System and method for monitoring and management of utility usage

• US 8,433,530 B2
• Filed: 09/18/2008
• Issued: 04/30/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ThinkEco Inc.
• Original Assignee: ThinkEco Inc.
• Inventors: Shimada, Jun, Shibata, Mei, Eaves, Joel David
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, TOAN M
• Application Number:
  US12/284,051
• Publication Number:
  US 20100070217A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,685 Days
• Field of Search: 702/62, 702/57, 702 60- 61, 702 64- 66, 702 70- 71, 702/81, 702/84, 702/127, 702182-183, 702188-189, 323/234, 323/241, 323/318, 323/364, 323/367, 323/369, 361600-601, 361/622, 361/641, 361659-661, 700/286, 700291-292, 700/295, 705/412, 307/11, 307/29, 307/31, 307112-113, 307/125, 307130-131, 307/132.E, 307139-140
• US Class Current: 702/62
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 2204/45 Utility meters networked together within a single building
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/008 Modifications to installed utility meters to enable remote reading
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/2513 Arrangements for monitoring electric power systems, e.g. power lines or loads; Logging
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 22/063 related to remote communication
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 22/10 using digital techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00002 characterised by monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00004 characterised by the power network being locally controlled
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00016 using a wired telecommunication network or a data transmission bus
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00024 by means of mobile telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00026 involving a local wireless network, e.g. Wi-Fi, ZigBee or Bluetooth
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/14 The load or loads being home appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/43 using wireless personal area networks [WPAN], e.g. 802.15, 802.15.1, 802.15.4, Bluetooth or ZigBee
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/60 for transmitting utility meters data, i.e. transmission of data from the reader of the utility meter
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• 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 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/30 State monitoring, e.g. fault, temperature monitoring, insulator monitoring, corona discharge
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/30 Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/124 using wired telecommunication networks or data transmission busses

Abstract

A system and method is provided to enable consumers to intelligently manage their consumption of energy. In one embodiment, waveform data is collected for a plurality of appliances which may be found in a residential or commercial setting using a plurality of multi-port outlet monitoring devices. The collected waveform data is processed and analyzed to obtain power consumption profiles that indicate power consumption on a per-appliance and/or per-outlet basis and/or per user basis.

Claims

1. A system for collecting waveform data for determining at least one energy consumption profile, the system comprising:

(I) a system controller;

(II) a plurality of co-located multi-port monitoring devices, wherein each of said multi-port monitoring devices comprises;

a) communication coupling means for communicating with the system controller;

b) at least one plug that is configured to electrically couple to at least a dual-port electrical outlet upon being inserted into a socket of said at least dual port electrical outlet, wherein each of said multi-port monitoring devices comprises at least one relay to connect and disconnect to a power load and each of said multi-port monitoring devices is configured to;

a) independently meter waveform data from a single port of said at least dual port electrical outlet in the case where a single electrical appliance is coupled to said single port of said multi-port monitoring device;

b) independently meter waveform data from multiple ports of said at least dual port electrical outlet in the case where at least two electrical appliances are simultaneously coupled to at least two ports of said multi-port monitoring device; and

c) wirelessly transmit the metered waveform data to the system controller.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said waveform data comprises at least one characteristic of electrical energy consumed by at least one electrical appliance.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said waveform data is selected from the group consisting of:

a current waveform, a voltage waveform, a current and a voltage waveform, and a power waveform.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the system controller is configured to store, organize and analyze the waveform data that is transmitted to the system controller to determine at least one energy consumption profile.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the system controller is configured to transmit communication signals to particular multi-port monitoring devices from among the plurality of co-located multi-port monitoring devices.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the system controller is configured to request transmissions from particular multi-port monitoring devices from among the plurality of co-located multi-port monitoring devices.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein each multi-port monitoring device is assigned a unique address to allow the system controller to individually identify a particular multi-port monitoring device interacting with the system controller.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is physically configured to operate on a per-room and/or per-floor basis, wherein each room or floor includes at least one multi-port monitoring device electrically coupled to an electrical outlet.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of multi-port monitoring devices are configured to transmit the metered waveform data to the system controller either periodically or on demand.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of multi-port monitoring devices are configured to temporarily store the waveform data.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising an interface coupled to the system controller configured to receive time-stamped secure data packet transmissions from the plurality of multi-port monitoring devices and queue the data packet transmissions from the plurality of multi-port monitoring devices in the order in which they were received.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of multi-port monitoring devices communicate with the system controller via a wireless communications protocol.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the multi-port monitoring device substantially conforms to a footprint of the at least dual-port electrical outlet.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the multi-port monitoring device is configured as a power strip.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one energy consumption profile is determined on one of:

a per user basis, a per appliance basis, or a per location basis.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the system controller is further configured to calculate a cost for energy consumption per user, per appliance, or per location.

