Optimized load management

• US 9,760,956 B2
• Filed: 10/08/2013
• Issued: 09/12/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SMA Solar Technology AG
• Original Assignee: SMA Solar Technology AG
• Inventors: Magnussen, Bjoern, Hoehle, Christian, Thiel, Raimund
• Primary Examiner(s): Everett, Christopher E
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pan, Yuhui R
• Application Number:
  US14/048,096
• Publication Number:
  US 20140046495A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,435 Days
• Field of Search: 700291
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2203/20 Simulating, e g planning, reliability check, modelling or computer assisted design [CAD]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2300/24 of photovoltaic origin
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2300/28 The renewable source being wind energy wind motors F03D
• 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: H02J 3/32 using batteries with converting means
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/381 Dispersed generators
• 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: Y02E 10/56 Power conversion systems, e.g. maximum power point trackers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/76 Power conversion electric or electronic aspects
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/222 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/242 Home appliances

Abstract

For optimizing a chronological development of consumption of electric power by a group of different consumers with regard to a supply of electric power including electric power from at least one wind or solar power generator, characteristic time curves of the consumption of electric power are determined at a high temporal resolution. A prognosis is made of a chronological development of the supply of electric power from the at least one power generator for a future period of time, and a plan for apportioning electric power to the individual consumers within the future period of time is made based on the characteristic time curves of the consumption of electric power by the individual consumers, the prognosis, and user goal setting by a user of the consumers resulting in different weightings of consumption of electric power by different consumers and supply of electric power by different power sources.

Claims

1. A method of optimizing a chronological development of consumption of electric power by a group of different consumers located within a local power grid with regard to a supply of electric power including electric power from at least one solar power generator located within the local power grid, comprising:

measuring a consumption of electric power by each individual consumer of the group of different consumers at a sample rate of at least 0.1 Hz;

determining characteristic time curves of the consumption of electric power by the individual consumers based on the measured consumptions;

making a prognosis of a chronological development of the supply of electric power from the at least one solar power generator for a future period of time;

making a plan for apportioning electric power to the individual consumers within the future period of time based on the determined characteristic time curves of the consumption of electric power by the individual consumers and adapted to the prognosis and further based on at least one user goal setting comprising maximizing a local consumption by the consumers within the local power grid of electric power generated by the at least one solar power generator; and

apportioning, via a central controller, electric power to the individual consumers according to the plan within the future period of time, wherein the electric power is apportioned to the individual consumers according to the plan within the future period of time at a clock rate of at least 0.1 Hz, wherein the electric power is apportioned to two or more selected individual consumers, wherein the apportionment of electric power to a first of the selected individual consumers takes place in gaps of the consumption by a second of the selected individual consumers such that the consumption of the first and second individual consumer is mutually exclusive, and wherein at least one of the selected individual consumers comprises an oscillating consumption of electric power.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the consumption of electric power by the individual consumers is measured at the sample rate of one of at least 1 Hz, at least 10 Hz, at least 100 Hz or at least 1 kHz.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the electric power is apportioned to the individual consumers according to the plan within the future period of time at the clock rate of one of at least 1 Hz, at least 10 Hz or at least 100 Hz.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein measuring a consumption of electric power comprises one or more steps selected from the group consisting of:

measuring the consumption of electric power by at least one individual consumer at its single connector; and

measuring a sum of the consumption of electric power by a plurality of individual consumers by means of an electric meter.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the plan for apportioning electric power to the individual consumers is continuously updated based on an actual supply of electric power from the at least one solar power generator and on an actual demand of electric power by the individual consumers.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein updating the plan comprises at least one step selected from the group consisting of:

considering further electric values of at least one individual consumer measured at its single connector; and

considering further physical values of at least one individual consumer measured with sensors.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein apportioning electric power to the individual consumers comprises at least one step selected from the group consisting of:

executing the apportioning via at least one switchable single connector associated with a single one of the individual consumers;

limiting a maximum consumable electric power for at least one individual consumer;

limiting a maximum consumable electric power for at least one individual consumer by means of pulse width modulation;

accessing an interface of a controller of at least one individual consumer;

purposefully activating at least one individual consumer by means of an actuation element for a switch-on button of the individual consumer mounted to the individual consumer; and

levelling the electric power consumed by at least one of the individual consumers over at least a part of the future period of time by limiting the maximum consumable electric power for the at least one individual consumer while substantially keeping the average electric power consumed by the least one individual consumers identical to the average power consumed without levelling.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein making the plan for apportioning electric power to the individual consumers within the future period of time comprises at least one step selected from the group consisting of:

considering user-defined advance notifications of an operation of at least one individual consumer within the future period of time;

considering different priorities of the individual consumers within the future period of time;

making and considering a basic consumption prognosis that corresponds to the characteristic time curve of a consumption of electric power by all those consumers whose consumption of electric power is not limited;

making and considering a further prognosis of a chronological development of conditions of importing electric power from a public power grid for the future period of time;

making and considering a further prognosis of a chronological development of conditions of feeding electric power into the public power grid for the future period of time;

