System and method for remotely measuring, monitoring and billing thermal energy usage
First Claim
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1. A system for monitoring, measuring and billing thermal energy usage at a remote location, said system comprising:
- a plurality of sensors for measuring thermal energy usage and outputting data indicative of the measured thermal energy usage at the remote location;
energy usage data processing circuits for receiving the data output from said plurality of sensors and formatting the data for transmission to a central billing location;
data transmission equipment for receiving the formatted data from said data processing circuits and transmitting the formatted data to the central billing location; and
a data collection server located at the central billing location for receiving the transmitted data and converting the transmitted data into an invoice reflective of the thermal energy usage.
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Abstract
The invention provides a system and method for remotely monitoring, measuring and billing for the thermal energy used at a plant or other customer facility. Sensors are provided for capturing the information necessary to calculate the thermal effect across heat transfer components or systems. The data from the sensors is formatted by data processing circuits for transmission to a central billing facility. The central billing facility converts the transmitted energy usage data into a customer invoice and stores the invoice in a database which can be accessed by the customer through the Internet.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for monitoring, measuring and billing thermal energy usage at a remote location, said system comprising:
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a plurality of sensors for measuring thermal energy usage and outputting data indicative of the measured thermal energy usage at the remote location;
energy usage data processing circuits for receiving the data output from said plurality of sensors and formatting the data for transmission to a central billing location;
data transmission equipment for receiving the formatted data from said data processing circuits and transmitting the formatted data to the central billing location; and
a data collection server located at the central billing location for receiving the transmitted data and converting the transmitted data into an invoice reflective of the thermal energy usage. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for monitoring, measuring and billing thermal energy usage at a remote location, said method comprising:
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measuring thermal energy usage at the remote location and outputting data indicative of the measured thermal energy usage;
processing the data indicative of the measured thermal energy usage and formatting the data for transmission to a central billing location;
transmitting the formatted data to the central billing location; and
converting the transmitted data received at the central billing location into an invoice reflective of the measure thermal energy usage. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A billing system for measuring thermal energy usage and electronically billing a customer for the thermal energy usage, said billing system comprising:
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means for measuring thermal energy usage and outputting data indicative of the measured thermal energy usage at a remote customer location;
data processing means for receiving the data output from said measuring means and formatting the data for transmission to a centralized billing location;
data transmission means for receiving the formatted data from said data processing means and transmitting the formatted data to the centralized billing location; and
data collection means located at the centralized billing location for receiving the transmitted data and converting the transmitted data into a customer invoice reflective of the measured thermal energy usage, said customer invoice being electronically stored by said data collection means. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification