Method and system for fully automated enterprise control of local power usage

Abstract

A system, method and apparatus for controlling power consumption of an HVAC device configured to adjust a climate of a room in a fully automated manner in real time or near real time. For example, an apparatus according to various embodiments comprises a receiver, for receiving via a radiofrequency (RF) channel a control signal associated with a demand response event; a comfort determining mechanism, for determining whether air within the room exhibits a temperature level within a temperature range, a relative humidity level within a relative humidity range and whether the room is occupied or not; and a control mechanism, for generating a HVAC control signal configured to reduce power consumption of the HVAC device in response to receiving the demand response event control signal and the room air temperature level being within the temperature range and the relative humidity level being within the relative humidity range.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 300,517, filed Nov. 18, 2011, issuing Apr. 7, 2015 under U.S. Pat. No. 9,002,761, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12 / 587,564, filed Oct. 8, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,412,654 which application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 195,608 filed Oct. 8, 2008, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]In the United States, Independent Service Operators (“ISOs”) and / or their affiliates, which include Energy Curtailment Service Providers (“ECSPs” or CSPs or Aggregators), utility companies, electrical power producers that are the primary source of electrical power supplied over an electrical power grid by the utility companies, etc., are under continuing pressure to reduce demand for electrical power (“kil...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0026]Various deficiencies associated with the prior art are addressed using a system, method and apparatus for controlling power consumption of a power consuming device such as an Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) device configured to adjust a climate of a room. For example, an apparatus according to various embodiments comprises a receiver, for receiving via a radiofrequency (RF) channel a control signal associated with a demand response event; a comfort determining mechanism, for ...

Problems solved by technology

The current technique of end users reducing KW demand pursuant to such DR Agreements, however, depends too much upon human involvement to implement actions to achieve the agreed upon demand reduction for the DR event at the end users.

There are inherent weaknesses in the current technique, because the implementation of demand reduction for a DR event depends on a human responding to an email, fax or telephone call from an ISO, utility and/or ECSPs that provides notification of a request for demand reduction at the end user for a DR event.

1) Humans do not necessarily sit by their computers waiting for “that email” to show up, or by their fax machines waiting for “that fax” to show up. By the time a human sees and reads “that email” or “that fax,” there may be little or no time to implement a response at an end user, as required for the DR event under a DR Agreement. In addition, in current office environments humans use fax machines much less than emails, which further decreases the chance of a timely response for a faxed request for demand reduction for a DR event.

2) During a DR event, certain geographic areas may already be experiencing brownouts and/or black outs, such that computers and fax machines at end users may already be inoperative when a request notification is transmitted by email or facsimile. Consequently, the human (operator) responsible to implementing demand reduction at the end user to comply with the DR Agreement never receives “that call” or “that fax.”

3) Humans do not necessarily sit by their office telephones waiting for “that phone call” to come. By the time they return to their desk and listen to their voice mails, there may be little or no time to respond.

4) Humans do not necessarily carry their cell phones, PDAs or other type of communication device with them at all times or, if they do, the devices may be on “vibrate.” Consequently, when the request notification for energy curtailment is made, either via phone call or email, this request may be missed. In addition, by the time humans pick up their cell phone and/or PDA and listen to their voice mails or look at their emails, there may be little or no time to respond. Further, it is very common that cell phone and/or PDA coverage is bad in certain areas, such that humans may never get “that call” or “that email.” In addition, it is very common that cell phone and/or PDA batteries are low or dead, such that humans may never receive “that call” or “that email” until the batteries of such devices are recharged. By such time, the end user may have missed the time period in which a response to the DR event is required under the DR Agreement.

5) Humans go on vacations, get sick, are called out on emergencies, get into accidents, fall asleep, get distracted, have higher priorities, can only accomplish so many tasks at one time, etc. All these possibilities may prevent a call for energy curtailment from being acted upon in a timely manner.

6) Humans also make mistakes. Therefore, even if a call for energy curtailment is received, appropriate action by the recipient may not be timely implemented at the end user, such that the time period in which a response to the DR event is required under the DR Agreement may have been missed.

7) Humans do not have the ability to make complex mathematical calculations with a high degree of accuracy at all hours of the day. Consequently, it is highly likely that humans will not always make the proper decisions with respect to what actions to take and/or KW demand control actions to implement, and the order in which such actions are to be implemented, based upon a multitude of criteria that needs to be evaluated simultaneously and substantially instantaneously.

Thus, based on the typical human involvement in a response to a request for energy curtailment, DR events requiring implementation of demand reduction within a short period of time are not necessarily appropriately and timely responded to by end users.

A “day ahead” event may arise, for example, if in the opinion of the ISO, there might be a concern of a “brown out” or “black out” the very next day and/or the demand for electricity might place the ISO and/or utility company(s) at an economic disadvantage.

These efforts are stressful, and the larger the physical size of the end user, the more difficult it is for the operator to perform such actions.

For example, an end user facility may be so large that provisions of a DR Agreement for a DR event cannot be satisfied unless a very sophisticated building automation system(s) is...

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