making and considering a further prognosis of a chronological development of conditions of buffering electric power in a storage for electric energy for the future period of time;

making and considering a further prognosis of a chronological development of conditions of transferring electric power to and from at least one other group consisting of at least one of consumers and power generators for the future period of time;

making and considering a further prognosis of a chronological development of conditions of an achievement of a same result in an alternative way by another existing consumer or power generator or another existing device for the future period of time;

making and considering a further prognosis of a chronological development of conditions of a provision of heat in an alternative way by another existing consumer or power generator or another existing device for the future period of time;

determining potential effects of an achievement of a same result in an alternative way under at least one of other conditions of the import of electric power from the public power grid and other conditions of the feeding of electric power into the public power grid; and

determining potential effects of an achievement of a provision of electric power to the individual consumers according to the plan in an alternative way under at least one of other conditions of the import of electric power from the public power grid and other conditions of the feeding of electric power into the public power grid.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the plan includes distributing the supply of electric power from a three-phase supply to individual single-phase consumers over the three phases of the three-phase supply.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the individual consumers are surveyed for proper function by comparing their actual time curves of the consumption of electric power with their characteristic time curves of the consumption of electric power.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the prognosis of the chronological development of the supply of electric power from the at least one solar power generator is made on the basis of weather forecasts.

12. An apparatus for optimizing the chronological development of consumption of electric power by a group of different consumers located within a local power grid with regard to a supply of electric power including electric power from at least one solar power generator located within the local power grid, the apparatus comprising:

measurement devices being configured to measure the consumption of electric power by each individual consumer of the group of different consumers at a sample rate of at least 0.1 Hz; and

a central controller configured to apportion electric power to the individual consumers, the central controller being configured to;

determine characteristic time curves of the consumption of electric power by the individual consumers based on the measured consumptions,

make a prognosis of a chronological development of the supply of electric power from the at least one solar power generator for a future period of time,

make a plan for apportioning electric power to the individual consumers within the future period of time based on the characteristic time curves of the consumption of electric power by the individual consumers and adapted to the prognosis and further based on user goal settings comprising one or more of;

maximizing a local consumption by the consumers within the local power grid of electric power generated by the at least one solar power generator;

or

minimizing or limiting a consumption of electric power within the local power grid supplied by the public power grid;

and

apportion electric power to the individual consumers according to the plan within the future period of time, wherein the central controller is configured to adjust the apportionment of electric power to the individual consumers according to the plan at a clock rate of at least 0.1 Hz, wherein the electric power is apportioned to two or more selected individual consumers, wherein the apportionment of electric power to a first of the selected individual consumers takes place in gaps of the consumption by a second of the selected individual consumers such that the consumption of the first and second individual consumer is mutually exclusive, and wherein at least one of the selected individual consumers comprises an oscillating consumption of electric power.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the measurement devices are configured to measure the consumption of electric power by the individual consumers at the sample rate of one of at least 1 Hz, at least 10 Hz, at least 100 Hz or at least 1 kHz.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the central controller is configured to adjust the apportionment of electric power to the individual consumers according to the plan at the clock rate of one of at least 1 Hz, at least 10 Hz or at least 100 Hz.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the measurement devices are selected from the group consisting of:

an electric meter configured to measure a sum of consumption of electric power by a plurality of individual consumers;

measurement devices configured to measure the consumption of electric power by at least one individual consumer at its single connector;

measurement devices configured to measure further electric values of at least one individual consumer from its single connector;

sensors to be mounted to at least one of the individual consumers and configured to measure further physical values of the consumer measurement devices; and

measurement devices configured to measures the actual supply of electric power from the at least one solar power generator.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising at least one switchable single connector via which the central controller apportions electric power to a single one of the individual consumers, wherein the at least single connector comprises at least one feature selected from the group consisting of:

the at least one switchable single connector is switchable at a high frequency to limit the maximum power which may be consumed by the single individual consumer;

the at least one switchable single connector is switchable to limit the maximum power which may be consumed by the single individual consumer by means of pulse width modulation; and

the at least one single connector comprises a communication interface for communicating wirelessly or via Power Line Communication.

17. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising at least one controllable actuation element configured to be mounted to one of the individual consumers for pressing its switch-on button.

18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the central controller comprises an interface configured to enable communication of the central controller with at least one interface of a controller of one of the individual consumers.

19. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising at least one adaptor comprising a three-phase AC power input and at least one single-phase AC power output that is selectively switchable by the controller to different phases of the AC power input.

20. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the central controller further comprises at least one interface selected from the group consisting of:

an interface configured to access the internet;

an interface configured to access an external data base;

an interface configured to receive weather forecasts;

an interface configured to receive conditions of importing electric power from a public power grid;

an interface configured to receive conditions of buffering electric power in a storage device for electric energy; and

an interface configured to interconnect with at least one further similar apparatus and to exchange prognoses of chronological developments of at least one of the supply and of the consumption of electric power for the future period of time with the at least one further similar apparatus via this interface.

21. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising at least one display unit configured to display at least one of the plan for apportioning electric power to the individual consumers and an availability of electric power from the at least one solar power generator which is not yet used according to the plan.

22. The apparatus of claim 12, combined with the group of different consumers and the at least one solar power generator in the local power grid, wherein the local power grid is connected to a public power grid via a bidirectional grid connection point which is selected from the group consisting of:

a household connection point;

a distribution point in a public power grid;

a transformer in a local or public power grid.

23. A method of optimizing a chronological development of consumption of electric power by a group of different consumers located within a local power grid with regard to a supply of electric power by different power sources including at least one solar power generator located within the local power grid and at least one of a storage for electric energy located within the local power grid and a public power grid which allow for a bi-directional exchange of electric power, comprising:

measuring a consumption of electric power by each individual consumer of the group of different consumers;

determining characteristic time curves of the consumption of electric power by the individual consumers based on the measured consumptions;

making a prognosis of a chronological development of the supply of electric power from the at least one solar power generator for a future period of time;

making a plan for apportioning electric power to the individual consumers within the future period of time based on;

the prognosis,

the characteristic time curves of the consumption of electric power by the individual consumers,

the conditions of the bi-directional exchange of electric power with the at least one of the storage for electric energy and the public power grid, and

at least one user goal setting set by a user of the consumers and resulting in different weightings of at least one of consumption of electric power by the different consumers and supply of electric power by the different power sources within the future period of time;

apportioning, via a central controller, electric power to the individual consumers according to the plan within the future period of time, wherein the apportionment of electric power to the individual consumers according to the plan is adjusted at a clock rate of at least 0.1 Hz, wherein the electric power is apportioned to two or more selected individual consumers, wherein the apportionment of electric power to a first of the selected individual consumers takes place in gaps of the consumption by a second of the selected individual consumers such that the consumption of the first and second individual consumer is mutually exclusive, and wherein at least one of the selected individual consumers comprises an oscillating consumption of electric power; and

updating the plan based on an actual supply of electric power by the at least one solar power generator and an actual consumption of electric power by the individual consumers.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the different weightings include different weighting factors selected from the group consisting of:

different weighting factors for at least one of the electric power to be consumed by the different individual consumers according to the plan and the cost of this electric power in the future period of time;

different weighting factors for the electric power to be consumed and the cost of this electric power which vary in the future period of time;

different weighting factors for the electric power to be consumed and the cost of this electric power which are a function of time; and

different weighting factors for at least one of the electric power to be consumed when supplied by the different power sources according to the plan and the cost of this electric power in the future period of time.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the at least one user goal setting is selected from the group consisting of:

maximizing a local consumption of electric power generated by the at least one solar power generator;

minimizing or limiting cost of electric power consumed by the consumers;

minimizing or limiting a consumption of electric power supplied by the public power grid;

minimizing or limiting deviations of starting and ending points in time of an operation of a consumer from a user presetting; and

minimizing or limiting a deviation of a temperature adjusted my means of the consumers from a desired temperature within a certain interval of time within the future period of time.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the weighting factors for simultaneously valid user goal settings are added up prior to their application, wherein the weighting factors for each of the simultaneously valid user goal settings further comprise a fixed weighting factor which corresponds to the relative importance of the user goal setting with regard to the other simultaneously valid user goal settings.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein a sum of at least one of a weighted consumed electric power and a sum of a weighted cost of the consumed electric power are limited or minimized when making the plan for apportioning electric power to the individual consumers.

28. An apparatus for optimizing a temporal development of consumption of electric power by a group of different consumers located within a local power grid with regard to a supply of electric power by different power sources including at least one solar power generator located within the local power grid and at least one of a storage for electric energy located within the local power grid and a public power grid which allow for a bidirectional exchange of electric power, comprising a central controller configured to

measure a consumption of electric power by each individual consumer of the group of different consumers;

determine characteristic time curves of the consumption of electric power by the individual consumers based on the measured consumptions;

make a prognosis of a chronological development of the supply of electric power from the at least one solar power generator for a future period of time;

make a plan for apportioning electric power to the individual consumers within the future period of time based on;

the prognosis,

the characteristic time curves of the consumption of electric power by the individual consumers,

the conditions of the bi-directional exchange of electric power with the at least one of the storage for electric energy and the public power grid, and

at least one user goal setting set by a user of the consumers and resulting in different weightings of at least one of consumption of electric power by the different consumers and supply of electric power by the different power sources within the future period of time;

apportion electric power to the individual consumers according to the plan within the future period of time, wherein the apportionment of electric power to the individual consumers according to the plan is adjusted at a clock rate of at least 0.1 Hz, wherein the electric power is apportioned to two or more selected individual consumers, wherein the apportionment of electric power to a first of the selected individual consumers takes place in gaps of the consumption by a second of the selected individual consumers such that the consumption of the first and second individual consumer is mutually exclusive, and wherein at least one of the selected individual consumers comprises an oscillating consumption of electric power; and

update the plan based on an actual supply of electric power by the at least one solar power generator and an actual consumption of electric power by the individual consumers.