Energy Monitoring System and Method

Abstract

A portable energy monitoring point includes at least one power plug receptacle, each power plug receptacle operably coupled to a separate integral power sensor circuit. Each integral power sensor circuit is configured to determine an electrical current drawn by an electrical load connected to the corresponding at least one power plug receptacle. An integral digital communications circuit is configured to wirelessly transmit to a remote device a power consumption for each of the at least one power plug receptacles. The power consumption is derived from the electrical current drawn by the electrical load connected to the corresponding at least one power plug receptacle.

1 . A portable energy monitoring device comprising:
 at least one power plug receptacle, each power plug receptacle operably coupled to a separate integral power sensor circuit, each integral power sensor circuit configured to determine an electrical current waveform for an electrical load connected to the corresponding power plug receptacle; and   an integral digital communications circuit configured to wirelessly transmit to a central device a digital representation of the electrical current waveform for the electrical load connected to the corresponding power plug receptacle.   
     
     
         2 . The portable energy monitoring device of  claim 1 , wherein the integral digital communications circuit is further configured to receive commands from the central device to alter a flow of electrical current to individual ones of the power plug receptacles. 
     
     
         3 . The portable energy monitoring device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a display configured to provide a power consumption cost corresponding to power consumption of the portable energy monitoring device.   
     
     
         4 . The portable energy monitoring device of  claim 3 , wherein the power consumption cost is derived, at least in part, using power cost information obtained from the Internet. 
     
     
         5 . The portable energy monitoring device of  claim 1 , wherein power consumption for each power plug receptacle is determined, at least in part, using a supply voltage obtained from a smart meter operably coupled to a source of electricity corresponding to a structure that includes the portable energy monitoring device. 
     
     
         6 . The portable energy monitoring device of  claim 1 , wherein the portable energy monitoring device is connected to an electrical junction box. 
     
     
         7 . A method of monitoring electrical energy usage using an energy monitoring device comprising at least one power plug receptacle, the method comprising:
 measuring, by the energy monitoring device, an electrical current drawn by an electrical load connected to each of the at least one power plug receptacles;   determining, by the energy monitoring device, an electrical current waveform corresponding to the electrical load for each of the at least one power plug receptacles; and   transmitting, by the energy monitoring device, a digital representation of the electrical current waveform for each of the at least one power plug receptacles to a central device.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein each power plug receptacle is operably coupled to a separate integral power sensor circuit used to determine the electrical current waveform for the electrical load connected to the corresponding power plug receptacle. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 receiving from the central device an instruction to alter a flow of the electrical current to one or more of the power plug receptacles; and   independently altering the flow of the electrical current to the corresponding power plug receptacles in response to the instruction.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein altering the flow of electricity includes turning off the corresponding power plug receptacle. 
     
     
         11 . A method of monitoring electrical energy usage using a plurality of energy monitoring devices comprising at least one power plug receptacle, the method comprising:
 receiving, by a central device, from each of the energy monitoring devices, an electrical current waveform for an electrical load connected to each of the at least one power plug receptacles included in the energy monitoring device; and   transmitting one or more instructions from the central device to one or more of the energy monitoring devices, to separately alter a flow of the electrical current to one or more of the power plug receptacles included in the energy monitoring devices.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 identifying, by the central device, the electrical load connected to the individual ones of the power plug receptacles from an analysis of the electrical current waveform corresponding to the respective power plug receptacle.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising;
 calculating a power consumption cost corresponding to each of the power plug receptacles;   automatically determining a location for each of the plurality of energy monitoring devices; and   displaying a graphic including the location of each of the plurality of energy monitoring devices and the respective power consumption cost.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the central device is in wireless communication with a smart meter, the smart meter being operably coupled to a source of electricity corresponding to a structure that includes the plurality of energy monitoring devices and configured to obtain power cost information from an electricity producer using an Internet connection. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the power consumption cost is determined using the power cost information and the electrical current waveform. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein each power plug receptacle is operably coupled to a separate integral power sensor circuit used to determine the electrical current waveform for the electrical load connected to the corresponding at least one power plug receptacle. 
     
     
         17 . A system for monitoring energy use, the system comprising:
 one or more energy monitoring devices comprising:
 at least one power plug receptacle, each power plug receptacle operably coupled to a separate integral power sensor circuit configured to determine an electrical current waveform for an electrical load connected to the corresponding at least one power plug receptacle, and 
 an integral digital wireless communications circuit; and 
   a central device configured to communicate wirelessly with each of the one or more energy monitoring devices, receive the electrical current waveform for each of the power plug receptacles, wherein power consumption for each of the power plug receptacles is derived from the electrical current waveform for the electrical load connected to the corresponding at least one power plug receptacle, and transmit commands to alter a flow of the electrical current to individual ones of the power plug receptacles.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein each of the one or more energy monitoring devices is each connected to an electrical junction box. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 a smart meter operably coupled to a source of electricity corresponding to a structure that includes the energy monitoring device, and configured to obtain power cost information from an electricity producer using an Internet connection.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the electrical load connected to the individual ones of the at least one power plug receptacle is identifiable from an analysis of the electrical current waveform corresponding to the respective power plug receptacle.