Patent ID: 9489701
Filing Date: 2016-11-08
CPC Classification: G06Q,Y02E,Y04S

Claim Text:
1. A system for controlling power flow to a facility, the system comprising: a controller for controlling said power flow to said facility and for controlling elements of said system; a power bus for coupling elements of said system to said controller and to one another; at least one energy storage unit element for storing energy, said at least one energy storage unit element being coupled to said power bus; at least one renewable energy source for generating power, said at least one renewable energy source being coupled to said power bus; at least one power load located at said facility, said at least one power load being controlled by said controller; wherein said controller controls said power flow to said facility based on at least one of: said controller predicts an electricity demand of said facility for a succeeding fixed and predetermined future time period based on historical data for power consumption of said facility; said controller predicts a renewable energy production capacity of said at least one renewable energy source; said controller determines a net demand for power by said facility based on a predicted electricity demand and on a predicted renewable energy production capacity; said controller determines whether to draw power from an external power grid based on said net demand for power; said controller, when necessary, configures said power flow to said facility to an islanded mode wherein, when in islanded mode, said facility is disconnected from said external power grid and said facility only uses power from said at least one renewable energy source and from said at least one energy storage unit element; said controller optimizes power decisions for said facility using a Mixed Integer Linear Programming formulation using optimization costs which include buying/selling electricity, peak demand, battery usage, battery power signal smoothing, grid connection signal smoothing, and grid connection signal flattening.