×

Home energy management devices, systems, and methods

  • US 9,927,819 B2
  • Filed: 03/27/2012
  • Issued: 03/27/2018
  • Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2012
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
Patent Images

1. A home energy management device, comprising:

  • a thermostat, wherein;

    the thermostat is configured to control operation of an air conditioner and a furnace of a home; and

    the thermostat includes a multi-node communication hub embedded in a back plate of the thermostat and configured to;

    control operation of a number of additional energy loads associated with the home by communicating with the number of additional energy loads over a number of different communication protocols, wherein each respective communication protocol includes a different link layer and a different application layer, wherein controlling the operation of the number of additional energy loads includes;

    monitoring energy consumption of the number of additional energy loads; and

    automatically adjusting the operation of the number of additional energy loads based on the energy consumption of the number of additional energy loads, wherein automatically adjusting the operation of the number of additional energy loads includes communicating with a first of the additional energy loads over a first wireless communication protocol and communicating with a second of the additional energy loads over a second wireless communication protocol that is different than the first wireless communication protocol;

    control operation of a number of energy storage devices associated with the home, wherein controlling the operation of the number of energy storage devices includes communicating with a first of the energy storage devices over a first wireless communication protocol and communicating with a second of the energy storage devices over a second wireless communication protocol that is different than the first wireless communication protocol over which the first of the energy storage devices is communicated with;

    communicate with a utility meter associated with the home to receive, from an energy service provider through the utility meter, a notification of a change in price of energy provided to the home by the energy service provider; and

    adjust the operation of the air conditioner and the furnace of the home based on the change in price of the energy provided to the home; and

    wherein the multi-node communication hub includes a web server configured to;

    permit a web enabled device to directly access the multi-node communication hub from within the home; and

    permit the web enabled device to access the multi-node communication hub from outside the home through a web portal hosted external to the home.

View all claims
  • 3 Assignments
Timeline View
Assignment View
    ×
    ×