Home appliance that can operate in a time range

• US 8,954,199 B2
• Filed: 09/10/2013
• Issued: 02/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Peak Reduction LLC
• Original Assignee: Philip Scott Lyren
• Inventors: Lyren, Philip Scott, Lyren, William James, Lyren, William Christopher
• Primary Examiner(s): Bahta, Kidest
• Application Number:
  US14/022,352
• Publication Number:
  US 20140379153A1
• Time in Patent Office: 518 Days
• Field of Search: 700/292, 700/291, 700/295, 700/286, 702/62, 725/141, 340/538, 307/40
• US Class Current: 700/292
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/026 using a predictor
• CPC Class Codes: G05F 1/66 Regulating electric power
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• 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: 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: Y04S 20/00 Management or operation of end-user stationary applications or the last stages of power distribution; Controlling, monitoring or operating thereof
• 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 20/244 the home appliances being or involving heating ventilating and air conditioning [HVAC] units

Abstract

A home appliance can operate in a future time frame. Information is obtained from a power distributor in order to determine a time when to operate the home appliance in this future time frame. The home appliance then operates at the time determined with information from the power distributor.

Claims

1. A method executed by a computer system of an electric utility, comprising:

receiving, at the computer system of the electric utility and from a group that is formed of different residential customers that purchase electrical power from the electric utility, consolidated requests for power that include future time frames and amounts of power to be used by the group of the different residential customers during the future time frames;

analyzing, by the computer system of the electric utility, the consolidated requests for power so the electric utility determines times during the future time frames when the group of the different residential customers can utilize the amounts of power being requested; and

transmitting, from the computer system of the electric utility and to the croup of the different residential customers, the times during the future time frames when the group of the different residential customers can utilize the amounts of power being requested such that the electric utility determines when the group of the different residential customers uses the amounts of power being requested, wherein the future time frames and the amounts of power requested by the different residential customers are consolidated into the consolidated requests for power that are then provided by the group of the different residential customers to the electric utility.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein an electrical device of the group of different residential customers analyzes operating information of home appliances of the group of different residential customers over a period of time to determine the future time frames and the amounts of power and then consolidates the future time frames and the amounts of power into the consolidated requests for power that are transmitted to the electric utility.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the future time frames include both future start times and future end times that occur on a calendar date that is days in advance of use of the amounts of power being requested.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

negotiating, by the computer system of the electric utility and with the group of different residential customers, a price to purchase the amounts of power for the future time frames being requested by the group of different residential customers.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the consolidated requests for power are transmitted by the group of the different residential customers to different electric utilities so the different electric utilities can bid to sell the consolidated requests for power to the group of different residential customers.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

imposing, by the electric utility and on the group of the different residential customers, a penalty of paying a higher price for the amounts of power being requested when the group of the different residential customers fails to use the amounts of power being requested during the future time frames.

7. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions for causing a computer system of a power distributor to execute a method, comprising:

receive, at the computer system of the power distributor and from a group of residential customers, consolidated operating information that includes a consolidated amount of power that the group desires to purchase from the power distributor and a consolidated future time range during which the group desires to use the consolidated amount of power being requested;

schedule, by the computer system of the power distributor, times during the future time range when the group can use the consolidated amount of power being requested; and

transmit, from the computer system of the power distributor and to the group, the times during the future time range when the group can use the consolidated amount of power being requested, wherein the group uses the consolidated amount of power being requested at the times scheduled by and received from the power distributor, wherein the group consolidates power requests of the residential customers into the consolidated operating information in order to collectively purchase power from the power distributor for the group of residential customers.

8. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions of claim 7, wherein the consolidated future time range that is received at the computer system of the power distributor and from the group is a range of time that includes both a future start time and a future end time that both occur on a future calendar date for when the group will use the consolidated amount of power being requested.

9. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions of claim 7 further causing the computer system of the power distributor to execute the method comprising:

receive, at the computer system of the power distributor and from different groups of residential customers, price bids for different amounts of power that the different groups desire to use at future times.

10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions of claim 7 further causing the computer system of the power distributor to execute the method comprising:

receive, at the computer system of the power distributor and from the group, calendar dates that provide different future days and different future time ranges on these different future days for using the consolidated amount of power being requested by the group.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions of claim 7 further causing the computer system of the power distributor to execute the method comprising:

provide, by the computer system of the power distributor and to the group, a penalty of paying a higher price for the amount of power being requested when the group fails to use the consolidated amount of power during the times scheduled by the power distributor.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions of claim 7, wherein the group of residential customers resells a portion of the consolidated amount of power to another group of residential customers before expiration of the times scheduled by and received from the power distributor.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions of claim 7, wherein the consolidated operating information is transmitted to different power distributors in order to receive different price bids for providing the consolidated amount of power to the group.

14. A computer system, comprising:

a load manager that includes a memory that stores instructions and a processing unit that executes the instructions to obtain for a group of customers amounts of electrical power that the group of customers requests to consume at future time ranges and to consolidate the amounts of electrical power and the future time ranges into consolidated power requests so the group can collectively purchase electrical power; and

an electric utility that sells the electrical power to the group of customers and includes a computer system that communicates with the load manager over a network to receive the consolidated power requests that the group of customers requests, selects times during the future time ranges when the group of customers can consume the amounts of electrical power the group of customers requests, and transmits over the network the times to the load manager,

wherein the load manager instructs the times to the group of customers such that the group of customers consumes the amounts of electrical power at the times provided by the electric utility.

15. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the future time ranges include multiple different future start times and multiple different future end times for when the group of customers will consume the amounts of electrical power being requested, and the load manager provides the consolidated power requests to the electric utility with at least one day in advance of when the group of customers will consume the amounts of electrical power being requested.

16. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the load manager negotiates with the electric utility to determine a time when the group of customers can use the amounts of electrical power the group of customers requests such that the group of customers receives a lowest cost to purchase electricity that is being sold by the electric utility during the future time range.

17. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the load manager analyzes historic operating information of the group of customers and predicts the amounts of electrical power and the future time ranges before sending the consolidated power requests to the electric utility.

18. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the load manager obtains operating information for the group of customers, consolidates the operating information into consolidated operating information, and transmits the consolidated operating information to the electric utility, and the consolidated operating information includes future calendar dates for the future time ranges, how long electrical devices of the group of customers will operate during the future time ranges, and how many kilowatt hours the electrical devices will use during the future time ranges.

19. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the load manager transmits the amounts of electrical power the group of customers requests to multiple different electric utilities to obtain competing price bids to purchase power for the group of customers.

20. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the load manager receives multiple power requests from home appliances of the group of customers, consolidates the power requests from the home appliances into consolidated power requests from the home appliances, and transmits the consolidated power requests of the home appliances to the electric utility.