Management of energy consumption is a technique used in distribution of electrical energy. A consumer of electrical energy may require electrical energy, such as to operate one or more electrical devices. A producer of electrical energy, such as a utility company, a utility cooperative organization, or an individual (e.g., with home energy generation equipment), may provide surplus electrical energy, such as for compensation (e.g., money, points, etc.). However, a quantity of available energy offered by the producers may be insufficient to meet the demand of the devices operated by one or more consumers. In addition, a consumer may wish to reduce the quantity of energy consumed, such as to reduce financial costs associated with the energy consumption. It may be desirable to manage the electrical energy provided to the devices, such as to improve efficiency, ensure an equitable distribution of available energy, or to achieve another desired outcome.
In some cases, the consumer may manage energy consumption by applying a prioritization technique to multiple devices that require energy. For example, an agent may be associated with one or more devices that are capable of consuming energy. The agent might represent a single device, or a group of devices (e.g., devices in a particular building, devices operated by a particular consumer). An agent with a higher priority level may receive energy sooner than an agent with a lower priority level. The energy may be provided based on a comparison of the priority levels for all of the agents, or devices, or both, that are included in the prioritization technique. A competitive comparison (e.g., comparing the priority level of each agent) may provide energy to agents with higher priority levels. However, such a prioritization technique may fail to provide energy to agents with lower priority levels, resulting in frustration for the consumer.
It is desirable to develop techniques to optimize management of energy consumption by a group of devices. In addition, it is desirable to develop techniques to cooperatively compare priority levels of agents that represent devices.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds