Patent ID: 8718798

Claim:
An energy management system for a home area network (HAN) having managed energy consuming devices for a home that respectively draw different amounts of power from a source of power, the system comprising: a primary network comprising a smart energy meter in communication with the managed energy consuming devices, the smart energy meter configured to collectively provide a total power consumption measurement for the home; a secondary network comprising the managed energy consuming devices, wherein the secondary network is different than the first network; and a central controller in communication with the smart energy meter via the primary network and with the managed energy consuming devices via the secondary network, the central controller comprising: a first communication module that is in communication with the smart energy meter; and a second communication module that is in communication with the managed energy consuming devices, wherein the first communication module and the second communication module comprise a Zigbee device that communicates with the smart energy meter and the managed energy consuming devices using a Zigbee protocol format, wherein the central controller is configured to mirror data from the first communication module to provide the data to the second communication module, wherein the central controller is configured to monitor and manage energy consumption of each of the managed energy consuming devices b sending communications that incorporate the mirrored data comprising the total power consumption measurement to each of the managed energy consuming devices and to provide real time feedback with respect to energy usage occurring at the home, wherein, in response to receiving the total power consumption measurement, each managed energy consuming device is operable to determine an individual power consumption using an average of differences between the total power consumption measurement for active modes on the managed energy consuming device and for inactive modes on the managed energy consuming device over a time interval comprising at least a first time and a second time at which the managed energy consuming device receives the total power consumption measurement, and wherein each managed energy consuming device is operable to report the individual power consumption for display on a display accessible to an end user.