Energy allocation system

Abstract

Energy allocation system comprises a solar panel system and a local energy storage system, each capable of being plugged into a power socket of a home grid and each having a communication unit. The system further comprises a control unit, comprising a third communication unit, configured to receive the information relating to the solar panel system, and the information relating to the energy storage system via said communication units, and a processing unit. The processing unit is configured to determine, based on the received information, an allocation of energy in the home grid to the energy storage system, and to accordingly generate a control signal for the energy storage system. The third communication unit is further configured to transmit the generated control signal to the energy storage system.

Claims

1. An energy allocation system, comprising: a control unit; a battery controller to route electrical power to or from an energy storage system, wherein the battery controller is controlled by the control unit; and one or more inverters that produce AC electrical power, wherein the one or more inverters is controlled by the control unit, and wherein the control unit includes a wireless module configured to communicate instructions limiting production of the AC electrical power by at least one of the one or more inverters to selectively limit the AC electrical power reaching through an electrical utility meter to an electrical utility grid.

2. The energy allocation system of claim 1, further comprising: an electronic device coupled with the control unit to supply a user with information regarding energy production, consumption, and configurations.

3. The energy allocation system of claim 1, wherein the production of AC electrical power is limited based on a measurement of electricity passing between a home grid and a public grid.

4. The energy allocation system of claim 3, further comprising: a plurality of energy storage systems, wherein each of the plurality of energy storage systems can be selectively controlled to provide electrical power.

5. The energy allocation system of claim 1, further comprising: one or more solar panels, wherein at least one of the one or more inverters has an input that can be connected to the one or more solar panels, and outputs that can provide AC electrical power.

6. The energy allocation system of claim 1, wherein the control unit includes a processing unit.

7. The energy allocation system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more inverters produces AC electrical power from DC electrical power stored by the energy storage system.

8. The energy allocation system of claim 1, wherein the production of the AC electrical power by the at least one of the one or more inverters is not more than an amount of AC electrical power needed by energy-consuming devices powered by the home energy grid.

9. An energy allocation system comprising: one or more solar panels that produces DC electrical power for a home energy grid, wherein at least a portion of the DC electrical power is stored in an energy storage system; one or more inverters that produces AC electric power from the DC electrical power produced by the one or more solar panels, wherein the AC electrical power is provided to energy-consuming devices powered by the home energy grid; and a control unit that manages distribution of electrical power throughout the home energy grid, wherein the control unit prevents a flow of electricity from the home energy grid to a public energy grid connected to the home energy grid based on one or more of (1) the portion of the DC electrical power stored in the energy storage system, and (2) consumption of the AC electric power by the energy-consuming devices powered by the home grid.

10. The energy allocation system of claim 9, further comprising the energy storage system.

11. The energy allocation system of claim 10, wherein the energy storage system further comprises a plurality of batteries, wherein each of the plurality of batteries can be selectively controlled to provide electrical power.

12. The energy allocation system of claim 9, further comprising: a battery controller to route electrical power to or from the energy storage system, wherein the battery controller is controlled by the control unit.

13. The energy allocation system of claim 9, further comprising: an electronic device coupled with the control unit to supply a user with information regarding energy production, consumption, and configurations.

14. The energy allocation system of claim 9, wherein at least one of the one or more inverters produces AC electrical power from DC electrical power stored by the energy storage system.

15. The energy allocation system of claim 9, wherein the production of the AC electrical power by the at least one of the one or more inverters is not more than an amount of AC electrical power needed by the energy-consuming devices powered by the home energy grid.

16. A method for allocating energy by an energy allocation system connected to a home energy grid, the method comprising: determining an amount of energy produced by one or more solar panels, wherein the amount of produced energy is provided to the home energy grid for consumption by one or more energy-consuming devices powered by the home energy grid; determining an amount of energy consumed by the one or more energy-consuming devices powered by the home energy grid; and controlling an allocation of energy in the energy allocation system based on the amount of energy produced and the amount of energy consumed to prevent a flow of electricity from the home energy grid to a public energy grid connected to the home energy grid.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein controlling the allocation of energy in the energy allocation system comprises controlling charging or discharging of the energy produced by the one or more solar panels.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein controlling the charging or discharging of the energy produced by the one or more solar panels further comprises controlling the charging or discharging of one or more energy storage systems.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising: supplying a user with information regarding energy production, consumption, and configurations.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising: receiving preferences from a user for controlling the allocation of energy in the energy allocation system.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) The invention will be further elucidated at the hand of the figures, wherein

