CN101663656A - networked electrical interface - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to networked electrical interfaces. The electrical interface may include a switching mechanism and a control module. The switching mechanism can selectively couple the power source to the load, and the control module can be coupled to the switching mechanism. The control module may generate a query for information of the web server and control the switch mechanism in accordance with a response to the query.

Description

Electrical interface for networking

This application claims priority to US Provisional Application No. 60/905,983, filed March 8, 2007, and US Provisional Application No. 60/929,078, filed June 12, 2007.

technical field

Embodiments of the invention relate generally to power consumption and demand regulation. More specifically, embodiments relate to electrical load interfaces that can be remotely controlled based on current electricity rates, temperature, and/or schedule information.

Background technique

The deregulation of electric utilities that has occurred over the past few years has resulted in a massive disconnect between electricity production and distribution in many jurisdictions. As a result, distribution companies have become large buyers of electricity and are more exposed to electricity price risk than any other industry. In jurisdictions where deregulation has progressed more, utilities have felt the lethality of spikes. In fact, on a hot day in Chicago, spot market prices peaked at $7,000/MWh, 175 times higher than normal. The sharp rise in consumer demand (e.g. during the summer holidays) comes despite distribution companies starting to use more innovative financial "hedging" solutions, such as futures contracts, to mitigate their exposure to such extreme spot market prices Still results in unexpectedly high electricity costs. These additional costs can be passed on to consumers in the form of higher electricity prices.

Traditional residential and commercial environments often use static thermostats to establish desired operating levels for equipment such as central air conditioners and wall/window air conditioners. For example, a typical air conditioner thermostat may be manually set by the consumer to a temperature of 72°F, which would cause the air conditioner to power up at ambient temperatures above 72°F and power off at ambient temperatures below 72°F . Although these kinds of localized, static temperature-based controls have been acceptable in some cases, there is still considerable room for improvement. For example, during periods of extremely high consumer demand, electricity prices may be so high that previously established thermostat settings may no longer be cost-effective or desirable for the consumer. Conventional thermostat devices generally cannot take into account current electricity prices with respect to temperature control devices. Additionally, other appliances, such as clothes dryers, are not set up to take advantage of the time-of-use electricity pricing mechanism.

Description of drawings

Various advantages of the embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following specification and appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

1 is a block diagram of an example of an energy management system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2A is a diagram of an example of an electrical interface according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2B is a diagram of an example of a user equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a diagram of an example of a graphical display of usage and price in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a flowchart of an example of a method of controlling a power socket according to a price according to an embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a flowchart of an example of a method of controlling a thermostat based on price in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example of a method of controlling a power outlet according to a power mode according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

One embodiment of the present invention provides an electrical interface including a switch mechanism and a control module. A switching mechanism can selectively couple a power source to a load, and a control module can be coupled to the switching mechanism. The control module is capable of generating a query for information from the web server and controlling the switching mechanism in response to said query.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a gateway, and the gateway includes a first interface, a processing module, and a second interface. The first interface may receive a query for information, wherein the query includes a unique identifier of the electrical interface with the load, and first data having at least one of a thermostat setting and a price threshold. The processing module can convert the query into a web request, and the second interface can transmit the web request to the web server.

Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable medium comprising a set of instructions that, if executed by a processor, cause a web server to receive a first web request for information . The first web request may include a unique identifier of an electrical interface with the load, and first data having at least one of a thermostat setting, a price threshold, and a power mode. Execution of the instructions can also cause the web server to retrieve a record associated with the unique identifier and generate a response to the first web request based on the record.

An embodiment of the present invention also provides an electrical interface, which includes a thermostat, a control module, a memory, and a user interface. A thermostat can selectively couple power to the air conditioner, and a control module can be coupled to the thermostat to generate a query to the web server for information. The control module is also capable of wirelessly communicating queries to the gateway and controlling the thermostat in response to said queries. The query may include a unique identifier of the electrical interface, first data having at least one of a thermostat setting, a price threshold, and a power mode, and an indication as to whether the first data has changed. The response may include second data having at least one of a thermostat setting, a current electricity price, a price threshold, and scheduling information. The memory can store the first and second data, and the user interface enables user control of the thermostat. A user interface may have a display and an input device.

