Appliance Scheduling via On-Peak Prediction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Utility companies face challenges in meeting peak electricity demand due to increasing customer usage, leading to higher fuel prices and increased costs, and existing energy management systems require manual operation of appliances during off-peak hours, which can be inconvenient and unreliable.
Innovation Solution
An energy management system that receives signals with on-peak time values, predicts these times, and automatically schedules appliance operations to avoid peak usage periods, reducing energy consumption and costs by executing operations before or after the predicted peak times.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If customers manually operate appliances during off-peak hours to take advantage of lower electricity rates, then energy costs are reduced, but convenience deteriorates because customers must be present and manually track peak/off-peak hours
Solution Approach 1:
The energy management system automatically performs the function of monitoring peak/off-peak hours and scheduling appliance operations without requiring customer intervention. The system serves itself by autonomously making decisions about when to operate appliances based on electricity rate schedules, eliminating the need for customers to manually track timing information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of customers tracking time and operating appliances with an automated electronic control system. The energy management system uses electronic components to receive timing signals, process information about peak/off-peak hours, and automatically control appliance operation, substituting electronic automation for manual human operation.
2Extent of automation
If energy management systems rely on utility companies to deliver schedules via signals or manual input, then automation is achieved, but reliability deteriorates if utility companies fail to deliver schedules as expected
Solution Approach 1:
The energy management system acts as an intermediary that receives timing signals from utility companies and translates them into automated appliance control decisions. This intermediary function allows the system to operate autonomously based on received signals without requiring continuous utility company intervention or manual customer input, maintaining reliability through buffered signal processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system receives and stores timing signals and schedule information in advance before they are needed for appliance operation. By preliminarily acquiring and storing the peak/off-peak hour schedules, the energy management system ensures it has the necessary information ready to make automated decisions even if utility company signal delivery is delayed or interrupted.
3Productivity
If utility companies increase electrical generating capacity to meet peak demand, then customer demand is met, but cost increases due to increasing fuel prices
Solution Approach 1:
The energy management system schedules appliance operations to execute during off-peak hours before peak demand periods occur. By preliminarily performing energy-consuming tasks during periods of lower demand and lower fuel costs, the system reduces the need for utility companies to maintain excessive generating capacity during peak hours, thereby reducing fuel costs while still meeting customer needs.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for scheduling an appliance operation is provided. The method includes receiving a plurality of signals. Each signal has an on-peak signal. Based upon the plurality of signals, a predicted on-peak time value is determined. The predicted on-peak time value can be used to determine when to execute an appliance operation in order to avoid operating the appliance during an on-peak time period.