Electrical device that communicates with appliances and an electric utility to reduce a cost of electricity
OwnerPhilip Scott Lyren, William James Lyren +1inventors
InventorsPhilip Scott Lyren, William James Lyren, William Christopher Lyren
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A home appliance can operate in a future time frame. Information is obtained from a power distributor in order to determine a time when to operate the home appliance in this future time frame. The home appliance then operates at the time determined with information from the power distributor.
Claims20
An electrical device that communicates with home appliances and an electric utility to reduce a cost of electricity to operate the home appliances, the electrical device comprising:
- a memory that stores instructions;
- a network interface that connects to one or more networks and communicates with the home appliances and with the electric utility;
- and
- a processing unit that executes the instructions to:
- determine amounts of power that the home appliances will use and future time ranges for using the amounts of power with the future time ranges extending for greater than a time needed for the home appliances to use the amounts of power;
- consolidate the amounts of power into a consolidated amount of power;
- consolidate the future time ranges into a consolidated future time range;
- transmit the consolidated amount of power and the consolidated future time range to the electric utility;
- receive, from the electric utility, a time in the consolidated future time range when to begin to use the consolidated amount of power;
- and
- communicate with the home appliances to begin usage of the consolidated amount of power at the time received from the electric utility.
A method executed by a processor in an electrical device to reduce a cost of electricity to a customer and to reduce peak demand to an electric utility, the method comprising:
- determining, by the processor and for appliances of the customer, amounts of power to be used by the appliances during future time ranges that extend for greater than a time needed for the appliances to use the amounts of power;
- consolidating, by the processor, the amounts of power into a consolidated amount of power;
- consolidating, by the processor, the future time ranges into a consolidated future time range;
- transmitting, from the electrical device, the consolidated amount of power and the consolidated future time range to the electric utility;
- receiving, at the electrical device and from the electric utility, a time during the consolidated future time range when the appliances of the customer can begin to use the consolidated amount of power;
- and
- instructing, from the electrical device, the appliances when in time operate such that the appliances commence usage of the consolidated amount of power at the time received from the electric utility.
A computer system, comprising:
- a server of an electric utility that analyzes requests for power from customers to reduce peak demand;
- and
- electrical devices of the customers that reduce a cost of electricity purchased from the electric utility in which each of the electrical devices include a memory that stores instructions and a processing unit that executes the instructions to:
- communicate with appliances of the customers to determine requests for power that include amounts of power to be used during future time ranges that extend for greater than a time needed for the appliances to execute and use the requests for power;
- consolidate the amounts of power into a consolidated amount of power;
- consolidate the future time ranges into a consolidated future time range;
- transmit the consolidated amount of power and the consolidated future time range to the server of the electric utility;
- receive from the electric utility a time when to begin to use the consolidated amount of power in the consolidated future time range;
- and
- instruct the appliances the time when to begin use of the consolidated amount of power.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.