Meter collars configured for use with energy management systems

Abstract

A meter collar configured to connect to a utility meter is provided herein and comprises a controller configured to dynamically (automatically) determine how much energy a home can import to or export from a grid based on at least one of data obtained from a transformer of the grid, a temperature of the meter collar, a utility meter limit, or from another utility data network.

Description

METER COLLARS CONFIGURED FOR USE WITH ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMSBACKGROUND1. Field of the Disclosure

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to meter collars and, for example, to meter collars configured for use with energy management systems.2. Description of the Related Art

[0002] Conventional power conversion systems (energy management systems) are known and can comprise a load center that is coupled to a meter (smart meter) that can couple to a MID (microgrid interconnect device) that can be connected via a transformer to a grid (e g., a commercial / utility power grid, utility). In some instances, the meter can interface electrically and mechanically with the transformer. For example, in some instances, real-time information and data can be transferred between the meter and the transformer. Such communication, however, can be relatively slow as the transference depends on the update interval of the utility Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI) network. Additionally, utility meters are, typically, not configured to have knowledge of other customer owned resources / components of energy management systems, e.g., photovoltaics, batteries, electric vehicle supply systems (EVSE), etc., nor are the utility meters configured to have knowledge of power control systems (PCS).

[0003] Therefore, described herein are improved meter collars configured for use with energy management systems.SUMMARY

[0004] In accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure, a meter collar configured to connect to a utility meter comprises a controller configured to dynamically (automatically) determine how much energy a home can import to or export from a grid based on at least one of data obtained from: a transformer of the grid, a temperature of the meter collar, the utility meter limit, or from another utility data network, such as an advanced meter infrastructure (AMI) network.

[0005] In accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure, a method of use of a meter collar configured to connect to a utility meter comprises dynamically (automatically) determining how much energy a home can import to or export from a grid based on at least one of data obtained from: a transformer of the grid, a temperature of the meter collar, the utility meter limit, or from another utility data network, such as an advanced meter infrastructure (AMI) network.

[0006] In accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium has instructions stored thereon that when executed by a processor perform a method of use of a meter collar configured to connect to a utility meter. The method comprises dynamically (automatically) determining how much energy a home can import to or export from a grid based on at least one of data obtained from: a transformer of the grid, a temperature of the meter collar, the utility meter limit, or from another utility data network, such as an advanced meter infrastructure (AMI) network.

[0007] Various advantages, aspects, and novel features of the present disclosure may be appreciated from a review of the following detailed description of the present disclosure, along with the accompanying figures in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only a typical embodiment of this disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the disclosure may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

[0009] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a system for power conversion, in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0010] Figure 2 is a diagram of a meter collar configured for use with the system for power conversion of Figure 1 , in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0011] Figure 3 is a method of use of a meter collar configured to connect to a utility meter, in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] In accordance with the present disclosure, described herein are improved meter collars configured for use with energy management systems (EMS). For example, a meter collar configured to connect to a utility meter can comprise a controller configured to dynamically (automatically) determine how much energy a home can import to or export from a grid based on at least one of data obtained from: a transformer of the grid, a temperature of the meter collar, the utility meter limit, or from another utility data network, such as an advanced meter infrastructure (AMI) network.

[0013] Figure 1 is a block diagram of an energy management system (e.g., power conversion system, system 100) in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The diagram of Figure 1 only portrays one variation of the myriad of possible system configurations. The present disclosure can function in a variety of environments and systems.

[0014] The system 100 comprises a structure 102 (e.g., a user’s structure, such as a home), such as a residential home, commercial building, or separate mounting structure, having an associated DER 118 (distributed energy resource). The DER 118 is situated external to the structure 102. For example, the DER 1 18 may be located on the roof of the structure 102 or can be part of a solar farm. Alternatively, the DER 118 can be situated inside the structure 102. For example, when the DER 118 is a permanent residential battery energy storage system, the DER 118 may be installed in a garage (or other suitable location inside the structure 102). The structure 102 comprises one or more loads 114 (and / or energy storage devices), e.g., portable energy systems (PES), appliances, electric hot water heaters, thermostats / detectors, boilers, electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), EVs, water pumps, and the like, which can be located within or outside the structure 102, and a DER controller 116, each coupled to a load center 112. Although the one or more loads 114 (and / or energy storage devices), the DER controller 116, and the load center 112 are depictedas being located within the structure 102, one or more of these may be located external to the structure 102.

