Grid Power Balancing via Household Appliance Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing number of households generating their own electricity through domestic power plants leads to fluctuations in the power grid, causing damage to equipment and energy losses due to long-distance power transport, and existing solutions require significant infrastructure changes or hardware additions.
Innovation Solution
A system using smart electricity meters to measure net electrical power transmission in households, with a central device calculating total production and consumption ratios, generating signals to adjust appliance usage and notify households of net production or consumption, allowing for balanced power distribution without invasive infrastructure changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If domestic power plants are automatically shut off when surplus power reaches a certain limit, then the power grid is protected from damage, but domestic energy production capacity is deliberately cancelled which is inefficient and favors centralized fossil fuel generation
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors net electrical power transmission in households and provides feedback signals to control electrical appliances. When surplus power is detected, the system activates appliances to consume the excess power locally, creating a closed-loop feedback mechanism that balances production and consumption without shutting off domestic power plants.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables households to self-regulate their power consumption based on real-time grid conditions. By automatically controlling electrical appliances according to measured power transmission levels, households serve themselves to balance the grid, eliminating the need for centralized shutdown decisions and maintaining domestic production capacity.
2Reliability
If new hardware such as additional control centers, energy storage systems and microgrids is introduced, then power balancing capability is improved, but construction and allocation of structural elements requires disruptive and tedious activities such as digging in the ground and building new facilities
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces physical mechanical infrastructure (control centers, energy storage systems, microgrids requiring ground construction) with an electronic/software-based system. The power balancing is achieved through electronic monitoring and control signals transmitted via existing communication channels, substituting mechanical construction with electronic information processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes existing electrical appliances and communication infrastructure for multiple purposes - both their original functions and power balancing control. The existing grid infrastructure serves dual roles: power transmission and control signal distribution, eliminating the need for dedicated new hardware installations.
3Reliability
If surplus power is fed to the grid over long distances, then power balance is maintained, but energy losses occur due to transport of power over undesirable long distances
Solution Approach 1:
The system promotes local consumption of locally generated surplus power by controlling electrical appliances within the same household or neighborhood. This creates a localized power balance mechanism where power is consumed near its source, eliminating the need for long-distance transmission and associated energy losses.
Solution Approach 2:
The system anticipates surplus power conditions and preemptively activates electrical appliances to consume the excess power before it needs to be transmitted long distances. By preparing local consumption in advance, the system prevents the need for long-distance power transport and reduces energy losses.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a device, system and method for balancing power in an electrical power grid, to which a plurality of households are connected. The total electrical power production of those households that have a net electrical power production is calculated, as well as the total electrical power consumption of those households that have a net electrical power consumption. The ratio of the values obtained is then calculated, and compared to a predetermined value. Depending on the outcome of the comparison, a signal is created that triggers the switching of an apparatus in one of the households to an on-state or an off-state. In this way, an effective balancing of the supply with the consumption of electricity in a local low-voltage power grid has been achieved.