System and method for enabling transfer of energy from vehicle

Abstract

The present disclosure provides systems and methods for enabling transfer of energy from a vehicle. A vehicle configured to provide energy to a building is disclosed. The vehicle may include a transceiver configured to receive a setpoint temperature, historical building load consumption information, and current building load consumption information associated with the building. The vehicle may also include a processor configured to obtain a trigger signal and transmit a command signal for causing activation of a building component to the setpoint temperature in response to obtaining the trigger signal. The processor may also compare the current building load consumption information to the historical building load consumption information in response to activating the building component, and determine a building component load profile based on the comparison and the setpoint temperature. The processor may then control building component operation based on the building component load profile.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for enabling energy transfer from a vehicle, and more particularly to systems and methods for enabling energy transfer from a vehicle to a building having a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Background Art

[0002] A bidirectional electric vehicle (EV) is configured to receive energy as well as supply energy to a charger. The bidirectional energy transfer feature enables an EV to supply energy to other vehicles, buildings, equipment, etc. For example, an EV can supply energy from an EV battery to a building (e.g., a house) when the building requires excess energy and the grid may not be able to meet the building's energy needs. An EV can also supply energy to a building to optimize the consumer's spending on energy obtained from the grid, for example, during those durations of the day when the cost of energy drawn from the grid may be high.

[0003] In order to optimally supply energy to a building without affecting vehicle performance, it is important to know the load profile of one or more building equipment that may draw a large amount of energy. For example, it is important to know the load profile of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system installed in a building to optimize the energy delivered to the building, as the HVAC system typically draws a large amount of energy.

[0004] Conventional systems and methods for determining the load profile of an HVAC system use complex external sensors, circuits, etc. that may not be readily available and may be expensive. Furthermore, determining the HVAC load profile using these external sensors, circuits, etc. is a time consuming process.

[0005] Therefore, there is a need for a system to conveniently determine the HVAC load profile without the need for complicated external equipment. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present disclosure describes a bidirectional electric vehicle (EV) that can be configured to receive energy from a building (e.g., a house) and supply energy to a building (e.g., a house). The vehicle can be configured to supply energy to the house from a vehicle battery in response to receiving a request from a user device or a server. In some aspects, the house can include a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system that can be powered by energy drawn from a utility grid and / or the vehicle. In an exemplary aspect, in order to optimally supply energy to the house and operate the HVAC system, the vehicle can determine and use an HVAC load curve that can indicate the expected energy that the HVAC system may consume from the vehicle for a specific ambient temperature, house temperature, and set point or user desired temperature.

[0007] In some aspects, the vehicle can determine the HVAC load profile by obtaining a set point temperature and a house temperature from a thermostat of the house and an ambient temperature from a vehicle ambient temperature sensor or a server. In some aspects, the vehicle can determine the HVAC load profile when expected fluctuations in the load consumed by the house can be within a predefined threshold. In other words, the vehicle can determine the HVAC load profile when load consumption associated with the house can be expected to be stable (e.g., during afternoon hours or when there may be no or limited occupants in the house).

[0008] In response to obtaining the above temperature, the vehicle can command the HVAC system to activate / turn on to the set point temperature via the thermostat (or cycle off if the HVAC system may already be on). When the HVAC system can be activated, the vehicle can measure the real-time load consumed by the house with the HVAC system on. The vehicle can also obtain historical load consumption information associated with the house under similar temperature conditions from the server. The vehicle can then compare the real-time load consumption with the historical load consumption to "isolate" the load consumed by the HVAC system to determine the HVAC load profile at the obtained temperature. The vehicle can also store the determined HVAC load profile in the vehicle memory for future use.

[0009] When the vehicle receives a request in the future to supply energy to the premises under similar temperature conditions, the vehicle can use the stored HVAC load profile to control the supply of energy to the premises and / or the operation of the HVAC system. In an exemplary aspect, in response to receiving the request, the vehicle can use the HVAC load profile to predict the expected energy that may need to be supplied to the premises to operate the HVAC system to a set point temperature. The vehicle can then compare the expected energy to the energy level / amount stored in the vehicle battery. When the amount of energy stored in the vehicle battery is likely to be less than the expected energy, the vehicle can request the premises / vehicle owner to change the set point temperature so that a smaller amount of energy may be required to operate the HVAC system, or to shut down the HVAC system (e.g., when the amount of energy stored in the vehicle battery is likely to be low).

[0010] The present disclosure discloses a vehicle that can determine and use an HVAC load curve to optimally supply energy to a property. The vehicle determines the HVAC load curve without requiring any external or complex sensors, circuits, etc. In addition, because the vehicle uses the HVAC load curve to optimally supply energy to the property, energy stored in the vehicle battery is optimally used without affecting vehicle performance.

[0011] These and other advantages of the present disclosure are provided in detail herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Detailed description is set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings. The use of the same reference numerals may indicate similar or identical items. Various embodiments may utilize elements and / or components other than those shown in the accompanying drawings, and some elements and / or components may not be present in various embodiments. The elements and / or components in the accompanying drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. Throughout this disclosure, singular and plural terms may be used interchangeably, depending on the context.

