Wirelessly Connected Thermostat with Flexible and Scalable Energy Reporting

Abstract

A system for controlling an HVAC system and for monitoring energy usage at a premises is described. The system includes an energy meter at a electrical distribution panel, where the energy meter connected to one or more current transformers monitoring the current in one or more input lines and load lines and collecting current information for each of the monitored lines. The energy meter is further including a wireless radio to transmit the current information. An intelligent thermostat is operable to control the HVAC system at the premises according to environmental data sensed by the intelligent thermostat, and to receive the current information from the energy meter and to transmit the current information to a remote server for processing. A remote server is operable to process the current information from the energy meter by applying a scaling factor to the current information to determine energy usage. The remote server can also group the energy usage information according the load types being monitored.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An intelligent thermostat for controlling an HVAC system, the thermostat comprising:
 a microcontroller   a user interface communicatively coupled to the micro controller, the user interface operable to display information to the user and to receive input from the user;   environmental sensors communicatively coupled to the microcontroller, the environmental sensors providing information to the microcontroller used in determining the operation of the HVAC system;   an HVAC control module communicatively coupled to the microcontroller and operable to provide control signals to the HVAC system;   an energy usage collection interface communicatively coupled to the microcontroller, the energy usage collection interface operable to receive energy usage data from an energy meter installed at an electrical distribution panel; and   a network interface communicatively coupled to the microcontroller and operable to send data to and receive data from a remote server, wherein the intelligent thermostat receives energy usage data from the energy meter and sends the energy usage data to the remote server for processing.   
     
     
         2 . The thermostat of  claim 1  wherein the user interface is a touch screen interface. 
     
     
         3 . The thermostat of  claim 1  wherein the energy collection interface is a wireless networking interface. 
     
     
         4 . The thermostat of  claim 3  wherein the wireless networking interface is based on an IEEE 802.15.4 standard. 
     
     
         5 . The thermostat of  claim 1  wherein the intelligent thermostat is wirelessly networked with one or more additional intelligent thermostats. 
     
     
         6 . The thermostat of  claim 1  wherein the energy usage data received from the energy meter is unscaled. 
     
     
         7 . The thermostat of  claim 6  wherein the energy usage data is line current data for input and load lines in the electrical distribution panel. 
     
     
         8 . The thermostat of  claim 7  wherein the current data is scaled at the remote server based on line type and sensor type. 
     
     
         9 . The thermostat of  claim 1  wherein the energy usage data is made available to a user. 
     
     
         10 . A method for collecting energy usage using an intelligent thermostat, the method comprising:
 monitoring line currents on at least one input line and load line in an electrical distribution panel using a current sensor connected to an energy meter;   sending raw current information to the intelligent thermostat, the intelligent thermostat controlling an HVAC system for premises served by the electrical distribution panel;   sending the raw current information from the intelligent thermostat to a remote server;   processing the raw current data using scaling factors to determine energy usage for the monitored load lines, the scaling factors determined by the type of load and the type of current sensor; and   making the energy usage information available to an end user.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising grouping the energy usage information according to load type. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising storing historical current information. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10  wherein a new scaling factor can be applied to the historical current information to correct errors in energy usage data. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising controlling the thermostat remotely using the remote server. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the making the energy usage information available to an end user is done through a portal at the remote server. 
     
     
         16 . A system for controlling an HVAC system and for monitoring energy usage at a premises, the system comprising:
 an energy meter at a electrical distribution panel, the energy meter connected to one or more current transformers monitoring the current in one or more input lines and load lines and collecting current information for each of the monitored lines, the energy meter further including a wireless radio to transmit the current information;   an intelligent thermostat operable to control the HVAC system at the premises according to environmental data sensed by the intelligent thermostat, the intelligent thermostat further operable to receive the current information from the energy meter and to transmit the current information to a remote server for processing; and   a remote server operable to process the current information from the energy meter, wherein the remote server applies a scaling factor to the current information to determine energy usage and groups the energy usage information according to types of loads.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16  wherein wireless radio uses a physical connection defined by an IEEE standard 802.15.4. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 16  wherein the intelligent thermostat is wirelessly networked with one or more additional intelligent thermostats. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 16  wherein the energy usage information is made available to a user. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 16  wherein a user may access the energy usage information through a portal at the remote server. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 16  wherein a user may adjust the programming of the intelligent thermostat using a portal at the remote server.