Another embodiment of the invention provides a relay coupled to an electrical load and a power source, and a control module coupled to the relay. The control module controls the relays based on the current electricity price and a predetermined price threshold. The price threshold may be set locally by manipulating a user interface or other user equipment of the electrical interface, or remotely by means of a user equipment having an Internet connection. Similarly, current electricity prices may be obtained locally from a "smart" electricity meter, remotely via the Internet, or from another source. Outlets are available for a variety of temperature-controlled and non-temperature-controlled equipment.

FIG. 1 shows an energy management system 10 having a central security server 12 , a gateway 14 and electrical interfaces such as outlets 16 coupled to electrical loads 18 and power sources 20 . The illustrated receptacle 16 then serves as an electrical interface to the load 18 . Although a single outlet 16 and load 18 are shown for simplicity, multiple outlets (or electrical interfaces) and loads may be used in the energy management system 10 . The illustrated load 18 may be any kind of electronic equipment, such as air conditioners, pool heaters, water heaters, clothes dryers, photocopiers, laser printers, water coolers, HVAC, and the like. In the illustrated example, outlet 16 is associated with a unique identifier (“ID”) 25 and has an outlet 22 , and a relay 24 coupled to outlet 22 and power source 20 . Although an outlet 22 is shown mating with the power plug of the load 18 for ease of discussion, the electrical interface may be connected to the load 18 using other mechanisms, such as a circuit breaker connection, an in-line connection, or an in-line connection from the load 18 to the load 18. Other connections for power supply 20. Indeed, the entire electrical interface/receptacle 16 may be incorporated into the load 18 and/or its associated housing. A control module 26 may be coupled to relay 24, wherein control module 26 has processing resources (not shown) and memory 23 and is capable of generating queries for information from server 12 and controlling relay 24 based on the server's response to the query.

As discussed in more detail below, queries may include unique IDs 25 of electrical outlets/outlets 16, thermostat settings (i.e., "thermostat data") 27, power modes (i.e., "power mode data") 21, price thresholds (i.e., , "Threshold Data") 30, a load type identifier, and an indication of whether the data stored in the memory located at the outlet 16 has changed. Additionally, the control module 26 is capable of generating queries in accordance with scheduling information (ie, “scheduling data”) 29 stored at the outlet 16 . By providing data identifying the unique ID 25 of the electrical outlet/outlet 16, thermostat settings, data identifying the current price of electricity (i.e., "price data") 28, data identifying predetermined price thresholds, data identifying power modes, and/or Or data identifying scheduling information, the response from server 12 may facilitate control of relay 24 . If a problem is detected in the query and/or the associated web request, such as a payload encryption error, the response from the server 12 may also include instructing the electrical interface 16 to restart its own Private grouping. By enabling consumers or other authorized entities to remotely establish thermostat settings and/or predetermined price thresholds through an Internet connection, the illustrated system 10 provides more flexible and robust power than conventional methods Cost Control.

The receptacle 16 may have a user interface 32 that enables user control of the relay 24 and other functions. As discussed in greater detail below, the user interface 32 may include a current temperature display, a thermostat setting display, and a thermostat input device that allow the consumer to visually determine the current temperature by viewing the current temperature display, by viewing the thermostat SETTING, to determine the thermostat setting, to modify the thermostat setting by manipulating the thermostat input located at socket 16. The user interface 32 may also include a current price display, a threshold display, and a threshold input device that enable the consumer to intuitively determine the current price of electricity by viewing the current price display, determine a price threshold by viewing the threshold display, and by manipulating the The threshold value input device is used to modify the price threshold. The illustrated system 10 also includes a user device 34, such as a tablet personal computer ("PC"), which may enable a customer to view and set price thresholds for multiple devices (ie, loads).

设备、个人数字助理(“PDA”)、蜂窝电话、或者任何其他具有web能力的设备，中央安全服务器12跟踪负载18的用电量，并为与消费者的账户相关的每个电源插座报告当前价格数据28、恒温器数据27、调度数据29和阈值数据30。于是，消费者可确定一个或多个设备是否正在温度阈值和/或价格阈值上，或其附近，或高于温度阈值和/或价格阈值下工作，并酌情调整每个温度阈值和/或价格阈值。当设备进行它们的定期状态询问时，新的设置可从中央安全服务器12传回每个插座16。Both outlet 16 and user device 34 may communicate wirelessly with gateway 14 . The wireless protocol may be based on Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN, e.g., IEEE Std 802.15.4-2006, September 8, 2006, IEEE Computer Society) protocol, Bluetooth (e.g., Bluetooth Core Specification, Ver.2.1, August 1, 2007) Day, Bluetooth Special InterestGroup) agreement or any other appropriate agreement. In one embodiment, the wireless protocol may be a proprietary protocol optimized for small packets, using a unique identification number for each outlet 16 . The thermostat data 27 and threshold data 30 may also be set remotely from a user device 36 via the Internet 38 . In this case, the user device 36 may be a PC capable of logging into the central security server 12, a

