Abstract:
A household energy management system is provided comprising a controller for managing power consumption of multiple devices within a household wherein the controller monitors energy usage data from a utility. The system further provides a utility meter for measuring an amount of energy usage by the household and a user interface through which a user can enter a parameter of the energy usage. The system yet further provides a local generator for generating energy for one or more of the energy consuming devices wherein the controller initiates the generator and changes at least some of the energy usage from the utility to the local generator when the energy usage level is within a predetermined percentage range of the parameter.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Many power providers are currently experiencing a shortage of electric generating capacity due to increasing consumer demand for electricity. More specifically, generating plants are often unable to meet peak power demands resulting from electricity demanded by many consumers at the same time. 
         [0002]    In order to reduce high peak power demand, many power providers have instituted time of use metering and rates which include higher rates for energy usage during ‘on-peak’ times and lower rates for energy usage during ‘off-peak’ times. As a result, consumers are provided with an incentive to use electricity at off-peak times rather than on-peak times and/or look for other ‘local’ or ‘resident’ energy sources for supplemental generation of energy. 
         [0003]    Presently, to take advantage of the lower cost of electricity during off-peak times, a user must manually operate appliances or other electronic devices during the off-peak times. This is undesirable because a consumer may not always be present in the home, or awake, to operate the appliance during off-peak hours. This is also undesirable because the consumer is required to manually track the current time to determine what hours are off-peak and on-peak. Therefore, there is a need to provide a system that facilitates operating appliances or other devices during off-peak hours in order to reduce consumer&#39;s electric bills and to reduce the load on generating plants during on-peak hours. Additionally, there is a need to provide a system that (in combination with the aforementioned) incorporates a method for enlisting the generation of energy at a ‘local’ source that can be used to supplement the energy being supplied by a utility, wherein a cost of energy generation at the ‘local’ source is compared against the cost of energy supplied from the utility. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    In one aspect of the disclosure, a household energy management system is provided comprising a controller for managing power consumption of at least some of the multiple devices for a household wherein the controller monitors energy usage data from a utility. The system further provides a utility meter for measuring an amount of the energy usage data by the household and a user interface through which a user can enter a parameter of the energy usage. The system yet further provides a local generator for generating local energy at the household for one or more of the energy consuming devices, wherein the controller automatically initiates the operation of the local generator when the energy usage of the energy consuming devices exceeds a predetermined energy usage level. A demand server is provides for switching at least some of the energy usage from the utility to the local generator. A communication network is provided for connecting the controller to the utility meter, the local generator, and the demand server; and, wherein the controller switches circuits through the demand server and changes at least some of the energy usage from the utility to the local generator during a period when said energy usage level is within the predetermined percentage range of the parameter. 
         [0005]    In yet another aspect, the disclosure provides a household energy management system comprising: a controller for managing power consumption of multiple devices within a household wherein the controller monitors energy rates from a utility. A utility meter is provided for measuring an amount of energy usage by the household. The system further provides a user interface through which a user can enter a parameter of energy usage. A local generator is also provided for generating local energy at the household for the household, wherein the controller automatically initiates operation of the local generator when the energy rates are above the parameter of energy usage, wherein the parameter is an energy cost of generating local energy at the household. A communication network connects the controller to one or more of the utility meter, the local energy source, and a demand server; and, the controller switches circuits through the demand server and switches or dispatches at least some of the energy demand from the utility to the local energy source when the energy rates are above the parameter of energy usage. 
         [0006]    In yet still a further aspect, the disclosure provides a household energy management system comprising a controller for managing power consumption of multiple specified devices within a household, wherein the controller monitors energy demand from a utility. A utility meter is provided for measuring an amount of energy usage by the household. The system further provides a user interface through which a user can enter a parameter of energy usage. The system still further is provided with a local generator for generating local energy at the household for one or more of the energy consuming devices. The controller automatically initiates the generator when the energy demand of the multiple specified devices is above a parameter of energy usage, wherein the parameter is the energy demand from the utility. A communication network connects the controller to one or more of the utility meter, the local energy source, and a demand server; and, wherein the controller switches circuits through the demand server and switches or dispatches at least some of the energy demand from the utility to the local energy source during a period when the energy demand is above the parameter. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a home energy manager; and, 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a graph displaying energy usage wherein a local or resident generator can be used for energy peak shaving. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0009]    The present disclosure is an energy management system that may be used with an appliance, and/or a household of devices, in order to reduce household electricity costs and also to reduce the load on generating plants during peak hours of electricity usage. The energy management system is applicable to, and can be used in conjunction with, any type of device(s) such as a dryer, a washing machine, a dishwasher, an oven, a refrigerator, pool pump, load connected to a 120 v outlet, load connected to a 240 v outlet, etc. 
         [0010]    In one embodiment, the energy management system may include a user interface, a time keeping mechanism, and a mode selecting device. The user interface may be any type of interface such as a touch screen, knobs, sliders, buttons, speech recognition, etc, to allow a user to input a schedule of on-peak times or schedules and off-peak times or schedules for each day of the week. The schedule of on-peak times and off-peak times for a household may typically be obtained from a generating plant or power utility that services the household. The schedule may be obtained from published tables made available to the public or other means such as billing statements. If the schedule of times changes, the user may use the user interface to alter and update the schedule that was previously entered. 
