Power consumption compliance monitoring system and method

• US 8,825,215 B2
• Filed: 11/17/2010
• Issued: 09/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Digital Holdings LLC (General Electric Co. (Italy))
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Boot, John Christopher
• Primary Examiner(s): Padmanabhan, Kavita
• Assistant Examiner(s): Everett, Christopher E
• Application Number:
  US12/948,704
• Publication Number:
  US 20120123995A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,385 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 700/291
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 21/1333 adapted for special tariff measuring
• 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 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

Systems and methods for monitoring compliance with a request not to run a type of load (e.g., a high-power-consuming appliance) during a demand response event are provided. One such system may include storage containing a load profile representative of a pattern of power consumption by a type of load and data processing circuitry. The data processing circuitry may compare a power usage profile representing power consumption by a consumer at least over a period of time to the load profile to determine whether the consumer is running the type of load over the period of time.

Claims

1. A utility meter system comprising:

an electronic interface configured to provide to a consumer a request not to run a particular type of power-consuming device during a forthcoming demand response event in exchange for an incentive, wherein the particular type of power-consuming device is configured to be prevented from running by the consumer rather than an external entity during the demand response event;

power sampling circuitry configured to obtain a power usage profile representing total power consumed over time by all power-consuming devices on consumer premises run by the consumer for a period of time, wherein the period of time includes at least the demand response event when the consumer has agreed not to run the particular type of power-consuming device during the demand response event and ends approximately when the demand response event ends; and

communication circuitry configured to provide the power usage profile but not an express status of the particular type of power-consuming device to an external entity to enable the external entity to determine whether the consumer complied with the agreement not to run the particular type of power-consuming device during the demand response event;

wherein the power usage profile represents power consumption by the consumer at a plurality of specific points in time over the period of time.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the power usage profile represents power consumption by the consumer every 5 seconds or longer to preserve consumer privacy.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the power usage profile comprises two-dimensional vectors.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the power usage profile comprises raw power consumption values relative to time.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the power usage profile represents real and reactive power consumption.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the external entity comprises a utility.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication circuitry is configured to receive from the external entity the request not to run the particular type of power-consuming device during the demand response event.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the interface is configured to receive a user indication of agreement or disagreement with the request; and

the communication circuitry is configured to communicate the indication of agreement or disagreement with the request to the external entity.

9. An article of manufacture comprising:

one or more tangible, non-transitory machine-readable media at least collectively having instructions encoded thereon for execution by a processor, the instructions comprising;

instructions to issue a request to a consumer not to run a particular type of power-consuming device during a forthcoming demand response event, wherein the particular type of power-consuming device is configured to be prevented from running by the consumer rather than an external entity during the demand response event;

instructions to receive an indication of whether the consumer has agreed not to run the particular type of power-consuming device during the demand response event;

instructions to receive, when the indication indicates that the consumer has agreed not to run the particular type of power-consuming device during the demand response event, a power usage profile representing total power consumption over a time period by all power-consuming devices on consumer premises run by the consumer over at least the demand response event, wherein the time period ends at approximately the same time as the demand response event; and

instructions to determine whether the consumer ran the particular type of power-consuming device during the demand response event by analyzing the power usage profile for a time-dependent pattern indicative of the particular type of power-consuming device;

wherein the power usage profile represents power consumption by the consumer at a plurality of specific points in time over the period of time.

10. The article of manufacture of claim 9, wherein the particular type of power-consuming device comprises a general class of appliance identifiable from the time-dependent pattern in the power usage profile.

11. The article of manufacture of claim 9, wherein the particular type of power-consuming device comprises a specific brand of appliance identifiable from the time-dependent pattern in the power usage profile.

12. The article of manufacture of claim 9, comprising instructions to identify a power consumption identity code occurring in the time-dependent pattern in the power usage profile that indicates the particular type of power-consuming device that consumed power when the power usage profile was sampled.

13. The article of manufacture of claim 12, wherein the power consumption identity code comprises a series of pulses of energy consumption in the power usage profile that identify the particular type of power-consuming device as a specific class of appliance.

14. The article of manufacture of claim 12, wherein the power consumption identity code comprises a series of pulses of energy consumption in the power usage profile that identify the particular type of power-consuming device as a specific brand of appliance.

15. The article of manufacture of claim 12, wherein the instructions to identify the power consumption identity code comprise instructions to identify a specific number of pulses of power consumption in the power usage profile, amplitudes of pulses of power consumption in the power usage profile, or spacing of pulses in the power usage profile, or any combination thereof.

16. The article of manufacture of claim 9, wherein the instructions to issue the request to the consumer comprise instructions to issue the request to the consumer via a utility meter interface associated with the consumer.

17. The article of manufacture of claim 9, wherein the instructions to issue the request to the consumer comprise instructions to issue the request to the consumer via a communication channel other than through a utility meter interface associated with the consumer.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein the communication channel comprises text message, website, email, or telephone, or any combination thereof.

19. A method comprising:

sending a request to a consumer not to run a particular type of power-consuming device during a forthcoming demand response event, wherein the particular type of power-consuming device is configured to be prevented from running by the consumer rather than an external entity during the demand response event;

receiving an indication that the user has agreed to the request;

receiving a power usage profile in an electronic device before a start of the demand response event, wherein the power usage profile represents total power consumption over time by all power-consuming devices run by the consumer measured by a power meter for some period of time before the start of the demand response event;

determining, using the electronic device, whether a time-dependent pattern of power consumption in the power usage profile indicates that the consumer is running the particular type of power-consuming device before the start of the demand response event;

when the time-dependent pattern of power consumption in the power usage profile indicates that the consumer is running the particular type of power-consuming device before the start of the demand response event, causing an indication to be displayed at the power meter that the particular type of power-consuming device has been determined to be running before the start of the demand response event to alert the consumer that the consumer will not be in compliance with the agreement when the demand response event starts unless the consumer stops running the particular type of power-consuming device;

before the start of the demand response event, causing an indication to be displayed at the power meter requesting that the consumer not run the particular type of power-consuming device during the demand response event;

receiving in the electronic device a second power usage profile but not an express status of the particular type of power-consuming device, wherein the second power usage profile represents total power consumption over time by all power-consuming devices run by the consumer measured by the power meter during the demand response event and ending approximately when the demand response event ends; and

determining whether the consumer complied with the agreement not to run the particular type of power-consuming device during the demand response event based at least in part on the second power usage profile.