Virtual thermostat system and method

• US 9,122,285 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2012
• Issued: 09/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NantEnergy, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America Incorporated (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Mansfield, Carl, Park, Daniel J., Elrod, David
• Primary Examiner(s): KASENGE, CHARLES R
• Application Number:
  US13/539,057
• Publication Number:
  US 20130013119A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,159 Days
• Field of Search: 700/86, 700/276, 700/277, 700/278, 700/286, 700/291, 700/295, 700/296, 700/297, 700/299, 700/300, 236/91.R, 236/91.D, 236/91.E
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/46 Improving electric energy efficiency or saving
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1934 each space being provided with one sensor acting on one or more control means

Abstract

A virtual thermostat system and method are provided. The method accepts commands via a virtual thermostat interface for establishing temperature set points for a plurality of zones. Energy consumption information is also accepted from a plurality of energy consumption units. Each unit consumes energy at an associated peak power to supply a controlled temperature medium to a corresponding zone. The method also accepts temperature measurements for each zone. Then, consumption commands are sent to each energy consumption unit in response to associated zone temperature set points, while insuring that a combined peak power of the energy consumption units is less than a maximum peak power threshold. In one aspect, the virtual thermostat accepts temperature measurements from a plurality of physical thermostats, each associated with an energy consumption unit. Then, consumption commands are relayed to the energy consumption units via associated physical thermostats.

Claims

1. A virtual thermostat system comprising:

a plurality of energy consumption units, each energy consumption unit having an input to accept an energy resource consumed at an associated peak power, an input to accept consumption commands, and an output to supply a controlled temperature medium to an associated zone;

a sensor associated with each zone, having an output to supply a temperature measurement responsive to the controlled temperature medium;

a virtual thermostat user interface (UI) to accept zone temperature set point inputs from a user, and to present temperature measurements for the plurality of zones;

a processor;

a non-transitory memory; and

,

a peak power management application stored as a sequence of software instructions in the memory and executed by the processor, the peak power management application having an interface connected to the virtual thermostat UI for managing each energy consumption unit in response to its associated zone temperature set point, while insuring that a combined peak power of the energy consumption units is less than a maximum peak power threshold as follows;

subsequent to an energy consumption unit being disabled, adding the energy consumption unit to a tail of an activation queue; and

,

enabling an energy consumption unit at a head of the activation queue.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a plurality of physical thermostats, each physical thermostat accepting temperature measurements from a corresponding sensor, relaying the temperature measurements to the peak power management application, and relaying consumption commands from the peak power management application to an associated energy consumption unit.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the virtual thermostat UI displays information supplied by the peak power management application selected from a group consisting of an average temperature for the plurality zones, a maximum zone temperature measurement, and a minimum zone temperature measurement.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein the peak power management application insures that the combined peak power of the energy consumption units is less than the maximum peak power threshold by adjusting temperature set points to minimize errors between temperature measurements and temperature set points for selected zones.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the peak power management application delays an energy consumption unit being enabled in response to minimizing the error between the temperature measurement and the temperature set point for the corresponding zone.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein enabling the energy consumption unit at the head of the activation queue includes enabling a first plurality of energy consumption units at the head of the activation queue, when the combined peak power of the first plurality of energy consumption units is less than the maximum peak power threshold.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the virtual thermostat UI accepts user commands for an area, where the commands are selected from a group consisting of area goal temperature and deviation from area goal temperature, and where the area comprises a plurality of zones.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein the peak power management application determines that the combined peak power of the first plurality of energy consumption units exceeds the maximum peak power threshold, determines an error between the temperature measurement and temperature set point for each corresponding zone, adds the energy consumption unit associated with a minimum error from the first plurality to the tail of the activation queue, and redetermines the combined peak power.

9. A virtual thermostat method, enabled as software instructions stored in a non-transitory memory and executed by a processor, the method comprising:

accepting commands via a virtual thermostat interface for establishing temperature set points for a plurality of zones in a facility;

accepting energy consumption information from a plurality of energy consumption units, each consuming energy at an associated peak power to supply a controlled temperature medium to a corresponding zone;

accepting temperature measurements for each zone;

sending consumption commands to each energy consumption unit in response to associated zone temperature set points, while insuring that a combined peak power of the energy consumption units is less than a maximum peak power threshold as follows;

subsequent to accepting information that an energy consumption unit has been disabled, adding the energy consumption unit to a tail of an activation queue; and

,

sending consumption commands to enable an energy consumption unit at a head of the activation queue.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein accepting temperature measurements includes accepting temperature measurements from a plurality of physical thermostats, each associated with an energy consumption unit;

and,

wherein sending consumption commands includes relaying consumption commands to the energy consumption units via associated physical thermostats.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

sending information to the virtual thermostat user interface, where the information is selected from a group consisting of an average temperature for the plurality zones, a maximum zone temperature measurement, and a minimum zone temperature measurement.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein insuring that the combined peak power of the energy consumption units is less than the maximum peak power threshold includes adjusting temperature set points to minimize errors between temperature measurements and temperature set points for selected zones.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein adjusting temperature set points to minimize errors between temperature measurements and temperature set points for selected zones includes delaying consumption commands to enable an energy consumption unit in a corresponding zone.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein sending consumption commands to enable the energy consumption unit at the head of the activation queue includes enabling a first plurality of energy consumption units at the head of the activation queue, when the combined peak power of the first plurality of energy consumption units is less than the maximum peak power threshold.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein sending consumption commands to enable the energy consumption unit at the head of the activation queue includes:

determining that the combined peak power of the first plurality of energy consumption units exceeds the maximum peak power threshold;

determining an error between the temperature measurement and temperature set point for each corresponding zone;

adding the energy consumption unit associated with a minimum error from the first plurality to the tail of the activation queue; and

,

redetermining the combined peak power.

16. The method of claim 9 wherein accepting commands via the virtual thermostat interface for establishing temperature set points includes accepting user commands for an area, where the commands are selected from a group consisting of area goal temperature and deviation from area goal temperature, and where the area comprises a plurality of zones.