delay window comprises a pseudo-random delay time and a selectable time period about the pseudo random delay time.

17. The temperature control system of claim 13 , wherein the thermostat is further configured to determine a condition score based on an environmental parameter accessible to the thermostat to provide a sooner starting time for conditioning units associated with conditioned spaces that are determined to be outside a predetermined comfortable state.

18. The temperature control system of claim 17 , wherein the thermostat is further configured to adjust a starting position of the thermostat based on the determined condition score.

19. The temperature control system of claim 17 , wherein the environmental parameter includes at least one of temperature, humidity, and enthalpy.