Home Energy Management via Protocol Conversion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current energy management systems lack real-time visibility and control over energy consumption within homes and businesses, as they primarily focus on the electric meter and not inside the consumer's domain, limiting their ability to optimize energy production, distribution, and pricing efficiently.
Innovation Solution
A home energy management system that includes a networking device, energy meters, and a protocol conversion device, enabling the collection, processing, and control of energy usage data through various communication protocols, allowing users to monitor and manage appliance energy consumption and extend smart grid capabilities into homes and businesses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If energy management systems focus only on the electric meter and not inside the consumer's domain, then the system complexity and cost are reduced, but real-time visibility and control over energy consumption within homes and businesses is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments energy management into two parts: a simple utility-side component that monitors the electric meter, and a consumer-side energy management system that collects detailed appliance-level data. This segmentation allows the utility to maintain simple infrastructure while consumers gain detailed visibility through their own system, resolving the contradiction between system simplicity and information availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The consumer-side energy management system acts as an intermediary between the utility's electric meter and the consumer's appliances. It collects detailed consumption data from multiple sources (meter, appliances, weather data) and processes this information locally, providing real-time visibility to consumers without requiring the utility to directly manage complex in-home infrastructure.
2Loss of information
If energy meters and communication devices are added inside homes to enable real-time monitoring, then energy consumption visibility is improved, but hardware costs and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The energy management module integrated into existing networking devices (routers, modems, set-top boxes) performs multiple functions: it manages network operations and simultaneously handles energy data collection, processing, and appliance control. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated energy monitoring hardware, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining comprehensive energy visibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system leverages existing consumer electronics and networking devices that consumers already have in their homes. These devices are equipped with energy management capabilities that automatically collect and process energy data without requiring consumers to purchase or install additional specialized hardware, thereby reducing hardware costs and complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple communication protocols are supported for connecting energy meters and networking devices, then system adaptability and compatibility are improved, but device complexity and protocol conversion requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The energy management module within the networking device serves as a protocol intermediary, receiving energy data from energy meters using various protocols (PLC, RF, wired) and translating it into standardized formats for processing and communication with the energy management system. This intermediary approach enables multi-protocol support without requiring complex protocol conversion devices, as the networking device itself performs the translation function.
Solution Approach 2:
The networking device with integrated energy management module is designed to support multiple communication protocols simultaneously, making it a universal platform that can work with different types of energy meters and communication infrastructures. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate protocol-specific hardware, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
A home energy management system includes a protocol conversion device configured to provide bi-directional communication between a networking device and one or more energy meters, wherein the protocol conversion device connects to the networking device via a transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) and connects to one or more energy meters via one or more communication protocols supported by one or more energy meters. The home energy management system further includes the networking device, connected to the protocol conversion device via the TCP/IP connection, configured to receive, from the protocol conversion device, data packets generated by the one or more energy meters, and transmit the data packets to a remote server.