[0015] The load center 112 is coupled to the DER 118 by an AC bus 104 and is further coupled, via a meter 152 (utility meter comprising a utility meter socket) and optionally a MID 150 (microgrid interconnect device), to a grid 124 (e.g., a commercial / utility power grid). The structure 102, the one or more loads 114 (and / or energy storage devices), DER controller 116, DER 118, load center 112, generation meter 154, the meter 152, and the MID 150 are part of a microgrid 180. It should be noted that one or more additional devices not shown in Figure 1 may be part of the microgrid 180. For example, a power meter or similar device may be coupled to the load center 1 12.

[0016] The DER 118 comprises at least one renewable energy source (RES) coupled to power conditioners 122 (e.g., microinverter, power converter, power conversion units (PCUs), etc.). For example, the DER 118 may comprise a plurality of RESs 120 coupled to a plurality of power conditioners 122 in a one-to-one correspondence (or two-to-one). In embodiments described herein, each RES of the plurality of RESs 120 is a photovoltaic module (PV module), although in other embodiments the plurality of RESs 120 may be any type of system for generating DC power from a renewable form of energy, such as wind, hydro, and the like. The DER 1 18 may further comprise one or more batteries (or other types of energy storage / delivery devices) coupled to the power conditioners 122 in a one-to-one correspondence, where each pair of power conditioner 122 and a DC battery 141 may be referred to as an AC battery 130.

[0017] The power conditioners 122 invert the generated DC power from the plurality of RESs 120 and / or the DC battery 141 to AC power that is grid-compliant and couple the generated AC power to the grid 124 via the load center 112. The generated AC power may be additionally or alternatively coupled via the load center 112 to the one or more loads (e.g., EV, EVSE) and / or the one or more loads 114 (and / or energy storage devices). In addition, the power conditioners 122 that are coupled to the DC batteries convert AC power from the AC bus 104 to DC power for charging the DC batteries. A generation meter 154 is coupled at the output of the power conditioners 122 that are coupled to the plurality of RESs 120 in order to measure generated power.

[0018] In at least some embodiments, the power conditioners 122 may be AC-AC converters that receive AC input and convert one type of AC power to another type of AC power. Alternatively, the power conditioners 122 may be DC-DC converters that convert one type of DC power to another type of DC power. The DC-DC converters may be coupled to a main DC-AC inverter for inverting the generated DC output to an AC output.

[0019] The power conditioners 122 may communicate with one another and with the DER controller 116 using power line communication (PLC), although additionally and / or alternatively other types of wired and / or wireless communication may be used. The DER controller 116 may provide operative control of the DER 118 and / or receive data or information from the DER 118. For example, the DER controller 116 may be a gateway that receives data (e.g., alarms, messages, operating data, performance data, temperature data, and the like) from the power conditioners 122 and communicates the data and / or other information via the communications network 126 to a cloud-based computing platform 128, which can be configured to execute one or more application software, e.g., a grid connectivity control application, to a remote device or system such as a master controller (not shown), and the like. The DER controller 116 may also send control signals to the power conditioners 122, such as control signals generated by the DER controller 116 or received from a remote device or the cloud-based computing platform 128. The DER controller 1 16 may be communicably coupled to the communications network 126 via wired and / or wireless techniques. For example, the DER controller 116 may be wirelessly coupled to the communications network 126 via a commercially available router. In one or more embodiments, the DER controller 1 16 comprises an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or microprocessor along with suitable software (e.g., a grid connectivity control application) for performing one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., the methods described herein).

[0020] The generation meter 154 (which may also be referred to as a production meter) may be any suitable energy meter that measures the energy generated by the DER 118 (e.g., by the power conditioners 122 coupled to the plurality of RESs 120). The generation meter 154 measures real power flow (kWh) and, in some embodiments, reactive power flow (kVAR). The generation meter 154 maycommunicate the measured values to the DER controller 116, for example using PLC, othertypes of wired communications, orwireless communication. Additionally, battery charge / discharge values are received through other networking protocols from the DC battery itself.

[0021] The meter 152 may be any suitable energy meter that measures the energy consumed by the microgrid 180, such as a net-metering meter, a bi-directional meter that measures energy imported from the grid 124 and well as energy exported to the grid 124, a dual meter comprising two separate meters for measuring energy ingress and egress, and the like. In some embodiments, the meter 152 comprises the MID 150 or a portion thereof. The meter 152 measures one or more of real power flow (kWh), reactive power flow (kVAR), grid frequency, and grid voltage. The meter 152 measures powerflows independently of MID state, i.e., when MID is closed and DER’s are connected to the grid and when MID is open and DER’s are isolated from the grid.

