APPLIANCE WITH REAL TIME ENERGY COST DISPLAYED BASED ON USAGE

• US 20100070434A1
• Filed: 09/15/2009
• Published: 03/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc. DBA GE Appliances (Haier Group Company)
• Original Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc. DBA GE Appliances (Haier Group Company)
• Inventors: Kopecky, Joshua Paul, Foster, Ronald Gary, Mellinger, Jeffrey Charles, Hamel, Timothy Allen, Bissig, Chris George, COOPER, Anthony A.
• Application Number:
  US12/559,568
• Publication Number:
  US 20100070434A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/412
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 21/04 Preventing the formation of frost or condensate
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00004 characterised by the power network being locally controlled
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00017 using optical fiber
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00024 by means of mobile telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00026 involving a local wireless network, e.g. Wi-Fi, ZigBee or Bluetooth
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/14 The load or loads being home appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/64 The condition being economic, e.g. tariff based load management
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/66 one of the loads acting as master and the other or others acting as slaves
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/14 by switching loads on to, or off from, network, e.g. progressively balanced loading
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 40/00 Technologies aiming at improving the efficiency of home appliances, e.g. induction cooking or efficient technologies for refrigerators, freezers or dish washers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/3225 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• 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: Y04S 20/222 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/242 Home appliances
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/244 the home appliances being or involving heating ventilating and air conditioning [HVAC] units
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/124 using wired telecommunication networks or data transmission busses
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/126 using wireless data transmission
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 50/10 : Energy trading, including energy flowing from end-user application to grid

Abstract

An appliance includes a display unit for an appliance and a control unit coupled to the display unit. The control unit is configured to detect at least one operating parameter associated with use of the appliance, calculate energy usage and energy costs associated with the at least one operating parameter, and present current energy usage and cost information on the display unit.

Claims

1. An appliance comprising:

a display unit for an appliance;

a control unit coupled to the display unit, the control unit being configured to;

detect at least one operating parameter associated with use of the appliance;

calculate current energy usage of the appliance associated with the at least one operating parameter; and

present the current energy usage on the display unit.

2. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to detect an energy cost rate by detecting a signal received through a power line of the appliance or a manual input to the control unit.

3. The appliance of claim 2, wherein the control unit is further configured to determine an energy cost corresponding to the current energy usage and the energy cost rate and present the energy cost on the display unit.

4. The appliance of claim 1, further comprising a usage sensor coupled to the control unit, the usage sensor being configured to detect the at least one operating parameter and provide the at least one parameter to the control unit for calculating energy usage and energy cost associated with a current operating mode of the appliance.

5. The appliance of claim 4, wherein the appliance is a refrigerator and wherein the at least one parameter data detected by the usage sensor is a number of freezer door openings, a number of refrigerator door openings, freezer compartment temperature, refrigerator compartment temperature, room ambient temperature, compressor run time, a number of ice making cycles, a number of ice dispenses, a number of water dispenses, a number of operating lights in the refrigerator, quick chill settings, quick freeze settings or quick thaw settings.

6. The appliance of claim 1, further comprising an input unit, the input unit being configured to receive manually established operating parameters and wherein the control unit is further configured to calculate a potential energy usage based on the manually established operating parameters, compare the potential energy usage to the current energy usage, and present comparison data on the display unit.

7. The appliance of claim 3, further comprising an energy gauge presented on the display unit, the energy gauge being configured to present real-time information corresponding to the current energy usage and the determined energy cost.

8. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the display unit is integral to the appliance.

9. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to detect the current energy usage from a power line of the appliance.

10. A control system for an appliance, comprising:

an information receiving unit configured to receive operational data related to use of the appliance;

a computing device configured to calculate a current energy usage based on the operational data; and

a display for presenting the calculated current energy usage.

11. The control system of claim 10, wherein the information receiving unit is further configured to receive energy cost data related to use of the appliance and the computing device is configured to calculate a current energy cost related to use of the appliance.

12. The control system of claim 10, wherein the computing device is configured to present information related to energy saving modes to be used in conjunction with a current operating state of the appliance.

13. The control system of claim 12, further comprising an input unit configured to receive information related to pre-determined operational parameters of the appliance, and wherein the computing device is further configured to calculate an energy cost associated with the pre-determined operational parameters and present the calculated energy cost on the display.

14. A method comprising:

collecting operational usage data from an appliance;

determining an energy cost rate for operation of the appliance;

calculating a current energy cost to operate the appliance based on the operational usage data and the energy cost rate; and

presenting the current energy cost to a user.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the operational usage data is a number of freezer door openings, a number of refrigerator door openings, freezer compartment temperature, refrigerator compartment temperature, room ambient temperature, compressor run time, a number of ice making cycles, a number of ice dispenses, a number of water dispenses, a number of operating lights in the refrigerator, quick chill settings, quick freeze settings or quick thaw settings.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the appliance is a refrigerator.