Wireless Mesh Power Control With Local Override Synchronization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing energy management systems face challenges such as high costs for retrofitting communications cabling, low bandwidth and high latency in power line communications, difficulty in maintaining and updating control logic across multiple buildings, and the need for local overrides in response to ad-hoc events, which complicates energy saving performance benchmarking.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a controller, gateway, and nodes with IEEE 802.15.4 wireless mesh networking, where nodes include a communications interface, command handler, data interpreter, and power switch to manage power consuming devices, and a gateway that buffers status data to reduce latency and enable timely data transmission, along with a controller that allows local overrides and rule synchronization across sites.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If power line communications (PLC) are used for existing building retrofitting, then communication infrastructure cost is reduced, but bandwidth is limited and latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces Zigbee wireless mesh networking as an intermediary communication layer between power consuming devices and the central system. This mesh network uses dedicated wireless communication channels that provide higher bandwidth and lower latency compared to PLC, while avoiding the need for extensive physical cabling retrofitting. The system maintains communication efficiency by establishing a specialized wireless infrastructure rather than relying on existing power lines for data transmission.
2Adaptability or versatility
If local override capability is implemented for ad-hoc events, then operational flexibility is improved, but control logic drift and benchmarking difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the central system continuously monitors and detects when local overrides are applied at distributed sites. When drift is detected, the system can trigger automatic synchronization processes that restore control logic consistency across all sites. This feedback loop allows the system to maintain adaptability for local operations while periodically correcting deviations to preserve benchmarking capability and control logic uniformity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary synchronization of control logic from the central system to distributed nodes before local operations begin. This ensures that all sites start with identical control logic configurations, and any subsequent local overrides can be tracked and synchronized back to the central system, preventing drift accumulation.
3Speed
If wireless mesh networking is implemented, then communication bandwidth and latency are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-organizing and self-healing capabilities in the wireless mesh network. Nodes automatically discover each other, establish optimal communication paths, and reroute around failed nodes without requiring manual configuration. This self-service approach allows the system to achieve high bandwidth and low latency through mesh networking while minimizing the operational complexity and maintenance burden that would otherwise accompany such a complex wireless infrastructure.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system for controlling a plurality of power consuming devices is disclosed comprising a plurality of nodes, a gateway that communicates with the plurality of nodes, and a controller configured to send command signals to said nodes via said gateway. The controller associates each node with a region, each region representing a physical area and having a target profile associated therewith. The controller includes a command signal generation unit that determines command signals for a node based on the associated target profile, each node providing control signals to a corresponding power consuming device in response to a command signal received from the controller.