device, personal digital assistant ("PDA"), cell phone, or any other device with web capabilities, the central secure server 12 tracks the power usage of the load 18 and reports the current Price data 28 , thermostat data 27 , schedule data 29 and threshold data 30 . The consumer can then determine whether one or more devices are operating at, near, or above temperature thresholds and/or price thresholds, and adjust each temperature threshold and/or price threshold as appropriate threshold. New settings may be communicated back from the central security server 12 to each outlet 16 as the devices make their periodic status inquiries.

The gateway 14 may have a first interface 15 that receives queries from a control module 26 . The first interface 15 may be a local transmission link with wireless, power line communication and/or Ethernet components. As noted above, the query may include a unique identifier for the outlet 16, a thermostat setting, a price threshold, a load type identifier, a power mode indicator, and/or an indication as to whether the transmitted data has changed. The processing module 19 can convert the query into a web request, and the second interface 17 can transmit the web request to the web server 12 . The second interface 17 may comprise an Ethernet port or other kind of communication functions. In the downlink direction, the illustrated second interface 17 receives a response from the server 12 to a web request in a first format (e.g., a standard web reply format), which the processing module 19 can convert into a second format (e.g., , a format optimized for small packets), the illustrated first interface transmits the response in the second format to the uniquely identified socket 16. As previously noted, the response may include data identifying thermostat settings, current electricity prices, price thresholds, power modes, and scheduling information, as well as an indication as to whether any changes represent a server-based override.

Central security server 12 may include a web server with processing and memory resources capable of servicing web requests. For example, when executing the appropriate program and/or software instructions, server 12 can receive a first web request for information, where the first web request includes a unique identifier for an outlet 16 or other electrical interface with a load, a thermostat, etc. Set and/or price thresholds. The illustrated server 12 then retrieves the record associated with the unique identifier and generates a response to the first web request based on the record. The first web request may also include an indication as to whether the first data has changed, wherein if such data has changed, the web server 12 can update the record according to the data from the socket 16 . As previously mentioned, responses may include thermostat settings, current electricity rates, price thresholds, scheduling information, and/or other information such as restart instructions. The web server 12 may establish thermostat settings and price thresholds in the web response, as appropriate, based on the scheduling information. The web server can also query the pricing source for current electricity prices, if desired.

One difficulty in communicating from a central server to a large number of distributed devices can be determining the correct IP address and port number for each device. This is because almost all routers have a single IP address assigned by an Internet service provider (usually the cable company or telephone company) and all devices attached to the router, whether wired or wireless, share that single IP address. A great benefit of this sharing feature is that it saves a limited number of actual IP addresses, but means that every device communicating over the Internet does not necessarily have a unique IP address. Another benefit is that it is more difficult to hack into these devices because they do not have fixed or even real IP addresses. This is especially true for residential users.

For added security, many routers include default filtering capabilities to block all unintended traffic from the Internet. The assumption is that unsolicited traffic is likely to be malicious or obnoxious and thus blocked. The converse is not true - all web requests from the local device on the router can be taken to generate a response from the web server which needs to be sent back to the originating device. This is the basic function of a router - keeping track of which device made the request and directing the response to the originating device.

Thus, the illustrated system uses a "backward" (from device to central security server 12) data transfer scheme. The idea is that all devices attached to the router 40 use the router 40 as their gateway to the Internet, the router 40 keeps an eye on the actual device requesting the remote web page, and directs the response from the web server to the appropriate device. Thus, the illustrated gateway 14 communicates with the web-based central security server 12 and the router 40 ensures that responses from the central security server 12 only reach the gateway 14 . In this way, it is not necessary to determine the actual common IP address of router 40 or the dynamic port number that router 40 uses to remember all devices attached to it.