[0022] The MID 150, which may also be referred to as an island interconnect device (IID), connects / disconnects the microgrid 180 to / from the grid 124. The MID 150 comprises a disconnect component (e.g., a relay, a contactor, orthe like) for physically connecting / disconnecting the microgrid 180 to / from the grid 124. For example, the DER controller 116 receives information regarding the present state of the system from the power conditioners 122 and also receives the energy consumption values of the microgrid 180 from the meter 152 (e.g., via one or more of PLC, other types of wired communication, and wireless communication), and based on the received information (inputs), the DER controller 116 determines when to go on-grid or off-grid and instructs the MID 150 accordingly. In some alternative embodiments, the MID 150 comprises an ASIC or CPU, along with suitable software (e.g., an islanding module) for determining when to disconnect from / connect to the grid 124. For example, the MID 150 may monitor the grid 124 and detect a grid fluctuation, disturbance or outage and, as a result, disconnect the microgrid 180 from the grid 124. Once disconnected from the grid 124, the microgrid 180 can continue to generate power as an intentional island without imposing safety risks, for example on any line workers that may be working on the grid 124.

[0023] In some alternative embodiments, the MID 150 or a portion of the MID 150 is part of the DER controller 116. For example, the DER controller 116 may comprise aCPU and an islanding module for monitoring the grid 124, detecting grid failures and disturbances, determining when to disconnect from / connect to the grid 124, and driving a disconnect component accordingly, where the disconnect component may be part of the DER controller 116 or, alternatively, separate from the DER controller 116. In some embodiments, the MID 150 may communicate with the DER controller 116 (e.g., using wired techniques such as power line communications, or using wireless communication) for coordinating connection / disconnection to the grid 124.

[0024] A user 140 can use one or more computing devices, such as a mobile device 142 (e.g., a smart phone, tablet, or the like) communicably coupled by wireless means to the communications network 126. The mobile device 142 has a CPU, support circuits, and memory, and has one or more applications (e.g., a grid connectivity control application (an application 146)) installed thereon for controlling the connectivity with the grid 124 as described herein. The mobile device 142 may run on commercially available operating systems, such as IOS, ANDROID, and the like.

[0025] In order to control connectivity with the grid 124, the user 140 interacts with an icon displayed on the mobile device 142, for example a grid on-off toggle control or slide, which is referred to herein as a toggle button. The toggle button may be presented on one or more status screens pertaining to the microgrid 180, such as a live status screen (not shown), for various validations, checks and alerts. The first time the user 140 interacts with the toggle button, the user 140 is taken to a consent page, such as a grid connectivity consent page, under setting and will be allowed to interact with toggle button only after he / she gives consent.

[0026] Once consent is received, the scenarios below, listed in order of priority, will be managed differently. Based on the desired action as entered by the user 140, the corresponding instructions are communicated to the DER controller 116 via the communications network 126 using any suitable protocol, such as HTTP(S), MQTT(S), WebSockets, and the like. The DER controller 116, which may store the received instructions as needed, instructs the MID 150 to connect to or disconnect from the grid 124 as appropriate.

[0027] As noted above, provided herein are improved meter collars configured for use with energy management systems. For example, the inventive concepts described herein provide improved methods and apparatus for real-time data and informationtransfer between the meter, the utility (e.g., the transformer), and / or one or more components of the energy management systems.

[0028] For example, Figure 2 is a diagram of a meter collar 200 configured for use with the system 100 for power conversion of Figure 1 , and Figure 3 is a method 300 of use of a meter collar configured to connect to a utility meter, in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] The meter collar 200 is configured to connect to a utility meter (e.g., the meter 152). The meter collar 200 can be configured as a flexible interconnection device. For example, the meter collar may be configured to connect to a meter of a home (with or without solar power), e.g., solar power behind-the-transformer (BTT) of a grid (e.g., the grid 124). For example, the meter collar 200 can be configured to communicate with a utility to access real-time data from the utility, e.g., information relating to how much of the utility is getting overloaded. For example, the meter collar 200 can comprise one or more controllers 216 (e.g., the DER controller 1 16) that allow the meter collar 200 to dynamically (automatically) determine how much energy a home (e.g., the structure 102) or homes can import to or export from the grid (see 302 of Figure 3). For example, when there are a plurality of homes each comprising the meter collar 200, each meter collar 200 can be configured to communicate with a utility, and the utility can provide real-time data to each meter collar 200 so that each meter collar can make on-the-fly determinations on how much energy each home can import to or export from the grid. Such determinations may be dictated by a utility transformer, sub-station, generation center, network, power lines, or any other element of a utility grid. In at least some embodiments, one or more of the homes can have one or more EVSEs or EVs.