[0013] Figure 1 An exemplary environment is depicted in which techniques and structures for providing the systems and methods disclosed herein may be implemented.

[0014] Figure 2 Depicted is a block diagram of an exemplary system for supplying energy from a vehicle to a building in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 3 A flow chart of an exemplary first method for supplying energy from a vehicle to a building according to the present disclosure is depicted.

[0016] Figure 4 Depicted is a flow chart of an exemplary second method for supplying energy from a vehicle to a building according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The present disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which example embodiments of the disclosure are shown and which are not intended to be limiting.

[0018] Figure 1 An exemplary environment 100 is depicted in which techniques and structures for providing the systems and methods disclosed herein may be implemented. The environment 100 may include a vehicle 102 and a building 104 (or house 104). The vehicle 102 may take the form of any passenger or commercial vehicle, such as, for example, a car, a work vehicle, a crossover, a truck, a van, a minivan, a taxi, a bus, and the like. The vehicle 102 may be a manually driven vehicle and / or may be configured to operate in a partially or fully autonomous mode. In some aspects, the vehicle 102 may be a bidirectional electric vehicle (EV), which may be configured to receive energy from and supply energy to other vehicles, chargers, buildings, equipment, and the like. In an exemplary aspect, the vehicle 102 may be configured to supply energy to the house 104 via a charger point 106, which may be installed in the house 104 (e.g., a vehicle that is electrically powered). Figure 1 as shown) or anywhere near house 104.

[0019] Premises 104 may include one or more premises equipment that may be powered by energy drawn from the utility grid and / or vehicle 102. Examples of premises equipment may include, but are not limited to, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems (in Figure 2209), fans, lights, electronic devices, etc. In some aspects, vehicle 102 can supply energy to house 104 to power house devices when the energy demand of house 104 may be greater than the energy that the grid can provide, or when the cost of energy drawn from the grid may be high, or when the house / vehicle owner (via a user device) requests vehicle 102 to supply energy to house 104. For example, the vehicle or house owner may request that vehicle 102 supply energy to house 104 during the morning hours when the cost of energy used from the grid may be high, and may enable house devices to operate via energy drawn from the grid during the afternoon when the corresponding cost may be lower.

[0020] The scenarios described above for supplying energy from the vehicle 102 to the house 104 are exemplary in nature and are for illustrative purposes only. The scenarios described should not be construed as limiting. The vehicle or house owner may request the vehicle 102 to supply energy to the house 104 at any time based on user requirements and / or energy supply or demand conditions.

[0021] In some aspects, the house 104 may include a thermostat (at Figure 2 104 ), the thermostat may be configured to control HVAC system operation, measure real-time interior house temperature (or house temperature), and enable a user to control house temperature. For example, a user may enter a set point temperature associated with house 104 on the thermostat. The set point temperature may be, for example, a temperature desired by the user for house 104 or a minimum (or maximum) house temperature that the user may accept when the grid may be experiencing high demand. The thermostat may be configured to activate and / or deactivate the HVAC system based on the house temperature and the set point temperature. For example, when the house temperature may be above the set point temperature, the thermostat may turn on the air conditioning (AC), and when the house temperature may be below or equal to the set point temperature, the thermostat may turn off the AC.

[0022] The vehicle 102 may be communicatively coupled to the thermostat and may be configured to obtain the house temperature and the set point temperature from the thermostat. The vehicle 102 may also be configured to control the HVAC system operation via the thermostat. For example, when the vehicle 102 may be supplying energy to the house 104, the vehicle 102 may transmit a command signal to the thermostat for turning the HVAC system on or off to optimize the energy supply from the vehicle 102.

[0023] The vehicle 102 may also be configured to determine a load curve (or HVAC load curve) for the HVAC system to optimize energy transfer from the vehicle 102 to the premises 104 and / or to optimize HVAC system operation. In some aspects, the HVAC load curve may indicate an expected load or energy that the HVAC system may draw from the vehicle 102 at a particular set point temperature, a particular ambient temperature, and a particular premises temperature. For example, when the ambient temperature may be 85 degrees Fahrenheit, the HVAC load curve may indicate an expected amount of energy (e.g., a first amount of energy) that the HVAC system may draw from the vehicle 102 to cool a premises temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit to a set point temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit. As another example, when the ambient temperature may be 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the HVAC load curve may indicate an expected amount of energy (e.g., a second amount of energy) that the HVAC system may draw from the vehicle 102 to cool a premises temperature of 85 degrees Fahrenheit to a set point temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

[0024] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the first amount of energy may be different from the second amount of energy because when the ambient temperature and / or the house temperature is higher, the HVAC system may require more energy to cool the house 104. In some aspects, the HVAC load profile may also depend on the house 104, such as the type of insulation in the house 104, the location of the house (e.g., height above sea level), typical humidity levels in a geographic area where the house 104 may be located, etc.

