POWER SAVING SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20110313588A1
• Filed: 12/14/2009
• Published: 12/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Danfoss A/S
• Original Assignee: Danfoss A/S
• Inventors: Thybo, Claus, Bram, Leo, Jensen, Helge Vandel, Kobberoe, Ejner
• Granted Patent: US 9,263,891 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/296
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2400/22 Refrigeration systems for supermarkets
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 29/00 Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/14 The load or loads being home appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/14 by switching loads on to, or off from, network, e.g. progressively balanced loading
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/70 Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating
• 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: 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

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and a system to reduce losses of energy due to ripples, especially at the power grid, the ripples being short term power shortages or excess power. The method is based on the idea of shutting off energy consuming devices during a period of power shortage, if their operation is not necessary, and optionally to turn on such energy consuming devices during periods of excess power, if energy may be stored in them, especially when energy may be stored as some physical parameter or variable, being a part of the operation of the energy consuming devices, such as the temperature of a freezer.

Claims

1. A method of managing, regulating and/or controlling energy consumed by a group of energy consuming devices, where the energy consuming devices may increase or decrease a physical parameter, the method comprising the steps of receiving a message from a controller either to decrease or to increase the energy consumption, and where the decrease or increase in the energy consumption is achieved by changing the physical parameter.

2. The method of managing, regulating and/or controlling energy consumed by a group of energy consuming devices according to claim 1, wherein each energy consuming device being in the process of increasing its physical parameter is instructed to stop increasing its physical parameter when the message is to decrease the energy consumption, and each energy consuming device being in the process of decreasing its physical parameter is instructed to start increasing its physical parameter when the message is to increase the energy consumption.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the energy consuming devices set to operate within a range of the physical parameter defined by a minimum physical parameter and a maximum physical parameter.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein each energy consuming device overrules the message and changes stage when reaching the minimum or maximum physical parameter, so that the energy consuming device changes to decrease the physical parameter when it reaches the maximum physical parameter and changes to increase the physical parameter when it reaches the minimum physical parameter.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the physical parameter is a temperature.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the energy consuming devices are either refrigeration or freezing devices.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the message is related to ripples on the power grid in such a manner that the message is to decrease energy consumption when the total energy delivered by the power grid increases above an expected delivered energy span, and to increase energy consumption when the total energy delivered by the power grid decreases below an expected delivered energy span.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the ripples are any fluctuations in the energy delivered by the power grid from the expected delivered energy span having time spans less that 30 minutes, or more preferable less than 15 minutes, or more preferable less than 10 minutes.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the expected delivered energy span is dynamic in time, meaning that it varies over at least one day and night and optionally also over a month and/or a year.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the expected delivered energy span being dynamic in time depends on one of or a combination of empiric data of the energy delivered by the power grid seen over the day, month and/or year, an adaptive model predicting the energy delivered by the power grid, and/or the external weather conditions such as temperature, sunshine, cloudiness, barometric state and humidity.

11. The system operating by the method according to claim 1.