A method of remotely monitoring a status of a surge arrester disconnector includes providing a long-range wireless mesh communication system including a plurality of disconnectors organized in a plurality of clusters. Each cluster includes a plurality of disconnectors that are physically located within a same cluster area. At least one of the disconnectors in each cluster is coupled to a communication device of a predetermined communication range. The method includes transmitting, from a first cluster, a status signal indicative of a status of a first disconnector in the first cluster to a second cluster located within the predetermined communication range, and consecutively transmitting the status signal from the second cluster to a third cluster within the predetermined communication range, until reaching an end cluster. The method includes transmitting, from the end cluster, the status signal to a monitoring station, and monitoring the status of the first disconnector at the monitoring station based on a result of transmission of the status signal.

A method and system for controlling the transfer of electrical power between a first electrical network and a second electrical network is disclosed. The method includes receiving at the second electrical network pricing information from the first electrical network, the pricing information associated with the supply of electrical power between the first electrical network and the second electrical network and modifying a demand characteristic of the second electrical network based on the pricing information.

A custom outlet module 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.

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a utilities management system operable to receive via a guided wave transceiver a plurality of utility status signals from a plurality of utility sensors located at a plurality of supervised sites. Utility control data is generated based on the plurality of utility status signals. At least one control signal is generated for transmission via the guided wave transceiver to at least one of the plurality of supervised sites, and the at least one control signal includes at least one utility deployment instruction based on the utility control data. Other embodiments are disclosed.

A node in a power distribution system is described. The node includes an electrical connection to a single-phase power signal from an AC mains power source, a wireless communication interface configured to receive a first phase synchronization message, and a controller. The controller is configured to determine whether the first phase synchronization message is acceptable and detect a zero-crossing event on the single phase power signal subsequent to the receipt of the first phase synchronization message in response to determining that the first phase synchronization message is acceptable. The controller is further configured to calculate a time difference between the receipt of the first phase synchronization signal and the detected zero-crossing event, determine a local phase angle based on the time difference, and establish an identity of the single phase power signal based on the local phase angle.

An information processing apparatus includes a controller for calculating an economic benefit resulting from energy saving attributed to a power generation apparatus and/or a power storage apparatus, based on first information regarding electric power supplied from the power generation apparatus and/or the power storage apparatus at a predetermined base and electric power supplied to the predetermined base from a commercial power grid, second information regarding electric power stored in the power storage apparatus, third information regarding electric power consumed at the predetermined base, information regarding cost corresponding to the electric power, and information regarding cost of the power generation apparatus and/or the power storage apparatus, and also calculate a period to be taken by the economic benefit to recover the cost of the power generation apparatus and/or the power storage apparatus. The controller is configured to output information regarding a configuration of the power generation apparatus and/or the storage battery.

A load control system may include multiple devices capable of communicating with one another to enable load control via a network. Devices communicating in the load control system may be powered by a lower power supply (e.g., a battery). These devices may be power-conservative control devices. A device may transmit an indication that it is a power-conservative control device. The device may be assigned a multicast slot. The multicast slot may occur periodically and may be associated with a multicast phase. An indication of the device's assigned multicast slot may be transmitted to other devices in the load control system. Messages may be transmitted to the device from one or more other devices during its configured multicast slot. The device may periodically transition its communication circuit on and off based on the multicast slot

The present disclosure provides a switch circuit and a control method thereof, a smart switch and a control system. The switch circuit includes a wireless communication module, a switch module coupled to a load, a switch-on power obtaining circuit, an energy storage circuit coupled with the wireless communication module and a switch-off power obtaining circuit. The load is coupled with a neutral wire. The switch-on power obtaining circuit is configured to output a first current to the energy storage circuit in response to the switch module being switched on. The switch-off power obtaining circuit is configured to output a second current to the energy storage circuit via the second power supply terminal in response to the switch module being switched off. The second current is less than the first current.

According to some embodiments, a wireless power transmitter is disclosed. The wireless power transmitter can include a plurality of transmission coils arranged to cover a charging area and coupled with a ferrite; a plurality of local power controllers, each of the plurality of local power controllers coupled to drive a subset of the plurality of transmission coils, each subset of the plurality of transmission coils including a plurality of the plurality of transmission coils; and a microcontroller unit (MCU) coupled to the plurality of local power controllers, the microcontroller unit including a MCU processor executing instructions to designate states of each of the plurality of transmission coils, the states including active, de-active, and selected for receiver detection, and executing instructions to transmit instructions to each of the plurality of local power controllers in accordance with the state designations.

An intelligent battery charge equalization and monitoring system may assist in the management of battery string health by detecting individual batteries within a string that may need servicing. The system may detect a battery within a string that is charged to a higher voltage than other batteries within the string and discharge the overcharged battery until the battery's charge is equalized with the other batteries in the string. The system may use metrics related to how often individual batteries within a string of batteries must be equalized and utilize these metrics to perform maintenance actions.