Utility monitoring systems and methods of use

Abstract

Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods, systems, and devices for monitoring one or more utilities consumed within a monitored area. At least certain disclosed methods include detecting an amount of a first utility consumed by a load associated with a device. An amount of a second utility consumed by a load associated with the device is detected. The identity of the device is determined based on the amount of the first and second utility consumed. In further disclosed methods, a utility monitoring method is disclosed that includes measuring an amount of a utility consumed by a first device at a first time and an amount of a utility consumed by a second device at a second time. The identity of the first device is determined based on the measured consumption of the first and second devices at the first and second time. In certain implementations, the electricity meter uses an effective variance analysis of the conductance waveform on an electrical circuit to identify specific appliances.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A utility monitoring method comprising:
 acquiring electricity consumption data from a plurality of circuits;   transmitting the electricity consumption data to a user device;   applying disaggregation algorithms to the electricity consumption data to identify individual sources of electricity consumption in the electricity consumption data;   accessing a local appliance load library;   identifying one or more appliances associated with the identified individual sources of electricity consumption based on the application of the disaggregation algorithms and the accessing of the local appliance load library; and   displaying electricity consumption data for each of the identified appliances on a display screen in communication with the user device.   
     
     
         2 . The utility monitoring method of  claim 1 , wherein the local appliance load library is maintained at the user device. 
     
     
         3 . The utility monitoring method of  claim 1 , wherein the local appliance load library is maintained at a remote server. 
     
     
         4 . The utility monitoring method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transmitting local appliance data obtained in connection with the identification of the one or more appliances across a computer network to a remote server; and   updating a remote appliance load library maintained at the remote server based on the transmitted local appliance data.   
     
     
         5 . The utility monitoring method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 accessing a remote appliance load library maintained at a remote server across a computer network and updating the local appliance library maintained at the user device with information contained in the remote appliance load library.   
     
     
         6 . The utility monitoring method of  claim 3 , wherein the remote appliance load library maintained at the remote server is updated based on local consumption data transmitted to the remote server by a plurality of user devices. 
     
     
         7 . The utility monitoring method of  claim 1 , wherein the identification of the one or more appliances associated with the identified individual sources of electricity consumption further comprises performing a training session by receiving user input regarding an operational state of the identified appliances. 
     
     
         8 . The utility monitoring method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 transmitting data from the training session across a computer network to a remote server; and   updating a remote appliance load library maintained at the remote server based on the transmitted training session data.   
     
     
         9 . The utility monitoring method of  claim 1 , wherein the acquiring and transmitting of the electricity consumption data from the plurality of circuits comprises providing one or more electricity meters in communication with each of the plurality of circuits and transmitting the electricity consumption data to the user device via one or more power line modems or wireless transceivers associated with the electricity meters. 
     
     
         10 . The utility monitoring method of  claim 9 , wherein at the one or more electricity meters comprise multiple monitoring channels with each channel being in communication with a current sensor and voltage sensor attached to a circuit of a monitored area. 
     
     
         11 . A utility monitoring method comprising:
 acquiring electricity consumption data from a plurality of electricity monitors in communication with a plurality of electrical sources in a monitored area;   transmitting the electricity consumption data to a server;   applying disaggregation algorithms to the electricity consumption data to identify individual sources of electricity consumption in the monitored area; and   training the server to recognize the identified individual sources of electricity consumption by receiving user input through a network connected interface regarding an operational state of the identified appliances.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the server is remote. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the server is local. 
     
     
         14 . The utility monitoring method of  claim 11 , further comprising displaying electricity consumption data for each of the identified appliances on a display screen of the network connected interface. 
     
     
         15 . The utility monitoring method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 transmitting local appliance data obtained in connection with the act of training across a computer network to a remote server; and   updating a remote appliance load library maintained at the remote server based on the transmitted local appliance data.   
     
     
         16 . The utility monitoring method of  claim 13 , wherein the act of identifying one or more appliances comprises accessing a local appliance load library maintained at the server. 
     
     
         17 . The utility monitoring method of  claim 16 , further comprising accessing a remote appliance load library maintained at a remote server across a computer network and updating the local appliance library with information contained in the remote appliance load library. 
     
     
         18 . The utility monitoring method of  claim 17 , wherein the remote appliance load library maintained at the remote server is updated based on local appliance data transmitted to the remote server by a plurality of local servers.