Techniques for adaptive demand/response energy management of electronic systems

• US 10,079,507 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2013
• Issued: 09/18/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tahoe Research Limited (f/k/a Learndale Limited) (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Milenkovic, Milan, Hanebutte, Ulf R., Srinivasan, Vasudevan
• Primary Examiner(s): Cao, Chun
• Application Number:
  US13/931,442
• Publication Number:
  US 20150005974A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,908 Days
• Field of Search: 702 63, 700297, 700295, 700286, 706 21
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00017 using optical fiber
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00028 involving the use of Internet protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/38 Arrangements for parallely feeding a single network by two or more generators, converters or transformers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 40/70 Smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the energy generation sector
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/12 Monitoring or controlling equipment for energy generation units, e.g. distributed energy generation [DER] or load-side generation
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/12 characterised by data transport means between the monitoring, controlling or managing units and monitored, controlled or operated electrical equipment
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/124 using wired telecommunication networks or data transmission busses
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/126 using wireless data transmission

Abstract

Techniques for adaptive demand/response power management. Power consumption and battery charge level of a platform having a battery with a smart power module are monitored. Information indicating the power consumption and battery charge level for the platform is provided to a remote demand/response management device. The remote demand/response management device and the smart power module receive a command to modify one or more power consumption characteristics of the platform. The one or more power consumption characteristics of the platform are to be changed in response to the command.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a battery;

one or more functional components to be powered by the battery, wherein the one or more functional components are part of a first platform; and

a power module coupled with the one or more functional components, hardware/firmware interfaces, an operating system interface and a battery controller, wherein the power module is configured to estimate future energy consumption of the first platform under a predicted workload based on historical data collected by the power module, wherein the power module is configured to send first power consumption data including the estimate of the future energy consumption of the first platform to a remote demand/response management device that is configured to receive second power consumption data from a second platform, the power module to implement power policies received from the remote demand/response management device based at least on the first power consumption data and the second power consumption data to guarantee minimum availability and performance of the first platform, wherein guaranteeing minimum availability and performance of the first platform comprises

     1) generating an estimate of the stored energy on the first platform;

     2) generating an estimate of the future energy consumption of the first platform under a predicted workload;

     3) reducing the first platform energy consumption; and

     4) comparing the anticipated energy consumption with the available energy and adapting the first platform consumption to an extent possible or trigger charging the battery, and

wherein the power module is configured to switch the first platform to a grid power when a capacity level of the battery is below a threshold to guarantee a requested system run time for the first platform.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the power module is to track power and energy consumption of the first platform.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the power module is to enforce quality of service (QoS) guarantees by adapting energy consumption behavior of the first platform.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the operating system interface is to provide a capability for the power module to communicate with the operating system to obtain system utilization information that is only available within the operating system.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the operating system interface is to provide information from the power module to the operating system and to user space applications and graphical interfaces.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the power module is to operate using real-time analytics and machine learning mechanisms.

7. An article comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors to:

monitor first power consumption and a first battery charge level of a first platform having a first battery and a smart power module coupled to the first battery;

estimate future energy consumption of the first platform under a predicted workload based on historical data collected by the smart power module;

provide first information indicating at least one of the first power consumption, the first battery charge level and the future energy consumption for the first platform to a remote demand/response management device, wherein the remote demand/response management device is configured to receive second information including a second power consumption from a second platform;

receive by the smart power module a command to modify one or more power consumption characteristics of the first platform from the remote demand/response management device; and

cause by the smart power module, the one or more power consumption characteristics of the first platform to be changed in response to the command based at least on the first information and the second information, wherein the power module is configured to switch the first platform a grid power when the first battery capacity level is below a threshold to guarantee a requested system run time for the first platform, and

wherein the power module is coupled with one or more hardware/firmware interfaces, an operating system interface and a battery controller, wherein the power module is to implement power policies received from the remote demand/response management device based at least on the first information and the second information to guarantee minimum availability and performance of the first platform, wherein guaranteeing minimum availability and performance of the first platform comprises

     1) generating an estimate of the stored energy on the first platform;

     2) generating an estimate of the future energy consumption of the first platform under a predicted workload;

     3) reducing the first platform energy consumption; and

     4) comparing the anticipated energy consumption with the available energy and adapting the first platform consumption to an extent possible or trigger charging the battery.

8. The article of claim 7 wherein the power module is to enforce quality of service (QoS) guarantees by adapting energy consumption behavior of the first platform in response to one or more power policies received from the remote demand/response management device.

9. The article of claim 7 wherein the operating system interface is to provide a capability for the power module to communicate with the operating system to obtain system utilization information that is only available within the operating system.

10. The article of claim 9 wherein the operating system interface is to provide information from the power module to the operating system and to user space applications and graphical interfaces.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the smart power module operates using real-time analytics and machine learning mechanisms.

12. The article of claim 7 wherein the hardware/firmware interfaces are to provide a bi-directional communication channel between the power module and the remote demand/response management device when the platform is in a sleep state.

13. A system comprising:

a demand/response manager, and

a plurality of client platform devices comprising a first client platform device and a second client platform device coupled with the demand/response manager, each of the plurality of client platform devices having one or more functional components and a power module coupled with the one or more functional components, one or more hardware/firmware interfaces, an operating system interface and a battery controller, wherein the power module of the first client platform device is configured to estimate future energy consumption of the first client platform device under a predicted workload based on historical data collected by the power module, wherein the power module of the first client platform device is configured to send first power consumption data including the estimate of the future energy consumption of the first client platform device to the demand/response manager that is configured to receive second power consumption data from the second client platform device, the power module of the first client platform device is configured to implement power policies received from the demand/response manager based at least on the first power consumption data and the second power consumption data to guarantee minimum availability and performance of the platforms, wherein guaranteeing minimum availability and performance of the platforms comprises

     1) generating an estimate of the stored energy on the platforms;

     2) generating an estimate of the future energy consumption of the platforms under a predicted workload;

     3) reducing platform energy consumption; and

     4) comparing the anticipated energy consumption with the available energy and adapting the platform consumption to an extent possible or trigger charging the battery, and wherein the power module of the first client platform device is configured to switch to a grid power when a battery capacity level is below a threshold to guarantee a requested system run time for the first platform.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the power module is to track platform power and energy consumption for the respective platforms.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein the power module is to enforce quality of service (QoS) guarantees by adapting energy consumption behavior of the respective platforms.

16. The system of claim 13 wherein the operating system interface is to provide a capability for the power module to communicate with the operating system to obtain system utilization information that is only available within the operating system.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the operating system interface is to provide information from the power module to the operating system and to user space applications and graphical interfaces.

18. The system of claim 13 wherein the power module is to operate using real-time analytics and machine learning mechanisms.