[0025] As described above, determining the HVAC load profile may enable the vehicle 102 to optimize HVAC operation and / or control the supply of energy to the premises 104. For example, if the vehicle 102 determines from the HVAC load profile that the HVAC system may require the aforementioned second amount of energy (which may be higher than the first amount of energy) to operate, and the vehicle 102 may not have sufficient available charge or energy in the vehicle battery to supply the second amount of energy, the vehicle 102 may transmit a command signal to the thermostat to shut down the HVAC system. In this case, by shutting down the HVAC system, the vehicle 102 may at least provide energy to other premises equipment (e.g., fans, lights, etc.) that may draw less energy. As another example, when the vehicle 102 may not have sufficient available energy in the vehicle battery to supply the second amount of energy, the vehicle 102 may transmit a notification to the user device requesting the user to increase the set point temperature, thereby ensuring that less energy (e.g., less than the second amount of energy) is required to operate the HVAC system to the "increased" set point.

[0026] In some aspects, the vehicle 102 may determine the HVAC load curve using historical load information associated with the house 104 at different ambient temperatures, house temperatures, and set point temperatures, as well as the real-time or “current” house temperature, ambient temperature, and set point temperature. In an exemplary aspect, the vehicle 102 may determine the HVAC load curve when load fluctuations in the house 104 may be expected to be low (e.g., during the night or afternoon when there may be no or limited house occupants in the house 104), so that the vehicle 102 can accurately determine the HVAC load curve (without interference from other devices that may draw a large amount of energy). In response to determining the HVAC load curve at a particular set point temperature, house temperature, and ambient temperature, the vehicle 102 may store the determined HVAC load curve in the vehicle memory and / or the server. In the future, when the user requests the vehicle 102 to supply energy to the house 104 under similar temperature conditions (e.g., similar house temperature, set point temperature, and ambient temperature), the vehicle 102 may retrieve the HVAC load curve from the vehicle memory and / or the server, and may control energy supply to the house 104 and / or HVAC system operation based on the HVAC load curve, as described above.

[0027] Details of the process for determining the HVAC load curve are incorporated below Figure 2 Give a description.

[0028] The vehicle 102 implements and / or performs operations as described herein in the present disclosure in accordance with the vehicle owner's manual and safety guidelines. Additionally, any actions taken by the user based on recommendations or notifications provided by the vehicle 102 should comply with all rules (e.g., federal, state, country, city, etc.) specific to the location and operation of the vehicle 102. Recommendations or notifications provided by the vehicle 102 should be considered suggestions and followed only in accordance with any rules specific to the location and operation of the vehicle 102.

[0029] Figure 2 A block diagram of an exemplary system 200 for supplying energy from a vehicle 202 to a premises 104 in accordance with the present disclosure is depicted. The vehicle 202 may be the same as the vehicle 102 described above.

[0030] The system 200 may include a vehicle 202, a user device 204, and one or more servers 206 that are communicatively coupled to each other via one or more networks 207. In some aspects, the vehicle 202 may also be communicatively coupled to a thermostat 208 of the house 104. As described above, the vehicle 202 may control the operation of the HVAC system 209 (or HVAC 209) of the house 104 via the thermostat 208.

[0031] The user device 204 may be associated with a vehicle owner or a home owner (which may be the same or different). The user device 204 may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a laptop, a computer, a tablet, a wearable device, or any other similar device with communication capabilities. The server 206 may be part of a cloud-based computing infrastructure and may be associated with and / or include a telematics service delivery network (SDN) that provides services to the vehicle 202 and other vehicles (which may be part of a commercial vehicle fleet). Figure 2 2 (not shown). In another aspect, the server 206 may be associated with a company that supplies energy to the house 104 via the power grid. In this case, the server 206 may be communicatively coupled to the thermostat 208 and may obtain information associated with the house temperature, set point temperature, etc. from the thermostat at a predefined frequency. The server 206 may also be configured to store historical load consumption information (or historical house load consumption information) associated with the house 104 and transmit the information to the vehicle 102 via the network 207. The historical load consumption information may include information associated with the load or energy consumed historically by the house 104 at different house temperatures, set point temperatures, ambient temperatures, humidity levels, weather conditions, etc. (e.g., within a predefined duration, e.g., 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months, etc.). The server 206 may also be communicatively coupled to a current transformer meter associated with the house 104, which may enable the server 206 to obtain real-time or current load consumption information (or current load consumption information) associated with the house 104. The server may transmit real-time or current load consumption information to the vehicle 202 when the vehicle 202 may be connected to the house 104 (e.g., via the charger point 106) and / or at a predefined frequency. In an additional aspect, the server 206 may be associated with a company that provides weather-related information to the vehicle 102 and other vehicles operating as part of a fleet. In this case, the server 206 may transmit the real-time ambient temperature of the house 104 or the geographic area where the vehicle 202 may be located to the vehicle 202 via the network 207.