[0030] In at least some embodiments, the meter collar 200 can be configured as a power quality device. For example, the meter collar 200 can be configured to follow a shape of a grid waveform, perform Fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) on the grid waveform, determine the quality of the grid based on the grid waveform, and / or track and report changes of the grid. In at least some embodiments, the meter collar 200 can be configured to determine when a utility is overloaded / satu rated. For example, the meter collar 200 can be configured to determine when the utility begins to saturate via a change in the shape of the grid waveform. In at least some embodiments, themeter collar 200 can be configured to track harmonics (e.g., a controller can be configured to track the harmonics) of the grid waveform to determine if there is a change related to an overload / saturation of the utility. In at least some embodiments, a lag time and saturation point on the utility can be used to facilitate in determining possible utility failure. For example, a change in the grid waveform can be used to indicate with a relatively high certainty when utility failure is about to occur, i.e. a short lag and / or enough head-room on the utility (e.g., 90% saturation of utility versus 99% saturation of utility). In at least some embodiments, the meter collar 200 can be configured to track and report changes to the homeowner, the utility, another homeowner, another meter collar, and / or a controller of the system 100 or a controller of the EVSE or EV.

[0031] Additionally, the thermal behavior of the meter collar 200 can be used to determine when a temperature of the meter collar 200 or the meter exceeds a threshold to prevent overheating of the meter (e.g., the meter base), sometimes referred to as hot socket, which is major concern for utilities. The overheating of the meter base may be caused by loose wire connection, which can occur over time, and can potentially lead to fires. When the temperature of the meter collar 200 or the meter exceeds or deviates from a threshold, the meter collar 200 can be configured to transmit an alert to a user, as described in greater detail below.

[0032] For example, the meter collar 200 can be configured to respond to high internal temperatures of the meter (e.g., thermal management). For example, the meter collar 200 can be configured to go to zero import / export (PCS) if the meter collar 200 determines that the temperature of the meter collar or the meter exceeds a threshold temperature. In at least some embodiments, the meter collar 200 can report excess temperature to the homeowner, the utility, another homeowner, another meter collar, and / or a controller of the system 100 or a controller of the EVSE or EV. In such embodiments, one or more temperature sensors 218 (e.g., thermocouple, thermostat, or other suitable temperature device) can be operably disposed in the meter collar 200 and configured to indicate to the controller 216 when the temperature of the meter collar 200 or the meter exceeds a threshold temperature.

[0033] In at least some embodiments, a predicted temperature (e.g., a future temperature of the meter collar) of the meter collar 200 can be calculated by lookingat temperature data from the meter collar 200, from other microinverters, and / or a current (e.g., less current equals less heat) flow through the meter collar 200 (e.g., in either direction). For example, the expected meter collar 200 temperature can be predicted using one or more of ambient temperatures, current flow, and / or other device temperature (e.g., microinverter temperature, gateway temperatures, etc.). For example, there is a relationship between the temperature of the devices of the system 100 due to similar ambient temperature. Thus, the controller 216 of the meter collar 200 can comprise a learning algorithm configured to increase the accuracy of the estimation / prediction based on the relationship. For example, when the sun hits the meter collar 200 (e.g., on June 10 from 9 am to 3 pm), and when the meter collar 200 is importing 10 kW, the meter collar 200 can be 7° C hotter than, for example, a particular microinverter in the same sunlight at that particular moment. Accordingly, the learning algorithm of the controller 216 learns about the temperature relationship. Using the learning algorithm, the controller 216 can adjust for non-direct sunlight on the meter collar 200 and / or microinverter for different import / export values, different production values of that particular microinverter, etc.

[0034] Additionally, as temperature is normally a function of an ambient temperature plus internal heating, which is proportional to a square of the current (regardless of current direction (e.g., current import or current export)), the controller 216 can predict when the temperature of the meter collar 200 or the meter is going to exceed a threshold. In at least some embodiments, the controller 216 can use heat gain, which is due to sunlight hitting the meter collar / meter or main service panel, to predict when the temperature of the meter collar 200 or the meter is going to exceed a threshold. In at least some embodiments, when the controller 216 detects an abnormal temperature (e.g., actual temperature is higher than a predicted temperature), the current flow to or from the grid can be reduced. In at least some embodiments, when the controller 216 detects an abnormal temperature, the system 100 can be disconnected from the grid (e.g., zero current), which can potentially avoid an electrical fire from occurring. In at least some embodiments, when the controller 216 detects an abnormal temperature, an alert can be transmitted to the utility, so that a technician can be sent to a home to determine if a hot socket event occurred.

[0035] Additionally, if the one or more temperature sensors 218 fail over time, a correlation model between the temperature of, for example, the microinverters and combiners can be derived and used to determine an actual temperature of the meter collar 200 (e.g., estimate / predict temperature with a function that learns over time).

[0036] In at least some embodiments, the MID 150 or a portion of the MID 150 can be part of the meter collar 200 and / or controlled by the controller 216. For example, the controller 216 may comprise a CPU and an islanding module for monitoring the grid 124, determining when to disconnect from / connect to the grid if the DER controller 116 (and / or the MID itself) is unable to limit the power import or export limit for some period of time, and driving a disconnect component accordingly, Such an embodiment provides a secondary means to ensure import or export limits are maintained, where the disconnect component may be part of the controller 216 or, alternatively, separate from the controller 216. In some embodiments, the MID 150 may communicate with the controller 216 (e.g., using wired techniques such as power line communications, or using wireless communication) for coordinating connection / disconnection to the grid 124.

[0037] While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present disclosure, other and further embodiments of the disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.

Claims

CLAIMS:1 . A meter collar configured to connect to a utility meter, comprising: a controller configured to automatically determine how much energy a home can import to or export from a grid based on at least one of data obtained from a transformer of the grid, a temperature of the meter collar, a utility meter limit, or from another utility data network.

2. The meter collar of claim 1 , wherein the utility data network is an advanced meter infrastructure (AMI) network.

3. The meter collar of claim 1 , wherein the utility meter is configured to connect to the utility meter of the home with or without solar power behind-the-transformer (BTT) of the grid.

4. The meter collar of claim 1 , wherein the data obtained from the transformer of the grid comprises real-time information relating to how much of the utility is getting overloaded.

5. The meter collar of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to follow a shape of a grid waveform, perform Fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) on the grid waveform, determine a quality of the grid based on the grid waveform, or track and report changes of the grid.

6. The meter collar as in any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the controller is further configured to determine when a utility is saturated based on the shape of the grid waveform.

7. The meter collar as in any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the controller is further configured to track harmonics of the grid waveform to determine if there is a change related to a saturation of the utility.

8. The meter collar of claim 1 , wherein the meter collar further comprises a temperature sensor, and the controller is further configured to determine when the temperature of the meter collar or the meter exceeds or deviates from a threshold.

9. The meter collar as in any of claims 1 to 5 or 8, wherein the temperature sensor is at least one of a thermocouple or thermostat.

10. The meter collar as in any of claims 1 to 5 or 8, wherein the controller is further configured to transmit an alert to at least one of a homeowner, the utility, another homeowner, another meter collar, a controller of an energy management system, or a controller of an EVSE or EV when the temperature of the meter collar or the meter exceeds or deviates from the threshold.

11. The meter collar as in any of claims 1 to 5 or 8, wherein the controller is further configured to go to zero import / export (PCS) when the controller determines that the temperature of the meter collar or the meter exceeds or deviates from a threshold temperature.

12. The meter collar as in any of claims 1 to 5 or 8, wherein the controller is further configured to predict a future temperature of the meter collar based on at least one of temperature data from the meter collar, temperature data from a microinverter of an energy management system, or a current flow through the meter collar.

13. A method of use of a meter collar configured to connect to a utility meter, comprising: automatically determining via a controller of the meter collar how much energy a home can import to or export from a grid based on at least one of data obtained from a transformer of the grid, a temperature of the meter collar, a utility meter limit, or from another utility data network.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the utility data network is an advanced meter infrastructure (AMI) network.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the utility meter is configured to connect to the utility meter of the home with or without solar power behind-the-transformer (BTT) of the grid.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the data obtained from the transformer of the grid comprises real-time information relating to how much of the utility is getting overloaded.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the controller is further configured to follow a shape of a grid waveform, perform Fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) on the grid waveform, determine a quality of the grid based on the grid waveform, or track and report changes of the grid.

18. The method as in any of claims 13 to 17, wherein the controller is further configured to determine when a utility is saturated based on the shape of the grid waveform.

19. The method as in any of claims 13 to 17, wherein the controller is further configured to track harmonics of the grid waveform to determine if there is a change related to a saturation of the utility.

20. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having instructions stored there on that when executed by a processor perform a method of use of a meter collar configured to connect to a utility meter, the method comprising: automatically determining via a controller of the meter collar how much energy a home can import to or export from a grid based on at least one of data obtained from a transformer of the grid, a temperature of the meter collar, a utility meter limit, or from another utility data network.

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