8056 results about "Environmental resource management" patented technology

Methods and systems provided for creating a scalable building block for a virtual power plant, where individual buildings can incorporate on-site renewable energy assets and energy storage and optimize the acquisition, storage and consumption of energy in accordance with a value hierarchy. Each building block can be aggregated into a virtual power plant, in which centralized control of load shifting in selected buildings, based on predictive factors or price signals, can provide bulk power for ancillary services or peak demand situations. Aggregation can occur at multiple levels, including developments consisting of both individual and common renewable energy and storage assets. The methods used to optimize the system can also be applied to “right size” the amount of renewable energy and storage capacity at each site to maximize return on the capital investment.

This invention addresses environmental social and commercial uses and includes a monitoring system which is a network of on, in, out and off-board devices working together with people through software and interfaces to provide services and make accountable humanity's machines and their actions through safe secure communication. Control devices are used to provide accountability for their socio-economic and environmental impact. Along with these systems networked together, additional devices and variations needed to complete these operations nationally and world wide are also provided. Unique ways interface a network of separate devices or IC circuits to create an interactive secure control system or center that can be remotely controlled. A control device for society to fairly and accurately monitor and control the impact of equipment use on the world environment, and a nation's infrastructure while developing commercial companies to fulfill these needs and services for the equipment and the people who own and operate them for today and into the future are also provided. A set of secure devices and systems are also included to analyze society and machine interaction.

Methods, systems and computer program products are provided for controlling a climate in a building. Sensed data is received at a local processor in the building. The sensed data is associated with the climate in the building, weather outside the building and / or occupants of the building. The received sensed data is compared at the local processor with corresponding predictive data associated with the climate in the building, weather outside the building and / or occupants of the building. One or more parameters associated with the climate of the building is adjusted at the local processor based on a result of the comparison of the received sensed data and the predictive data.

A method and apparatus for managing a recreational water area. A recreational water area management system comprises a water area manager. The water area manager is configured to receive information about a recreational water area from a group of autonomous vehicles, analyze the information to identify an event, and coordinate the group of autonomous vehicles to perform a mission in the recreational water area based on the event.

A remote-control self-navigation water quality sampling and analyzing device belongs to the field of water quality monitoring, sampling and analyzing system integration in environmental protection, and in particular relates to self-navigation running and water quality sampling and analyzing detection technology. The device comprises a carrier [1], a wireless communication module [2], a sampling and analyzing module [3], an environmental sensor module [4], a remote monitoring platform [5], a self-navigation system [6], a control module [7], and the like. The device has the characteristics of remote monitoring, automatic acquisition, sample dividing storage, automatic record of related information and the like in the overall process of sampling water quality, and simultaneously has the advantage of quick and accurate acquisition of time and spacial information; and the water quality analyzing module of the device can acquire partial water quality analyzing results in the first time, so the device can greatly improve the accuracy, authenticity, timeliness, intellectuality and monitoring efficiency of water quality field sampling, can reduce sampling risk and cost, and has significance on water area water quality monitoring.

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.

A method for assessing the credit worthiness of a country is disclosed. The first step of the method is to create a database of economic scores for the country based upon a variety of economic factors. The database is kept current with frequent updates from publicly available sources and an average of the economic scores is calculated.

For creating a route plan for a group of agricultural working machine systems for working a territory, the machine systems include route planning data determination devices and they exchange data with each other and, based on exchanged route planning data, one shared route plan is created for the particular territory. For controlling a group of agricultural working machine systems while it works a territory, one shared route plan—which has been created accordingly—is used, and a route planning system is provided for creating a route plan for a group of agricultural working machine systems to be used to work a territory.

The invention provides a method for ecological remediation on an acid tailing pond. By removing acids from soil, and by laying nonwoven cloth and a sealing layer, good partitioning is achieved, and byfurther laying a water reservation layer and a coated seed layer, the purpose of re-greening an acid tailing pond is achieved. The method has the beneficial effects that rainwater can be reserved tothe maximum extent, the sealing layer is capable of preventing the rainwater from infiltrating into tailings, the problems of underground water and ground water pollution can be substantially solved,the construction method is simple, and the construction cost is low; by using a seed coating technique, a set of rapid nursery stock breeding technique is formed, a stable ecological remediation system is cultured, the target of completely re-greening woody plants within 90 days is achieved, and environment problems of acid tailing ponds are solved for good.

A method and system of evaluating crop performance facilitates characterization of the environmental impact of a geographic region or areas within the region for growing plant-life. Environmental measurements are obtained. The environmental measurements are associated with a geographic region. Each environmental measurement includes at least one of soil data and weather data. Respective location data is obtained. The location data is associated with corresponding environmental measurements. An estimated performance characteristic is determined for a particular crop planted in the geographic region based on the obtained environmental measurements and respective location data. Contours are established for one or more uniform performance areas with generally uniform performance characteristic within the geographic region by applying a decision-tree analysis to the obtained environmental measurements.

