SMART ENERGY DEVICE REPORTING "OPT-OUT" AUTONOMOUSLY DEPENDING ON USER SETTINGS

• US 20120053746A1
• Filed: 01/03/2011
• Published: 03/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Drake, Jeff Donald, Worthington, Timothy D., Brian, Joseph M.
• Application Number:
  US12/983,686
• Publication Number:
  US 20120053746A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/295
• 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 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

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a home energy management system for receiving data indicative of a current demand state of an associated utility supplying energy and transmitting data in response. The energy management system comprising at least one home energy consuming system and a controller being configured and arranged to communicate with the at least one home energy consuming system, the controller is capable of automatically responding to the demand signal adopting an opt-in or an opt-out status for the home energy consuming system in compliance or in noncompliance with the demand signal. The controller includes an interface allowing optional programming by an associated user to automatically provide an opt-out response wherein the demand for limiting energy consumption is not recognized.

Claims

1. An energy management system receiving data indicative of a current demand state of an associated utility supplying energy, and transmitting data in response, the system comprising:

at least one home energy consuming system; and

a controller being configured and arranged to communicate with the at least one home energy consuming system, the controller capable of automatically responding to the demand signal adopting an opt-in or an opt-out status for the home energy consuming system in compliance or in noncompliance with the demand signal.

2. An energy management system of claim 1 wherein the controller further includes a module in communication with the at least one home energy consuming system.

3. An energy management system of claim 2 wherein the module includes a user interface.

4. An energy management system of claim 2 wherein the module is remote from the at least one home energy consuming system.

5. An energy management system of claim 1 wherein the controller wirelessly communicates with at least one of the at least one home energy consuming systems.

6. An energy management system of claim 1 wherein a plurality of signals may be communicated, the signals comprise at least one of a peak demand limit and a demand priority rank of associate appliances within a home energy consuming system.

7. An energy management system of claim 1 wherein the utility communicates a demand signal to the home energy management system to limit energy consumption being consumed by the home energy consuming system.

9. An energy management system of claim 1 wherein the controller includes a memory that stores data relating to at least one of maximum or minimum price of electricity, price delta of electricity, maximum or minimum duration of a peak demand event, level of importance of peak demand event, maximum or minimum cooling or heating offset, maximum or minimum cooling or heating set point, maximum or minimum load adjustment percentage, and maximum or minimum load duty cycle percentage.

8. (canceled)

10. (canceled)

11. A method for automatically managing energy provided by a utility to a home environment that has at least one home energy consuming system operatively associated with an energy management system that includes a controller and a user interface, and a plurality of energy consuming devices, the method comprising:

receiving a demand signal from the utility; and

the energy management system automatically adopting an opt-in or an opt-out status in response to the demand signal whereby the home energy consuming system operates in compliance or in non-compliance with the demand signal.

12. The method for automatically managing energy in accordance with claim 11 further comprising indicating the adopted opt-in or opt-out status to the utility via the energy Management system in response to the demand signal.

13. The method for automatically managing energy in accordance with claim 11 further comprising optionally programming the controller by an associated user to automatically respond to the demand signal with an opt-out status wherein the system operates in non-compliance with the demand signal.

14. The method for automatically managing energy in accordance with claim 11 further comprising optionally programming the controller by an associated user to automatically respond to the demand signal with an opt-out status selectively for one or more of the energy consuming devices.

15. The method for automatically managing energy in accordance with claim 14 further comprising storing data in a memory individually for one or more of the energy consuming devices relating to at least one of a maximum or minimum price of electricity, a price delta of electricity, a maximum or minimum duration of a peak demand event, a level of importance of peak demand event, a maximum or minimum cooling or heating offset, a maximum or minimum cooling or heating set point, a maximum or minimum load adjustment percentage and a maximum or minimum load duty cycle percentage.

16. The method for automatically managing energy in accordance with claim 15 further comprising allowing an associated user to selectively enter data individually for one or more of the energy consuming devices into the controller memory via the user interface.

17. The method for automatically managing energy in accordance with claim 11 wherein the controller module is remote.

18. The method for automatically managing energy in accordance with claim 11 further comprising wirelessly communicating between the utility and the energy management system.

19. The method for automatically managing energy in accordance with claim 11 further comprising transmitting and receiving at least one of a plurality of signals and commands to associated appliances within the energy management system.

20. The method for automatically managing energy in accordance with claim 19 wherein the plurality of signals comprise at least one of a peak demand and a priority rank of associate appliances within the energy management system.

21. The method for automatically managing energy in accordance With claim 11 further comprising maintaining an energy load provided by the utility in accordance with the status provided by the energy management system.

22. The method for automatically managing energy in accordance with claim 11 further comprising storing data in a memory relating to at least one of a maximum or minimum price of electricity, a price delta of electricity, a maximum or minimum duration of a peak demand event, a level of importance of peak demand event, a maximum or minimum cooling or heating offset, a maximum or minimum cooling or heating set point, a maximum or minimum load adjustment percentage and a maximum or minimum load duty cycle percentage.

23. (canceled)