Energy usage monitoring with remote display and automatic detection of appliance including graphical user interface

• US 8,447,541 B2
• Filed: 01/26/2010
• Issued: 05/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Geneva Cleantech, Inc
• Original Assignee: Geneva Cleantech, Inc
• Inventors: Rada, Patrick A., Magnasco, John H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Desta, Elias
• Application Number:
  US12/694,171
• Publication Number:
  US 20100191487A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,211 Days
• Field of Search: 705/63, 705/412, 702/60, 702/62, 702/64, 702/81, 702/130, 702/176, 702/182, 702188-189, 700/83, 700/295, 700/297, 361/437
• US Class Current: 702/60
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 2204/24 Identification of individual loads, e.g. by analysing current/voltage waveforms
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/004 Remote reading of utility meters to a fixed location
• CPC Class Codes: G05F 1/70 Regulating power factor; Regulating reactive current or power
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/70 Load identification
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/002 Flicker reduction, e.g. compensation of flicker introduced by non-linear load
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/01 Arrangements for reducing harmonics or ripples
• 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 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 40/40 Arrangements for reducing harmonics
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/242 Home appliances
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/30 Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading

Abstract

Devices and methods for identifying an electrical device, and its state, in a network of electrical devices are disclosed. An energy monitoring device is programmed to identify an electrical device coupled to a power supply, and a state of the electrical device, from a change in successive measurements of the power supply. Algorithms for determining a load signature for an electrical device and its state are disclosed. A stored table of load signatures for states is used to identify devices, and states. Energy monitoring information is collected and presented to the user on a display, a remote display, or is transmitted over a network to a remote device such as a personal computer, personal digital assistant, an iPhone, a cell phone, voice mail, email, or text message.

Claims

1. An energy monitoring device coupleable to a power supply, the energy monitoring device programmed to identify the presence and a state of an electrical device coupled to the power supply of a plurality of electrical devices coupled to the power supply, based on a load signature computed from a change in successive samples of the power supply measured by the energy monitoring device taken at a point upstream of the electrical device to be monitored, wherein each sample comprises a plurality of values associated with a plurality of measured power supply parameters.

2. The energy monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the programmed device comprises at least one of:

selected and interconnected discrete components, a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a mixed mode integrated circuit, a system on a chip, a programmed field programmable gate array (FPGA), and one or more configured and interconnected integrated circuits.

3. The energy monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the state of the electrical device is one of on, off, standby, power up, power down, a percentage of full power, and a named sequence of states.

4. The energy monitoring device of claim 1, further comprising a display device, a user input device, and a user interface software.

5. The energy monitoring device of claim 4, wherein the display device and the user input device and the user interface software are implemented on a consumer electronic device.

6. The energy monitoring device of claim 5, wherein the consumer electronic device is one from the group consisting of:

an iPhone, a cell phone, a SmartPhone, a personal digital assistant, a portable computer, a desktop computer.

7. The energy monitoring device of claim 1, wherein identifying the electrical device and the state comprises computing a load signature for the electrical device from the change in successive samples of the power supply.

8. The energy monitoring device of claim 7, wherein the load signature corresponding to the electrical device and the state comprises one or more of phase voltage, phase current, neutral voltage, neutral current, apparent power, cos(phi), active energy, reactive energy, frequency, period, over/under-voltage conditions, percentage of power factor, RMS current, instantaneous current, RMS voltage, instantaneous voltage, current harmonic THD percentage, voltage harmonic THD percentage, spectral content of the current waveform, spectral content of the voltage waveform, spectral content of the active power waveform, spectral content of the reactive power waveform, quality of the network percentage, time, date, temperature, and humidity.

9. The energy monitoring device of claim 7 wherein the computed load signature is associated with the electrical device and its state, and stored in a memory.

10. The energy monitoring device of claim 7, wherein identifying the electrical device and the state comprises looking up the load signature in a memory.

11. The energy monitoring device of claim 10, wherein the memory comprises a plurality of pre-stored load signatures.

12. The energy monitoring device of claim 1, further comprising a communications module communicatively coupled to a remote device via a network.

13. The energy monitoring device of claim 12, wherein energy monitoring information is transmitted to at least one of the energy monitoring device display module, and a remote device.

14. The energy monitoring device of claim 13, wherein the energy monitoring information comprises one of electrical device information, power usage information, electrical network information, user advice, and power utility information.

15. The energy monitoring device of claim 14, wherein electrical device information comprises one of an identifier of an electrical device in the plurality of electrical devices, the state of the electrical device, the load signature data of the device, and the power utilization associated with the device.

16. The energy monitoring device of claim 14, wherein the power usage information comprises at least one of aggregate power consumption information, energy, current, power factor, and total harmonic distortion (THD).

17. The energy monitoring device of claim 14 wherein the electrical network information comprises one of weak power factor, weak THD, noisy grid, and circuit performance.

18. The energy monitoring device of claim 14, wherein the user advice comprises one of informing the user of a current daily, weekly, or monthly bill, how to reduce the bill, bill information categorized by electrical device, how to improve power factor, how much standby power is consumed, when to replace old or inefficient appliances, what time of day to schedule device usage to lower the bill, detection and advice of an interruption to the utility power, and prediction as to future energy usage based upon past usage patterns.

19. The energy monitoring device of claim 1, further comprising a thermostat module.

20. The energy monitoring device of claim 19, wherein the thermostat module is coupled to one from the group consisting of:

a heater, an air conditioner, and an HVAC system.

39. The energy monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of measured parameters are measured at the same time.

