Electrical power availability interface

Abstract

A method for decentralizing a piece of information pertaining to a power availability situation in a power grid at a particular instant includes ascertaining power availability data in the power grid by a power control center that is associated with the power grid, and generating a piece of power availability information by the power control center at the particular instant. The method also includes transmitting the power availability information from the power control center to at least one data reception system, and processing and/or outputting the power availability information by the data reception system.

Claims

1. A method for decentralizing information pertaining to a power availability situation in a power grid, the method comprising: providing a user device comprising: a receiver and a light emitting diode, the user device being located remote from a power control center associated with a power grid; transmitting to the user device, via a transmitter at the power control center, power availability information generated by the power control center, the power availability information reflecting which of the following states is occurring within the power grid: a surplus or a shortage of available power; activating the light emitting diode when power availability information is received by the receiver reflecting the surplus of power in the power grid; powering a power sink via the power grid in response to the activation of the light emitting diode and not powering the power sink via the power grid in response to an inactivation of the light emitting diode.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: transmitting to the user device power availability forecast information generated by the power control center, the power availability information reflecting which of the following states is to occur within the power grid for a prescribed period: the surplus or the shortage of available power; and activating the light emitting diode when power availability forecast information is received by the wireless receiver reflecting the surplus of power in the power grid for the prescribed period.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising repeating the acts of claim 1 in one of a continuous or regular manner.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitter is a radio transmitter, and the receiver is a radio receiver.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the transmitter is a radio transmitter, and the receiver is a radio receiver.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the light emitting diode is activated for the prescribed period.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the user device further comprises: an additional light emitting diode, and comprising the further act of: transmitting to the user device power availability forecast information generated by the power control center, the power availability information reflecting which of the following states is to occur within the power grid for a prescribed period: the surplus or the shortage of available power; and activating the additional light emitting diode when power availability forecast information is received by the wireless receiver reflecting the surplus of power in the power grid for the prescribed period.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising the further act of: transmitting the power availability information from the user device to a system configured to perform at least one of an output, a processing, a control and regulation operation with respect to power sinks and power sources coupled to the power grid.

9. The method of claim 2, comprising the further act of: transmitting at least one of the power availability information and the power forecast information from the user device to a system configured to be one of connected and coupled to the output element, and at least one of the power availability information and power forecast information is used by the system to perform at least one of an output, a processing, a control and regulation operation with respect to power sinks and power sources coupled to the power grid.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the user device is a mobile terminal.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein the user device is a mobile terminal.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the user device is comprised in one of: a hybrid and an electric vehicle.

13. The method of claim 2, wherein the user device is comprised in one of: a hybrid and an electric vehicle.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the user device is comprised in one of: a power storage unit and a power generating unit.

15. The method of claim 2, wherein the user device is comprised in one of: a power storage unit and a power generating unit.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 schematically shows a method for transmitting a piece of power availability information and/or a piece of power forecast information.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(2) A power control center (1) for a particular power grid, e.g. an electricity exchange or a supply syndicate, uses the information on which trade is based to ascertain a supply and consumption situation for the power grid in question. These data are used to derive a piece of power availability information that is needed in order to identify the presence of a power surplus or a shortage situation in the grid. In this respect, the information preferably contains two states. The power availability information is updated by the power control center continuously or at regular intervals. Specific algorithms for ascertaining the availability situation in the power grid are not the subject of this work.

(3) The power control center may be formed by a plurality of subunits and/or ancillary units. These may be of organizational, legal, technical or functional type and also distributed in space and/or time, for example.

(4) The up-to-date power availability information is transmitted by radio, for example, in this case by a long-wave transmitter of the power control center to a data reception system (2) that comprises a receiver for long waves, without a time delay after it is ascertained.

(5) The data reception system displays to a user (3) of the data reception system the two-stage information about the power availability in the power grid that the long-wave signal contains, for example. For this purpose, the data reception system can have an LED display that, according to the present exemplary embodiment, lights up in the event of a surplus of power and is deactivated in the event of a shortage of power.

(6) According to an alternative embodiment, besides the power availability information and/or the power forecast information following reception by the data reception system, further, e.g. locally available information (for example as a result of scheduled switch-on times for coupled/connected sources or sinks, as a result of capacities of the line as far as the next node, as a result of emission/acoustics guidelines for the starting of a unit or as a result of legal constraints) is processed in order to ascertain the presence of a power surplus or a shortage situation in the grid at the point of data reception.

(7) According to one embodiment, the state of the display can be automatically adjusted when a piece of updated power availability information is received. This allows the availability situation in the power grid to be displayed to the user locally by a simple and robust technical system, which can also be referred to as a power pager or power availability interface.

(8) On the basis of the received information, the user of the data reception system, who is also the user of the relevant power grid to which the power availability information and/or power forecast information relates, can regulate his use and/or supply behavior. This means, by way of example, that if the supply situation is poor then he interrupts a charging process for an electric vehicle or, by way of example, defers activation of a washing machine, or if the supply situation is good, i.e. the lamp is activated, then he activates the washing machine. If the supply situation is poor, he can also control small power stations (internal combustion engines, biomass, hydroelectric power, etc.) or stores (water, storage batteries, etc.) to actively supply the grid.

(9) Hence, the individual user reacts to the availability situation in the power grid by means of his user and/or supply behavior and thus influences the evolution of the subsequent piece of power availability information. This is indicated by the dashed arrow in FIG. 1.

(10) If a multiplicity of consumers or power generators use a power pager or a power availability interface in the manner shown in FIG. 1, a more uniform load profile is produced in the power grid.

(11) The foregoing disclosure has been set forth merely to illustrate the invention and is not intended to be limiting. Since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur to persons skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to include everything within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof.