Pre-Grant Publication Number: 20110029461
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Prior Art Detail
Summary / Description
| Summary / Description | In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a system for managing energy, comprising a digital exchange with a communications interface adapted to allow connections from remote users over a data network, is disclosed. According to the embodiment, the digital exchange receives preferences from a plurality of exchange participants, and these preferences are used at least in part to create response profiles relevant to the participants, and at least some of the response profiles are aggregated into response packages with defined statistical properties. ... |
Basic Information
| Type of Prior Art | Issued Patents - US |
| Country | United States of America |
| Patent/Application # | 12/383,993 |
| Kind Code | United States (US) - United STATES Patent - A |
| Patentee Name | Brian R. Galvin |
| Relevant Pages, Columns, or Lines | |
| URL | http://www.google.com/patents?i... |
| Filing Date | March 30, 2009 |
| Additional Information | |
Notes / To Do
| Notes | This prior art is a patent for "System and method for managing energy". The system also consists of communicating with energy consumers. It is important to understand if this method is notably different from the methods described in the patent a |
Excerpt
Excerpt In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a system for managing energy, comprising a digital exchange with a communications interface adapted to allow connections from remote users over a data network, is disclosed. According to the embodiment, the digital exchange receives preferences from a plurality of exchange participants, and these preferences are used at least in part to create response profiles relevant to the participants, and at least some of the response profiles are aggregated into response packages with defined statistical properties. Also according to the embodiment, at least some of the response packages are made available for use by participants in the digital exchange.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, a method for managing energy is disclosed, comprising the steps of receiving preferences from participants in a digital exchange, using those preferences at least in part to create response profiles relevant to the participants, aggregating at least some of the response profiles into response packages with defined statistical properties, and making at least some of the response packages available for use by participants in a digital exchange.
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The method is based on collecting detailed data about usage patterns from large numbers of such users, including how these usage patterns vary during various time periods, including peak demand periods and periods when sources of renewable energy (such as wind or solar) are unavailable or are available in abundance. Additionally, detailed data on how each user reacts, either automatically or otherwise, to management signals sent during peak demand or other periods, is collected.
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illustrates a network architecture according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. A digital exchange 100 acts as a control point according to an embodiment. Users such as small businesses and consumers participate by interacting with the digital exchange 100 . Interaction is normally conducted by connecting to the digital exchange 100 via the Internet 101 , although this is not necessary according to the invention. Interaction between users and the digital exchange 100 can be conducted by any suitable communications medium, such as wired or wireless telephony. In various embodiments of the invention, users interact with the digital exchange 100 through the use of mobile phones 122 , personal computers (PCs) 120 , or a home area network (HAN) keypad 121 such as might be used as part of a home automation system. While according to a preferred embodiment of the invention interaction data such as preferences or requested actions are passed over the Internet 101 to and from users via one or more of these various devices, it should be appreciated that web-based services can today be delivered over a large and growing number of device types and communications networks without departing from the scope of the invention. |
Relevance
Claims
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Also communicates power pricing with consumer. This also includes collecting power preference to control the power used.
Also communicates power pricing with consumer. This also includes collecting power preference to control the power used.
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Unfortunately, a large portion (roughly 33%) of the electric power used during peak periods goes to small users, who do not normally participate in demand management. These users often are unaware of their energy usage habits, and they rarely pay for electricity at varying rates. Rather, they pay a price per unit of electricity used that is tightly regulated and fixed. Partly this is due to the fact that the large majority of small businesses and homes do not have “smart meters”; the amount of power used by these consumers of electricity is measured only once per month and thus there is no way to charge an interval price (typically pricing is set at intervals of 15 minutes when interval pricing is in effect) that varies based on market conditions. Furthermore, the loads in the homes and businesses of small electricity users are invisible to the utilities; it is generally not possible for utilities to “see”, much less to control, loads in homes and small businesses. Loads here refers to anything that uses electricity, including but not limited to lighting, heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), hot water, “white goods” (large appliances such as washers, driers, refrigerators and the like), hot tubs, computers, and so forth.
