As pointed out in Baillieul and Antsaklis (2007), in the three decades since re-searchers at Bosch GmbH launched the technology of networked control systems for automobiles, there has been an explosion of interest in both the theory and deployment of real-time networks of devices. This interest is especially apparent in much of the current research on the smart grid. In what follows, recent work to illuminate the challenges and benefits of various communication and control protocols within pools of networked energy consuming devices and energy providers is discussed. We compare what can be possibly achieved in demand side management under two different protocols between the smart building operator [SBO] and the distributed energy consuming appliances. In the first protocol carrying the complete appliances' state information, the SBO is able to design a control law to reduce consumption uncertainty and to guarantee con-sumers' satisfaction. In the second protocol that communicates binary appliances' information, the scheduling performance reflects lower consumer utility and greater consumption uncertainty. In addition, we discuss the optimal energy reserve purchasing strategy for the SBO that strikes a balance between having excess capacity and having energy deficiency. Numerical simulation illustrates the protocols.