Energy information and control system

Abstract

An energy management system for monitoring and analyzing the power consumption at a plurality of locations. The energy management system includes a primary server connected to at least one building server or other device through a computer network. Each of the building servers are connected to one or more energy meters contained in a building. The primary server sends out a data request and receives energy usage information from each of the individual building servers. The primary server stores the energy usage information in a power database such that the information can be processed in a variety of manners, such as aggregating the energy usage information from multiple locations into a single energy consumption statistic. The primary server can be accessed by remote monitoring stations to view and analyze the energy usage information stored in the power database.

We claim:  
     
         1 . An energy information and control system for monitoring and analyzing the power consumption at a plurality of locations, the system comprising: 
 a computer network facilitating the passage of electronic information between devices connected to the network;    at least one building server connected to the network, the building server being connected to at least one energy meter, the building server being able to transmit energy usage information received from the energy meter across the network;    a primary server coupled to the network for receiving the energy usage information transmitted across the network, the primary server compiling the energy usage information received from the building server into energy consumption statistics; and    at least one monitoring station connected to the network to receive and display the energy consumption statistics from the primary server.    
     
     
         2 . The energy information and control system of  claim 1  wherein the primary server includes a power database for storing the energy usage information received from the building server.  
     
     
         3 . The energy information and control system of  claim 1  wherein the primary server interrogates the building server to receive the energy usage information from the building server.  
     
     
         4 . The energy information and control system of  claim 1  further comprising at least one smart energy meter coupled directly to the network for transmitting energy usage information to the primary server across the network.  
     
     
         5 . The energy information and control system of  claim 2  wherein the primary server includes a translating program that converts the energy usage information transmitted across the network into historical power data that can be stored in the power database.  
     
     
         6 . The energy information and control system of  claim 1 , wherein the system includes a plurality of building servers each physically located in a different building, such that the primary server compiles energy usage information from the plurality of building servers and combines the energy usage information into a single energy consumption statistic.  
     
     
         7 . An energy information and control system for monitoring and analyzing the power consumption at a plurality of locations, the system comprising: 
 a computer network for allowing the passage of electronic information across the network;    a plurality of energy meters coupled to the network, the energy meters transmitting energy usage information across the network;    a primary server coupled to the network for receiving the energy usage information transmitted across the network, the primary server combining the energy usage information from the plurality of energy meters into energy consumption statistics for the plurality of locations; and    at least one monitoring station coupled to the network to access the energy consumption statistics from the primary server.    
     
     
         8 . The energy information and control system of  claim 7  further comprising at least one building server connected to the network and at least one of the energy meters for converting a signal from the energy meter into the energy usage information that can be transmitted across the computer network.  
     
     
         9 . The energy information and control system of  claim 7  wherein the primary server combines the energy usage information from the plurality of energy meters into the energy consumption statistics.  
     
     
         10 . The energy information and control system of  claim 7  wherein each of the energy meters includes a distinct address such that the primary server can communicate with each power meter across the network through the address.  
     
     
         11 . The energy information and control system of  claim 7  further comprising a generator connected to the network, wherein the primary server generates an indicator signal when the energy consumption statistics exceed an upper limit.  
     
     
         12 . A method of monitoring and analyzing the power consumption at a plurality of distinct locations the method comprising the steps of: 
 connecting a primary server to a computer network;    coupling a plurality of energy meters to the computer network, each energy meter being capable of transmitting energy usage information across the network;    triggering the energy meters to transmit the energy usage information across the network;    receiving the energy usage information from the plurality of energy meters in the primary server;    storing the energy usage information in a power database coupled to the primary server;    processing the stored energy usage information received from the plurality of energy meters into combined energy consumption statistics; and    accessing the primary server with a remote monitoring station connected to the network to receive and display the combined energy consumption statistics.    
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  wherein the combined energy consumption statistics are a sum of the energy consumption measured by the plurality of energy meters.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12  wherein all of the energy meters in a single location are each connected to a building server that is connected to the network, the building server receiving the energy usage information from the energy meters and transmitting the energy usage information across the network.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12  wherein the step of storing the energy usage information includes translating the energy usage information from a first form used to transmit the information over the network to a second form used to process the information in the primary server.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising the step of assigning a distinct address to each of the energy meters.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12  wherein the energy meters are triggered by the primary server to transmit the energy user information at a selected time interval.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising the steps of: 
 coupling a revenue meter directly to the computer network, the revenue meter including a control card capable of communicating across the computer network; and  
 configuring the revenue meter to automatically transmit energy usage information at selected time intervals across the computer network.  
 
     
     
         19 . An energy information and control system for monitoring and analyzing the power consumption at a plurality of locations, the system comprising: 
 a computer network for allowing the passage of electronic information across the network;    at least one energy meter coupled to the network, the energy meter transmitting energy usage information across the network;    a primary server coupled to the network for receiving the energy usage information transmitted across the network, the primary server compiling the energy usage information into energy consumption statistics; and    an energy generator coupled to the network, wherein the primary server generates an indicator signal when the energy consumption statistics reach an upper limit, such that the energy generator can be operated to generate supplemental energy.    
     
     
         20 . The energy information and control system of  claim 19  wherein the energy generator is configured such that the energy generator can be activated by the primary server when the energy consumption statistics reach the upper limit.  
     
     
         21 . The energy information and control system of  claim 19  further comprising at least one building server connected to the network, the building server being coupled to at least one energy meter for converting a signal from the energy meter into energy usage information that can be transmitted across the computer network.  
     
     
         22 . The energy information and control system of  claim 19  wherein the energy meter and the generator have a distinct address such that the primary server can communicate with the energy meter and generator across the network by the distinct address.  
     
     
         23 . The energy information and control system of  claim 19  further comprising at least one monitoring station coupled to the network such that the monitoring station can access the energy consumption statistics from the primary server.