Since each outlet 16 and gateway 14 is assigned a unique ID, and the unique ID is sent within the encrypted web request of the outlet 16 and gateway 14, the server 12 knows that it is receiving a legitimate request from a known outlet 16. web request and handle the request appropriately. Standard SSL (Secure Sockets Layer, Internet Engineering Task Force/IETF) encryption built into every web browser can be used to ensure that no one can monitor energy management communications and be in a position to log information, or more importantly What is more, it is in a position to be able to control any socket 16. Additionally, AES (eg, Advanced Encryption Standard, Federal Information Processing Standards Publication/FIPS PUBS 197, November 26, 2001) may be used for encryption of web request and response payloads. Other encryption methods that may be incorporated into central security server 12, gateway 14, and outlet 16 as appropriate may also be used.

group structure

An example of a grouping structure suitable for devices communicating in the system 10 is described below. The following non-exhaustive description, provided for ease of discussion only, can be used to write firmware on a wide variety of architectures while maintaining full functionality and the ability to interface with the web server 12. In order to use encryption, it can be assumed that the PacketPayload is a 32-byte encrypted chunk. The "packetlen" character is used because it does not matter to the gateway 14 whether the message is encrypted or not. The gateway 14 does not attempt to analyze the message, but is only able to pass the message from it to a higher or lower level. For encryption, the PacketPayload will be represented in hexadecimal. The term "binof" refers to the binary representation of a number or character as bytes.

From electrical interface to gateway wireless components:

^+binrep of packetlen(ex-bin(16))+WebAddr(ex-AC)

+DevID(10 characters, the last 4 are numbers)+PacketPayload

The binary representation is specific to the current wireless chipset. If the new generation only transmits ASCII (e.g. PLCs or new wireless components), then this can easily be changed to a two-character representation with a packet length and will not affect the overall system, since it is necessary for end devices and gateways to They communicate, and new chipsets or PLCs may require new chips. As long as the new chipset is itself compatible and follows the conventions of the other levels of the protocol, full functionality can be achieved.

An example implementation of communication from A/C to gateway:

^binof(16)+AC(device type)+ACTester0023(theDevID)

+S(set or no change)+0(mode)+87(temp)

Example grouping:

^binof(16)ACTester0023S087

From wireless gateway port to Ethernet gateway port: 1) sync with ^ character; (2) read binlen, save it as binlen; 3) put ^ on serial port; 4) convert (binlen-12) 5) put the two-character len representation of binlen-12 on the serial port; 6) receive the next character of binlen and put it on the serial port.

Example grouping:

^04ACTester0003S088

The web server 12 can be configured with multiple directories and pages, so that a web request from the gateway 14 to the server 12 can include the full web address, including the directories and pages.

From the gateway Ethernet port to the web server (using the Internet link): 1) Synchronize with the ^ character; (2) Read the packet len character, convert it into the actual bin rep, and save it as packetlen; 3) Put the next Receive 2 characters of DevType (for the web address associated with the device type); 4) Receive the next 10 characters into DevID; 5) Receive the next packetlen characters into the input serial buffer , then add the string terminator to the input serial buffer ('\0'); 6) analyze the DevType characters after packetlen, and add them as directories, and then add the page name ".php?data=" Add in the web address; 7) put the receiving buffer after data= in the web request; 8) send the web request.

Example grouping from a wireless gateway port to an Ethernet gateway port:

^04ACTester0003S088

Example URL for ethernet port (to server) requests:

example.com/AC/Ac.php? data=Tester0003S088

Web reads: - The appropriate page (eg AC.php) will get Ac.php? data = Tester0003S088, and will read and analyze data flags, thus clearly indicating the response.

Web response:

^+2charrep of length aka "12"+devID(10chars ex:

Tester0022) + the rest of the payload (ex: S2)

Example web response grouping:

^12Tester0022S2

Gateway ethernet port web response from server: 1) read until see ^; 2) read next two characters into 3 character datatemp buffer (last character terminated by '\0' string NULL character); 3) convert to length bin rep, put into resplenbinint; 4) write ^+resplen to the serial port, and then read the following resplen characters to the serial port.

Example of what is written on the serial port:

^12Tester0002S2

Gateway wireless port from Ethernet port: 1) Synchronize with ^ character; 2) Read next two characters into 3 character resplen buffer (last character is '\0' string terminating null character); 3) Convert to length bin rep, put into resplenbin int; 4) Read the next resplen characters into the send buffer; 5) Read the last 4 characters of the device id.., which is the new one to send to Short address (4 digits); 6) Send the buffer with the size of resplenbin to the short address just calculated according to DevID through wireless (the resplen included is not needed, because the power interface knows how long the resp is).

