Electrical device with a load manager that communicates with appliances and an electric utility

• US 9,948,102 B2
• Filed: 02/04/2015
• Issued: 04/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Peak Reduction LLC
• Original Assignee: Philip Scott Lyren, William Christopher Lyren, William James Lyren
• Inventors: Lyren, Philip Scott, Lyren, William James, Lyren, William Christopher
• Primary Examiner(s): Bahta, Kidest
• Application Number:
  US14/613,389
• Publication Number:
  US 20150145335A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,168 Days
• Field of Search: 700291, 700286
• 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. An electrical device that communicates with home appliances and an electric utility to reduce a cost of electricity, comprising:

a memory that stores instructions;

a processing unit that executes the instructions;

a network interface that wirelessly connects to a network and communicates with the home appliances and the electric utility; and

a load manager in communication with the processing unit in which the load manager;

receives, from the home appliances, requests for power that include amounts of power to be used and future time ranges for using the amounts of power with the future time ranges extending for greater than a time needed for the home appliances to execute and use the amounts of power being requested;

consolidates the amounts of power into a consolidated amount of power;

consolidates the future time ranges into a consolidated future time range;

transmits the consolidated amount of power and the consolidated future time range to the electric utility;

receives, from the electric utility, a time in the consolidated future time range when to begin to use the consolidated amount of power; and

communicates with the home appliances to begin usage of the consolidated amount of power at the time received from the electric utility.

2. The electrical device of claim 1 in which the load manager further:

analyzes historical operating information of the home appliances;

determines, based on analysis of the historical operating information, which of the home appliances are variable time-based load devices (VTLDs), wherein a VTLD is an electrical device that does not start at a specific time upon demand but can start any time during a time frame after the demand.

3. The electrical device of claim 1 in which the load manager further:

receives, from the electric utility, a time frame when high peak demand will occur at a future time;

communicates with the home appliances to cycle on and cycle off the home appliances during the time frame when the high peak demand occurs in order to reduce a cost of electricity.

4. The electrical device of claim 1, wherein the load manager communicates with the home appliances through the network interface via a home area network and communicates with the electric utility through the network interface via an internet.

5. The electrical device of claim 1, wherein the load manager further:

analyzes historical data to predict an amount of power that solar panels will generate during the consolidated future time range;

reduces the consolidated amount of power by the amount of power that the solar panels will generate during the consolidated future time range;

transmits the consolidated amount of power to the electric utility after reducing the consolidated amount of power by the amount of power that the solar panels will generate during the consolidated future time range.

6. The electrical device of claim 1 wherein the load manager further:

transmits the consolidated amount of power and the consolidated future time range to several different electric utilities;

requests, from the several different electric utilities, price quotes to purchase the consolidated amount of power during the consolidated future time range;

analyzes the price quotes to select one of the several different electric utilities that offers a lowest price for the consolidated amount of power during the consolidated future time range.

7. The electrical device of claim 1 wherein the load manager further:

analyzes forecasts of weather to determine whether a temperature will drop or rise;

pre-purchase power for the home appliances from the electric utility when a determination is made that the weather will drop or rise.

8. A method executed by a load manager in an electrical device to reduce a cost of electricity to a customer and to reduce peak demand to an electric utility, the method comprising:

receiving, at a network interface of the electrical device in a home area network, requests for power for appliances of the customer in which the requests for power include amounts of power to be used by the appliances during future time ranges that extend for greater than a time needed for the appliances to execute and use the requests for power;

consolidating, by the load manager in the electrical device, the amounts of power into a consolidated amount of power;

consolidating, by the load manager in the electrical device, the future time ranges into a consolidated future time range;

transmitting, from the network interface of the electrical device, the consolidated amount of power and the consolidated future time range to the electric utility;

receiving, at the network interface of the electrical device and from the electric utility, a time during the consolidated future time range when to begin to use the consolidated amount of power; and

communicating, from the network interface of the electrical device, the time in the home area network such that the appliances commence usage of the consolidated amount of power at the time received from the electric utility.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

monitoring, by the load manager in the electrical device, weather forecasts that predict changes in temperature during a future time;

communicating, by the load manager in the electrical device, with the electric utility to pre-purchase power for use by the appliances during the future time in order to purchase the power at a lower cost.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

communicating, by the load manager in the electrical device, with other load managers in other electrical devices of other customers to form a group that is formed of the customer and the other customers;

negotiating, by the load manager in the electrical device and with the electric utility, a price to purchase electrical power for the group that is formed of the customer and the other customers.

11. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

imposing, by the electric utility and on the customer, a penalty of paying a higher price for the consolidated amount of power when the customer fails to use all of the consolidated amount of power during the consolidated future time range.

12. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

transmitting, from the electrical device and to the electric utility, the consolidated future time range that includes 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.

13. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

transmitting, from the electrical device, the consolidated amount of power and the consolidated future time range to a plurality of different electric utilities in order to receive different price bids for selling the consolidated amount of power to the customer.

14. A computer system, comprising:

a server of an electric utility that analyzes requests for power from customers to reduce peak demand; and

electrical devices of the customers that reduce a cost of electricity purchased from the electric utility in which each of the electrical devices includes;

a load manager with a memory that stores instructions and with a processing unit that executes the instructions to wirelessly communicate with appliances to determine requests for power that include amounts of power to be used during future time ranges that extend for greater than a time needed for the appliances to execute and use the requests for power, to consolidate the amounts of power into a consolidated amount of power, to consolidate the future time ranges into a consolidated future time range, to transmit the consolidated amount of power and the consolidated future time range to the server of the electric utility, to receive from the electric utility a time when to begin to use the consolidated amount of power in the consolidated future time range, and to instruct the appliances the time when to begin use of the consolidated amount of power.

15. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the consolidated future time range includes multiple different future start times and multiple different future end times for when a customer will consume the consolidated amount of power being requested.

16. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the processing unit of the load manager further executes the instructions to analyze operating information of the appliances of a customer and to predict the consolidated amount of power and the consolidated future time range before sending the consolidated amount of power and the consolidated future time range to the electric utility.

17. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the processing unit of the load manager further executes the instructions to transmit the consolidated amount of power and the consolidated future time range to multiple different electric utilities to receive competing prices to purchase the consolidated amount of power for use during the consolidated future time range.

18. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the processing unit of the load manager further executes the instructions to analyze operating information of the appliances and to determine which ones of the appliances are a variable time-based load device (VTLD), wherein the VTLD is an electrical device that does not start at a specific time upon demand but can start any time during a time frame after the demand.

19. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the processing unit of the load manager further executes the instruction to receive from the electric utility a rate schedule that includes demand charges during a high peak demand period, and to cycle on and cycle off the appliances during the high peak demand period to reduce the cost of electricity.

20. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the processing unit of the load manager further executes the instructions to analyze operating information of the appliances to predict the amounts of power and the future time ranges when the appliances will use the amounts of power.