System and method for monitoring and controlling energy distribution

• US 6,519,509 B1
• Filed: 06/22/2000
• Issued: 02/11/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Stonewater Control Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Stonewater Software, Inc.
• Inventors: Nierlich, Gerd W., Heffernan, James Ronan
• Primary Examiner(s): Von Buhr, Maria N.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bahta, Kidest
• Application Number:
  US09/602,071
• Time in Patent Office: 964 Days
• Field of Search: 700/286, 700/291, 700/297, 700/293, 700/295
• US Class Current: 700/286
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/60 Limiting power consumption in the network or in one section of the network, e.g. load shedding or peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/64 The condition being economic, e.g. tariff based load management
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/008 involving trading of energy or energy transmission rights
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/144 Demand-response operation of the power transmission or distribution network
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/3225 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/222 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 50/10 Energy trading, including energy flowing from end-user application to grid

Abstract

Systems that monitor and control energy distribution manage energy distribution or use for Energy Service Providers and end-users. A system includes a publicly or privately accessible distributed network, a network access device, and a management device. The network access device communicates with the management device through the distributed network to control loads at a remote location. The method of monitoring and controlling energy distribution receives data at an on-line Site, processes an application program that evaluates load and market supply data, and initiates power curtailment requests or power curtailment events.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring and controlling energy distribution from at least one Energy Service Provider, comprising:

a publicly accessible distributed network;

a network access device that interfaces power monitoring and power curtailment circuitry to said distributed network; and

a management device that supports interfaces to said power monitoring and said power curtailment circuitry, said management device located remotely from said network access device, and comprising a control device that interfaces said network access device through said publicly accessible distributed network, wherein said management device controls electrical loads at a remote location based in part on market prices of electricity;

wherein said network access device comprises a plurality of E1-2000s located remotely from said management device.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein each of said Internet Customer Curtailment Modules share a common identification code that allows said Internet Customer Curtailment Modules to interconnect with said publicly accessible distributed network through a single service provider account.

3. A system for monitoring and redistributing energy, comprising:

a publicly accessible network;

an energy exchange interfaced to said publicly accessible network;

an E1-2000 interfaced to power monitoring circuitry, power curtailment circuitry and said publicly accessible network;

an on-line Site interfaced to said E1-2000 and said energy exchange through said publicly accessible network, said on-line Site facilitating energy redistribution by monitoring power consumption data through said E1-2000, price data through said energy exchange, and initiating curtailment events through said E1-2000.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said E1-2000 comprises software and said on-line Site interface to said E1-2000 is a periodic interface controlled by said software.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein said E1-2000 comprises a modem and an Ethernet device and said on-line Site interface to said E1-2000 occurs through one of said modem and said Ethernet device.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein said E1-2000 comprises a wireless device and said on-line Site interface to said E1-2000 occurs through said wireless device.

7. The system of claim 3, wherein said on-line Site comprises a communication server, a database server, and a Web application server.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein each of said communication, database, and Web application servers further comprise secondary servers that backup each of said communication, database, and Web application servers.

9. The system of claim 3, wherein said publicly accessible network is the Internet.

10. The system of claim 3, wherein said E1-2000 is a programmable device can be programmed through said on-line Site.

11. The system of claim 3, wherein said E1-2000 is responsive to a ring instruction.

12. The system of claim 3, further comprising an end-user interface, an energy supplier interface, and an administrative interface wherein each of said interfaces are located remotely from one another.

13. The system of claim 3 wherein said on-line Site interface to said E1-2000 is a continuous interface that allows said on-line Site to monitor price data and power consumption data in real-time.