17. The system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one plug is on a first side of the device and a second side the device is configured to receive at least one a plug of an electrical appliance.

18. The system of claim 17 further comprising an electrical appliance plugged in to the second side of the device.

19. A multi-port monitoring device configured to be electrically coupled to a multi-port electrical outlet, the device comprising:

a first waveform sampler circuit configured to sample at least one of a current, a voltage and a power waveform across a first load electrically coupled to a first port of the multi-port electrical outlet via the multi-port monitoring device, and the multi-port monitoring device comprises a first relay to connect and disconnect to the first load; and

at least a second waveform sampler circuit configured to sample at least one of a current, a voltage and a power waveform across a second load electrically coupled to a second port of the multi-port electrical outlet via the multi-port monitoring device, and the multi-port monitoring device comprises a second relay to connect and disconnect to the second load;

switching means coupled to the first and the at least second waveform sampler circuits, said switching means for multiplexing a first and a second waveform data stream from said first and said at least second waveform sampler circuits; and

a control and communication circuit communicatively coupled to the switching means for receiving said multiplexed first and second waveform data streams and for communicating said first and second waveform data streams to a remote system controller, wherein a first side of the device comprises a plug for engaging said multi-port electrical outlet through a socket and a second side of the device is configured to receive at least one plug from at least one electrical appliance.

20. The multi-port monitoring device of claim 19, wherein the switching means is a multiplexer.

21. The multi-port monitoring device of claim 19 wherein the first waveform sampler circuit comprises:

a switch coupled to a socket of the electrical outlet for switching the multi-port monitoring device to an on state when the load is connected to the electrical outlet;

a current sensor for sensing current drawn by the load; and

a voltage sensor for sensing voltage drawn by the load.

22. The multi-port monitoring device of claim 19, further comprising a timing circuit for setting the frequency of waveform sampling.

23. The multi-port monitoring device of claim 19, further comprising a signal processing module.

24. The multi-port monitoring device of claim 19, wherein the control and communication circuit comprises:

a wireless communication module configured to communicatively couple to an interface expander port of a system controller;

a memory

a micro-controller configured to;

(a) perform analog-to-digital conversion on a muxed signal received at an input of the micro-controller;

(b) apply a filter to improve an output digitized muxed signal;

(c) interface with the memory to read/write waveforms, and

(d) interface with the wireless communications module to manage data communications.

25. The multi-port monitoring device of claim 19, wherein the micro-controller is further configured to:

a) interface with LED drivers;

b) perform calculations related to appliance detection; and

c) manage OMD (outlet monitoring device) control tasks including;

turn the electricity to the load “

on/off”

according to the scheduling program maintained by the system controller, and

manage user options related to the LED display, waveform sampling and/or mux circuitry, and calibrate the internal circuitry.

26. A method for collecting waveform data for a plurality of loads to determine at least one energy consumption profile, the method comprising the steps of:

independently metering waveform data generated by a corresponding plurality of loads in real-time using a plurality of multi-port monitoring devices thereby forming metered waveform data, wherein each of said multi-port monitoring devices comprises at least one relay to connect and disconnect to a power load and each of said multi-port monitoring devices is configured to simultaneously meter waveform data generated by at least two loads;

transmitting the metered waveform data to a system controller; and

analyzing the metered waveform data at the system controller to determine the at least one energy consumption profile, wherein a first side of each device comprises at least one plug for engaging said multi-port electrical outlet through a socket and a second side of each device is configured to receive at least one plug from at least one electrical appliance.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein said waveform data comprises at least one characteristic of electrical energy consumed by said at least one electrical appliance.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the metered waveform data is communicated wirelessly from each of the plurality of multi-port monitoring devices to the system controller.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein the metered waveform data is communicated via a wired connection from each of the plurality of multi-port monitoring devices to the system controller.

30. The method of claim 26, further comprising the step of storing the metered waveform data prior to the step of communicating the metered waveform data to the system controller.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the step of storing the metered waveform data further comprises storing the metered waveform data in a compressed format.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the step of analyzing the metered waveform data at the system controller to determine at least one energy consumption profile further comprises computing power consumption parameter values from the metered waveform data to obtain power consumption information.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising means for distributing the power consumption parameter information to users.

34. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of transmitting the metered waveform data generated by each load to a system controller further comprises, transmitting time-stamped secure packet messages from each OMD (outlet monitoring device) to the system controller at a system controller interface.