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The Energy Box is proposed as a 24/7 background processor operating on a local computer or in a remote location, silently managing one's home or small business electrical energy usage hour-by-hour and even minute-by-minute. It operates best in an environment of demand-sensitive real-time pricing, now made feasible via ‘smart grid’ technology. We assume that, in time, virtually every electrical device in a home or small business will be controllable from the Energy Box. There are multiple motivations for an Energy Box: (1) By delaying or pushing forward various uses of electricity (e.g., space conditioning), widespread use of the Energy Box could ‘shave the peaks and fill in the valleys of demand,’ thereby reducing the need for capacity expansion in electrical power generation and distribution; (2) The system should result in reduced electrical energy costs to the consumer; (3) The system supports local …