METHOD OF LOAD SHEDDING TO REDUCE THE TOTAL POWER CONSUMPTION OF A LOAD CONTROL SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A method of controlling a plurality of electrical loads, the method comprising the steps of:
- estimating a present amount of power being consumed by each of the plurality of electrical loads; and
determining the total amount of power presently being consumed by all of the plurality of electrical loads in response to the step of determining a present amount of power being consumed by each of the plurality of electrical loads.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A lighting control system is operable to control the amount of power delivered to a plurality of electrical loads. The lighting control system includes load control devices (such as digital electronic dimming ballasts), motorized window treatments, controllers, processors, and personal computers. The personal computer is preferably executing a graphical user interface (GUI) software, which allows a user to configure and monitor the operation of the lighting control system. The lighting control system offers a load shedding functionality without using power meters. Each load control device transmits its current intensity level to the personal computer, which is operable to determine a total power consumption of the lighting control system. If the total power consumption exceeds a predetermined power threshold, the personal computer causes the load control devices to shed loads.
134 Citations
61 Claims
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1. A method of controlling a plurality of electrical loads, the method comprising the steps of:
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estimating a present amount of power being consumed by each of the plurality of electrical loads; and determining the total amount of power presently being consumed by all of the plurality of electrical loads in response to the step of determining a present amount of power being consumed by each of the plurality of electrical loads. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A load control system for controlling the amount of power delivered to a plurality of electrical loads from an AC power source, the system comprising:
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a plurality of load control devices coupled to the plurality of electrical loads for control of the amount of power delivered to the plurality of electrical loads, each load control device characterized by a first value corresponding to the present amount of power being delivered to a corresponding at least one of the electrical loads; and a central controller operatively coupled to the plurality of load control devices, such that the plurality of load control devices are operable to control the amount of power delivered to the plurality of electrical loads in response to the controller; wherein each of the load control devices is operable to transmit the first value to the controller, and the controller is operable to determine the total amount of power being delivered to all of the electrical loads in response to the first value of each of the plurality of load control devices. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of controlling a plurality of electrical loads, the method comprising the steps of:
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comparing a total amount of power presently being consumed by all of the plurality of electrical loads to a threshold amount of power; and controlling the amount of power delivered to the plurality of electrical loads in response to the step of comparing if the total amount of power exceeds the threshold amount of power, such that the plurality of electrical loads consume a second amount of power less than the threshold amount of power; the improvement comprising the steps of; estimating a present amount of power being consumed by each of the plurality of electrical loads; and determining the total amount of power presently being consumed by all of the plurality of electrical loads in response to the step of determining a present amount of power being consumed by each of the plurality of electrical loads prior to the step of comparing the total amount of power presently being consumed to a threshold amount of power.
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21. A method for using a computing device to reduce power usage for a plurality of load devices without using power meters that measure actual power usage, the method comprising the steps of:
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defining a power usage goal value that represents a preferred amount of power to be used for at least one of the plurality of load devices; estimating a power usage value representing actual power usage for the at least one load device at a particular time; and automatically reducing power to the at least one load device when the power usage value exceeds the power usage goal value until the power usage value is equal to or lower than the power usage goal value. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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24. A system for reducing power usage for a plurality of load devices by using load shedding techniques without using power meters that meter actual power usage, the system comprising:
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means for electronically defining a power usage goal value that represents a preferred amount of power to be used by at least one load device; means for estimating an amount of power usage for the at least one load device at a particular time to calculate a power usage value; and means for automatically reducing power to the at least one load device when the power usage value exceeds the power usage goal value until the power usage value is equal to or lower than the power usage goal value.