The present invention provides numerous methods, systems and apparatus that use a novel form of water budgeting technology for water conservation without the use of complex ET (Evapotranspiration) data or methods. Embodiments include incorporating the technology directly into irrigation controllers, into modules added on to existing controllers, or into central units that broadcast a water budget that can alter the schedules of one, many, or selected groups of remotely located controllers or modules. The various methods of the present invention offer the choice of adjusting the station run times, accumulating the water budgets, altering the watering intervals, and / or combining the present water budgeting technology with local watering communities' restricted watering schedules. The result offers residential, commercial, and municipal users a wide range of practical choices for effective water conservation in landscape irrigation with temperature based water budgeting.

A technique for controlling an irrigation system is disclosed. The technique comprises receiving landscape information, receiving environmental information, deriving an irrigation schedule based on the landscape information and the environmental information, and sending the irrigation schedule to an irrigation control unit.

A system of systems to monitor data for carbon flux, for example, at scales capable of managing regional net carbon flux and pricing carbon financial instruments is disclosed. The system of systems can monitor carbon flux in forests, soils, agricultural areas, body of waters, flue gases, and the like. The system includes a means to identify and quantify sources of carbon based on simultaneous measurement of isotopologues of carbon dioxide, for example, industrial, agricultural or natural sources, offering integration of same in time and space. Carbon standards are employed at multiple scales to ensure harmonization of data and carbon financial instruments.

A carbon credit is a generic term for any tradable certificate or permit representing the right to emit one ton of carbon dioxide or the mass of another greenhouse gas with a carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) equivalent to one ton of carbon dioxide.Carbon credits and carbon markets are a component of national and international attempts to mitigate the growth in concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs). One carbon credit is equal to one ton of carbon dioxide, or in some markets, carbon dioxide equivalent gases. Carbon trading is an application of an emissions trading approach. Greenhouse gas emissions are capped and then markets are used to allocate the emissions among the group of regulated sources.Carbon credits can be generated by any process that conforms to ISO 14064-66 standards. Once generated, carbon credits can be stored in a distributed, Cloud-based ledger. The ledger entries can serve as a registry for carbon credits as well as the data source for an Internet-enabled trading system or financial exchange that allows the carbon credits to be sold and bought as part of the same system. The distributed ledger can provide records that combine the details of the carbon credits' origin, transaction history, and financial instructions associated with trading of the carbon credits via a distributed ledger system.

The stereo in-situ ecological urban water system repairing process tackles polluted water via the quantitative analysis on the water. The technological scheme includes physical simulation and mathematic model analysis, microbe inoculation and culture, constituting refluxing ecological filter bed, purification with biocarrier, artificial aeration, purifying upper water, pre-treatment in the blow down port, establishing water ecological system balance, perfecting water environment data, etc. The present invention realizes the comprehensive tackling of urban water system.

Electronic devices, systems, and methods are disclosed for remote and / or automated monitoring of temperature, humidity, or other factors in a building during a remediation project, such as after a flood or mold infestation. These devices comprise sensors devices that can be distributed around a room or building, for transmitting data to a processor such as a laptop computer. Using telephone, cell phone, or internet connections, the processor can transmit compiled data to a website or remote computer, for analysis and use by a project supervisor. Sensor-switch devices also are disclosed for turning fans, dehumidifiers, or other equipment on or off. Using a telephone, cell phone, or internet connnection, a project supervisor at any location can download information, obtain current status information, and turn equipment on or off as needed.

A method and system of evaluating crop performance facilitates characterization of the environmental impact of a geographic region or areas within the region for growing plant-life. Environmental measurements are obtained. The environmental measurements are associated with a geographic region. Each environmental measurement includes at least one of soil data and weather data. Respective location data is obtained. The location data is associated with corresponding environmental measurements. An estimated performance characteristic is determined for a particular crop planted in the geographic region based on the obtained environmental measurements and respective location data. Contours are established for one or more uniform performance areas with generally uniform performance characteristic within the geographic region by applying a decision-tree analysis to the obtained environmental measurements.

Systems for controlling aspects of recreational or other environments are described. Such systems are especially, but not exclusively, useful for controlling either or both of pool or spa settings and operations and include equipment that may be connected, in any appropriate way, to personal or other computers or other components capable of accepting and processing input. Operations of the systems additionally are capable of being simulated through software.