One approach in the art to improving the situation with small users is to install smart meters at homes small businesses. While the primary motivation for doing so is to enable interval-based usage measurement and the communication of interval-based prices to the users, it is also possible to provide the consumer with much more information on how she uses energy than was possible without a smart meter. Given this granular usage information, utilities and some third parties also hope to be able to send signals, either via pricing or “code red” messages (which ask consumers to turn off unnecessary loads due to grid constraints), or both. In some cases, third parties seek to provide visibility and control to utilities so that, when consumers allow it, the utilities can turn loads off during peak demand to manage the peak. A related method involves the use of “gateway” devices to access a consumer's (again, referring to residences, businesses, and institutions) home area networks (HAN) to communicate with or turn off local devices.
Unfortunately, a large portion (roughly 33%) of the electric power used during peak periods goes to small users, who do not normally participate in demand management. These users often are unaware of their energy usage habits, and they rarely pay for electricity at varying rates. Rather, they pay a price per unit of electricity used that is tightly regulated and fixed. Partly this is due to the fact that the large majority of small businesses and homes do not have “smart meters”; the amount of power used by these consumers of electricity is measured only once per month and thus there is no way to charge an interval price (typically pricing is set at intervals of 15 minutes when interval pricing is in effect) that varies based on market conditions. Furthermore, the loads in the homes and businesses of small electricity users are invisible to the utilities; it is generally not possible for utilities to “see”, much less to control, loads in homes and small businesses. Loads here refers to anything that uses electricity, including but not limited to lighting, heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), hot water, “white goods” (large appliances such as washers, driers, refrigerators and the like), hot tubs, computers, and so forth.
One approach in the art to improving the situation with small users is to install smart meters at homes small businesses. While the primary motivation for doing so is to enable interval-based usage measurement and the communication of interval-based prices to the users, it is also possible to provide the consumer with much more information on how she uses energy than was possible without a smart meter. Given this granular usage information, utilities and some third parties also hope to be able to send signals, either via pricing or “code red” messages (which ask consumers to turn off unnecessary loads due to grid constraints), or both. In some cases, third parties seek to provide visibility and control to utilities so that, when consumers allow it, the utilities can turn loads off during peak demand to manage the peak. A related method involves the use of “gateway” devices to access a consumer's (again, referring to residences, businesses, and institutions) home area networks (HAN) to communicate with or turn off local devices.
Claim Chart
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Unfortunately, a large portion (roughly 33%) of the electric power used during peak periods goes to small users, who do not normally participate in demand management. These users often are unaware of their energy usage habits, and they rarely pay for electricity at varying rates. Rather, they pay a price per unit of electricity used that is tightly regulated and fixed. Partly this is due to the fact that the large majority of small businesses and homes do not have “smart meters”; the amount of power used by these consumers of electricity is measured only once per month and thus there is no way to charge an interval price (typically pricing is set at intervals of 15 minutes when interval pricing is in effect) that varies based on market conditions. Furthermore, the loads in the homes and businesses of small electricity users are invisible to the utilities; it is generally not possible for utilities to “see”, much less to control, loads in homes and small businesses. Loads here refers to anything that uses electricity, including but not limited to lighting, heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), hot water, “white goods” (large appliances such as washers, driers, refrigerators and the like), hot tubs, computers, and so forth.
Unfortunately, a large portion (roughly 33%) of the electric power used during peak periods goes to small users, who do not normally participate in demand management. These users often are unaware of their energy usage habits, and they rarely pay for electricity at varying rates. Rather, they pay a price per unit of electricity used that is tightly regulated and fixed. Partly this is due to the fact that the large majority of small businesses and homes do not have “smart meters”; the amount of power used by these consumers of electricity is measured only once per month and thus there is no way to charge an interval price (typically pricing is set at intervals of 15 minutes when interval pricing is in effect) that varies based on market conditions. Furthermore, the loads in the homes and businesses of small electricity users are invisible to the utilities; it is generally not possible for utilities to “see”, much less to control, loads in homes and small businesses. Loads here refers to anything that uses electricity, including but not limited to lighting, heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), hot water, “white goods” (large appliances such as washers, driers, refrigerators and the like), hot tubs, computers, and so forth.
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