         [0011]    The terms “on-peak” and “off-peak”, as used herein are meant to encompass time periods that an energy supplier has designated as referring to periods of high energy demand or cost and periods of low energy demand or cost, respectively. It may be that in some situations, multiple levels are designated by the energy supplier and thus on-peak is meant to refer to those periods where the energy demand or cost is greater than some other period, with the other period being referred to as off-peak. In any given situation, on-peak may not be the highest level of cost or energy demand and off-peak may not be the lowest level of cost or energy demand. 
         [0012]    The energy management system  10  can also include a time keeping mechanism (not shown) that provides information to the devices within a household and user regarding the current time of the day. In one embodiment, the time keeping mechanism also includes a calendar function to provide information regarding the day of the week and the current date. The current time and date may be input or adjusted by the user via controls on the time keeping mechanism. 
         [0013]    Utility companies are starting to develop sliding rate scales based upon time of use for power consumption. A home that can manage a response to a different rate schedule will be able to consume energy more cost effectively. A time of day (TOD) import to the devices in the household will allow the unit to run at times, on more occasions, and/or during more periods when utility rates are low or off-peak. The time of day input can be manually entered or automatically received by the devices (an example of automatic updating would be using a radio wave or radio clock to sync to an atomic clock signal, or updates would be received from the meter network or from the interne etc. . . . ). The time of day feature or off-peak manager can effectively save the consumer money by running the devices according to a pre-determined schedule, i.e. predominantly, when the rates are lower. To be described in more detail hereinafter, the energy management system  10  can also provide a local energy source or local/resident generator to substitute, apportion, or supplement energy supplied by the utility for household consumption. 
         [0014]    In addition to the aforementioned, the mode selecting device allows the user to select an energy management mode which utilizes the local energy source. The mode selecting device may be a single button such that the energy management mode is selected when the button is depressed. Alternatively, the mode selecting device may also be two separate buttons, a switch, a touch panel, or any other type of device that allows for selection of the energy management mode. Although the control panel, the user interface, the time keeping mechanism and the mode selecting device (not illustrated) can be four separate elements, each of these elements, or any combination thereof, may alternatively be incorporated into a single interface or display to provide for ease of use. 
         [0015]    The present disclosure contemplates the use of algorithms in a home energy manager (HEM) or controller  20  to compare the cost of energy  27  (i.e. energy rate) from a utility  21  supplied to the household  22  to the cost of energy  23  from a local generator or local power source  24  (i.e. solar, wind power, gas powered generator etc.). The algorithm will allow the devices in the household to be supplied solely by the “utility generated” energy until the local power source  24  is initiated. 
         [0016]    The energy management system  10  can further include the controller  20  connected to the control panel and the mode selecting device in order to receive signals regarding the operation selected by the user via the control panel and the mode selected by the user via the mode selecting device. The controller  20  can also be connected to the user interface and the time keeping mechanism, and preferably includes a memory for storing the schedule of on-peak and off-peak times input via the user interface, as well as the current time and date. In one embodiment, the controller  20  has a circuit, software, and/or firmware (hereafter collectively referred to as “firmware”) to determine a time to initiate the selected operation based on the selected mode, and also to determine whether a local power source or local energy generator  24  should be utilized (to be described hereinafter). 
         [0017]    The present disclosure provides a system and method for coordinating a suite of demand response devices that are capable of responding to incoming signals from utilities  21  signifying an on peak period (i.e. a load shedding event). In addition to the devices that are demand response ready, the HEM  20  can provide feedback to the user regarding the performance of the devices through home usage data  30 . The user will be able to monitor and/or modify the device responses as well as get real time feedback as to the energy consumption of the devices. For electrical devices, the HEM  20  can rely upon current transducers, shunts, meter pinging, or lookup tables or algorithms to characterize the power consumption of the devices at any given point. 
