METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ACTIVELY MANAGING CONSUMPTION OF ELECTRIC POWER SUPPLIED BY ONE OR MORE ELECTRIC UTILITIES
First Claim
1. A server for use in a system that manages consumption of power supplied by at least one electric utility to a plurality of power consuming devices, wherein power flow to the plurality of power consuming devices is enabled and disabled by a plurality of controllable devices and wherein the plurality of controllable devices operate under the control of one or more client devices, the server comprising:
- a command processor operable to receive power control commands from the at least one electric utility and issue power control event messages responsive thereto, at least one of the power control commands requiring a reduction in an amount of electric power consumed by the plurality of power consuming devices;
an event manager operable to receive the power control event messages, maintain at least one power management status relating to each client device and issue power control event instructions responsive to the power control event messages;
a database for storing, on at least one of a per client device basis and a per electric utility basis, information relating to power consumed by the plurality of power consuming devices; and
a client device manager operably coupled to the event manager and the database, the client device manager selecting from the database, based on the information stored in the database, at least one client device to which to issue a power control message indicating at least one of an amount of electric power to be reduced and identification of at least one controllable device to be instructed to disable a flow of electric power to one or more associated power consuming devices responsive to receipt of a power control event instruction requiring a reduction in a specified amount of electric power.
10 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A server manages consumption of power supplied by at least one electric utility to multiple power consuming devices. Power flow to the consuming devices is enabled and disabled by controllable devices controlled by one or more client devices. The server includes a command processor, event manager, database, and client device manager. The command processor receives commands from the utility and issues event messages responsive thereto. The event manager maintains a power management status for each client device and issues event instructions responsive to event messages. The database stores information relating to power consumed by the consuming devices. The client device manager selects from the database, responsive to receipt of a power reduction event instruction, at least one client device to which to issue a message indicating a power reduction amount and/or identification of at least one controllable device to be instructed to disable power flow to associated consuming devices.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. A server for use in a system that manages consumption of power supplied by at least one electric utility to a plurality of power consuming devices, wherein power flow to the plurality of power consuming devices is enabled and disabled by a plurality of controllable devices and wherein the plurality of controllable devices operate under the control of one or more client devices, the server comprising:
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a command processor operable to receive power control commands from the at least one electric utility and issue power control event messages responsive thereto, at least one of the power control commands requiring a reduction in an amount of electric power consumed by the plurality of power consuming devices; an event manager operable to receive the power control event messages, maintain at least one power management status relating to each client device and issue power control event instructions responsive to the power control event messages; a database for storing, on at least one of a per client device basis and a per electric utility basis, information relating to power consumed by the plurality of power consuming devices; and a client device manager operably coupled to the event manager and the database, the client device manager selecting from the database, based on the information stored in the database, at least one client device to which to issue a power control message indicating at least one of an amount of electric power to be reduced and identification of at least one controllable device to be instructed to disable a flow of electric power to one or more associated power consuming devices responsive to receipt of a power control event instruction requiring a reduction in a specified amount of electric power. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for a server to manage a flow of power supplied by at least one electric utility to a plurality of power consuming devices, the method comprising:
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receiving a power control command from an electric utility, the power control command requiring a reduction in an amount of electric power consumed by at least some of the power consuming devices; responsive to the power control command, determining a group of one or more client devices to which to issue a power control message, each client device of the group of client devices controlling at least one controllable device, each controllable device selectively enabling and disabling a flow of electric power to at least one power consuming device of the plurality of power consuming devices, the power control message indicating at least one of an amount of electric power to be reduced and an identification of one or more controllable devices to be instructed to disable a flow of electric power to one or more associated power consuming devices; and issuing the power control message to the group of client devices. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification