OPTIMISING USE OF ENERGY

• US 20140336830A1
• Filed: 05/11/2012
• Published: 11/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Building Research Establishment Limited
• Original Assignee: Building Research Establishment Limited
• Inventors: Williams, Andrew
• Application Number:
  US14/117,517
• Publication Number:
  US 20140336830A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/286
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00004 characterised by the power network being locally controlled
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00006 characterised by information or instructions transport means between the monitoring, controlling or managing units and monitored, controlled or operated power network element or electrical equipment
• 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: H02J 7/35 with light sensitive cells
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 9/005 using a power saving mode for copiers G03G15/5004
• 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: Y02E 40/70 Smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the energy generation sector
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/123 the energy generation units being or involving renewable energy sources
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/20 End-user application control systems
• 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 40/12 characterised by data transport means between the monitoring, controlling or managing units and monitored, controlled or operated electrical equipment

Abstract

Electrical apparatus comprising an electrical device provided with, or having associated therewith, an energy usage profile.

Claims

1. Electrical apparatus comprising an electrical device provided with, or having associated therewith, a readable energy usage profile.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the energy usage profile comprises data readable from said electrical device or on a further electrical device adapted to connect with said first device.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the energy usage profile is writable to the electrical device or a further electrical device adapted to connect with said first device.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the profile is a set of stored data.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said data is adapted to be read/write and/or downloaded by further apparatus and to provide an indication to said further apparatus of the energy usage profile.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the energy usage profile comprises one or more items of data including any one or more of the following:

the device'"'"'s ability to store power, the amount of power used by the device, the standby power consumed by the device, preferred time of use, a history of times of use or other history related to use, ability of the device to export power from internal storage, the time taken for any in-built power storage to discharge or to charge, actual capacity, minimum capacity, and;

power potential.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein a remote device is connected to an electrical device, the remote device including, or having means for receiving the profile data from the device in order to set a particular energy use protocol or profile for determining energy use from the power supply for that used from a power supply for that device.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the remote device is a plug adapted to connect to a device having a power profile.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the remote device contains one or more energy usage profiles corresponding, respectively, to one or more electrical devices and is used as an interface between that device and a power control means in order to set a particular energy use from a power supply for that device.

14. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the remote device is adapted to transmit the profile, or part of it, to a central control unit.

15. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the remote device is adapted to use the profile of the or each connected device which has a profile locally.

16. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the device having a profile, or a remote device associated therewith, is adapted, upon connection to a network, to transmit the profile to a control unit.

7. A network comprising an electrical device, an energy usage profile associated with such device, means for supplying power to said device and means for using the profile to control and/or organise power allocated to the device to determine and manage use of the device within a network.

8. A network as claimed in claim 7, wherein the usage profile is usable by other equipment on the network in order to control and/or organise power allocated to the device, or usable by a device itself, or other equipment connected to the device and/or power supply to determine and/or manage use of the device.

9. A network as claimed in claim 7, comprising a plurality of devices having energy usage profiles and means for managing power supply to the plurality of device to optimise energy consumption across the devices within the network.

10. A network as claimed in claim 9, wherein at least a proportion of power input to the system is from a sustainable source and the energy usage profile being used, at least in part, to optimise use of sustainable power.

17. A method of optimising energy usage, comprising associating with one or more electrical devices on a network and the energy usage profile, the energy usage profile of the or each device being used to optimise power used by that device and/or by a plurality of devices within a network.

18-20. -20. (canceled)