(2) FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the claimed system;

(3) FIG. 2 shows some of the elements included in an embodiment of the system in an abstracted manner;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a front view of individual elements of a first embodiment of an energy storage system for use in the invention;

(5) FIG. 4 shows the energy storage system of FIG. 3 in bird's eye perspective, including more batteries and cable connections between several elements;

(6) FIG. 5 shows the energy storage system of FIG. 3 in assembled form;

(7) FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of a local energy source which may be included in the system, specifically a solar panel;

(8) FIG. 7 shows the embodiment of FIG. 6 according to a different perspective;

(9) FIG. 8 shows a possible screen for monitoring and control of one or more solar panels included in an embodiment of the system;

(10) FIGS. 9A-9C show possible screens for monitoring and control of an energy storage system included in an embodiment of the system, according to different situations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(11) The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is a preferred embodiment; not all shown elements need to be included in all embodiments of the claimed system. Equal reference numerals in different figures refer to equal or corresponding elements.

(12) FIG. 1 shows a home grid 200. Plugged into this home grid are local energy source 10, for instance a solar panel system, which comprises a first communication unit 11; an energy storage system 20, which comprises a second communication unit 21; and a plurality of energy consuming devices 50, 60, and 70, wherein one of the energy consuming devices 50 is a “smart” device including a communication unit 51. Home grid 200 is connected to the public grid 1 via a smart meter 40, which also comprises a communication unit 41.

(13) FIG. 1 also depicts a user device 80, comprising a communication unit 81, a processing unit 82, an input unit 83, and a display 84. This device could for instance be a smart phone or tablet, but is not limited thereto. With this user device, a user can access information, such as information about current, past, and/or predicted energy production; information about current, past, and/or predicted energy usage by the energy consuming devices; information about current, past and/or predicted charging state of the energy storage system; etc. The user device may also allow a user to put in preferences about energy allocation. This may take many forms: it could be that a user can simply input commands for the energy storage system and optionally smart devices directly, but other options are also possible, for instance inputting a weighting of factors to be taken into account by the control unit.

(14) FIG. 1 further shows control unit 30, comprising a communication unit 31 and a processing unit 32. In the figure, this control unit is depicted symbolically as being part of “the cloud”, 100. This is indeed true for preferred embodiments, but a local control unit 30 may also be used. Furthermore, the communication unit 81 and processing unit 82 of the user device may also constitute or be part of the control unit in some embodiments.

(15) Additionally, note that the “control unit” may in fact consist of several communicatively coupled control units: for instance, the energy storage system may have a processing unit and be able to perform some control itself, based on limited input. For instance, the energy storage system may comprise an inverter including a further control unit configured for controlling the energy allocation to at least one energy consuming devices plugged into the home grid and comprising a programmable clock, so as to define a time at which operation of the device is to start and/or maintenance of the devoice is to start. A control program to be executed and to be monitored may in these cases be loaded on the further control unit, for instance via commands from control unit 30. On the basis of monitoring data obtained from local energy source 10 and optionally any other monitoring data, for instance from the meter 40, the further control unit is then configured for optimizing the control program within pre-defined limits. The advantage of this architecture is that the need for transmission of data over the home network and out of the home to control unit 30 can be minimized. This minimizes the risk for failure due to malperformance of data exchange and the risk that any third non-authorized person may get access to such data on production and consumption of electricity, for instance to trace whether anybody is actually at home.

(16) Note that while in FIG. 1, arrows depict information exchange directly from communication unit 31 of control unit 30 to each other the other communication devices, this is not intended to imply that communication always needs to be direct, and information may also be relayed between various communication units. Furthermore, as will be shown in FIG. 2, information within the home may be transferred to a control unit in “the cloud” via, for instance, a WLAN router, with the communication units 11, 21, 41, 51 and/or 81 being embodied as WiFi communication units in the local area network.

(17) Furthermore, it may be advantageous for first communication unit 11 of local energy source 10 and second communication unit 21 of energy storage system 20 to be configured to be able to communicate with each other through direct wireless communication—using such protocols as REST APIs, using Oauth2 authentication, and MQTT. This direct communication may be the default for these communication units, but may also be used as a fallback if communication via the home WLAN-network is not functioning properly.

(18) These examples are not intended to be limitative, and many alternative communications methods, preferably but not necessarily wireless communication methods, can be used and/or combined.

