An energy management system having a fuel cell apparatus (150) as a power generator that generates power using fuel, and an EMS (200) that communicates with the fuel cell apparatus (150). The EMS (200) receives messages that indicate a type of the fuel cell apparatus (150), from the fuel cell apparatus (150).

A method, apparatus, system and computer program is provided for controlling an electric power system, including implementation of voltage measurement using paired comparison analysis applied to calculating a shift in average usage per customer from one time period to another time period for a given electrical use population where the pairing process is optimized using a novel technique to improve the accuracy of the measurement.

Described is an apparatus which comprises: an antenna to sense or receive energy from an external source; a harvesting module to harvest power according to the sensed or received energy; a decoder coupled to the harvesting module, the decoder to decode the sensed or received energy and to generate one or more commands; and one or more switches operable to turn on or off according to the one or more commands.

A direct current (DC) bus voltage from a combined output of a plurality of DC power modules is controlled based on an alternating current (AC) voltage of a power grid. The DC bus voltage tracks the AC grid voltage to provide efficient conversion between the DC power sources and the AC grid, even when the amplitude of the AC grid voltage varies. In one example, a variable reference voltage is generated based on a detected AC grid voltage. The reference voltage increases and decreases in proportion to increases and decreases in the AC grid voltage. In this manner, large differences between the bus voltage and the grid voltage are avoided. By closely tracking the two voltages, efficiency in the modulation index for power conversion can be achieved.

This disclosure generally relates to a battery kiosk that houses and distributes rechargeable batteries for light electric vehicles. The battery kiosk includes various visual indicators that are activated based on the individual's progress with a rechargeable battery exchange process.

Emergency light devices, systems and methods that provide instant light in a power outage or other situations. One or more sensors monitor the flow of electricity, and when the flow of electricity is stopped or no longer present, an emergency light device power monitoring device instantly communicates via wireless communication technology to emergency light device(s) to instantly turn on the emergency light device(s). The emergency light device(s) can be a portable and/or permanent unit of varying shapes and sizes, and can be attached to any object, or may stand alone, with some or all of its parts being replaceable, interchangeable, or upgradeable.

A computer-implemented method and system is provided. The system adaptively switches prediction strategies to optimize time-variant energy demand and consumption of built environments associated with renewable energy sources. The system analyzes a first, second, third, fourth and a fifth set of statistical data. The system derives of a set of prediction strategies for controlled and directional execution of analysis and evaluation of a set of predictions for optimum usage and operation of the plurality of energy consuming devices. The system monitors a set of factors corresponding to the set of prediction strategies and switches a prediction strategy from the set of derived prediction strategies. The system predicts a set of predictions for identification of a potential future time-variant energy demand and consumption and predicts a set of predictions. The system manipulates an operational state of the plurality of energy consuming devices and the plurality of energy storage and supply means.

A power control device is contained within a housing and has an electric current sensor configured to measure current passing through an electric outlet during a time period, a proximity sensor configured to detect a distance of an object relative to the electric outlet during the time period, a relay switch that can open or close to stop or conduct current through a circuit in the electric outlet in response to a command, and a wireless network interface in communication with the electric current sensor and the proximity sensor, the wireless network interface configured to transmit and receive data from the current sensor and the proximity sensor, to transmit commands to the relay switch, transmit the data to a computing device, and receive commands from the computing device.

The present disclosure provides a computer-implemented method for ranking one or more control schemes for controlling peak loading conditions and abrupt changes in energy pricing of one or more built environments associated with renewable energy sources. The computer-implemented method includes analysis of a first set of statistical data, a second set of statistical data, a third set of statistical data, a fourth set of statistical data and a fifth set of statistical data. Further, the computer-implemented method includes identification and execution of the one or more control schemes. In addition, the computer-implemented method includes scoring the one or more control schemes by evaluating a probabilistic score. Further, the computer-implemented method includes ranking the one or more control schemes to determine relevant control schemes for controlling real time peak loading conditions and abrupt changes in energy pricing associated with the one or more built environments.

A smart communications controller for alternative energy equipment includes an equipment port connected to the alternative energy equipment and a plurality of autoconfiguration objects. Each of the autoconfiguration objects is configured to perform a protocol testing process for a particular communications protocol. The protocol testing process includes automatically determining whether the communications protocol is used by the alternative energy equipment connected to the equipment port. The smart communications controller further includes an autoconfiguration manager configured to cause the autoconfiguration objects to iteratively perform their protocol testing processes until the communications protocol used by the alternative energy equipment is identified. The smart communications controller further includes an equipment controller configured to use the identified communications protocol for the alternative energy equipment to generate protocol-specific control signals for the alternative energy equipment.