Importance

Loading Importance Indicators...

Abstract

An energy controller maintains the total power delivered to an establishment close to a power limit so as to ensure shared operation of all curtailed loads by computing a cumulative priority value (CPV) for each load. The CPV of a particular load is the positive product of a 'user-set priority' for that load and the amount of time that load has been shed, or is the negative product of the user-set priority and the amount of time that load has been restored. A processor makes decisions whether to shed or restore a certain load on the basis of the relation of the CPV of that load to the CPV's of the other loads. Loads with the highest CPV's are restored first and loads with the lowest CPV's are shed first. The power limit is adjusted between upper and lower bounds to reflect recent power usage patterns. A minor average and a major average, each of which is most 'weighted' by recent power readings, are computed. Generally, low priority loads are shed when both the minor average and the major average exceed the power limit, and are restored when both the minor and major averages are less than the power limit. If the minor and major average, respectively, exceed and are less than the power limit, the processor performs a 'look-ahead' operation to predict the likely effect of a shedding operation before determining whether to perform that shedding operation.

Loading the Abstract Image...

First Claim