21. A method of identifying an electrical device coupled to a power supply, and a state of the electrical device, comprising:

receiving, by an energy monitoring device, a first plurality of values associated with a plurality of measured power supply parameters;

receiving, by the energy monitoring device, a second plurality of values associated with the plurality of measured power supply parameters;

detecting a change between the first value and the second value associated with at least one power supply parameter;

computing a load signature for the electrical device based upon the first and second values associated with the plurality of measured power supply parameters; and

looking up the load signature of the electrical device in a memory, wherein the load signatures stored in the memory are associated with an electrical device identifier and a state of the electrical device associated with the load signature,

thereby identifying an electrical device coupled to a power supply, and a state of the electrical device.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein detecting a change in at least one power supply parameter comprises detecting a change in one of the active power, the reactive power, the apparent power, and the RMS current.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising receiving additional power supply parameters after detecting the change in at least one power supply parameter, and before computing the load signature for the electrical device and the state.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein measuring a plurality of power supply parameters comprises measuring one of phase voltage, phase current, neutral voltage, neutral current, apparent power, cos(phi), period, frequency, active power, active energy, reactive energy, reactive power, frequency, period, over/under-voltage conditions, temperature, and humidity.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein the state of an electrical device is one of on, off, standby, power up, power down, a percentage of full power, and a named sequence of states.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein a load signature comprises one of phase voltage, phase current, neutral voltage, neutral current, apparent power, cos(phi), active power, active energy, reactive power, reactive energy, frequency, period, over/under-voltage conditions, percentage of power factor, RMS current, instantaneous current, RMS voltage, instantaneous voltage, current harmonic THD percentage, voltage harmonic THD percentage, reactive power harmonic THD percentage, active power harmonic THD percentage, spectral content of the current waveform, spectral content of the voltage waveform, spectral content of the active power waveform, spectral content of the reactive power waveform, quality of the network percentage, time, date, temperature, and humidity.

27. The method of claim 21, wherein computing the load signature for the electrical device and the state comprises the steps:

computing the active power, P, as the difference between the active power in the first power supply parameters and the active power in the second power supply parameters;

computing the reactive power, Q, as the difference between the reactive power in the first power supply parameters and the reactive power in the second power supply parameters;

computing the apparent power, S, according to the equation S=sqrt(P² +Q²), wherein “

sqrt”

means “

square root”

;

computing the current, I, according to the equation I=S/V, wherein V is the nominal voltage of the power supply;

computing the active power harmonic THD, THD_P, according to the equation THD_P =(P−

P_FUND)/P_FUND, wherein P is the active power of the power supply and P_FUND is the fundamental active power (all harmonic frequencies removed);

computing the reactive power harmonic THD, THD_Q, according to the equation THD_Q =(Q−

Q_FUND)/Q_FUND, wherein P is the active power of the power supply and P_FUND is the fundamental active power (all harmonic frequencies removed); and

computing the power factor, PF, according to the equation PF=S/P.

28. The method of claim 21, further comprising transmitting energy monitoring information to one of a display device, and a remote device.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein energy monitoring information comprises one of electrical device information, power usage information, electrical network information, user advice, and power utility information.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein electrical device information comprises one of an identifier of an electrical device in the plurality of electrical devices, the state of the electrical device, the load signature data of the device, and the power utilization associated with the device.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein the power usage information comprises at least one of aggregate power consumption information, energy, current, power factor, and total harmonic distortion (THD).

32. The method of claim 29 wherein the electrical network information comprises one of weak power factor, weak THD, noisy grid, and circuit performance.

33. The method of claim 29, wherein user advice comprises one of informing the user of a current daily, weekly, or monthly bill, how to reduce the bill, bill information by categorized by electrical device, how to improve power factor, how much standby power is consumed, when to replace old or inefficient appliances, prediction of future power bills based upon past power usage, what time of day to schedule device usage to lower the bill, detection and advice as to utility power interruption.

34. The method of claim 29, wherein power utility information comprises one of a tariff change, a planned power outage, an imminent power cut-off, a bill due, a suggestion as to how to reduce power bill costs, an incentive offer, a power bill, and an estimated forecast power bill.

35. The method of claim 28, wherein energy monitoring information is presented to the user by an application running on a consumer electronic device from the group consisting of:

an iPhone, a cell phone, a SmartPhone, a personal digital assistance, a portable computer, and a desktop computer.

36. A method of creating a database of load signatures for a plurality of electrical devices coupled to a power network having a plurality of states, the method comprising:

measuring, by an energy monitoring device, a first plurality of values associated with a plurality of measured power supply parameters of an electrical device coupled to the power network, wherein the electrical device is in a first state;

measuring, by the energy monitoring device, a second plurality of values associated with the plurality of measured power supply parameters;

detecting a change of state of the electrical device from the first state to a second state utilizing the first and second plurality of values associated with the plurality of measured power supply parameters;

computing a load signature from the first and second plurality of values associated with the plurality of measured power supply parameters; and

storing a database record comprising the load signature, the second state, and an identifier for the electrical device,

thereby creating a database of load signatures for a plurality of electrical devices having a plurality of states.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the first state is OFF and the second state is ON.

38. The method of claim 36, further comprising the steps:

looking up the load signature in a database to determine a nearest matching electrical device and state, after computing the load signature;

presenting the nearest matching electrical device and state to a user for confirmation of the electrical device and state; and

accepting user changes to at least one of the electrical device and state in a database record further comprising the load signature, if the user changes the electrical device or state.