(19) FIG. 2 shows some of the elements of the system in a more figurative manner. Local energy source 10 consists of solar panels plus an inverter connected to a wireless communication unit 11, wherein the local energy source is plugged into a first power socket/outlet 201 of home grid 200; the energy storage system 10 is shown as a base plugged into a second power socket/outlet 202 of home grid 200 with a battery plus inverter and a wireless communication unit 21. Both first wireless communication unit 11 and second wireless communication unit 21 exchange information wirelessly with WiFi router 300, which router is in communication with cloud 100, which performs the function of control unit 30. User device 80 is also capable of communicating with cloud 100, can receive information about the home grid therefrom, and may also send information to cloud 100 to control energy allocation in the home grid.

(20) Embodiments of the system, for instance as depicted in FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 2, may allow one or more of the following use-cases to be implemented:

(21) a. Stand-alone|In this case, a user plugs a local energy source, such as a solar panel, and an energy storage system, into home grid power sockets/outlets. The two are coupled to a wireless data or information network, for instance a WLAN network, for provision of information to a control unit, and via the communication unit of the control unit, to a user device, such as a mobile phone. No other devices need to be connected, no power usage data is collected. Hence, usage profiles cannot be created. Energy production data is provided to the user device and displayed to the user on the display. The user may then choose whether to charge only when the local energy source, for instance a solar panel, is producing electricity, or to manually program the energy storage system to charge and discharge according to the time of day. In both cases of charge/discharge, either in connection with local energy production as chosen by time, the user can regulate the power. E.g., the user may input instructions to charge the energy storage system when the local energy source is producing with 50% of capacity. This means that the energy storage system will only charge 50% of the reported power output, leaving the remaining 50% to discharge directly from the local energy source into the home grid for use in energy consuming devices plugged into the home grid. Additionally or alternatively, the user may input, via the input unit of the user device, instructions relating to when to discharge the stored power and, again, at what power level. E.g., the user may input instructions to discharge the energy storage system from 18:00 until 24:00 at 50 W. Re-charging of the energy storage system will re-initiate when the local energy source starts producing energy again. Additionally or alternatively, for instance if the user has a variable electricity contract, she may choose to charge the energy storage system during a specific time period, day or night, whenever the electricity from the grid might be cheapest. Discharge then functions identically. Any energy produced by the local energy source is then used by the home grid, as energy consuming devices demand it.

(22) b. Usage-Driven|This use-case is in particular relevant if a so-called “smart” meter is present in the system, wherein data from this meter, such as energy supply data, can be made available to the control unit. This data may for instance be released by the power companies at the user's behest to create a more detailed user profile. Usage data is gathered live or once a day and a comprehensive profile developed over time. Certain peaks of maximum usage are then likely to become evident. The production and storage capacities may then be used as input for an algorithm to minimize those usage peaks, depending on the available storage capacity of the energy storage system. In certain cases, other “smart”/IoT devices, such as smart thermostats, may also be configured to supply information to the control unit, for instance to

(23) i. Optimize a consumption curve even further to increase use of renewable, locally produced electricity;

(24) ii. Regulate heating/cooling, appliances, etc. to minimize costs.

(25) c. Micro-Grid|Several embodiments of the claimed system can be connected to either small direct grids (e.g. several apartments in one building) or virtual micro grids in a geographic area. The control unit may then control several systems in a micro grid to further optimize their renewable electricity consumption and minimize costs by using both production and storage capacity within the network. E.g. the excess power produced by one user can be consumed or stored by other users when they require electricity.

(26) d. Price-Driven|In certain embodiments wherein there is a possibility of cooperation with power companies and power brokers, it is possible to provide information about power contracts to the control unit, based on geographical residence, from which the user may choose the most suitable one. An algorithm will then develop a charge/discharge cycle to optimize cost, based on the stored pricing information of variable price contracts. Note that this does not necessitate the presence of a local energy source in the home grid, but can be used separately.

(27) FIG. 3-5 show an energy storage system 20 according to a first embodiment. The energy storage system 20 of this embodiment is composed of several elements 23, 24, 25, 26, which are mutually electrically connected and—partly mechanically connected into an assembly. FIGS. 3 and 4 show the individual elements of the system 20, FIG. 5 shows the system 20 in an assembled state. As shown in FIG. 5, herein the system comprises an assembly of a base 23, a first battery 24 and a power outlet 26. Coupled thereto are any optional extra batteries 25. Each such extra battery is present in a battery holder 27, which is connected by means of a cable 271 to a cable connector 234 of the base 23, and may be provided with a gripper 279.

