Adaptive Load Management for Critical Device Power During Outages
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle systems lack efficient and decentralized methods for managing energy distribution to prioritize critical devices during power outages or peak energy usage, particularly in scenarios where both on-board and off-board energy sources are available.
Innovation Solution
A decentralized system utilizing an electric vehicle (EV) battery and on-premises energy storage device to dynamically distribute energy to devices based on their criticality of need, start and end times of use, and state-of-charge, ensuring essential functions remain operational during power fluctuations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If energy is distributed to all devices during power outages, then all devices can operate, but critical devices may not receive sufficient priority and energy may be wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by assigning different priority levels to different devices based on their criticality. The energy management system evaluates each device's criticality score and allocates energy accordingly, ensuring critical devices receive sufficient power while non-critical devices may be reduced or shut off. This differentiated approach resolves the contradiction by making energy distribution selective rather than uniform.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors energy availability, device criticality, and power consumption, then dynamically adjusts energy allocation. The energy management processor receives feedback about system state and modifies distribution strategies in real-time, allowing the system to adapt to changing conditions and optimize the balance between reliability and energy efficiency.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple energy sources are integrated, then energy availability increases, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple energy sources (grid power, EV battery, on-premises storage) into a unified energy management system. The energy management processor coordinates these diverse sources, treating them as integrated components of a single system. This merging approach increases adaptability while managing complexity through centralized control logic that handles source selection and coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
The energy management system is designed to work with multiple types of energy sources simultaneously, making the system universally applicable to various configurations. The same control architecture manages grid power, vehicle battery, and storage device, allowing the system to adapt to different scenarios without requiring separate control systems for each source type.
3Reliability
If energy is allocated based on criticality only, then critical devices are prioritized, but energy optimization and cost reduction are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic energy allocation that adjusts in real-time based on multiple factors including criticality, current energy availability, forecasted generation, and consumption patterns. Rather than static priority-based allocation, the system continuously adapts its strategy, optimizing energy usage while ensuring critical devices receive adequate power. This dynamic approach resolves the contradiction by making criticality one of several adjustable parameters rather than the sole determinant.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes multiple parameters simultaneously when allocating energy, including device priority weights, power distribution levels, and source selection criteria. By adjusting these parameters dynamically based on system state and forecasts, the system optimizes both reliability for critical devices and overall energy efficiency, rather than fixing allocation rules in advance.
Data Source
AI summary
An example operation includes one or more of determining a plurality of devices powered by energy at a location, wherein the determining includes a start time of use and an end time of use for the plurality of devices, an amount of energy consumed by the plurality of devices, and a criticality of need of the plurality of devices, determining a state-of-charge (SOC) of an electric vehicle (EV) battery and a SOC of on-premises energy storage device, wherein the EV battery and the on-premises energy storage device are connected to deliver energy to the location, and providing energy from at least one of the EV battery or the on-premises energy storage device to at least one of the plurality of devices, from the start time of use to the end time of use, based on the amount of energy consumed by the at least one of the plurality of devices, the criticality of need of the at least one of the plurality of devices, the SOC of the EV battery, and the SOC of the on-premises energy storage device.