Any character sequence of 10 characters can form a DevID, where the last 4 characters are numbers. Therefore, "AB23Ea3324" should be valid. The last 4 characters that are numbers indicate the local device ID. This approach enables up to 10,000 local devices to communicate through the same gateway - yet allows the DevID to function as a unique identifier on the local network, while eliminating any need to dynamically or individually compile identifiers in the field. With millions of different electrical interfaces, the chances of two devices having the same channel ending in the same house are very small. Also, with the help of a customer support fix, the situation can be rectified. Thus, if the first 6 characters are alphanumeric case sensitive, then the above approach allows 500 trillion unique device IDs (assuming the math (26 x 2 (case sensitive letters) + 10 (possible numbers involved in alphanumeric ))^6×10000 (the last four digits) = number in trillions.

Web server 12 may also receive a login request from a web-enabled device, such as user device 36, where the login request includes user identifier and password information. If the illustrated server 12 is able to authenticate the user according to the login request, a set (ie, one or more) of unique identifiers of electrical interfaces to the load is retrieved, wherein the unique identifiers are associated with the user identifier. Server 12 may then generate a web response to the login request based on the set of unique identifiers. During an authenticated session, server 12 may also receive web requests to modify thermostat settings, price thresholds, and schedules associated with one or more of the set of unique identifiers, and update the appropriate records.

Referring now to FIGS. 2A and 2B , illustrations of the socket 16 and user equipment 34 are shown in greater detail, respectively. In the illustrated example, the outlet 16 has one or more outlets 22 and a user interface 32 including a current temperature display 41, a thermostat setting display 43, a thermostat input switch 45, a current price display 42, a price threshold display 44 and threshold input switch 46. As previously mentioned, the consumer can manually adjust the thermostat of the outlet 16 and the upper limit of the current price using the input switches 45,46. In the illustrated example, the current price ("51") exceeds the price threshold ("41"), and power is then removed from outlet 22 so that any device plugged into outlet 22 will not function.

The illustrated user device 34 includes a summary page 48 that displays current electricity rates and predetermined price thresholds for various loads (eg, clothes dryer, pool pump, air conditioner). Similar pages can be constructed for temperature and thermostat settings. The illustrated overview page 48 also enables the customer to adjust each price threshold downward or upward, indicating whether the load under consideration is on or off. By selecting a touch screen button located at the bottom of the overview page 48, the customer can be presented with a usage and price graph 50 (FIG. 3), which provides a graphical representation of the status of each device.

Figure 4 illustrates a method of controlling a power outlet. Method 52 can be implemented as a set of machine readable instructions stored in a medium such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, etc. , the control module 26 as fixed-function hardware such as an embedded microcontroller or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) utilizing complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology or transistor-transistor logic (TTL) technology, and/or any combination thereof (Figure 1).

In the illustrated example, processing block 54 updates the current electricity price and the predetermined price threshold. In one example, the current electricity rate may be obtained from a "smart" electricity meter located in the building where the outlet is located. Alternatively, current prices may be obtained from a remote server, such as the central secure server 12 (FIG. 1) or another web-based server. The price threshold may have been stored in a memory location, where the price threshold may be obtained through a local user interface, a local user device, or a remote user device. In one embodiment, the latest price data and threshold data is transmitted to the central security server as a query for price and/or threshold updates, along with the outlet's unique ID. When this request is received, the central security server can obtain updated pricing information and determine whether the price threshold has been modified (eg, by a subscriber using a PC-based Internet connection). The central security server may then transmit a response back to the outlet identifying the unique outlet identifier and containing updated price data and threshold data. The outlet's control module may store such price data and threshold data in an appropriate memory location and use this data at block 56 for comparison. If it is determined at block 56 that the price threshold has been exceeded, then at block 58 the relay providing the connection between the power source and the outlet may be opened, thereby removing power supply from the outlet and any loads connected thereto. If the threshold has not been exceeded, block 60 keeps the relay closed, which enables power to be delivered to the outlet and corresponding load. Method 52 is easily modified to provide thermostat setting updates as previously described.

