System and Method for Provisioning Energy Systems

• US 20110205245A1
• Filed: 10/06/2008
• Published: 08/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pineapple Energy LLC, Sungevity Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sungevity
• Inventors: Pryor, Adam, Kennedy, Daniel Ian, Birch, Andrew
• Granted Patent: US 9,279,602 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/636
• CPC Class Codes: F24S 2201/00 Prediction; Simulation
• CPC Class Codes: F24S 50/00 Arrangements for controlling solar heat collectors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2119/06 Power analysis or power optimisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/13 Architectural design, e.g. computer-aided architectural design [CAAD] related to design of buildings, bridges, landscapes, production plants or roads
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 10/10 Photovoltaic [PV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 10/20 Solar thermal
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/40 Solar thermal energy, e.g. solar towers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/50 Photovoltaic [PV] energy

Abstract

The invention provides systems and methods for provisioning a site with an energy system such as a solar energy system. A system according to an embodiment of the invention comprises a user interface module providing a graphical user interface for receiving information from a user, for example a potential purchaser. The information includes location information for the site to be provisioned. An image retrieval module is coupled to the user interface module and to a source of geographical information. The image retrieval module retrieves at least one image of the site corresponding to the location provided by the user. A sizing module is configured to enable a user to measure an installation surface represented in the image. Energy system components are selected based on the measurements.

Claims

1-68. -68. (canceled)

69. A system for measuring a real world structure to be provisioned with solar panels by measuring an image including the structure, the system comprising:

a display unit configured to display the image including the structure;

metadata for the image representing a scale of the image with respect to the real world;

a displayable, user-adjustable indicator, the indicator calibrated in accordance with the scale such that user adjustment of the indicator with respect to the displayed image of the structure provides a measurement of the real world structure.

70. The system of claim 69 wherein the image including the structure includes a roof of the structure and wherein the indicator is operable to measure an area of at least a portion of the roof

71. The system of claim 69 wherein the image including the structure includes a roof of the structure and wherein the indicator is operable to measure pitch of the roof

72. The system of claim 69 further comprising:

a source of images of real world structures, the system configured to receive and display a selected image of a real world structure from the source of images;

a source of corresponding scale information for the images, the system configured to receive corresponding scale information for the selected received image;

the indicator calibrated in accordance with the received corresponding scale information.

73. The system of claim 69 further comprising an image acquisition unit including an input for receiving structure location information from a user, the image acquisition unit selecting an image of the structure from the source of images based on the received structure location information.

74. The system of claim 69 wherein the image acquisition unit includes an input for receiving structure location from a user computer system via the Internet.

75. The system of claim 69 further comprising:

a specification unit communicating with the indicator;

a source of energy consumption information for the real world structure, communicating with the specification unit;

the specification unit providing specifications for the solar panels based on information received from the source of energy consumption information and the measurement of the real world structure provided by the indicator.

76. The system of claim 75 further comprising a source of solar panel information configured to communicate with the specification unit to provide information about selected solar panels for installation on the structure, the information selected based at least in part on the specifications.

77. The system of claim 76 wherein the information provided by the source of solar panel information includes an image of the selected solar panels and wherein the image is provided to the display unit for superimposed display with the displayed image of the structure.

78. The system of claim 69 wherein the indicator further comprises at least one displayed length-adjustable line segment extendable along a roof edge of the structure to measure a length of the roof edge.

79. The system of claim 69 wherein the image of the structure comprises an image of a roof and wherein the adjustable indicator comprises two line segments and wherein adjustment by the user of the length of one of the line segments results in automatic corresponding adjustment of the other line segment in accordance with an image scale, such that the user is enabled to measure an area of the roof by adjusting the indicator.

80. A method for measuring a real world structure for installation of solar panels comprising:

displaying an image of the structure on a display device;

providing an interactive indicator for display on the display device;

displaying the interactive indicator on the display device;

enabling a human operator to manipulate the interactive indicator with respect to the displayed image of the structure to indicate a dimension of the displayed image;

providing a measurement of the real world structure based on the indicated dimension of the displayed image.

81. The method of claim 80 wherein enabling the human operator to manipulate the interactive indicator to indicate a dimension is carried out by enabling the human operator to align the user-adjustable indicator along a roof edge of the image of the structure.

82. The method of claim 80, further comprising receiving scale information for the image of the structure and wherein the step of providing a measurement is carried out based, at least in part, on the received scale information and at least in part on the indications of the dimension of the displayed image.

83. The method of claim 80 further comprising automatically determining components to comprise an installed solar energy system based, at least in part on the measurements.

84. The method of claim 83 further comprising receiving energy use information for the structure and wherein the step of automatically determining components is based at least in part on the measurement of the real world structure and at least in part on the indication of energy use for the structure.

85. The method of claim 83, further comprising enabling the human operator to manipulate the interactive indicator to measure roof pitch.

86. A method for rapidly provisioning a structure with solar panels comprising:

receiving structure location information from a first human operator system;

selecting an image of the structure for display to a second human operator on a first display device;

displaying an interactive indicator on the first display device and enabling the second human operator to generate measurements of the structure by manipulating the displayed interactive indicator with respect to the displayed image of the structure;

evaluating the structure for provisioning with solar panels based, at least in part on the measurements.

87. The method of claim 86, further comprising displaying the image of the structure to the first human operator on a second display device.