Collaborative energy benchmarking systems and methods
First Claim
1. A system for providing collaborative energy benchmarking, wherein the system comprises:
- a database configured to;
for each of a plurality of consumers,store information associated with residential energy usage of the consumer;
store background information about at least one residential property of the consumer, the background information about the at least one residential property of the consumer comprising,information about the size of the at least one residential property of the consumer,information about the age of the at least one residential property of the consumer, andinformation about construction materials of the at least one residential property of the consumer; and
provide at least a portion of the information associated with the residential energy usage of the consumer to a benchmark processing component;
the benchmark processing component configured to;
for each of a subset of the plurality of consumers,receive at least a portion of the information associated with the residential energy usage of the consumer from the database;
receive at least a portion of the background information about the at least one residential property of the consumer from the database, wherein the received at least a portion of the background information about the at least one residential property of the consumer comprises the information about the size of the at least one residential property of the consumer, the information about the age of the at least one residential property of the consumer, and the information about construction materials of the at least one residential property of the consumer;
create one or more energy benchmarks that measure the residential energy usage of the consumer, wherein the one or more energy benchmarks are created based at least in part on the received information associated with the residential energy usage of the consumer and the received background information about the at least one residential property of the consumer, including the information about the size of the at least one residential property of the consumer, the information about the age of the at least one residential property of the consumer, and the information about construction materials of the at least one residential property of the consumer; and
provide the one or more energy benchmarks to a visual display processor;
the visual display processor being configured to;
receive the one or more energy benchmarks from the benchmark processing component;
create an energy performance display that communicates the one or more energy benchmarks to at least one consumer;
provide the energy performance display to a display component for presentation to the at least one consumer;
a challenge definition component configured to;
receive a challenge definition from the consumer, wherein the received challenge definition defines an energy conservation challenge associated with reducing residential energy usage and that is based on at least one of the created one or more energy benchmarks and wherein the received challenge definition includes an indication of a group of at least two different consumers to which the challenge applies; and
a consumer challenge tracking component configured to;
measure performance of each consumer of the group of at least two different consumers according to the received challenge definition.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods for providing collaborative energy benchmarking are described. Information including background data, energy consumption data, temporal data, and/or other information is gathered from multiple sources and stored in a central database. Based on the stored information, energy benchmarks are created for measuring residential energy usage. Energy usage data is displayed to consumers in multiple formats, and permits consumers to directly compare their energy usage data to other consumers or groups of consumers, in addition to their own energy usage. In some embodiments, energy challenge programs encourage reduction of energy usage. Through such programs, consumers create and present challenges for themselves and/or other consumers, such as to reduce energy usage during a given timeframe. The progress of the group and individual consumers is displayed during the course of a challenge.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A system for providing collaborative energy benchmarking, wherein the system comprises:
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a database configured to; for each of a plurality of consumers, store information associated with residential energy usage of the consumer; store background information about at least one residential property of the consumer, the background information about the at least one residential property of the consumer comprising, information about the size of the at least one residential property of the consumer, information about the age of the at least one residential property of the consumer, and information about construction materials of the at least one residential property of the consumer; and provide at least a portion of the information associated with the residential energy usage of the consumer to a benchmark processing component; the benchmark processing component configured to; for each of a subset of the plurality of consumers, receive at least a portion of the information associated with the residential energy usage of the consumer from the database; receive at least a portion of the background information about the at least one residential property of the consumer from the database, wherein the received at least a portion of the background information about the at least one residential property of the consumer comprises the information about the size of the at least one residential property of the consumer, the information about the age of the at least one residential property of the consumer, and the information about construction materials of the at least one residential property of the consumer; create one or more energy benchmarks that measure the residential energy usage of the consumer, wherein the one or more energy benchmarks are created based at least in part on the received information associated with the residential energy usage of the consumer and the received background information about the at least one residential property of the consumer, including the information about the size of the at least one residential property of the consumer, the