FIG. 5 shows an alternative method in which the thermostat is controlled according to method 62 . Specifically, block 54 updates the current electricity price and the predetermined price threshold as previously described. If at block 56 it is determined that the threshold is exceeded, then block 64 establishes a "conservation" thermostat setting, which is some amount higher than the standard thermostat setting. For example, the economizer thermostat setting may be defined to be 8°F higher than the standard thermostat setting, such that the initial thermostat setting of 72°F is increased to 80°F whenever the current electricity price exceeds the price threshold. Thus, during periods of high consumer demand, temperature-controlled appliances such as air conditioners will not be turned on until the ambient temperature reaches 80°F. If at block 56 it is determined that the threshold has not been exceeded, then block 66 uses whatever standard thermostat setting was originally established by the customer. Of course, thermostat settings can also be obtained from a central secure server, if such functionality is appropriate.

Figure 6 shows another method 68 in which the power outlet is controlled according to the power mode of the outlet. In the illustrated example, the mode of the outlet is updated at block 70, and block 72 determines whether the mode is "on." The schema may be obtained from the central security server 12 (FIG. 1), or locally at the device. For example, the server may transition the mode from "off" to "on" in order to enforce a schedule established by the user of the web-based connection. If the mode is determined to be "open," illustrated block 74 closes the relay associated with the outlet, enabling power to be delivered to the outlet and corresponding load. If the mode is determined to be "off," the relay may be opened at block 76 to remove power supply from the outlet and any loads connected to the outlet.

Thus, switching mechanisms such as thermostats, relays and circuit breakers can be controlled via the Internet and designed for window and wall air conditioners, as well as other kinds of loads. In one example, a basic system may include a central security server, a thermostat with a relay to control the power supply to the air conditioner, and a "gateway" device that communicates with the multiple thermostats and with the central security server. Such a system can reduce the power demand generated by room air conditioners (window or through-the-wall units). The thermostat could allow electricity to be delivered to the air conditioner when the room temperature is at or above the current thermostat setting, or when the current electricity price is below the current pricing threshold. The central security server can also control thermostat settings and/or pricing thresholds. For example, a server can send new thermostat settings to thermostats through a gateway, which can control groups of thermostats using a proprietary control protocol. Communications between the central security server and the gateway may be encrypted using a standardized protocol such as AES. Communication between the gateway and the groups of thermostats associated with the gateway may be via WPAN, Ethernet (eg, IEEE802.3), WiFi (eg, IEEE802.11), proprietary wireless communication protocols, or any other suitable protocol. One advantage of such a system is that it allows utility companies and facility managers to remotely control window air conditioners to reduce power demand, save money, and avoid partial and total blackouts caused by excessive power demand.

In one embodiment, the wireless protocol between the thermostats and the gateway is based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, where other aspects of the protocol can be used to optimize communication in small packets and provide a unique identification number for all thermostats. The protocol between the gateway and the central security server can use a client-side "push/pull" scheme from the thermostat to the server to bypass firewalls, network address translation (NAT), pop-up blockers, etc. The protocol may also include a unique identifier for each thermostat (and its corresponding air conditioning unit), encryption with AES (e.g., sent via http), self-throttled flow control (to avoid overloading the server), and to Transmission of individual control packets for each thermostat. Control packets are sent in response to status queries when there are new thermostat settings or price thresholds at the server, and new settings can only be accepted from authorized parties.

The gateway can serve any number of multiple thermostats, reducing the number of Internet connections required in a facility. For example, in a single family home, there may be a single gateway that communicates with all air conditioners and other controlled loads in the home. For buildings with multiple occupancy, there may be a single gateway per floor, handling all thermostats in each room on that floor. Depending on the materials used and the thickness of the floors, it is likely that in many buildings a single gateway will be able to cover several floors. In one embodiment, a 900MHz communication frequency may be used, which may penetrate building materials better than the 2.4GHz frequency used for WiFi. A single WiFi access point can cover three or more floors in an NYC apartment complex, although the exact number of gateways can vary depending on the facility.

From a technical point of view, a single gateway can communicate with hundreds of thermostats. From a business model point of view, it can be assumed that one gateway is installed per layer.

