Microgrid Analytics Portal for Vendor Data Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional systems for managing microgrids lack real-time monitoring and predictive analytics, leading to inefficient market-based optimization and reliability assessments, and are often hindered by proprietary data collection systems that create isolated 'islands' of data, limiting their adoption and effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
A microgrid power analytics portal that collects and aggregates real-time data from various sensors using a platform-independent system, employing a virtual system model to predict performance and optimize market pricing, while overcoming vendor-specific limitations and enabling bidirectional communication with sensors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional proprietary data collection systems are used, then vendor-specific integration is achieved, but data isolation and limited adoption occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal data collection platform that can interface with multiple vendor-specific sensors and devices through standardized protocols. The system uses abstraction layers and adapter patterns to maintain compatibility with proprietary systems while enabling cross-vendor data aggregation, thus achieving both ease of manufacture for specific integrations and broad adaptability across different manufacturers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary components including device drivers, data adapters, and protocol translators that act as mediators between proprietary sensor systems and the central analytics platform. These intermediaries enable seamless communication between vendor-specific devices and the universal platform, resolving the contradiction by providing both specialized integration capabilities and universal data aggregation.
2Reliability
If real-time data collection from multiple sensors is implemented, then comprehensive monitoring is achieved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the complex data collection system into modular components: sensor interfaces, device drivers, data aggregation layers, and analytics engines. Each sensor type has its own dedicated driver module, and data processing is divided into discrete pipeline stages. This segmentation enables comprehensive monitoring of multiple sensors while managing complexity through modular, maintainable code structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses template patterns and data model copying to handle multiple sensor types. Instead of creating unique processing logic for each sensor, the system defines standardized data models and processing templates that can be instantiated for different sensor types. This approach enables comprehensive multi-sensor monitoring while reducing complexity through code reuse and standardized interfaces.
3Productivity
If virtual system modeling is used for predictions, then market optimization is improved, but computational requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements partial virtual modeling where only critical system components and parameters are modeled in the virtual environment, while less critical elements use simplified models or historical data. The system performs selective real-time simulation on high-impact variables and uses pre-computed models for lower-impact predictions, achieving market optimization without requiring full-system computational modeling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent pre-computes virtual system models and stores them for later use in market optimization. Instead of performing computationally intensive simulations in real-time, the system pre-generates prediction models during off-peak periods and uses these pre-computed models for rapid market analysis and optimization decisions, reducing real-time computational requirements while maintaining optimization effectiveness.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and method for providing a microgrid power analytics portal for mission critical power systems are provided. The techniques disclosed herein provides for real-time modeling, evaluation, and commodity market pricing and optimization for an electrical network that includes microgrids using data collected from virtually any digital data source. The portal is platform independent and can be configured to collect and aggregate real-time data from sensors interfaced with components of the electrical network regardless of proprietary architectures or vendor-specific limitations imposed by the sensors or data collection software.