(28) The base 23 is provided in this first embodiment with the second communication unit 21. Shown in this figure is an antenna. It will be understood by a skilled person that further electrical components of the second communication unit 21 (such as a transceiver) are hidden within the base 23. The base 23 furthermore comprises a controller 22—not shown in FIG. 3-5. The controller is suitably a microcontroller chip; note that the second communication unit 21 may then also be provided on or using this microcontroller chip. It may be provided with a memory. The base is further provided with a bottom side 231 and a top side 232. At the top side 232, a socket 233 is present to which a battery 24 can be connected. This socket 233 provides both a mechanical connection and an electrical connection so as to charge and/or discharge the battery 24. The base is also provided with a cable connection to the power grid 235 via connector 236.

(29) The battery 24 is typically a conventional lithium-ion battery as known in the art. The battery 24 is provided with an on/off button 241 for use as an island battery, to conserve power, a display 242 and a connector 243 on its topside, onto which a further unit 26 can be provided. The further unit 26 is in this embodiment a power outlet unit, which comprises a socket 261 and a wireless charging plate 262. The further unit 26 is also provided with a connector 263, which matches the connector 243 of the battery 24. The battery 24 is furthermore provided with a grip 249.

(30) FIGS. 6 and 7 show an embodiment of a solar panel as a local energy source, from two different perspectives, comprising a photovoltaic array 101, a support structure 102, a cable connection to the power grid 103, and an inverter 104. Note that this particular embodiment is not only plug-and-play, i.e. pluggable into a generic power socket using cable connection 102, but intended to be portable: it may be positioned as needed using support structure 102, which may in embodiments be configured to allow for a plurality of orientations of the photovoltaic array. Typically, first communication unit 11 (not shown in these figures) will be incorporated into inverter 104, but it may also be embodied as a separate unit.

(31) FIG. 8 illustrates an example screen for an application (“app”) for a portable device used in the context of the present system. In this example, a first section 801 shows the power generation in the last day, with buttons also allowing a user to see instead the power generation for the past week, month or year. A second section 802 shows the total power produced, and the associated carbon reduction achieved. A third section 803 shows a graph of the production over time. A fourth section 804 comprises a slide button 806 which allows a user to turn off all the panels if so desired. A fifth or menu section 805 allows a user to access different section, such as a dashboard, a battery monitoring and control screen, and settings—the “panel” icon is emphasized to make clear which screen is presently being shown.

(32) FIGS. 9A-9C show example screens for the application, which may be shown when selecting the “battery” option in menu section 805—fifth or menu section 905 is then modified to emphasize the battery icon instead of the “panels” icon. Specifically, FIG. 9A shows an example screen that may be displayed when the energy storage system is charging and a local energy source, specifically one or more solar panels, is present in the system. FIG. 9B shows an example screen that may be displayed when the energy storage system is charging and there is no local energy source currently present in the system. FIG. 9C shows an example screen that may be displayed when the energy storage system is discharging. Note that where the proportions of a screen are such that the screen cannot be fully displayed on the screen of a portable device, it may be embodiment in a scrollable manner.

(33) FIGS. 9A and 9B show possible screens when the energy storage system is charging, i.e. taking energy from the home grid. This is indicated in a first section 901 of the screen, in which the word “Charging” is emphasized and the word “Discharging” is de-emphasized. Second section 902 of the screen shows the percentage of the energy storage system which is charged, and furthermore specifies how much power (in Wh) the energy storage system is able to provide as a result. Second section 902 also shows the evolution of the charge of the energy storage system over time, for instance throughout the week. In a third section 903, some information is given about the energy storage system, namely in this example the storage capacity, whether charging is on, and an indication of the health of the local energy storage system.

(34) The energy that the energy storage system is taking from the home grid may be energy generated by a local energy source such as one or more solar panels or energy from the public grid—note that the energy storage system by itself cannot distinguish between the two. Therefore, in the fourth section 904, it may be indicated—either by a user, or by the control unit based on whether or not it receives information indicating that a local energy source is plugged into the system, and optionally the content of information received from a local energy source, if present—whether the energy storage system is charging from “solar” (or another local energy source) or “grid”.