To control temperature, a utility company or facility manager may be given the ability to read the existing thermostat settings for each air conditioner and the current temperature in the room, and issue commands to change the thermostat setting for each thermostat. The new thermostat setting can be the same for all air conditioners, or it can be different for each air conditioner - this decision can be the responsibility of the facility management or utility company. They could be allowed to raise the thermostat setting, thereby saving electricity by disconnecting the power supply to the air conditioner when the room temperature reaches the new thermostat setting. Adjusting the thermostat up to a new higher level can significantly reduce power demand and still prevent the temperature from getting unbearably hot (eg, 95°F). The utility company or facility manager may also be allowed to cut off all power to any, all, or groups of air conditioners, given the possibility of an emergency situation in which such capability is critical. The energy load for each air conditioner and the energy required to cool the room in which the air conditioner is located can be calculated, also based on historical data of room temperature and energy usage. The calculated energy can then be related to the outside temperature, making it easy to predict energy consumption based on the outdoor weather forecast.

The system can also be designed for central authorities (facility managers, utility companies, government agencies, etc.) to reduce power demand due to window air conditioners and other energy-intensive appliances. With the ability to continuously collect temperature and thermostat data from all units, the central management can use very fine-grained information to most intelligently reduce demand, whether that means raising the thermostat settings of all units by a fixed amount (say 8 °F), set all units at the same thermostat setting (say 78°F), or have default values considered individually for each unit.

Thresholds or limits can also be used, for example, if a patient is on life support and the room temperature should not exceed 76°F, then the thermostat for that room could be raised from 72° to 76°F instead of what might be the default 78°F.

In one embodiment, the wireless link is based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, which is the base radio layer for the ZigBee specification (eg, ZigBee Specification, December 1, 2006, ZigBee Alliance) and other protocols. The chipset can have a range of 100 meters, though using the 900MHz band instead of 2.4GHz allows the signal to penetrate walls and other obstacles better. Indoor transmission over 100 feet, through walls and fireplaces is possible. FCC restrictions on transmit power may necessitate multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and other techniques to further extend the range.

Aspects of temperature control may also be built into the air conditioner or other appliance itself, for example by the original manufacturer. Measuring the electrical load on the outlet can also detect if an appliance has been unplugged from the electrical outlet. An alarm can then be sent to a central server so that the appropriate person or entity can be notified that the appliance has been unplugged. If the electrical interface is unplugged, it may stop communicating with the central server, which may cause an alert to be sent to the appropriate entity. If many units cease to communicate, an avalanche of alarms could indicate an important event - most likely a power failure. If such a system was in place, utility providers would be better able to identify the extent and location of recent outages.

Here, the terms "connected", "coupled" and "attached" are used to indicate any type of direct or indirect relationship between the components in question, and may apply to electrical, mechanical, RF, optical or other coupling relationships. Additionally, any use of the terms "first," "second," etc. is merely for convenience of discussion and does not necessarily imply any kind of temporal or chronological relationship.

From the foregoing description those skilled in the art will appreciate that the general techniques of the embodiments of the invention can be implemented in various forms. For example, parameters other than temperature and price, such as temperature, moisture, pressure, flow, etc., can be easily monitored and controlled as described herein. Thus, while embodiments of this invention have been described in conjunction with particular examples thereof, the true scope of embodiments of this invention should not be so limited since a study of the drawings, the specification and the following claims will inform those skilled in the art that personnel, other modifications will become apparent.

Claims (28)

1, a kind of electrical interface comprises:

Switching mechanism, described switching mechanism is coupled to load with power supply selectively; With

Control module, described control module and the coupling of described switching mechanism are used to produce the inquiry to the information of web server, and according to the response to described inquiry, control described switching mechanism.

2, according to the described electrical interface of claim 1, wherein said control module sends described inquiry to gateway.

3, according to the described electrical interface of claim 1, wherein said control module produces described inquiry according to the schedule information that is stored in described electrical interface place.

4, according to the described electrical interface of claim 1, wherein said inquiry comprises the unique identifier of described electrical interface.

5, according to the described electrical interface of claim 4, wherein said inquiry also comprise have in thermostat setting, price thresholds and the electric source modes at least one data and the indication that whether has changed about described data.

6, according to the described electrical interface of claim 4, wherein said inquiry also comprises the loadtype identifier.

7, according to the described electrical interface of claim 1, wherein said response comprise have the thermostat setting, at least one the data in current electricity price, price thresholds, electric source modes and the schedule information, described interface also comprises and is used to store described memory of data.

8, according to the described electrical interface of claim 1, wherein said switching mechanism comprises at least one in relay, isolating switch and the thermostat.

