Method and Apparatus for Actively Managing Consumption of Electric Power Supplied by One or More Electric Utilities
First Claim
1. A method for managing a flow of power supplied by an electric utility to a plurality of power consuming devices, the plurality of power consuming devices being located at one or more service points to which electrical power is supplied by the electric utility, the method comprising:
- determining a group of one or more client devices to which to communicate a power control message, each client device of the group of client devices controlling at least one controllable device, each controllable device controlling 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;
communicating the power control message to the group of client devices to initiate a power reduction event; and
subsequent to initiation of the power reduction event, determining that at least one controllable device has prematurely exited the power reduction event.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system manages consumption of power supplied by at least one electric utility to multiple power consuming devices. Power flow to the power consuming devices is enabled and disabled by controllable devices controlled by one or more client devices. According to one embodiment, a group of one or more client devices to which to communicate a power control message is determined. The power control message indicates 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. The power control message is communicated to the determined group of client devices to initiate a power reduction event. Subsequent to initiation of the power reduction event, a determination is made that at least one controllable device has prematurely exited the power reduction event.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. A method for managing a flow of power supplied by an electric utility to a plurality of power consuming devices, the plurality of power consuming devices being located at one or more service points to which electrical power is supplied by the electric utility, the method comprising:
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determining a group of one or more client devices to which to communicate a power control message, each client device of the group of client devices controlling at least one controllable device, each controllable device controlling 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; communicating the power control message to the group of client devices to initiate a power reduction event; and subsequent to initiation of the power reduction event, determining that at least one controllable device has prematurely exited the power reduction event. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for managing a flow of power supplied by an electric utility to a plurality of power consuming devices, the plurality of power consuming devices being located at one or more service points to which electrical power is supplied by the electric utility, the method comprising:
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receiving a power control message from a system controller, the power control message initiating a power reduction event and indicating at least one of an amount of electric power to be reduced and an 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 the power control message, issuing a power management command to one or more controllable devices, the power management command causing the one or more controllable devices to disable a flow of electric power to at least one associated power consuming device; subsequent to issuing the power management command, determining that a controllable device has prematurely exited the power reduction event and enabled a flow of electric power to an associated power consuming device; and sending a status message to the system controller informing the system controller that the controllable device has exited the power reduction event. - View Dependent Claims (16, 19)
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17. The method of clam 16, wherein the controllable device is a thermostat of an HVAC system and wherein determining that the controllable device has prematurely exited the power reduction event comprises determining that the thermostat has been adjusted by a user.
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18. The method of clam 16, wherein the controllable device is a smart breaker and wherein determining that the controllable device has prematurely exited the power reduction event comprises determining that the smart breaker has been closed by a user.
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20. A system for managing 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 system comprising:
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an event manager operable to maintain at least one power management status relating to each client device and generate power control event instructions to initiate and terminate power control events; a database operable to store, 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 being operable to; select from the database, based on the information stored in the database, at least one client device to which to communicate 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, the power control event instruction initiating a power reduction event; and determine that at least one controllable device has prematurely exited the power reduction event subsequent to initiation of the power reduction event. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A system for managing 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 system comprising:
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an event manager operable to maintain at least one power management status relating to each client device and generate power control event instructions to initiate and terminate power reduction events; a database operable to store, 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 being operable to select from the database, based on the information stored in the database, at least one client device to which to communicate 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, the power control event instruction initiating a power reduction event; and means, operably coupled to the event manager, for determining that at least one controllable device has prematurely exited the power reduction event subsequent to initiation of the power reduction event. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification