Patent ID: 8504215

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for using alternate power sources to manage power draw on a power grid, the method comprising: maintaining, by a management device managed by an entity that supplies power via the power grid, a database that identifies a plurality computing devices drawing power from the power grid and a plurality of corresponding battery units currently capable of providing power to the plurality of computing devices; storing customer information for each of a plurality of customers in the database, the customer information comprising: a description of a customer's computing device; a description of a corresponding battery unit; a time when the customer's computing device draws power; an amount of power required by the customer's computing device; identifying, at the management device managed by the entity that supplies power via the power grid, a need to reduce the power draw on the power grid; identifying, by analyzing the customer information at the management device managed by the entity that supplies power via the power grid, that at least one of the plurality of computing devices is drawing power from the power grid; determining, by analyzing the customer information at the management device managed by the entity that supplies power via the power grid, that the at least one of the plurality of computing devices is capable of, but is not currently, drawing power from at least one of the plurality of corresponding of battery units; determining, based at least in part on the customer information at the management device managed by the entity that supplies power via the power grid, at least one ratio for the at least one of the plurality of computing devices to draw power simultaneously from both the power grid and the at least one of the plurality of corresponding battery units; and transmitting, from the management device managed by the entity that supplies power via the power grid to a module installed on the at least one of the plurality of computing devices, at least one command that, when executed, causes the at least one of the plurality of computing devices to reduce the drawing of power from the power grid by simultaneously drawing power from both the power grid and the at least one of the plurality of corresponding battery units at the ratio.