System for remotely controlling energy distribution at local sites
First Claim
1. A power management system, comprising:
- a plurality of power switch control circuits, each of said power switch control circuits configured to selectively disengage one or more electrical loads;
a plurality of wireless receivers, each connected to one of said power switch control circuits;
at least one wireless transmitter; and
a central station, said central station causing messages to be transmitted by said at least one wireless transmitter to said power switch control circuits, said power switch control circuits responding thereto by disengaging electrical loads according to locally configurable settings.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A power management system and associated method therefore includes a plurality of local wireless energy control units at remote sites for controlling power delivery to customer loads, and a central station with a wireless transmitter for broadcasting commands to the wireless energy control units. The wireless energy control units each comprise a bank of switches for controlling power delivery to electrical loads at each local site. The controllable switches preferably have a deformable bimetal member controlled by a heated coil for engaging and disengaging electrical contacts. Each wireless energy control unit is capable of being pre-configured so as to specify the order or priority in which electrical loads are disengaged, in response to commands to reduce power consumption received from the central station. The central station may issue power reduction commands according to different priority levels or alert stages. The local wireless energy units respond to the power reduction commands by disengaging one or more electrical loads in accordance with the priority level of the power reduction command, and through their collective operation reduce overall customer power demand.
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Citations
92 Claims
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1. A power management system, comprising:
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a plurality of power switch control circuits, each of said power switch control circuits configured to selectively disengage one or more electrical loads;
a plurality of wireless receivers, each connected to one of said power switch control circuits;
at least one wireless transmitter; and
a central station, said central station causing messages to be transmitted by said at least one wireless transmitter to said power switch control circuits, said power switch control circuits responding thereto by disengaging electrical loads according to locally configurable settings. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method for power management, comprising the steps of:
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transmitting, from a central station via a wireless transmitter, messages directed to a plurality of power switch control circuits, each of said power switch control circuits interposed between a power supply line and a plurality of local electrical loads;
receiving said messages at said power switch control circuits; and
at one or more of said power switch control circuits, in response to said messages, disengaging the local electrical loads according to locally configurable settings. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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59. A system for reducing power consumption in a power distribution system, comprising:
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a plurality of wireless energy control units, each of said wireless energy control units comprising a wireless receiver and controlling power flow from incoming power wires to one or more local electrical loads;
at least one wireless transmitter; and
a central station, said central station transmitting messages via said at least one wireless transmitter to said wireless energy control units, said messages instructing said wireless energy control units to switch among a non-alert stage level and one or more alert stage levels, said wireless energy control units responding thereto by selectively modifying the power flow to their respective local electrical loads according to the alert stage level instructed by the central station. - View Dependent Claims (60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75)
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76. A method for reducing power demand within a power distribution system, said method comprising the steps of:
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transmitting, from a central station via a wireless transmitter, messages directed to a plurality of wireless energy control units, each of said wireless energy control units controlling power flow from incoming power supply wires to one or more local electrical loads;
receiving said messages at said wireless energy control units, said messages instructing said wireless energy control units to switch among different alert stage levels; and
at one or more of said power switch control circuits, in response to said messages, selectively modifying the power flow to the respective local electrical loads based upon the alert stage level instructed by the central station. - View Dependent Claims (77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92)
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Specification