UPS Energy Routing With Smart Contracts for Stranded Battery Capacity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) often underutilize their battery storage capacity due to the reliability of the grid, leading to stranded energy resources, and lack the capability to efficiently participate in energy distribution and storage as distributed energy resources.
Innovation Solution
The integration of an energy routing circuit and a controller in the UPS that enables smart contracts for energy exchange with grid and consumer nodes, allowing for selective energy provision from the grid, energy storage, or both, and automatic execution of these contracts in a distributed ledger system for peer-to-peer communications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If UPS battery storage capacity is increased to provide longer backup power, then the backup duration and reliability are improved, but the energy storage capacity remains stranded and underutilized during normal grid operation
Solution Approach 1:
The energy storage device is designed to perform multiple functions: it provides backup power during grid outages and simultaneously serves as a distributed energy resource for energy arbitrage, peak load shaving, and frequency regulation during normal grid operation. The controller automatically switches between these functions based on grid conditions and smart contract execution, transforming the battery from a single-purpose backup device to a multi-functional energy management system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the operational mode of the energy storage device based on real-time grid conditions, smart contract terms, and energy prices. The controller continuously monitors grid status and automatically transitions the battery between charging from grid, discharging to load, and idle states, maximizing the utilization of stored energy capacity while maintaining backup readiness.
2Reliability
If UPSs operate in traditional backup mode with limited grid interaction, then the system simplicity and reliability are maintained, but the ability to participate in energy distribution and arbitrage is lost
Solution Approach 1:
A smart contract-based intermediary layer is introduced between the UPS system and the energy market, enabling automated energy trading and grid interaction. The smart contracts encode trading rules, pricing mechanisms, and execution conditions, allowing the UPS to participate in energy arbitrage and distribution without requiring complex direct market connections or manual intervention, thus maintaining system reliability while gaining market adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The UPS system autonomously executes energy trading decisions by automatically monitoring grid conditions, evaluating smart contract terms, and executing buy/sell orders without human intervention. The controller self-manages the energy arbitrage process, comparing real-time energy prices against contracted prices and automatically executing trades when conditions are favorable, enabling the system to adapt to market changes while maintaining operational simplicity.
3Productivity
If multiple UPSs are integrated into a distributed energy network with smart contracts, then the energy utilization efficiency and arbitrage capability are improved, but the system complexity and communication requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The distributed energy network is segmented into independent UPS nodes, each equipped with its own controller that autonomously executes smart contracts and manages local energy storage. This segmentation allows each UPS to operate independently while contributing to the collective energy arbitrage and distribution function, reducing the complexity of centralized control and enabling scalable network expansion without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) includes an energy routing circuit coupled to a grid and an energy storage device and configured to selectively provide energy to a first load from the grid and the energy storage device based on a state of the grid. The UPS further includes a controller configured to control the energy routing circuit and to implement a first UPS node configured to establish and execute a first smart contract for energy exchange with a first consumer node associated with the first load and at least one second smart contract for energy exchange with at least one of a grid node associated with the grid and a second consumer node associated with a second load coupled to the grid via a second UPS.