9, according to the described electrical interface of claim 1, also comprise the user interface that can realize user's control of described switching mechanism, described user interface has display and input media.

10, according to the described electrical interface of claim 1, wherein said electrical interface also comprises the socket with the coupling of described switching mechanism, described socket with and the related attaching plug cooperation of load.

11, a kind of gateway comprises:

First interface, described first interface receives the inquiry to information, described inquiry comprise and load between electrical interface unique identifier and have at least one first data in thermostat setting, electric source modes and the price thresholds;

Processing module, described processing module becomes the web request to described query conversion; With

Second interface, described second interface sends described web request to the web server.

12, according to the described gateway of claim 11, wherein said inquiry also comprises the indication that whether has changed about described first data.

13, according to the described gateway of claim 11, wherein said inquiry also comprises the loadtype identifier, and described processing module becomes described web request to described query conversion according to described loadtype identifier.

14, according to the described gateway of claim 11, wherein said second interface receives the response to first form of described web request from described web server, described processing module converts this response to second form, and described first interface sends the response of described second form to described electrical interface.

15, according to the described gateway of claim 14, wherein said response comprise have the thermostat setting, at least one second data in electric source modes, current electricity price, price thresholds and the schedule information.

16, according to the described gateway of claim 11, wherein said first interface comprises at least one the local transmission link that has in wireless, power line communication and the Ethernet assembly, and described second interface comprises ethernet port.

17, a kind of computer-readable medium, described computer-readable medium comprise one group of instruction, if carried out by processor, described one group of instruction makes the web server:

Reception is to a web of information request, described web request comprise and load between electrical interface unique identifier and have at least one first data in thermostat setting, price thresholds and the electric source modes;

Retrieve the record related with described unique identifier; With

Produce a described web request responding according to this record.

18, according to the described computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein said response comprise have the thermostat setting, at least one the data in current electricity price, price thresholds, electric source modes and the schedule information.

19, according to the described computer-readable medium of claim 18, if wherein carried out by processor, described instruction also makes described web server inquire about current electricity price to the price source.

20, according to the described computer-readable medium of claim 18, if wherein carried out by processor, described instruction also makes described web server according to described schedule information, sets up at least one in thermostat setting, price thresholds and the electric source modes in the described response.

21, according to the described computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein said response comprises restart indication.

22, according to the described computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein said web request also comprises the indication that whether has changed about described first data, if described first data change, so described web server is according to the described record of described first Data Update.

23, according to the described computer-readable medium of claim 17, if wherein carried out by processor, so described instruction also makes described web server:

Reception is from the logging request of the equipment with web ability, and described logging request comprises user identifier and password;

User to the equipment of the described web of having ability verifies according to described logging request;

Retrieval with and the related load of described user identifier between one group of unique identifier of electrical interface; With

According to this group unique identifier, produce web response to described logging request.

24, according to the described computer-readable medium of claim 23, if wherein carried out by processor, described instruction also makes described web server:

At least one the 2nd web that receive to revise in thermostat setting, price thresholds, electric source modes and the timetable relevant with one or more identifiers in described one group of unique identifier asks; With

Respond described the 2nd web request, upgrade with described one group of unique identifier in the relevant record of one or more identifiers.

25, a kind of electrical interface comprises:

Thermostat, described thermostat is coupled to air conditioner with power supply selectively;

Control module, described control module and the coupling of described thermostat, be used to produce inquiry to the information of web server, wirelessly gateway is passed in described inquiry, and according to described thermostat is controlled in the response of described inquiry, described inquiry comprises the unique identifier of described electrical interface, has the thermostat setting, first data of at least one in price thresholds and the electric source modes, with the indication that whether has changed about described first data, described response comprises having the thermostat setting, current electricity price, price thresholds, second data of at least one in electric source modes and the schedule information;

Storer, described first data of described memory stores and described second data; With

User interface, described user interface can be realized the user's control to described thermostat, and described user interface has display and input media.

26, according to the described electrical interface of claim 25, wherein said control module produces inquiry according to the schedule information that is stored in the described storer.

27,, comprise also and the socket of described thermostat coupling that described socket cooperates with the attaching plug related with described air conditioner according to the described electrical interface of claim 25.

28, according to the described electrical interface of claim 25, wherein said inquiry also comprises the loadtype identifier.

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