Abstract:
A home energy display that receives energy consumption data from a sensor or other source mounted to a home&#39;s electric meter. The display can accommodate various pricing structures including tiered rates and time-of use rates and shows various energy consumption information, including real time energy consumption and its associated cost. The display can also “zero out” a home&#39;s energy use to provide a base line so that any additional use (e.g. by a single or group of appliances) can be calculated.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to Provisional Application 61/059,508 filed Jun. 6, 2008. The entire contents of that application are expressly incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to a home energy monitor display that receives information from an energy monitoring sensor, and displays various energy usage information to a user. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Home energy monitoring and display devices are known in the art and give users information about their energy use so they can better control their costs. Examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,174,260; 7,317,404; 7,043,380; and British Patent GB 295,879. These patents disclose display units that show various household energy usage information. Although these displays give users broad information about total energy use, they are unable to provide information on the energy usage of a single home appliance. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention discloses a home energy display that receives energy consumption data from a sensor or other source. The display shows energy usage information and is able to perform calculations that convert the energy usage into dollars so that the user can see how much his energy consumption is costing. It also includes a tare feature that can “zero out” a home&#39;s energy use to provide a base line so that any additional use (e.g. by a single or group of appliances) can be calculated. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
         [0005]    Further features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood by reference to the following description, which is given by way of example and in association with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0006]      FIG. 1  is a front view of the display of the present invention; 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  shows a sensor of the present invention; 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is a rear view of the display of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  shows the sensor of  FIG. 2  attached to an electric meter; 
           [0010]      FIG. 5  shows the display in a cost mode; and 
           [0011]      FIG. 6  shows the display in a power mode. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]      FIG. 1  shows the display  10  of the present invention. The display includes a digital viewing area  12 , increase and decrease buttons  14 ,  16 , a clear button  18 , a tare button  11 , a cost/power button  13 , a consumption button  15 , and a program button  10  (see  FIG. 3 ). The display  10  is used with a sensor  20 , such as one described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,174,260, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
         [0013]    The sensor  20 , shown in  FIG. 2 , is attached to a home electrical meter  30  using an adjustable strap  22 . The sensor has a main housing  21  for holding batteries. An adjustable arm  23  extends from the housing  21  and holds a sensor head  24  over the output of the electrical meter. The sensor  20  wirelessly transmits information to the display  10  to provide the user with real-time information on the home&#39;s energy consumption. 
         [0014]    The display  10  receives the energy usage information from the sensor and is able to display this information is various ways. The display is able to show the total energy usage of the home in real time, is able to calculate the accumulated energy usage over a period of time, estimate a monthly usage, and show the energy usage of a single device. The display can also take this energy information and convert it into dollars to show the user the cost of his energy consumption. 
         [0015]    To use the display, it must first be programmed with billing information (from the energy company) to properly show the cost information. The billing information is entered by pressing the program button  19 , which initiates a series of data entries. The user enters information using the decrease and increase buttons  14  and  16  to select the desired number or answer. Initially, the display prompts the user to enter the time and date, which the user can do by pressing the decrease and increase buttons  14  and  16 . 
         [0016]    The display then prompts the user to enter his energy company&#39;s billing information, including whether there is a flat rate, tiered rate, or time-of-use rate. If the user has a flat rate, he selects this option and then enters the billing rate using the increase and decrease buttons  14  and  16 . 
         [0017]    If the user has a tiered rate, he selects this option and the display prompts the user to enter the billing rate for each tier. A tiered rate is used when electric companies set a first price for a predetermined amount of energy, and a second price for when energy over the predetermined amount is used. The display prompts the user to enter the billing rate for the first tier and its threshold limit, and the billing rate for the second tier. In this way, the display knows that the second billing rate should be used when calculating the associated cost information when the threshold is crossed. After information for the second tier is entered, the display asks whether there is an additional tier, and any additional tier information can be entered. When all the information is entered, the user presses the increase or decrease button to indicate there are no more tiers. 
         [0018]    If the user has a time-of-use rate, he selects this option and the display asks the user whether this type of billing applies on weekends, and then prompts him to enter the peak and off-peak billing rates and their respective time windows. 
         [0019]    Once all this information is entered, the display is able to show the user a variety of information, including his current electricity usage, the usage of a single appliance, the accumulated usage over an hour, a day or any extended period of time, and an estimated monthly usage. The user can press the cost/power button  13  to toggle between cost and power views in the display, with the cost view shown in  FIG. 5  and the power view shown in  FIG. 6 . 
         [0020]    In the cost view of  FIG. 5 , the viewing area  12  is divided into several sections to show various information. The display  10  can show the cost per hour of electricity usage  40 , includes a usage bar  42  to indicate whether consumption is increasing or decreasing, shows the total accumulated cost  43  since hitting the clear button  18 , and for tiered or time-of-use billing shows the tier or time slot  44 . 
         [0021]    In the power view of  FIG. 6 , the power being currently being consumed (typically in kilowatts)  50  is shown, and the total accumulated power consumed  53  since hitting the clear button. Additionally, in both views, the time and temperature  60  are shown at the bottom of the viewing area  12 . 
         [0022]    The display also allows the user to check the energy consumption of a single appliance. To do this, the user presses the tare button  11 , which “zeros out” the current energy consumption. The user can then turn on any additional appliances, and the energy consumption of those appliance will be shown on the display. The user can press the tare button again to exit out of this mode and return to the displays normal operation. 
         [0023]    Although a preferred embodiment has been disclosed, it should be noted that the description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.