[0032] The network 207 illustrates an exemplary communication infrastructure in which the connected devices discussed in various embodiments of the present disclosure may communicate. The network 207 may be and / or include the Internet, a private network, a public network, or other configurations operating using any one or more known communication protocols, such as, for example, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Wi-Fi, Ultra-Wideband (UWB) based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard 802.11, and cellular technologies such as Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPDA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and Fifth Generation (5G), to name a few examples.

[0033] Thermostat 208 may be configured to receive a set point temperature (combined with Figure 1 ) and transmits the set point temperature to the vehicle 202. As described above, the thermostat 208 can also be configured to measure the house temperature and transmit the house temperature to the vehicle 202. The thermostat 208 can also be configured to control HVAC operation (e.g., turn off or turn on the HVAC 209) based on the command signal received from the vehicle 202.

[0034] The vehicle 202 may include a plurality of units including, but not limited to, a vehicle computer 210, a vehicle control unit (VCU) 212, and an HVAC control system 214 (or system 214). The VCU 212 may include a plurality of electronic control units (ECUs) 216 arranged to communicate with the vehicle computer 210.

[0035] The user device 204 may be connected to the vehicle computer 210 and / or the system 214 via a network 207, which may communicate via one or more wireless connections, and / or the user device may communicate using a near field communication (NFC) protocol, Protocol, Wi-Fi, ultra-wideband (UWB), and other possible data connection and sharing technologies to connect directly with the vehicle 202.

[0036] In some aspects, according to the present disclosure, the vehicle computer 210 and / or the system 214 can be installed in the vehicle engine compartment (or elsewhere in the vehicle 202). In addition, the vehicle computer 210 can operate as a functional part of the system 214. The vehicle computer 210 can be or include an electronic vehicle controller having one or more processors 218 and a memory 220. In addition, the system 214 can be separate from the vehicle computer 210 (e.g., Figure 2 ), or may be integrated as part of the vehicle computer 210.

[0037] The processor 218 may be configured to communicate with one or more memory devices (eg, memory 220 and / or memory 220) configured to communicate with a corresponding computing system. Figure 2The processor 218 may utilize the memory 220 to store programs and / or store data in code form for executing various aspects of the present disclosure. The memory 220 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or memory that stores HVAC control program code. The memory 220 may include any one or combination of volatile memory elements (e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), etc.), and may include any one or more non-volatile memory elements (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), etc.).

[0038] According to some aspects, the VCU 212 can share a power bus with the vehicle computer 210 and can be configured and / or programmed to communicate between vehicle systems, connected servers (e.g., server 206), and other vehicles operating as part of a vehicle fleet. Figure 2 The VCU 212 may include or communicate with any combination of ECUs 216, such as, for example, a body control module (BCM) 222, an engine control module (ECM) 224, a transmission control module (TCM) 226, a telematics control unit (TCU) 228, a driver assistance technology (DAT) controller 230, etc. The VCU 212 may also include and / or communicate with a vehicle perception system (VPS) 232, which may be connected to and / or control one or more vehicle sensing systems 234. The vehicle sensing system 234 may include one or more vehicle sensors, including, but not limited to, radio detection and ranging (RADAR or “radar”) sensors configured to detect and locate objects inside and outside the vehicle 202 using radio waves, seating area latch sensors, seating area sensors, light detection and ranging (LiDAR or “laser radar”) sensors, door sensors, proximity sensors, temperature sensors, wheel sensors, one or more ambient weather or temperature sensors, interior and exterior vehicle cameras, steering wheel sensors, inertial measurement units (IMUs), etc. The ambient temperature sensor may be configured to measure / determine the ambient temperature near the vehicle 202.

[0039] In some aspects, VCU 212 may control aspects of vehicle operation and implement one or more instruction sets received from user device 204 , from one or more instruction sets stored in memory 220 , including instructions to operate as part of system 214 .

[0040] The TCU 228 may be configured and / or programmed to provide vehicle connectivity to wireless computing systems on and off the vehicle 202 and may include a navigation (NAV) receiver 236 for receiving and processing GPS signals, module (BLEM) 238, a Wi-Fi transceiver, a UWB transceiver, and / or may be configured to communicate between the vehicle 202 and other systems (e.g., a vehicle key fob, Figure 2 Other wireless transceivers (not shown), wireless communications (including cellular communications) between the computer and the module Figure 2 216). The TCU 228 may be configured to communicate with the ECU 216 via a bus.

[0041] ECU 216 may control various aspects of vehicle operation and communications using input from a human driver, input from vehicle computer 210 , system 214 , and / or via wireless signal input received over a wireless connection from other connected devices (such as user device 204 , server 206 , etc.).

[0042] The BCM 222 typically includes an integration of sensors, vehicle performance indicators, and varactors associated with vehicle systems, and may include processor-based power distribution circuits that control functions associated with the vehicle body, such as lights, windows, security devices, cameras, audio systems, speakers, wipers, door locks and access controls, and various comfort controls. The BCM 222 may also operate as a gateway for bus and network interfaces to communicate with remote ECUs ( Figure 2 (not shown) to interact.

