A modular power control system is disclosed comprising a first module comprising a power control device and one or more power outlets, the power control device configured to control the one or more power outlets, and a second module comprising a communication device communicatively coupled with the power control device and arranged to receive a communication with an instruction from an external device for controlling one or more of the power outlets of the power control device, the communication device arranged to send the instruction to the power control device; wherein the second module is selectively fixable to and releasable from the first module.

Disclosed is a monitoring apparatus (10) including a user management unit (11) that acquires, in association with each of plural users, a residual power level of a storage battery used by the user, a detection unit (12) that detects a predetermined event, and a setting unit (13) that sets, when the predetermined event is detected, the degree of urgency of need for a predetermined measure for each user based on the residual power level of the storage battery.

Provided is a network system. The network system includes: at least one unit selected from an energy receiving unit receiving energy and an energy management unit managing the energy receiving unit. An energy usage amount or energy usage rate of the energy receiving unit is adjusted; an energy usage amount or usage rate when the unit is controlled based on information relating to at least an energy rate is less than that when the unit is controlled without the base of information relating to at least an energy rate; the energy receiving unit comprises a plurality of components; and an operation of one component among the plurality of components is controlled based on the energy rate related information.

Embodiments of the present invention include control methods employed in multiphase distributed energy storage systems that are located behind utility meters typically located at, but not limited to, medium and large commercial and industrial locations. These distributed energy storage systems can operate semi-autonomously, and can be configured to develop energy control solutions for an electric load location based on various data inputs and communicate these energy control solutions to the distributed energy storage systems. In some embodiments, one or more distributed energy storage systems may be used to absorb and/or deliver power to the electric grid in an effort to provide assistance to or correct for power transmission and distribution problems found on the electric grid outside of an electric load location. In some cases, two or more distributed energy storage systems are used to form a controlled and coordinated response to the problems seen on the electric grid.

A central plant that generates and provides resources to a building. The central plant includes an electrical energy storage subplant configured to store electrical energy purchased from a utility and to discharge the stored electrical energy. The central plant includes a plurality of generator subplants that consume one or more input resources. The central plant includes a controller configured to determine, for each time step within a time horizon, an optimal allocation of the input resources and the output resources for each of the subplants in order to optimize a total monetary value of operating the central plant over the time horizon. The total monetary value includes revenue from participating in incentive-based demand response programs as well as costs associated with resource consumption, equipment degradation, and losses in battery capacity.

A frequency response controller includes a high level controller configured to receive a regulation signal from an incentive provider, determine statistics of the regulation signal, and use the statistics of the regulation signal to generate a frequency response midpoint. The controller further includes a low level controller configured to use the frequency response midpoint to determine optimal battery power setpoints and use the optimal battery power setpoints to control an amount of electric power stored or discharged from a battery during a frequency response period.

Dispatch engines service endpoints by transmitting dispatch signals to the serviced endpoints that cause the endpoints to adjust their electric power consumption from the electric power grid in accord with a control signal received by the dispatch engine. A market interface dispatch engine receives its control signal from an electric power grid managing entity, and downstream dispatch engines form a hierarchy cascading downstream from the market interface dispatch engine with each downstream dispatch engine being an endpoint serviced by a dispatch engine located upstream in the hierarchy. The control signal received by each downstream dispatch engine comprises dispatch signals transmitted by the upstream dispatch engine. The endpoints further include electric power-consuming loads. A suitable load controller comprises separate power interface and logic elements operatively connected to define the load controller, with the logic element powered by low voltage DC power received from the power interface element.

A frequency response optimization system includes a battery configured to store and discharge electric power, a power inverter configured to control an amount of the electric power stored or discharged from the battery at each of a plurality of time steps during a frequency response period, and a frequency response controller. The frequency response controller is configured to receive a regulation signal from an incentive provider, determine statistics of the regulation signal, use the statistics of the regulation signal to generate an optimal frequency response midpoint that achieves a desired change in a state-of-charge (SOC) of the battery while participating in a frequency response program, and use the midpoints to determine optimal battery power setpoints for the power inverter. The power inverter is configured to use the optimal battery power setpoints to control the amount of the electric power stored or discharged from the battery.

A power grid stabilizing system may include a processor and a network interface executable by the processor to monitor for new event data from power consumption devices over a network. The new event data may include information such as device location, operating information, and sensor data. The system may include an estimation engine operable to analyze the new event data to determine power consumption behavior of a consumption device, and a predictor operable to anticipate an occurrence of a future event responsive to the analysis. The predictor may also predict the outcome of the future event based on analysis of the new event data in relation to past behavior data of the consumption device. The network interface may further communicate the anticipated future event and the predicted outcome to one or more of the other consumption devices.

A power storage system includes an AC/DC converter, a first control device, a power storage device, and a load. The first control device includes a measuring portion that measures the amount of power consumed by the load, a predicting portion that predicts the demand for power consumed by the load on the basis of the amount of power consumed by the load, and a planning portion that makes a charge and discharge plan of the power storage device on the basis of the demand for power predicted by the predicting portion. The power storage device includes a second control device, a DC/DC converter, a first battery cell group, and a second battery cell group. The power storage device is placed in an underfloor space surrounded by a base and a floor of a building.