Systems, methods, and apparatus to generate an energy consumption index

• US 8,170,886 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2009
• Issued: 05/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nielsen Consumer LLC (Nielsen Holdings plc)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Luff, Robert A.
• Primary Examiner(s): KELLEY, HEIDI RIVIERE
• Application Number:
  US12/414,289
• Publication Number:
  US 20100082499A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,128 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1.1, 705/63, 333/61, 733/24
• US Class Current: 705/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/04 Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/84 Greenhouse gas [GHG] management systems

Abstract

Systems, methods, and apparatus to generate an energy consumption index are disclosed. In one described example, a method to generate an energy consumption index is disclosed, the method including measuring resources consumed at a home associated with a first person and calculating a home energy value indicative of the resources consumed at the home and measuring resources consumed by the person while located outside the home and calculating an out of home energy value indicative of the resources consumed by the person while located outside the home. The example method further includes identifying goods purchased by the person and calculating a purchase energy value indicative of the resources associated with the purchased goods, and generating an energy consumption index associated with the person based on the home energy value, the out of home energy value, and the purchase energy value.

Claims

1. A method to generate an energy consumption index, the method comprising:

measuring, via a first sensor, resources consumed at a home associated with a person and calculating a home energy value indicative of the resources consumed at the home;

measuring, via a second sensor, resources consumed by the person while located outside the home and calculating an out of home energy value indicative of the resources consumed by the person while located outside the home;

identifying goods purchased by the person and calculating a purchase energy value indicative of an amount of energy required to manufacture the goods and to manufacture packaging of the goods; and

generating, via a logic circuit, an energy consumption index associated with the person based on the home energy value, the out of home energy value, and the purchase energy value.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising allocating at least a portion of the home energy value, a portion of the out of home energy value, or a portion of the purchase energy value from the person to a second person.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising displaying the personal energy consumption index at a location visible to the person.

4. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising measuring resources consumed by the person associated with a vehicle and calculating a transportation energy value indicative of the resources consumed by the vehicle.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the resources consumed at the home comprise at least one of electricity measurements, natural gas measurements, gasoline measurements, fuel oil measurements, kerosene measurements, propane measurements, wood measurements, light measurements, temperature measurements, water measurements, and/or heating oil measurements.

6. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising transmitting the energy consumption index to an external server for aggregating with an additional energy consumption index.

7. A method as defined in claim 6, further comprising displaying the energy consumption index and the aggregated energy consumption indices at a location visible to the person.

8. An apparatus to generate an energy consumption index, comprising:

an activity converter to convert activity information associated with activities performed by one or more household members to at least one of a home energy value or an out of home energy value;

a raw material converter to convert raw material information associated with raw material usage to a second home energy value;

a purchases converter to convert purchases information associated with purchased goods to a purchase energy value indicative of an amount of energy required to manufacture the goods and to manufacture packaging of the goods;

a transportation converter to convert transportation information associated with transporting one or more household members to a transportation energy value; and

a logic circuit to compute an energy index based on one or more of the first home energy value, the out of home energy value, the second home energy value, the purchase energy value, and the transportation energy value.

9. An apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein the energy value summer further receives data associated with an energy usage goal, and wherein the energy index is further based on the energy usage goal.

10. An apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein the energy value summer sums the received energy values, and outputs at least one of the energy index or the summed energy values to an external data processor.

11. An apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein the raw material information comprises at least one of electricity measurements, natural gas measurements, gasoline measurements, fuel oil measurements, kerosene measurements, propane measurements, wood measurements, light measurements, temperature measurements, water measurements, or heating oil measurements.

12. A tangible article of manufacture, storing machine readable instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

measure resources consumed at a home associated with a person and calculate a home energy value indicative of the resources consumed at the home;

measure resources consumed by the person while located outside the home and calculate an out of home energy value indicative of the resources consumed by the person while located outside the home;

identify goods purchased by the person and calculate a purchase energy value indicative of an amount of energy required to manufacture the goods and to manufacture packaging of the goods; and

generate an energy consumption index associated with the person based on the home energy value, the out of home energy value, and the purchase energy value.

13. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 12, wherein the instructions further cause the machine to allocate at least a portion of the home energy value, the out of home energy value, or the purchase energy value from the person to a second person.

14. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 12, wherein the instructions further cause the machine to display the energy consumption index at a location visible to the person.

15. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 12, wherein the instructions further cause the machine to measure resources consumed by a vehicle and to calculate a transportation energy value indicative of the resources consumed by the vehicle.

16. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 12, wherein the resources consumed at the home comprise at least one of electricity measurements, natural gas measurements, gasoline measurements, fuel oil measurements, kerosene measurements, propane measurements, wood measurements, light measurements, temperature measurements, water measurements, and/or heating oil measurements.

17. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 12, wherein the instructions further cause the machine to transmit the energy consumption index to an external server for aggregating with an additional energy consumption index.

18. A method to generate energy consumption data, comprising:

querying a database for a purchases energy value associated with an item purchased by an individual;

querying the database or a second database for an out of home energy value associated with activity information corresponding to the individual for an out of home, non-transportation activity;

combining, via a logic circuit, the purchases energy value and the out of home energy value;

assigning a combined energy value to a purchasing household or a purchasing individual; and

outputting an indicator representing energy consumption of the household or the individual.

19. A method as defined in claim 18, further comprising:

querying the database, the second database, or a second database for a transportation energy value associated with the transportation information associated with the individual,

wherein the indicator representing the energy consumption of the household or the individual is based on the purchases energy value, the out of home energy value, and the transportation energy value.