[0043] The DAT controller 230 may provide Level 1 to Level 3 automated driving and driver assistance functions, which may include other features such as active park assist, vehicle reverse assist, and adaptive cruise control. The DAT controller 230 may also provide aspects of user and environmental input that may be used for user authentication.

[0044] In some aspects, the vehicle computer 210 may be connected to an infotainment system 240. The infotainment system 240 may include a touch screen interface portion, and may include a voice recognition feature, a biometric recognition capability that may recognize a user based on facial recognition, voice recognition, fingerprint recognition, or other biometric recognition means. In other aspects, the infotainment system 240 may also be configured to receive user commands via the touch screen interface portion, and / or output or display notifications, navigation maps, etc. on the touch screen interface portion.

[0045] The vehicle 202 may also include a battery 242 that may be configured to store energy. In some aspects, the vehicle 202 may supply energy to the house 104 by using the energy stored in the battery 242.

[0046] The computing system architecture of the vehicle computer 210, VCU 212 and / or system 214 may omit certain computing modules. It should be readily understood that Figure 2 The computing environment depicted in FIG. 1 is an example of possible implementations according to the present disclosure and, therefore, should not be considered limiting or exclusive.

[0047] According to some aspects, system 214 can be integrated with and / or executed as part of ECU 216. System 214, whether integrated with vehicle computer 210 or ECU 216, or operating as a standalone computing system in vehicle 202, can include transceiver 244, processor 246, and computer readable memory 248.

[0048] The transceiver 244 may be configured to receive information / input from one or more external devices or systems (e.g., user device 204, server 206, thermostat 208, etc.) via the network 207. For example, the transceiver 244 may be configured to receive a user request from a user via the user device 204 to supply energy from the vehicle 202 to the house 104. The transceiver 244 may also be configured to receive historical load consumption information, real-time or current load consumption information, real-time ambient temperature, humidity level information, etc. from the server 206. The transceiver 244 may be additionally configured to receive a set point temperature and a real-time house temperature from the thermostat 208. In addition, the transceiver 244 may transmit notifications or signals to external devices or systems. In addition, the transceiver 244 may be configured to receive information / input (e.g., ambient temperature from an ambient temperature sensor) from a vehicle component (such as the infotainment system 240, the vehicle sensing system 234, etc.). In addition, the transceiver 244 may transmit a signal (e.g., a command signal) or notification to a vehicle component, such as the infotainment system 240.

[0049] The processor 246 and the memory 248 may be the same or similar to the processor 218 and the memory 220, respectively. In some aspects, the processor 246 may utilize the memory 248 to store programs and / or store data in code form to perform various aspects according to the present disclosure. The memory 248 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or memory that stores HVAC control program code. In some aspects, the memory 248 may additionally store instructions / information / data obtained from the server 206, the user device 204, and the thermostat 208.

[0050] In operation, the processor 246 may obtain a trigger signal via the transceiver 244 for starting the process of determining the HVAC load profile. In some aspects, the processor 246 may obtain the trigger signal when the vehicle 102 may be supplying energy to the house 104 (e.g., via the charger point 106) and the expected fluctuation of the house load consumption within the predefined duration may be within a predefined range (e.g., within a range of 1-5% of the average load consumption). In other words, the processor 246 may obtain the trigger signal when the load fluctuation in the house 104 can be expected to be low (e.g., during the night or afternoon when there may be no or limited house occupants in the house 104). In some aspects, the processor 246 may obtain the trigger signal from the server 206, which may identify the optimal duration for determining the HVAC load profile based on an analysis of historical load consumption information. For example, based on the historical load consumption information, the server 206 may identify a typical duration of a day when the fluctuation of the house load is generally small (e.g., less than a predefined threshold). In response to identifying the duration, the server may transmit a trigger signal to the processor 246 via the network 207 at the beginning of the identified duration.

[0051] In other aspects, the processor 246 itself may identify the optimal duration based on historical load consumption information that may be stored in the memory 248 (which may store historical load consumption information received from the server 206). In this case, the processor 246 may obtain a trigger signal from a vehicle timer (not shown), which may transmit a trigger signal to the processor 246 at the beginning of the identified duration.

[0052] In yet another aspect, the processor 246 can obtain a trigger signal for starting the process of determining the HVAC load profile from the user device 204. In this case, the user can transmit the trigger signal to the processor 246 via the user device 204.

[0053] In response to obtaining the trigger signal, the processor 246 may obtain historical load consumption information, real-time or current load consumption information, real-time ambient temperature, humidity level information, etc. from the server via the transceiver 244. The processor 246 may also obtain the set point temperature and the real-time house temperature from the thermostat 208 via the transceiver 244. The processor 246 may additionally obtain the real-time ambient temperature from the vehicle sensing system 234 (in addition to or in lieu of obtaining the real-time ambient temperature from the server 206). In another aspect, the vehicle 102 may be communicatively connected to a current transformer meter associated with the house 104, and the processor 246 may obtain real-time or current load consumption information from the current transformer meter via the transceiver 244. In yet another aspect, when the vehicle 202 may supply energy to the house 104 via the charger point 106, the processor 246 may obtain real-time or current load consumption information from the charger point 106.

