Electric Resource Power Meter in a Power Aggregation System for Distributed Electric Resources

• US 20080040296A1
• Filed: 08/09/2007
• Published: 02/14/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Gridpoint (Twenty First Century Utilities LLC)
• Original Assignee: V2 Green Incorporated
• Inventors: Kaplan, David, Bridges, Seth, Pollack, Seth
• Application Number:
  US11/836,745
• Publication Number:
  US 20080040296A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/412
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/004 Remote reading of utility meters to a fixed location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/322 the battery being on-board an electric or hybrid vehicle, e.g. vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G], power aggregation, use of the battery for network load balancing, coordinated or cooperative battery charging
• 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 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/126 the energy generation units being or involving electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV], i.e. power aggregation of EV or HEV, vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/30 Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 50/16 Energy services, e.g. dispersed generation or demand or load or energy savings aggregation

Abstract

Systems and methods are described for a power aggregation system. In one implementation, a service establishes individual Internet connections to numerous electric resources intermittently connected to the power grid, such as electric vehicles. The Internet connection may be made over the same wire that connects the resource to the power grid. The service optimizes power flows to suit the needs of each resource and each resource owner, while aggregating flows across numerous resources to suit the needs of the power grid. The service can bring vast numbers of electric vehicle batteries online as a new, dynamically aggregated power resource for the power grid. Electric vehicle owners can participate in an electricity trading economy regardless of where they plug into the power grid.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a meter to measure bidirectional energy transfer between an electric resource and a power grid; and

an interface to send the measurements to a service that aggregates power based in part upon the measurements.

2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the service aggregates a capability of distributed electric resources to take power, provide power, or store energy based on the measurements.

3. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the electric resource comprises an electric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, or a vehicle that obtains at least some power for motion from an electric storage resource.

4. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the meter continuously calculates an instantaneous electrical power integrated over time to determine energy used and sends the calculated instantaneous electrical power and/or the energy used to the power aggregation service.

5. The apparatus as recited in claim 4, wherein the meter caches at least some of the measurements and/or at least some of the calculations in the local data store for future transactions with the service.

6. The apparatus as recited in claim 5, wherein the meter caches the measurements or calculations in the local data store when the service is offline or when communication with the service is disconnected, and uploads the measurements or calculations to the service when the service is online and connected.

7. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising a power quality monitor to detect power quality problems, including deviations from nominal voltage (such as voltage sags or swells), voltage harmonics, sub-cycle impulses, fast impulses, deviations from nominal frequency, deviations from unity power factor, and high frequency noise and to transmit detected quality problems to the power aggregation service.

8. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the meter measures parameters of a load and supply including maximum demand, power factor, and reactive power used.

9. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the meter computes a value of electricity consumed and/or provided, the value of the electricity varying by a time of day, a day of week, and a seasonality.

10. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a transaction engine;

a user interface; and

wherein the transaction engine provides a user a power transfer timing option or a power transfer pricing option.

11. The apparatus as recited in claim 10, wherein the transaction engine provides electric resource-specific billing of energy usage and crediting of energy supply based on input from the meter.

12. The apparatus as recited in claim 11, wherein the transaction engine and meter provide mobile billing, wherein an owner of the electric resource is not the same as an owner of an account associated with the power grid connection location.

13. The apparatus as recited in claim 12, further comprising an interface for bidirectional information exchange with a permanently-installed meter associated with a location where the electric resource is connected to the power grid.

14. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein information from the meter is encrypted for transmission to the service or storage in the local data store and decrypted at the service.

15. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising a tamper-proof meter.

16. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising multiple instances of the apparatus associated with respective distributed electric resources for tracking energy usage on a resource-specific basis.

17. A method, comprising:

measuring bidirectional energy transfer between an electric resource and a power grid; and

sending the bidirectional energy transfer measurements to a service that aggregates power based in part on the measurements.

18. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein the service aggregates a capability of distributed electric resources to take power, provide power, or store energy based on the measurements.

19. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein a component associated with the electric resource performs the measuring.

20. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein the electric resource comprises a vehicle energy storage system.

21. A system, comprising:

means for measuring bidirectional energy transfer between an electric resource and a power grid; and

means for sending the energy transfer measurements to a service that aggregates a capability of distributed electric resources to take power, provide power, or store energy.

22. The system as recited in claim 21, further comprising means for billing or crediting a user based on the energy transfer measurements.