System and method for monitoring and controlling energy distribution

• US 20040174071A1
• Filed: 12/23/2003
• Published: 09/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stonewater Control Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Stonewater Control Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Nierlich, Gerd W., Heffernan, James Ronan
• Granted Patent: US 7,088,014 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 307/11
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/60 Limiting power consumption in the network or in one section of the network, e.g. load shedding or peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/64 The condition being economic, e.g. tariff based load management
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/008 involving trading of energy or energy transmission rights
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/144 Demand-response operation of the power transmission or distribution network
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/3225 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/222 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 50/10 Energy trading, including energy flowing from end-user application to grid

Abstract

Systems that monitor and control energy distribution manage energy distribution or use for Energy Service Providers and end-users. A system includes a publicly or privately accessible distributed network, a network access device, and a management device. The network access device communicates with the management device through the distributed network to control loads at a remote location. The method of monitoring and controlling energy distribution receives data at an on-line Site, processes an application program that evaluates load and market supply data, and initiates power curtailment requests or power curtailment events.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring and controlling energy distribution from at least one Energy Service Provider, comprising:

a publicly accessible distributed network;

a network access device that interfaces power monitoring and power curtailment circuitry to said distributed network; and

a management device that supports interfaces to said power monitoring and sajd power curtailment circuitry, said management device located remotely from said network access device, and comprising a control device that interfaces said network access device through said publicly accessible distributed network, wherein said management device controls electrical loads at a remote location based in part on market prices of electricity.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said network access device is located at said remote location and said control device interfaces said network access device automatically at a predetermined time interval.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said management device controls electrical power distribution to said remote location based on the available supply of electric power from said at least one Electric Service Provider.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said network access device further comprises a Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection interface that regulates communication between said network access device and an external device at said remote location.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising a communication device interfaced with said management device that automatically notifies a user of an anticipated load reduction.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising an interface that supports communication from an input and an output device interconnected with said publicly accessible distributed network and located remotely from said network access device.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein said input and said output device is located remotely from said management device.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein said interface comprises at least one of a command-line interface, a menu-driven interface, and a graphical user interface.

9. The system of claim 6 wherein said input device comprises a keyboard and said output device comprises a terminal.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein said network access device further comprises a pulse accumulator interfaced to said power monitoring circuitry.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein said network access device further comprises a multiplier interfaced to said pulse accumulator to measure electrical energy monitored by said power monitoring circuitry.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein said network access device is a programmable device that stores data in a memory.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein said network access device further comprises a programmable FLASH memory that retains at least one of an Operating System Software and a System Software, and wherein said Flash memory is configured to receive said Operating System Software and said System Software on a command of said management device.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein said network access device comprises a plurality of E1-2000s located remotely from said management device.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein each of said Internet Customer Curtailment Modules share a common identification code that allows said Internet Customer Curtailment Modules to interconnect with said publicly accessible distributed network through a single service provider account.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein said publicly accessible distributed network comprises the Internet.

17. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one of a visual and an audible alarm electrically interconnected with said network access device.

18. The system of claim 1 wherein said management device further comprises a management clock and said network access device further comprises a network clock that is synchronized to said management clock when said management device interfaces said network access device.

19. The system of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of manually activated switches wherein at least one switch is adapted to initiate a connection between said network access device and said management device and at least one switch is adapted to reset said network access device.

20. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one manually activated switch adapted to initiate a connection between said network access device and said management device when actuating a first state and adapted to reset said network access device when actuating a second state.

21. A system for monitoring and redistributing energy, comprising:

a publicly accessible network;

an energy exchange interfaced to said publicly accessible network;

an E1-2000 interfaced to power monitoring circuitry, power curtailment circuitry and said publicly accessible network;

an on-line Site interfaced to said E1-2000 and said energy exchange through said publicly accessible network, said on-line Site facilitating energy redistribution by monitoring power consumption data through said E1-2000, price data through said energy exchange, and initiating curtailment events through said E1-2000.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein said E1-2000 comprises software and said on-line Site interface to said E1-2000 is a periodic interface controlled by said software.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein said E1-2000 comprises a modem and an Ethernet device and said on-line Site interface to said E1-2000 occurs through one of said modem and said Ethernet device.

24. The system of claim 21, wherein said E1-2000 comprises a wireless device and said on-line Site interface to said E1-2000 occurs through said wireless device.

25. The system of claim 21, wherein said on-line Site comprises a communication server, a database server, and a Web application server.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein each of said communication, database, and Web application servers further comprise secondary servers that backup each of said communication, database, and Web application servers.

27. The system of claim 21, wherein said publicly accessible network is the Internet.

28. The system of claim 21, wherein said E1-2000 is a programmable device can be programmed through said on-line Site.

29. The system of claim 21, wherein said E1-2000 is responsive to a ring instruction.

30. The system of claim 21 further comprising an end-user interface, an energy supplier interface, and an administrative interface wherein each of said interfaces are located remotely from one another.

31. The system of claim 21 wherein said on-line Site interface to said E1-2000 is a continuous interface that allows said on-line Site to monitor price data and power consumption data in real-time.

32. A method of monitoring and controlling energy distribution, comprising:

monitoring electrical load data from a plurality of distributed locations and electric market supply data through a publicly accessible distributed network; and

receiving said data at an on-line Site connected to said publicly accessible distributed network, said on-line Site processing said electrical load and said market supply data and initiating at least one power curtailment request at one of said distributed locations based on said electrical load data and said market supply data.

33. The method of claim 32 further comprising sending at least one message selected from the group comprising an electronic mail message, a pager message, and a facsimile message.

34. The method of claim 32, further comprising initiating at least one of a visual and an audible alarm before initiating said at least one power curtailment request.

35. The method of claim 32, wherein said power curtailment request comprises at least one wireless message.

36. The method of claim 32, further comprising providing user'"'"'s with user definable reports.

37. The method of claim 32, further comprising interfacing a network access device to said publicly accessible distributed network automatically at programmable timed intervals.

38. The method of claim 37, further comprising a control device initiating a momentary interface to said network access device which causes said network access device to interface a management device.

39. The method of claim 32, wherein said market supply data comprises market prices of electric power.

40. The method of claim 32, wherein said at least one power curtailment requests comprises a power curtailment event.