Controllable Device Charging for Energy Price Arbitrage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing energy management systems fail to optimize energy transactions based on fluctuating energy prices, leading to inefficiencies in cost management for energy purchasers and sellers.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that determine future energy prices, calculate charge and discharge durations for controllable devices based on price per unit energy, and direct utilities to charge or discharge at optimal times to maximize cost efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If energy is bought and sold at the time of purchase, then energy transactions are executed quickly, but cost efficiency deteriorates due to inability to take advantage of price fluctuations
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by determining charge and discharge durations in advance based on predicted future energy prices. The controllable device pre-charges during low-price periods and pre-discharges before high-price periods, allowing the system to capture price spreads without executing transactions at the moment of peak pricing. This resolves the contradiction by separating the decision-making process from the actual transaction timing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts charge and discharge durations based on real-time energy price signals and future price predictions. The duration to charge or discharge is not fixed but adapts to market conditions, allowing the system to optimize cost efficiency while maintaining operational flexibility. This dynamic approach enables the system to respond to price fluctuations without sacrificing transaction speed.
2Loss of energy
If energy transactions are delayed to optimize pricing, then cost efficiency improves through arbitrage, but energy transaction speed deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors energy prices and uses this feedback to dynamically adjust charge and discharge durations. By incorporating real-time price signals and future price predictions, the system can determine optimal transaction timing without significant delays. The feedback loop enables the system to capture price spreads while maintaining responsive transaction execution, resolving the contradiction between optimization and speed.
3Loss of energy
If future energy prices are predicted and used to determine charge/discharge timing, then cost efficiency improves through arbitrage, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an energy management system as an intermediary between the controllable device and the energy market. This intermediary handles the complexity of price prediction, duration determination, and transaction timing, allowing the controllable device itself to remain relatively simple. The intermediary processes future price predictions and translates them into actionable charge/discharge commands, resolving the contradiction by centralizing complexity in a dedicated management layer.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for managing energy in a controllable device includes determining a plurality of future energy prices, where each of the future energy prices represents a price of a unit of energy over a predetermined time period, determining a duration to charge a controllable device, correlating the duration to charge the controllable device with at least one predetermined time period based at least in part on the price per unit energy over the at least one predetermined time period, and directing a utility to charge the controllable device at the at least one predetermined time period.