Abstract:
A system and method that allows a consumer to monitor the electrical power usage in a residence is disclosed. The electrical use may be monitored at the service level, the circuit level, or at the group level. The electrical usage is communicated to a power monitoring system using a power line communications network (PLC). The monitored electrical usage can be accessed by both the utility supplying the electricity and by the consumer or owner of the residence.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   Not applicable 
   FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
   Not applicable 
   MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
   Not applicable 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The invention is related to the field of electrical distribution systems, and in particular, to monitoring the electrical use of a residence using the electrical wires as part of the communications network. 
   2. Description of the Prior Art 
   Typically, the electrical power used by a residence is monitored with an external meter. The meter is checked once a month to determine the amount of electrical power used by the residence. Many meters are manually checked, although remotely read meters are gaining prevalence. In most cases the amount of power used by the residence is accumulated over the month and only the total amount of power used during the month is recorded. The rate of power usage during any given time is typically unavailable. Utilities typically charge more for electrical power at peak usage periods. The Utility may also have a tiered pricing structure where a low rate is charged for a base level of use, a higher rate is charged for next amount of power used, and the highest rate is charged for the amount of power used above a predetermined amount. For example, the first 1000 kilowatt/hours of electrical power may cost 5 cents per Kilowatt/hour, the next 500 kilowatt/hours may cost 8 cents per kilowatt/hour, and all power used in addition to the first 1500 kilowatt/hours may cost 15 cents per kilowatt/hour. A consumer that wishes to minimize their electrical costs currently has no way to monitor their electrical usage. 
   Systems are currently available that use the wiring in a residence as the connections or cabling for a communications network, for example the Ethernet to powerline homeplug adapter EC14H by Mirco-star international, ltd. These systems typically use the ground wire in the residence&#39;s power distribution system as the cabling for the communication network. By using the electrical wiring as the network connection, every plug or electrical outlet in the residence is automatically connected to the network. This allows a power monitoring system to monitor the power consumption in the residence at the outlet level, the group level, and the service level. In this application service level means the total electrical power entering the residence. Power monitors are well known in the arts and can be found that already have computer enabled connections. Agilent technologies and Yokogawa are two examples of manufactures that produce power monitors. 
   There is a need for a method and apparatus that allows a consumer to monitor the electrical power usage in a residence. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   A system and method that allows a consumer to monitor the electrical power usage in a residence is disclosed. The electrical use may be monitored at the service level, the group level, or at the outlet level. The electrical usage is communicated to a power monitoring system using a power line communications network (PLC). The monitored electrical usage may be accessed by both the utility supplying the electricity and by the consumer or owner of the residence. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic view of the electrical system in a residence in an example embodiment of the current invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic view of a breaker box in an example embodiment of the current invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIGS. 1-2  and the following description depict specific examples to teach those skilled in the art how to make and use the best mode of the invention. For the purpose of teaching inventive principles, some conventional aspects have been simplified or omitted. Those skilled in the art will appreciate variations from these examples that fall within the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the features described below can be combined in various ways to form multiple variations of the invention. As a result, the invention is not limited to the specific examples described below, but only by the claims and their equivalents. 
     FIG. 1  is a schematic view of the electrical system in a residence in an example embodiment of the current invention. Residence  102  is fed by incoming power line  118 . Power line  118  terminates into breaker box  104 . A plurality of circuits are connected to breaker box  104 . For clarity, only three circuits,  106 ,  108 , and  110 , are depicted. Each circuit has a plurality of plugs or outlets. Circuit  106  is shown with outlets  132 - 136 . Circuit  108  is shown with outlets  137 - 139 . Circuit  110  is shown with outlets  112 ,  114 , and  116 . Circuits that feed areas containing large appliances may only have one or two outlets, for example the circuit that feeds the furnace or the circuit that feeds the laundry room.  FIG. 2  is a schematic view of a breaker box. Main supply line  218  enters the breaker box ( 204 ) and distributes power to each of the individual circuits. Each circuit typically has a circuit breaker associated with the circuit. Circuit  206  has corresponding circuit breaker  226 , circuit  208  has corresponding circuit breaker  228 , and circuit  210  has corresponding circuit breaker  230 . Each circuit typically is made up of a bundle of three wires, a positive, a negative and a ground wire. Typically, each room in a residence has at least one circuit with at least one outlet or plug in the room. 
   In one example embodiment of the current invention, a power monitor would be used to monitor the rate of electrical use at each electrical outlet inside a residence. The power monitor would be connected to a power monitoring system using the electrical wiring of the residence. A network that uses the electrical wire inside a house as the network link is called a power line communication (PLC) network, for example a network that uses the Ethernet to powerline homeplug adapter EC14H by Mirco-star international, ltd would be considered a PLC network. The power monitoring system, using the home electrical wiring, monitors all the power meters at each of the electrical outlets. The power monitoring system may communicate the information from the monitored power to the utility and to the user. In one example embodiment the power monitoring system is connected to the internet, and the utility accesses the monitored power through the internet connection. In another example embodiment the power monitoring system is connected directly with the utility systems that allow the utility to monitor the power usage. The power monitoring system may be connected to the internet using any number of well known technologies, for example phone lines, wireless link to an ISP, cable system, or the like. The power monitoring system may be connected to the utility using any number of well known technologies, for example wireless link, cable system, broadband over powerlines (BPL), or the like The power monitoring system could be any computer system used to communicate with the plurality of power monitors distributed around the residence, for example a personal computer. In another example embodiment, the power monitoring system may be a microprocessor. There may be a microprocessor at each outlet or the microprocessor may be embedded into the breaker box, or may be located outside the residence, for example at the power distribution substation. In one example embodiment, the consumer may be allowed access to the monitored power usage through a web page. In another example embodiment of the invention, the user may be allowed direct access to the power monitoring system, for example when the power monitoring system is located at the residence. When the power monitoring system is located at the residence, the rate of power usage and the total accumulated power usage may be communicated to the utility using a number of different technologies, for example, using a phone line, using a wireless connection, using a broadband over powerline (BPL) connection, or the like. The information may be communicated to the utility periodically, for example once a month, or updated real time. 
   The power monitoring system, in communication with the power monitors, can measure the rate of electrical usage through out the residence. The power monitoring system can also accumulate the rate of use over time to generate the amount of electricity used at each power monitor during a given time period. The power monitoring system can be programmed to tie a number of individual power monitors into groups. In this way the power consumption can be measured at a circuit level, or at a particular set of outlets that correspond to a user defined group. For example, if the user was running a small business in the residence and wanted to determine the power usage for the small business, the user could group all the power monitors from outlets used by the small business, into one group. This would allow the user to measure the electrical usage of the devices used by the small business. Other user defined groups are envisioned, for example all the outlets used by the laundry appliances, all the outlets used by the kitchen appliances, and the like. The groups may be defined using direct access to the power monitoring system, or may be defined using a web page, or the like. 
   In another embodiment of the current invention, the power monitors would only be placed on each circuit in the residence. In this example the power monitors may all be located at or inside the breaker box. By using a power monitor for each circuit instead of one for every outlet, the cost of the system can be reduced.