1820 results about "Demand response" patented technology

An energy usage coordinator controls the energy usage of individual buildings of a group (or portfolio) of buildings in one or more load zones. These buildings have all contracted with an energy company which controls (directly or indirectly) the energy usage coordinator. By agreeing to lower energy usage during times of peak usage (when the energy company may otherwise have to pay very high prices on the spot or short term market), the owners or managers of the buildings receive a preferential energy rate from the energy company. Such a preferential rate may be in the form of a fixed rate reduction or a variable rate reduction. Alternatively, the energy company may determine that the energy is currently selling for twice what its building portfolio has contracted to pay for it so it requests some portion of the portfolio to reduce usage so that it can sell the excess / saved energy in the market.

A multi-level automation control architecture, methods, and systems are disclosed, which provide enhanced scalability, functionality, and cost effectiveness for energy, access, and control. The systems include various combinations of automation controllers, remote controllers and peripheral devices that are used to provide monitoring and control functionality over the various systems in a structure, such as HVAC, water, lighting, etc. In various embodiments, the automation controller and various peripheral devices are implemented to provide an integrated energy management system for the structure. The system allows the user to manage energy based on the day, time, the presence of people, and the availability of natural lighting and heating, as well as prioritize and participate in demand-response program. The system can be implemented using a remote controller and expanded through the addition of automation controllers, remote controllers, and peripheral devices to enable the system to be tailored to specific user requirements.

A method for authorizing a smart-home device for enrollment with a demand-response program may include receiving, at a control server of an energy management system and for the smart-home device, identifying information for a user account. The method may also include sending the identifying information from the control server to an Application Program Interface (API) with an enrollment request. The method may additionally include receiving, at the control server, a determination from the API as to whether the identifying information for the user account was matched to an existing utility account. The method may further include based on the determination from the API, determining whether the smart-home device can be enrolled with the demand-response program.

Thermostatic HVAC and other energy management controls that are connected to a computer network. For instance, remotely managed load switches incorporating thermostatic controllers inform an energy management system, to provide enhanced efficiency, and to verify demand response with plug-in air conditioners and heaters. At least one load control device at a first location comprises a temperature sensor and a microprocessor. The load control device is configured to connect or disconnect electrical power to the an attached air conditioner or heater, and the microprocessor is configured to communicate over a network. In addition, the load control device is physically separate from an air conditioner or heater but located inside the space conditioned by the air conditioner or heater.

A renewable energy generator imposes costs on a power grid from rapid fluctuations in output. A device is disclosed that collects data on renewable power production, meteorological and other information, forecasts short timescale renewable power production then mitigates costs incurred by power fluctuations by modulating the power output, while maximizing power production revenue. Mitigation may be effected by an AC / DC inverter, an energy storage system, demand response or a FACTS device. The magnitude and costs for modulating response required from energy storage, FACTS or other power modulation equipment is thereby reduced.

The invention broadly encompasses a system including a database to store demand response data, the demand response data including demand response agreement parameters, demand response load and energy demand characteristics of one or more demand response customers, the demand response load characteristics including power consumption capacity of each of one or more demand response loads, an aggregator to aggregate the demand response loads based on the demand response data and forecast data into a demand response portfolio, a monitor to monitor power demand of one or more demand response customers and one or more power grids, and a dispatcher to notify the one or more demand response customers of the demand response portfolio and to notify a utility of a response from the one or more demand response customers whether to control the demand response load to return the power consumption capacity of the demand response load back to the one or more power grids.

A server and method of its operation adapt the number of server applications within the server. The server is connected to a computer network. The server comprises one or more active server applications, a load detector, an inactive additional server application and an allocator. The load detector, which may be part of a load balancer, is connected to the one or more server applications and the computer network. The allocator is connected to the load detector and the additional server application. The allocator causes the additional server application to activate in response to a load condition. The method measures a load on the server, detects when the load exceeds a threshold and, in response thereto, activates an additional server application on the server. Optionally, the method also detects when the load is less than a deactivation threshold, and in response thereto, deactivates the additional server application. Also disclosed is a system comprising a plurality of computers, one or more connections to one or more servers, and a module. Each of the computers is capable of hosting a server application. The module is connected to the: computers and the connection(s). The module receives a request for an additional server application from one of the servers. Such a request may, for example, be generated when the server is experiencing a surge. In response to the request, the module activates the server application on one or more of the computers so as to support the requesting server.

Apparatus, systems, methods, and related computer program products for managing demand-response programs and events. The systems disclosed include an energy management system in operation with an intelligent, network-connected thermostat located at a structure. The thermostat acquires various information about the residence, such as a thermal retention characteristic of the residence, a capacity of an HVAC associated with the residence to cool or heat the residence, a likelihood of the residence being occupied, a forecasted weather, a real-time weather, and a real-time occupancy. Such information is used to manage the energy consumption of the structure during a demand-response event.

A load control system for a building having a heating and cooling system and a window located in a space of the building is operable to control a motorized window treatment in response to a demand response command in order to attempt to reduce the power consumption of the heating and cooling system. When the window may be receiving direct sunlight, the motorized window treatment closes a fabric covering the window when the heating and cooling system is cooling the building, and opens the fabric when the heating and cooling system is heating the building. In addition, when the space is unoccupied and the heating and cooling system is heating the building, the motorized window treatment may open the fabric if the window may be receiving direct sunlight, and may close the fabric if the window may not be receiving direct sunlight.

Fully automated demand response may be implemented at end users, in accordance with terms agreed to by end users to reduce energy demand during demand response events. Demand reduction actions to implement the objectives of a demand response event at the end users may be determined, desirably using artificial intelligence and neural networks, based on energy demand curtailment objectives of the demand response event, hierarchy(ies) of demand reduction actions for respective demand response events ordered to minimize undesired impact at the end users, and monitoring data received from, or relating to implementing energy demand curtailment at, the end users. In addition, demand reduction actions may be automatically implemented at end users in the absence of a demand response event, to implement energy demand curtailment according to criteria of end users, where the demand reduction actions are determined based on monitoring data and a hierarchy(ies) of demand reduction actions and using artificial intelligence and neural networks.

Provided is a routing position data secrecy storing and sharing method based on block chains. The routing position data secrecy storing and sharing method includes a data storing method and a data sharing method. The data storing method includes the steps of node configuration, data encryption sending, storage subnetwork verification storing, etc. The data sharing method includes the steps of demand generation, demand response, sharing achievement and the like. The effects of the invention are as follows: through a block chain technology, data sharing is realized through data encryption storage and a decentralized network to solve the problems that data storage parties have no right to use data and users do not have channels to selectively enable personal data to be accessed; local encryption sending is adopted during data storage, service parties store encrypted data, the users themselves save decryption secret keys, and the service parties have no access to original data, so a better data protection effect is achieved; and the block chain technology is adopted during storage, commonly recognized storage is realized through a practical Byzantine fault-tolerant algorithm, workload bottleneck problems of centralized storage are solved, and data is prevented from being tampered.

Provided are a demand response method and system. A household demand response apparatus includes: a signal reception unit which receives a critical peak notification message; a display unit which displays the received critical peak notification message and displays an inquiry message inquiring whether to interrupt power supply during a time section in which a critical peak occurs; and a control unit which controls the power supply based on a response to the inquiry message.