[0054] In addition, in response to obtaining the trigger signal, the processor 246 can transmit a command signal to activate or turn on the HVAC 209 to the set point temperature to the thermostat 208 via the transceiver 244. If the HVAC 209 may already be in an activated state (i.e., already turned on), the processor 246 can cycle the HVAC 209 off or can turn the HVAC 209 off and on one or more times.

[0055] In response to activating the HVAC 209, the processor 246 may measure / monitor real-time load consumption information for the premises 104 or the amount of real-time energy that may be transferred from the vehicle 202 to the premises 104 over a duration of time before the premises temperature reaches the set point temperature. In addition, in response to activating the HVAC 209, the processor 246 may identify historical load consumption information that may be associated with similar ambient and premises load conditions (based on historical load consumption information stored in the memory 248 or obtained from the server 206). For example, if the processor 246 determines that the ambient temperature is 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the house temperature is 85 degrees Fahrenheit, the set point temperature is 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and it is afternoon time (when no one is expected to be in the premises 104), the processor 246 may identify historical load consumption information that may be associated with similar temperature and premises conditions.

[0056] The processor 246 may also compare the real-time load consumption information to the identified historical load consumption information to "isolate" or determine the HVAC load profile. In other words, the processor 246 may compare the real-time load consumption information to the identified historical load consumption information to determine the amount of load / energy that may be required to operate the HVAC 209. In some aspects, the processor 246 may perform the above comparison by subtracting the identified historical load consumption information from the real-time load consumption information. It will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that by subtracting the identified historical load consumption information from the real-time load consumption information, the processor 246 may determine the amount of energy / load specifically required to operate the HVAC 209.

[0057] In some aspects, the amount of energy / load determined above may indicate an "HVAC load profile" associated with the HVAC 209 at a particular ambient temperature, room temperature, and set point temperature. In other words, the processor 246 determines the HVAC load profile based on a comparison between the real-time load consumption information and the identified historical load consumption information and the particular ambient temperature, room temperature, and set point temperature.

[0058] As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, HVAC load curves may be different for different ambient temperatures, set point temperatures, and / or room temperatures (as well as humidity levels, room types, etc.) For example, when the ambient temperature may be very low (e.g., in the range of 20-25 degrees Fahrenheit), vehicle 202 may need to provide more energy to heat room 104 to a particular set point temperature when the ambient temperature may be relatively high (e.g., in the range of 45-55 degrees Fahrenheit), compared to the energy required to heat room 104 to the same set point temperature when the ambient temperature may be relatively high (e.g., in the range of 45-55 degrees Fahrenheit).

[0059] In response to determining the HVAC load curve at a particular ambient temperature, a house temperature, and a set point temperature, the processor 246 may store the HVAC load curve in the memory 248. The processor 246 may then use the stored HVAC load curve in the future when the user requests the vehicle 202 to supply energy to the house 104 under similar temperature conditions. Specifically, by using the stored HVAC load curve, the processor 246 may control the HVAC system operation and / or the supply of energy to the house 104. An exemplary process for controlling the HVAC system operation and / or the supply of energy to the house 104 is described in detail below. Figure 3 are depicted in and described below.

[0060] Figure 3 A flow chart of an exemplary first method 300 for supplying energy from a vehicle 202 to a premises 104 according to the present disclosure is depicted. Figure 3The following process is exemplary and is not limited to the steps described below. Furthermore, alternative embodiments may include more or fewer steps than shown or described herein, and may include the steps in an order different from the order described in the following exemplary embodiments.

[0061] The method 300 begins at step 302. At step 304, the method 300 may include obtaining, by the processor 246, a request from a user or server 206 to supply energy from the vehicle 202 to the house 104. The user may transmit the request to the processor 246 via the user device 204 or the infotainment system 240. At step 306, the method 300 may include obtaining, by the processor 246, a real-time ambient temperature, a house temperature, and a set point temperature in response to obtaining the request. As described above, the processor 246 may obtain the corresponding temperature from the thermostat 208, the server 206, and / or the ambient temperature sensor. In other aspects, the request obtained from the server 206 and the infotainment system 240 may additionally include the above-mentioned temperatures.

[0062] At step 308, the method 300 may include determining, by the processor 246, whether an HVAC load curve associated with or corresponding to the obtained ambient temperature, room temperature, and set point temperature is already available / stored in the memory 248. Specifically, at step 308, the processor 246 may determine whether the processor 246 may have determined an HVAC load curve for the same temperature conditions previously.

[0063] In response to determining at step 308 that the HVAC load curve may not be available, processor 246 may, at step 310, perform the following steps in conjunction with the above. Figure 2 The HVAC load curve is determined in a manner similar to that described.

[0064] On the other hand, in response to determining at step 308 that an HVAC load profile may be available / stored in memory 248, processor 246 may predict or estimate the amount of expected energy that may need to be supplied to premises 104 and optimally operate HVAC 209 based on the HVAC load profile and the obtained temperature. Additionally, at step 312, processor 246 may check the current state of charge (SOC) level of battery 242. Processor 246 may then compare the SOC level to the estimated amount of expected energy.