(35) The remainder of the screen may be adapted based on the chosen or determined source of charge. FIG. 9A shows an example screen which may be displayed in a situation in which the battery is charging from one or more solar panels (or another local energy source). In such a case, sixth section 906 shows a slide bar indicating how much of the generated power is distributed to the energy storage system/battery, and how much is left in the house grid for other energy consuming devices. Note that the shown bar indicated percentages, but allocation of a specific amount of power is also possible. A user may use this slide bar to assign a certain percentage of generated power to the battery, or the control unit may set the percentage to an advantageous value based on information received from various sources. Seventh section 907 shows a tick box, which the user can tick to indicate that that the energy storage system should charge from the grid when there is no sun (i.e. when information received from the local energy source indicates that there is little to no power production), or untick to indicate that the energy storage system should refrain from charging when there is no sun.

(36) Note that while most examples given in this specification assume that there is a local energy source plugged into the system, the energy storage system may be advantageously used even in the absence of such a source. FIG. 9B shows a possible screen that can be displayed in such a situation. Instead of sixth section 906 and seventh section 907, eighth section 908 and ninth section 909 are displayed: eighth section 908 comprises a tick box which the user can tick to indicate that charging should be limited to a certain period, and ninth section 909 shows drop down menus which a user can use to indicate a starting time for charging and an end time for charging. Note that ninth section 909 could be left empty if the tick box in section 908 is unticked. Finally, note that the start time and end time could also be determined by the control unit based on information received from various sources in certain embodiments.

(37) FIG. 9C shows an example screen for when the battery is discharging. This is indicated in first section 901 by emphasizing the word “discharging” and de-emphasizing the word “charging”. Furthermore, the information in second section 902 may be modified to show, instead of the charged percentage and energy stored, the amount of power discharged in the current day (or in another period of time). Third section 903 may be modified to indicate that discharging is on, instead of charging, but otherwise may remain the same. The screen may further include a tenth section 310 indicating a discharging percentage. An eleventh section 911 may include a tick box which a user can tick to indicate that discharging should be limited to a certain period, with twelfth section 912 then shows drop down menus which a user can use to indicate a starting time for (dis)charging and an end time for (dis)charging. Note that twelfth section 912 could be left empty if the tick box in eleventh section 911 is unticked. Finally, note that the start time and end time could also be determined by the control unit based on information received from various sources in certain embodiments.

(38) It should be clear that the shown screens are intended merely to show the possibilities and not to limit the interface to the specific arrangement shown. Many other configurations are possible to allow a user to monitor the local energy source(s) and energy storage system(s) plugged into the home grid and exchanging information with the control unit; and preferably also to allow a user to control the local energy source(s) and energy storage system(s) plugged into the home grid directly or by providing the control unit with certain preferences and/or constraints.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

(39) 1 public grid

(40) 10 local energy source

(41) 11 first communication unit

(42) 101 photovoltaic array

(43) 102 solar panel support structure

(44) 103 solar panel cable connection to power grid

(45) 104 inverter

(46) 20 energy storage system

(47) 21 second communication unit

(48) 22 controller (of the energy storage system)

(49) 23 base

(50) 231 top side of base

(51) 232 bottom side of base

(52) 233 socket for battery connection

(53) 234 cable connector to extra batteries 25

(54) 235 cable connection to power grid

(55) 236 connector

(56) 24 first battery

(57) 241 on/off button

(58) 242 display

(59) 243 connector for power outlet unit

(60) 249 gripper

(61) 25 extra battery

(62) 26 power outlet unit

(63) 261 socket

(64) 262 wireless charging plate

(65) 263 connector to battery

(66) 27 holder for extra battery

(67) 271 cable to holder 27

(68) 279 gripper

(69) 30 control unit

(70) 31 third communication unit

(71) 32 processing unit

(72) 40 smart meter, i.e. electricity meter that can be read out electrically (via wireless and/or wired communication)

(73) 41 communication unit

(74) 50, 60, 70 energy consuming devices

(75) 51 communication unit of device 50

(76) 80 user device

(77) 81 communication unit

(78) 82 processing unit

(79) 83 input unit

(80) 84 display

(81) 800 example screen

(82) 801 first section

(83) 802 second section

(84) 803 third section

(85) 804 fourth section

(86) 805 fifth or menu section

(87) 806 slide button

(88) 901 first section

(89) 902 second section

(90) 903 third section

(91) 904 fourth section

(92) 905 fifth or menu section

(93) 906 sixth section

(94) 907 seventh section

(95) 908 eighth section

(96) 909 ninth section

(97) 910 tenth section

(98) 911 eleventh section

(99) 912 twelfth section

(100) 100 cloud

(101) 200 home grid

(102) 201 first power socket/outlet

(103) 202 second power socket/outlet

(104) 300 WiFi router