Embodiments of the present invention provide methods and apparatus for water conservation with landscape irrigation controllers, plug-in and add-on devices, and centralized systems. In embodiments of the invention, a water budget percentage is determined by comparing current local geo-environmental data with stored local geo-environmental data, and the preliminary irrigation schedule or station run times are automatically modified based upon that water budget percentage. Embodiments of the present invention also provide for automation of mandated landscape watering restrictions alone, or in various combinations with water budgeting methods and apparatus.

A system is disclosed allowing non-invasive, continuous local and remote sensing of the internal environmental characteristics of transportable containers. The system utilizes a variety of sensors inside the container to sense internal environmental conditions.

The invention relates to an ecological restoration method for a city watercourse. The ecological restoration method for the city watercourse is characterized in that the polluted city watercourse is comprehensively restored with the combination of physical, biological and ecological technologies, the ecological theory is used for reference in the treatment process, the ecological idea is used as the guiding thought, a complex water ecosystem structure is constructed and restored, the original natural state of the watercourse is restored, the self-cleaning capacity of a river system is improved, the environment is beautified, and the local city microclimates are improved at the same time. The ecological restoration method mainly comprises the steps of (1) controlling a pollution source, (2) modifying the river bank, (3) optimizing the environment of the river bottom, (4) modifying the watercourse, (5) conducting aeration and oxygenation, (6) constructing an aquatic plant community, (7) constructing a fish and macrobenthos community, and (8) maintaining the system. The watercourse ecological system restored through the ecological restoration method has the certain anti-interference capacity, on the premise that a large amount of exogenous pollution is cut off, the certain-strength interference can be resisted, and the good ecological environmental effect is obtained. After one-time input, the better ecological benefit can be obtained only with a small number of maintenance costs.

A novel means of marketing the environmental attributes of renewable energy or emissions credits. By selling these attributes together with the item whose energy or emissions impact they neutralize, Mainstay Energy offers to make more concrete and compelling the value these attributes represent. The sale may take the form of: lifetime energy use displacement, a fixed period displacement, or a fixed period with renewals. These attributes exist for all forms of energy, including electricity, natural gas, gasoline, diesel fuel, and others, and we would like to protect against others using this “embedded attributes” approach with any of these energy types or emissions reductions credits.

The invention provides a method and a system for real-time monitoring and managing urban water resources, and system equipment capable of finishing the method. The method comprises the steps of: real-time monitoring the urban water resources, real-time evaluating the urban water resources, real-time forecasting the urban water resources, real-time managing the urban water resources, real-time scheduling the urban water resources, and real-time early warning the urban water resources safety. By application of the system and method of the invention, an urban water resources system is scientifically classified and comprehensively analyzed so as to obtain the correct construction and correlations of the urban water resources system; the urban water resources are subjected to centralized management; a unified water resources monitoring-center system platform is established; and a novel water resources monitoring terminal is compatible so as to implement a unified and sustainable-development water resources managing system.

A system and a method for acquiring and transmitting environmental information recorded around a vehicle comprising of including at least one camera. The output from the camera is encoded and stored in a storage device. The encoded signal is also transmitted wirelessly to a remote location or a server for subsequent analysis. The stored signal may also be decoded and displayed on a video display unit.

An apparatus for controlling an environmental conditioning system serving an indoor space and having at least one environmental conditioning device coupled with a communication bus structure includes: (a) at least one user interface coupled with the communication bus structure for effecting access to the system by a user; and (b) at least one controller coupled with the communication bus structure for effecting operational control of the system. The at least one controller communicates on the communication bus structure with the at least one environmental conditioning device, the at least one user interface and any other devices coupled with the communication bus structure. The at least one user interface communicates on the communication bus structure with the at least one environmental conditioning device, the at least one controller and any other devices coupled with the communication bus structure.

The invention provides a water quality model based regional environment risk assessment method. The water quality model based regional environment risk assessment method includes five steps of establishing a regional environment risk source information database, and utilizing a Monte Carlo algorithm to simulate discharge of risk source pollutants; selecting a water quality model, and constructing a water quality model which meets characteristics of an assessment region source intensity water quality response relationship; calculating vulnerability indexes of risk receptors by using a fuzzy integral method with the risk assessment goal of influence on water ecology, human health and social economy; utilizing the water quality model to predict the distribution of regional pollutant concentration under all possible source intensity situations, and analyzing dangerousness of risk sources; characterizing regional environment risks with a risk curve under the synthesis of dangerousness of the risk sources and vulnerability indexes of the receptors. According to the risk curve, regional environment risk assessment can be performed, high-risk regions, and key risk sources and vulnerary receptors are identified, so that a reference is provided for planning a targeted region risk prevention and control scheme.