[0065] At step 314, the method 300 may include determining, by the processor 246, that a predefined condition may be satisfied based on the comparison. In some aspects, the processor 246 may determine that the predefined condition may be satisfied when the estimated amount of expected energy may be greater than the SOC level. At step 316, the method 300 may include performing, by the processor 246, a predefined action in response to determining that the predefined condition may be satisfied. Examples of predefined actions are described below. In some aspects, in response to determining that the predefined condition may not be satisfied, the processor 246 may cause the vehicle 202 to supply energy to the house 104 using energy stored in the battery 242.

[0066] In a first exemplary aspect, the predefined action may include transmitting a deactivation command signal to the thermostat 208 for deactivating or shutting down the HVAC 209. In response to deactivating the HVAC 209, the vehicle 102 may supply energy to the premises 104 (to power other premises equipment). In a second exemplary aspect, the predefined action may include transmitting a recommendation to the user device 204 or the infotainment system 240 requesting the user to change the set point temperature. For example, the processor 246 may request the user to lower (or raise) the set point temperature so that the vehicle 202 may be required to supply a smaller amount of energy to the premises 104. In response to the user changing the set point temperature, the processor 246 may cause the vehicle 202 to supply energy to the premises 104.

[0067] In some aspects, the vehicle 202 may supply energy to the house 104 by slowly ramping up the energy supplied to the house 104, thereby slowly ramping down the energy supplied to the house 104 by the grid. In addition, although the above description describes aspects in which the vehicle 202 monitors the load consumption of the entire house 104 to determine the HVAC load profile and supplies energy to the entire house 104, in some aspects, the vehicle 202 / processor 246 may monitor the load consumption associated with a portion or area of ​​the house 104 (e.g., a portion of the house that the vehicle owner may own) and supply energy to the portion or area of ​​the house 104 rather than the entire house 104. In this case, the vehicle owner may provide user input to the processor 246 indicating the specific portion / area of ​​the house owned by the vehicle owner. In further aspects, the vehicle 202 / processor 246 may be configured to "compensate" or control the distribution / transfer or consumption of energy from the vehicle 202 to one or more specific portions (or one or more devices) of the house 104 to balance energy consumption in a house occupied or owned by multiple families (based on the historical energy consumption patterns of the house). For example, if user "A" uses more energy, but the electricity cost can be shared among four house users, processor 246 can transfer power to house 104 to balance the difference in energy consumption among the four house users based on the historical energy consumption patterns of the house.

[0068] Method 300 may end at step 318 .

[0069] Figure 4 A flow chart of an exemplary second method 400 for supplying energy from a vehicle 202 to a premises 104 according to the present disclosure is depicted. Figure 4 The following process is exemplary and is not limited to the steps described below. Furthermore, alternative embodiments may include more or fewer steps than shown or described herein, and may include the steps in an order different from the order described in the following exemplary embodiments.

[0070] The method 400 begins at step 402. At step 404, the method 400 may include obtaining, by the processor 246, a trigger signal for initiating a process of determining an HVAC load profile. At step 406, the method 400 may include transmitting, by the processor 246, a command signal to the thermostat 208 for activating the HVAC 209 to a set point temperature. At step 408, the method 400 may include comparing, by the processor 246, real-time or current load consumption information with historical load consumption information. At step 410, the method 400 may include determining, by the processor 246, an HVAC load profile based on the comparison and the set point temperature (as well as the ambient temperature and the room temperature, as described above). At step 412, the method 400 may include controlling, by the processor 246, HVAC system operation based on the HVAC load profile, as described above.

[0071] At step 414 , the method 400 may stop.

[0072] In the above disclosure, reference has been made to the accompanying drawings that form a part of the above disclosure, which illustrate specific embodiments in which the present disclosure can be practiced. It should be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. References to "one embodiment," "embodiment," "exemplary embodiment," etc. in this specification indicate that the described embodiment may include specific features, structures, or characteristics, but each embodiment may not necessarily include the specific features, structures, or characteristics. In addition, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, when features, structures, or characteristics are described in conjunction with an embodiment, whether or not explicitly described, those skilled in the art will recognize such features, structures, or characteristics in conjunction with other embodiments.

[0073] In addition, where appropriate, the functions described herein may be performed in one or more of the following: hardware, software, firmware, digital components, or analog components. For example, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) may be programmed to perform one or more of the systems and programs described herein. Certain terms are used throughout the specification and claims to refer to specific system components. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, components may be referred to by different names. This document is not intended to distinguish between components that have different names but the same function.

[0074] It should also be understood that the word "example" as used herein is intended to be non-exclusive and non-limiting in nature. More specifically, the word "example" used herein indicates one of several examples, and it should be understood that no undue emphasis or preference is placed on the specific example described.