         [0018]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , the present disclosure provides a system and method of providing information to the HEM  20  from the local generator  24  (via generator usage data  32 ) wherein the HEM  20  can control (i.e. load control  33 ) the local generator  24  to optimize the overall energy usage, demand, or need levels. The generator  24  can be used in several ways to optimize the energy usage within a home  32 . For example, the generator  24  can be automatically started and the home  22  can be taken off the utility grid, using switch circuits via isolation circuit, during specific grid loading or price point states. If, for example, generator  24  is a gas powered generator, fuel consumption rates can be monitored on a real time basis using flow sensors, level sensors, or mass sensors or some combination thereof, and the system can make suggestions to which loads to curtail and then predict the remaining time for fuel to run out with each suggestion. In conjunction with knowing the load on the generator  24  (i.e. data can be retrieved from the HEM  20 ), and the fuel usage rates at a given load, a cost analysis can be done to predict cost to operate for remaining hours or minutes of fuel. The HEM  20  can present the user with pie charts showing the usage over a number of days and prioritize the devices in the order of load or consumption over the timeframe. The system can continually and automatically control loads  31 ,  33  to prevent running out of fuel, using a priority curtailment scheme (for instance, the refrigerator would be the last item to curtail or possibly the load to never curtail, heat may be next, critical lighting next, etc.). The user can specify a predetermined duration for the fuel in the tank to last and the system  10  could layout a usage pattern for the user to achieve this goal, or tell the user that the goal was unrealistic. Likewise, the system  10  could predict when the fuel would run out by looking at previous days and assuming that today will be equivalent. The system could also import weather data forecasts using an interne connection to better predict fuel usages. The system  10  can provide this information to the user which would then allow the user to modify the load control  33  to conserve fuel. The system  10  can also process data to search for outliers between different days usage, and flag the devices/appliances that caused any outlier (the HEM would know what device was running when). For example, the system might be aware that the refrigerator used an excessive amount of energy during a given timeframe due to excessive door openings and could flag the user regarding this fact. Suggestions could be made to the user to modify or curtail these loads to minimize the usages. It is to be appreciated that the system  10  networks the HEM or controller  20  to one or more of the utility meter  40 , the local energy source (local generator)  24 , and a demand server  42 . The HEM  20  switches circuits through the demand server  42  and switches or dispatches at least some of the energy demand from the utility  21  to the local energy source generator  24  at pre-determined scheduled periods or per-determined threshold periods. 
         [0019]    The generator can be designed with the capability to modify the waveshape of the output signal to provide a different RMS output voltage. This waveform change could be triggered by demand response events to again lessen the load on the generator. The generator&#39;s internal combustion engine can further be provided with a turbocharger or supercharger to provide varying output power to coincide with variable loads that might be encountered. The wastegate of the turbocharger or supercharger can be controlled by input signaling to adjust the power output as required. This would provide for a system that would use less fuel in low load conditions, yet have the power for high loading conditions. The generator can be setup with multiple voltages, including a panel setup, to provide lower voltages to be connected to specific branch circuits that have pure resistance loads (such as incandescent lighting, hair dryers, space heaters, etc) to lessen the power consumption. The lower voltage outputs could be triggered via utility demand state or cost signal inputs. Providing the HEM with the ability to determine a conversion rate between electricity/natural gas/other resources, the total cost of running a load can be optimized by using the power from different sources. The local generator  24  can be used for peak demand  64  or energy peak shaving  60 , i.e. if the whole home energy demand  50  is beyond a certain point or threshold  62  then the local generator  24  can be initiated to cover for the peak demand  60  above the threshold  62  ( FIG. 2 ) 
         [0020]    With reference again to  FIG. 2 , the triggering of the generator  24  to supplement or replace the “utility provided” energy can be better defined as noted below. The solid curve shows a given household energy demand  50  during a twenty-four hour period. The threshold  62  is a limit that can be set by the homeowner, beyond which the goal is to truncate the usage of energy provided by the utility  61 . Once this threshold  62  is achieved, the peak shaving generator energy  60  will be supplied to the household by the generator to supplement the “utility provided” energy  61  beyond the threshold level  62 . In this manner, the energy management system will initiate the generator to start and begin providing energy as the threshold  62  is engaged. Referring to  FIG. 2 , it is to be appreciated that the demand upon the generator will vary (reference  60   a ,  60   b , and  60   c  in  FIG. 2 ) in time as the total household demand  50  follows the whole home usage curve and the “utility provided” energy level  61  remains constant at threshold  62 . The aforementioned provides a system for managing the energy usage and energy demands of the home and gives the user an option to switch between different sources of energy (main utility and ‘local’ generation). Minimizing the overall cost of running energy loads in the home is an attractive option for the customer. Decreasing the load on the grid during a peak time period or peak consumption  64  is beneficial for the utilities as it is a decrease in load for their system. 
         [0021]    It is to be appreciated that the operation of the local generator  24  can be initiated by one of several instances that are being monitored by the energy management system  10 . These instances can be as straight-forward as an incoming signal from the utility requesting the shedding of load on the grid, or can be more complex involving price comparisons between running the local generator  24  to generate power versus purchasing energy 100% from the utility at the going rate. Likewise, the user could select thresholds that are programmed into the energy management system  10  that trigger the local generator  24  to start and deliver energy at the moment the threshold is exceeded. Additionally, the output or loading of the local generator  24  could be adjusted or throttled based on multiple thresholds being achieved. This adjustment in output could be achieved by a speed adjustment in the local generator  24  or with other means of loading or unloading the generator. 
         [0022]    In another embodiment, a method is provided for managing energy usage of a plurality of appliances. The method can comprise receiving a schedule having a peak demand or cost period; storing the schedule in a memory; determining the current time; and initiating operation of the local generator during the peak demand or cost period; initiating the operation of the local generator when the total energy usage exceeds a specific user defined threshold as defined via the energy management system user interface. 
         [0023]    While various embodiments of the application have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible that are within the scope of this disclosure. Accordingly, the disclosure is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.