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25. A method of automatically reducing power consumption in a load control system having a central controller and a plurality of load control devices controlling the amount of power delivered to a plurality of electrical loads, the method comprising the steps of:
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configuring a load shedding tier defining a load shed parameter for each of the electrical loads; the controller determining the total amount of power presently being consumed by all of the plurality of electrical loads; the controller comparing the total amount of power to a threshold amount of power; the controller automatically transmitting a digital message to the plurality of load control devices if the total amount of power exceeds a threshold amount of power; and the load control devices controlling the amount of power delivered to the electrical loads in accordance with the load shed parameters of the load shedding tier in response to the digital message transmitted by the controller. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 44, 45)
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37. A load control system for automatically controlling the amount of power delivered from an AC power source to a plurality of electrical loads, the load control system comprising:
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a plurality of load control devices coupled to each of the electrical loads for controlling the amount of power delivered to the electrical loads; and a central controller operable to determine the total amount of power presently being consumed by all of the plurality of electrical loads, compare the total amount of power to a threshold amount of power, and automatically transmit a digital message to the plurality of load control devices if the total amount of power exceeds a threshold amount of power; wherein the load control devices are each operable to control the amount of power delivered to the connected electrical load in accordance with a load shed parameter of a load shedding tier in response to the digital message transmitted by the controller. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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46. A central controller for a load control system having a plurality of load control devices for controlling the amount of power delivered from an AC power source to a plurality of electrical loads, the controller comprising:
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means for configuring a load shedding tier defining a load shed parameter for each of the electrical loads; means for determining the total amount of power presently being consumed by all of the plurality of electrical loads; means for comparing the total amount of power to a threshold amount of power; and means for automatically transmitting a digital message to the plurality of load control devices if the total amount of power exceeds a threshold amount of power, such that the load control devices control the amount of power delivered to the electrical loads in accordance with the load shed parameters of the load shedding tier in response to the digital message.
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47. A load control device of a load control system for controlling the amount of power delivered from an AC power source to an electrical load, the load control device comprising:
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a load control circuit adapted to be coupled to the AC power source and the electrical load to control the amount of power delivered to the electrical load; a control circuit coupled to the load control circuit for controlling the amount of power delivered to the electrical load; a memory coupled to the control circuit and operable to store a first load shed parameter for a first load shedding tier; and a communication circuit coupled to the control circuit and operable to receive a digital message representative of the total power of the load control system exceeding a threshold amount of power; wherein the control circuit is operable to control the amount of power delivered to the electrical load in accordance with the first load shed parameter of the first load shedding tier in response to receiving the digital message a first time. - View Dependent Claims (48)
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49. A method of determining a setpoint of a load control device for controlling the amount of power delivered to an electrical load located in a space, the method comprising the steps of:
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initially setting the value of the setpoint equal to a desired level; limiting the value of the setpoint to an occupied high-end trim if the space is occupied; limiting the value of the setpoint to a daylighting high-end trim determined by a daylighting procedure; and subsequently reducing the value of the setpoint in response to a load shed parameter. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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- 52. The method of claim 52, wherein the step of subsequently reducing the value of the setpoint in response to a load shed parameter comprises multiplying the setpoint by a factor that is dependent upon the load shed parameter.
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58. A method of controlling the amount of power delivered from an AC power source to an electrical load located in a space, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a digital message containing a command to control the amount of power delivered to the electrical load to a desired level; detecting if the space is occupied; and determining a daylighting high-end trim using a daylighting procedure; wherein the improvement comprises the steps of; receiving a load shed parameter; and determining the amount of power to be delivered to the electrical load by limiting the amount of power to be delivered to the electrical load to the minimum of the desired level of the digital message, an occupied high-end trim, and the daylighting high-end trim, and by reducing the amount of power to be delivered to the electrical load in response to the load shed parameter.
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59. A load control device for controlling the amount of power delivered from an AC power source to an electrical load located in a space, the load control device comprising:
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means for initially setting the value of the setpoint equal to a desired level; means for limiting the value of the setpoint to an occupied high-end trim if the space is occupied; means for limiting the value of the setpoint to a daylighting high-end trim determined by a daylighting procedure; and means for subsequently reducing the value of the setpoint in response to a load shed parameter.
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60. A load control device of a load control system for controlling the amount of power delivered from an AC power source to an electrical load located in a space, the load control device comprising:
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a load control circuit adapted to be coupled to the AC power source and the electrical load to control the amount of power delivered to the electrical load; a control circuit coupled to the load control circuit for controlling the amount of power delivered to the electrical load; a memory coupled to the control circuit and operable to store a load shed parameter; a communication circuit coupled to the control circuit and operable to receive a digital message representative of a desired amount of power to deliver to the electrical load; an occupancy sensor input for receiving an occupancy sensor signal representative of whether the space is occupied, the control circuit operable to determine an occupied high-end trim in response to the occupancy sensor signal; and a daylight sensor input for receiving a daylight sensor signal representative of the total illumination in the space, the control circuit operable to determine a daylighting high-end trim in response to the daylighting sensor signal; wherein the control circuit is operable to determine the amount of power to be delivered to the electrical load by limiting the amount of power to be delivered to the electrical load to the minimum of the desired level of the digital message, the occupied high-end trim, and the daylighting high-end trim, and by reducing the amount of power to be delivered to the electrical load in response to the load shed parameter. - View Dependent Claims (61)
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Specification