Patent ID: 7336192

Claim:
A monitoring or control device interposed between an electric power source and a plurality of household electric users, the device comprising: means for supplying power to said plurality of household electric users over respective power supply lines; a plurality of metering means for measuring at least one of electric current and electric power absorbed instant by instant by each of said household electric users, said electric current and said electric power absorbed being representative of a modulation of electric power by which each of said household electric users transmits data to said device; a plurality of modulation means for implementing a modulation of electric power supplied to each of said household electric users, to communicate data to each of said household electric users through their respective power supply lines; a plurality of decoding means connected to receive measurements from said metering means, for decoding the modulation of electric power absorbed by each of said household electric users; and a single connecting means for connecting to a network and communicating over the network using a protocol and communication media, said connecting means providing data communicated from the network to at least one of said modulation means for communication to at least one of said household electric users.