Patent ID: 8094034

Claim:
Apparatus for use with one or more electrical loads coupled by way of one or more switching devices to an electrical power line infrastructure, wherein the one or more electrical loads generate one or more transient electrical noise patterns when the one or more electrical loads are switched on or off, the apparatus comprising: a computer apparatus configured to couple the electrical power line infrastructure and further configured to identify one or more first transient electrical noise signatures associated with the one or more electrical loads, wherein: the computer apparatus comprises: a power line interface configured to filter one or more transient electrical noise signals transmitted over the electrical power line infrastructure caused by switching the one or more electrical loads on or off; a fast Fourier transform module configured to process the one or more transient electrical noise signals from the power line interface to generate voltage versus frequency data, the voltage versus frequency data corresponding to a first transient electrical noise pattern of the one or more transient electrical noise patterns corresponding to a first electrical load of the one or more electrical loads that has been switched on or off; and computer software configured to run on a computer and further configured to process the voltage versus frequency data to generate a unique second transient electrical noise signature, the computer software is further configured to identify the first electrical load of the one or more electrical loads based upon the unique second transient electrical noise signature and the one or more first transient electrical noise signatures associated with the one or more electrical loads; the computer software is in communication with the fast Fourier transform module; and the power line interface is further configured to couple to an electrical outlet of the electrical power line infrastructure.