information about the age of the at least one residential property of the consumer, and the information about construction materials of the at least one residential property of the consumer; and provide the one or more energy benchmarks to a visual display processor; the visual display processor being configured to; receive the one or more energy benchmarks from the benchmark processing component; create an energy performance display that communicates the one or more energy benchmarks to at least one consumer; provide the energy performance display to a display component for presentation to the at least one consumer; a challenge definition component configured to; receive a challenge definition from the consumer, wherein the received challenge definition defines an energy conservation challenge associated with reducing residential energy usage and that is based on at least one of the created one or more energy benchmarks and wherein the received challenge definition includes an indication of a group of at least two different consumers to which the challenge applies; and a consumer challenge tracking component configured to; measure performance of each consumer of the group of at least two different consumers according to the received challenge definition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method, performed by a computing system having a processor, the method comprising:
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receiving information associated with energy usage of a consumer; creating, based on at least a portion of the received information, one or more energy benchmarks that measure the energy usage of the consumer, wherein at least one of the one or more energy benchmarks is created based at least in part on background information about at least one residential property of the consumer; creating, with the processor, an energy performance display configured to communicate the one or more energy benchmarks to the consumer; receiving a challenge definition from the consumer, wherein the received challenge definition defines an energy conservation challenge associated with reducing energy usage and that is based on at least one of the created one or more energy benchmarks and wherein the received challenge definition includes an indication of a group of at least two different consumers to which the challenge applies; and measuring performance of each consumer of the group of at least two different consumers according to the received challenge definition. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer-readable memory storing instructions that, if executed by a computing system having a processor, cause the computing system to perform operations for providing collaborative energy benchmarking, the instructions comprising:
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instructions for receiving information associated with energy usage of a first consumer; instructions for creating, based at least in part on the received information, one or more energy benchmarks that measure the energy usage of the first consumer, wherein at least one of the one or more energy benchmarks is created based at least in part on background information about at least one residential property of the first consumer; instructions for creating, with the processor, an energy performance display configured to communicate the one or more energy benchmarks to the first consumer; instructions for receiving a challenge definition from the first consumer, wherein the received challenge definition defines an energy conservation challenge associated with reducing energy usage and that is based on at least one of the created one or more energy benchmarks and wherein the received challenge definition includes an indication of a group of at least two different consumers to which the challenge applies; and instructions for measuring performance of each consumer of the group of at least two different consumers according to the received challenge definition. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A computer-readable memory storing instructions that, if executed by a computing system having a processor, cause the computing system to perform operations for providing collaborative energy benchmarking, the instructions comprising:
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instructions for receiving information associated with energy usage of a first consumer; instructions for creating, based at least in part on the received information, one or more energy benchmarks that measure the energy usage of the first consumer, wherein at least one of the one or more energy benchmarks is created based at least in part on background information about at least one residential property of the first consumer; instructions for creating, with the processor, an energy performance display configured to communicate the one or more energy benchmarks to the first consumer; instructions for receiving a challenge definition from the first consumer, wherein the defined challenge is associated with reducing energy usage; instructions for identifying consumers similar to the first consumer based at least in part on the background information about the at least one residential property of the first consumer; instructions for determining, for each of a plurality of the identified consumers, a benchmark number based on at least one of the one or more energy benchmarks; instructions for calculating a mean benchmark number (M) based on the determined benchmark numbers; instructions for calculating a standard deviation (StDev) based on the determined benchmark numbers; instructions for identifying a first sub-group of consumers from among the identified group of consumers based at least in part on the sum of M and StDev; instructions for identifying a second sub-group of consumers from among the identified group of consumers based at least in part on the difference between M and StDev; instructions for displaying portions of a map corresponding to the first sub-group of consumers in a first color; instructions for displaying portions of the map corresponding to the second sub-group of consumers in a second color different than the first color; and instructions for displaying portions of the map corresponding to consumers belonging to neither the first sub-group of consumers nor the second sub-group of consumers in a third color different than the first color and different than the second color.
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Specification