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Patent US10203738
Issued 2019-02-12
Energy Virtualization Layer For Commercial And Residential Installations
An energy virtualization system may include a physical interface gateway that may include a plurality of common interfaces. The plurality of common interfaces may be coupled to a plurality of energy-producing devices, a plurality of energy-control devices, and a plurality of energy-consuming devices. The system may also include a building network, where the plurality of energy-producing devices, the plurality of energy-control devices, and the plurality of energy-consuming devices can communicate through building network. The system may additionally include a computing device running an energy virtualization layer. The virtualization layer may include a plurality of virtual devices representing the plurality of energy-producing devices, the plurality of energy-control devices; and the plurality of energy-consuming devices. The virtualization layer may also direct energy from the energy-producing devices to the energy-consuming devices according to information received from the energy-control devices.
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- 1. An energy virtualization system comprising:
a physical interface gateway comprising a plurality of common interfaces, wherein the plurality of common interfaces are coupled to:
a plurality of energy-producing devices;
a plurality of energy-control devices; and
a plurality of energy-consuming devices;
a building network, wherein the plurality of energy-producing devices, the plurality of energy-control devices, and the plurality of energy-consuming devices communicate through the building network; and a computing device running an energy virtualization layer, wherein:
the virtualization layer comprises a plurality of virtual devices representing the plurality of energy-producing devices, the plurality of energy-control devices, and the plurality of energy-consuming devices;
the virtualization layer is distributed across a plurality of computing devices and acts as a hypervisor layer for the plurality of virtual devices;
the virtualization layer selects and controls which of the energy-producing devices provide energy to specific ones of the energy-consuming devices according to information received from the energy-control devices; and
the virtualization layer is configured to:
poll the plurality of virtual devices to determine device statuses;
receive an indication that a new device has been connected to the physical interface gateway;
receive information associated with a profile from the new device;
using the profile, determine whether the new device is an energy-producing device, an energy-control device, or an energy-consuming device based at least in part on the profile received from the new device;
determine whether the new device is authorized; and
interface with the new device if the new device is authorized according to the profile.
- 10. A method of operating an energy virtualization system, the method comprising:
receiving a plurality of energy-producing devices through a plurality of common interfaces in a physical interface gateway of the energy virtualization system; receiving a plurality of energy-control devices through a plurality of common interfaces in a physical interface gateway of the energy virtualization system; receiving a plurality of energy-consuming devices through a plurality of common interfaces in a physical interface gateway of the energy virtualization system; communicating between the plurality of energy-producing devices, the plurality of energy-control devices, and the plurality of energy-consuming devices through a building network; representing the plurality of energy-producing devices, the plurality of energy-control devices, and the plurality of energy-consuming devices as a plurality of virtual devices on a virtualization layer running on a computing device, wherein the virtualization layer is distributed across a plurality of computing devices and acts as a hypervisor layer for the plurality of virtual devices; selecting, by the virtualization layer, and controlling which of the energy-producing devices provide energy to specific ones of the energy-consuming devices according to information received from the energy-control devices; polling, by the virtualization layer, the plurality of virtual devices to determine device statuses; receiving, by the virtualization layer, an indication that a new device has been connected to the physical interface gateway; receiving by the virtualization layer, information associated with a profile from the new device; using the profile, determining, by the virtualization layer, whether the new device is an energy-producing device, an energy-control device, or an energy-consuming device based at least in part on the profile received from the new device; determining, by the virtualization layer, whether the new device is authorized; and interfacing, by the virtualization layer, with the new device if the new device is authorized according to the profile.