[0075] Computer-readable media (also referred to as processor-readable media) include any non-transitory (e.g., tangible) media that participate in providing data (e.g., instructions) that can be read by a computer (e.g., by a processor of a computer). Such media may take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media and volatile media. A computing device may include computer-executable instructions, where the instructions may be executable by one or more computing devices (such as those listed above) and stored on a computer-readable medium.

[0076] With respect to the processes, systems, methods, heuristics, etc. described herein, it should be understood that although the steps of such processes, etc. have been described as occurring according to a certain ordered sequence, such processes may be practiced by performing the described steps in an order different from the order described herein. It should also be understood that certain steps may be performed simultaneously, other steps may be added, or certain steps described herein may be omitted. In other words, the descriptions of processes herein are provided for the purpose of illustrating various embodiments and should in no way be construed as limiting the claims.

[0077] Therefore, it should be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Upon reading the above description, many embodiments and applications other than the examples provided will be apparent. The scope should not be determined with reference to the above description, but should be determined with reference to the entire scope of the appended claims and equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is expected and anticipated that the technology discussed herein will develop in the future, and the disclosed systems and methods will be incorporated into such future embodiments. In short, it should be understood that the present application is capable of modification and change.

[0078] Unless explicitly indicated to the contrary in this article, all terms used in the claims are intended to be given their ordinary meanings as understood by the technicians described herein. Specifically, unless the claims state an explicit limitation to the contrary, the use of singular articles such as "one", "the", "said" and the like should be interpreted as describing one or more of the indicated elements. Unless otherwise specifically stated or understood in other ways within the context when used, conditional language such as, in particular, "can", "may", "may" or "can" is generally intended to express that certain embodiments may include certain features, elements and / or steps, while other embodiments may not include certain features, elements and / or steps. Therefore, such conditional language is generally not intended to imply that one or more embodiments require each feature, element and / or step in any case.

[0079] According to the present invention, a method for providing energy to a building from a vehicle includes: obtaining a trigger signal by a processor; transmitting a command signal by the processor in response to obtaining the trigger signal for causing a first building component to be activated to a set point temperature; comparing current building load consumption information with historical building load consumption information by the processor in response to activating the first building component; determining a first building component load curve by the processor based on the comparison and the set point temperature; and controlling the operation of the first building component based on the first building component load curve by the processor.

[0080] According to an embodiment, the invention is further characterized in that the first building component load curve is determined based on the ambient temperature and the building temperature.

[0081] According to an embodiment, the first building component is a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system of the building.

[0082] According to an embodiment, transmitting the command signal comprises transmitting the command signal to a building thermostat.

[0083] According to the present invention, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to: obtain a trigger signal; transmit a command signal for causing a first building component to be activated to a set point temperature in response to obtaining the trigger signal; compare current building load consumption information with historical building load consumption information in response to activating the first building component; determine a first building component load curve based on the comparison and the set point temperature; and control the operation of the first building component based on the first building component load curve.

Claims

1. A vehicle configured to provide energy to a building, the vehicle comprising: a transceiver configured to receive a set point temperature, historical building load consumption information, and current building load consumption information associated with the building; as well as a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver, wherein the processor is configured to: Get a trigger signal; transmitting a command signal for causing activation of a first building component to the set point temperature in response to obtaining the trigger signal; comparing the current building load consumption information to the historical building load consumption information in response to activating the first building component; determining a first building component load curve based on the comparison and the set point temperature; and Operation of a first building component is controlled based on the first building component load curve. 2 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive ambient temperature and building temperature.

3. The vehicle of claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to determine the first building component load curve based on the ambient temperature and the building temperature.

4. The vehicle of claim 2, wherein the transceiver receives the set point temperature and the building temperature from a second building component, and wherein the transceiver receives the ambient temperature from an ambient temperature sensor or a server.

5. The vehicle of claim 4, wherein the processor transmits the command signal to the second building component.

6. The vehicle of claim 4, wherein the second building component is a building thermostat.

7. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the transceiver receives the historical building load consumption information and the current building load consumption information from a server or a third building component.

8. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the first building component is a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system of the building.

9. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processor obtains the trigger signal from a server, a user device, or a vehicle timer.

10. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processor obtains the trigger signal when an expected fluctuation in building load consumption within a predefined duration is within a predefined range.

11. The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a vehicle memory configured to store the first building component load curve.

12. The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising a battery configured to store energy to be provided to the structure, wherein the processor is further configured to: determining a battery state of charge (SOC) level; and The first building component operation is controlled based on the battery SOC level and the first building component load profile.

13. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to: obtaining a request to provide energy to the building, wherein the request includes a user desired building temperature, a current ambient temperature, and a current building temperature; estimating an amount of energy to be supplied to the building based on the request and the first building component load profile; as well as A predefined action is performed based on the amount of energy.

14. The vehicle of claim 13, wherein the predefined action comprises at least one of: transmitting to a user device a recommendation to change the user desired building temperature; and A deactivation command signal is transmitted for causing deactivation of the first building component.

15. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to control energy transfer from the vehicle to one or more building equipment or one or more portions of the building based on at least one of historical energy consumption patterns and user input.

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