Optimization of microgrid energy use and distribution

1. A system for energy optimization, the system comprising:

an energy management server;

one or more databases;

wherein the energy management server is configured to:

receive energy provider data from an energy provider for a selected time period, wherein the energy provider data is energy rates for a customer location;

receive near-real time individualized energy usage data for each of a plurality of end-uses and near-real time individualized whole premise energy usage data for the customer location;

receive customer preferences from the customer;

receive near-real time and forecasted weather information for the customer location;

forecast, for the selected time period, individualized energy usage for each of the plurality of end-uses and individualized whole premise energy usage data for a customer location using: (1) the energy provider data, (2) the near-real time individualized energy usage data for each of a plurality of end-uses and near-real time individualized whole premise energy usage data for the customer location, (3) the customer preferences, and (4) the near-real time and forecasted weather information for the customer location; and

optimize, for the selected time period, energy usage at the customer location using (1) the individualized energy usage for each of the plurality of end-uses and individualized whole premise energy usage data for a customer location, (2) the energy provider data, and (3) the customer preferences, wherein the optimizing further comprises minimizing a degree of end-use load shifting, wherein minimizing the degree of end-use load shifting is represented as:

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wherein the plurality of end-uses comprises a plurality of appliances, i represents a customer; j represents an appliance of the plurality of appliances, t represents a period, X ijt represents if appliance j of customer i can run in period t, Demand ij represents the forecast demand for the customer i and appliance j, P represents a peak demand, and RP j represents a real power of appliance j.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein near real-time is a five minute interval or less.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the customer preferences comprise additional data selected from the group consisting of: a customer preference to have the end-use interrupted, a customer preference to have the end-use managed, a customer preference to have the end-use scheduled, desired bill levels, and combinations thereof.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the optimizing further considers data selected from the group consisting of: customer or location characteristics, customer overrides, compliance histories, end-use information, end-use usage history, billing information including rates, historical individualized demand, historical and forecasted weather for the customer or customer location, PHEV battery capacity, battery charging and discharge rates, vehicle arrival times, battery fill preferences, battery fill forecasts, desired bill levels, customer energy management server settings, customer responses, and combinations thereof.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the forecasting of individualized energy usage for each of the plurality of end-uses or individualized whole premise energy usage data for a customer location also uses inputs selected from the group consisting of: load prediction; risk given load uncertainty; customer compliance forecasts; customer probability of override forecasts; time of day effects; day of week effects, and combinations thereof.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the optimizing comprises at least one of: minimizing customer discomfort, maximizing customer usage, minimizing customer energy bill, minimizing the customer's CO2 emissions, and combinations thereof, while achieving a customer's targeted energy bill, a customer's CO2 creation target, a customer's CO2 reduction, or a customer's targeted energy usage.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the optimizing uses the customer's preferences for interruptions by end-use, total time the customer can be interrupted or rescheduled, probability the customer will override an interruption, a maximum cycling for an end-use, cycling of the end-use within lower and upper bounds, maintaining a predetermined level of end-use settings, end-use cycling constraints based on manufactured limits, staggering end-use starts, and combinations thereof.

8. The system of claim 6 , wherein the optimizing uses a predetermined bill level for the customer or customer location.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the optimizing is represented as:

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wherein the plurality of end-uses comprises a plurality of appliances, j represents an appliance of the plurality of appliances, t represents a period, X jt represents whether appliance j can run in period t, Demand jt represents the forecast demand for the customer and appliance j during period t, and R t represents cost charged to the customer during period t.

10. The system of claim 1 , further comprising sending instructions for enacting results of the optimizing.

11. A method for energy optimization, the method comprising:

receiving a customer's whole premise and at least one end-use energy usage data in near real-time;

receiving customer preferences and needs from the customer;

receiving energy prices from an energy provider for a selected time period;

receiving local weather data for the customer location during the selected time period;

storing the customer's whole premise and at least one end-use energy usage data, customer preferences and needs, energy prices from the energy supplier, and local weather data;

forecasting, by an energy management server in near-real time, at least one of individualized demand by end-use or individualized demand for the location using: (1) the customer's whole premise and at least one end-use energy usage data, (2) customer preferences and needs, (3) energy prices from the energy supplier, and (4) local weather data;

optimizing, by the energy management server in near-real time future energy use for the customer location during the selected time period using the forecasted individualized demand by end-use or the forecasted individualized demand for the location, wherein the optimizing further comprises minimizing a degree of end-use load shifting, wherein minimizing the degree of end-use load shifting is represented as:

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wherein the plurality of end-uses comprises a plurality of appliances, i represents a customer; j represents an appliance of the plurality of appliances, t represents a period, X ijt represents if appliance j of customer i can run in period t, Demand ij represents the forecast demand for the customer i and appliance j, P represents a peak demand, and RP j represents a real power of appliance j;

sending instructions, in near-real time, for enacting results of the optimizing; and

controlling, by turning on and off, the at least one end-use at the customer location.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein near real-time is a five minute interval or less.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the optimizing comprises at least one of: minimizing customer discomfort, maximizing customer usage, minimizing customer energy bill, minimizing the customer's CO2 emissions, minimizing the degree of end-use load shifting, and combinations thereof, while achieving a customer's targeted energy bill, a customer's CO2 creation target, a customer's CO2 reduction, or a customer's targeted energy usage.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the optimizing uses the customers' preferences for shifting load by appliance, the customer's need for running specific appliances at specific times, the customer's ability to shed usage at specific time for specific end-uses, the uncertainty associated with the forecast in the forecasted load for each end-use, a maximum cycling for an end-use, cycling of the end-use within lower and upper bounds, maintaining a predetermined level of end-use settings, end-use cycling constraints based on manufactured limits, staggering end-use starts, and combinations thereof.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the optimizing comprises maximizing the customer's total usage or minimizing the customer's total bill subject to a predetermined individualized bill level set in advance by each customer for a period.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the optimizing uses a predetermined bill level for the customer or customer location.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that when executed by a computer, enable the computer to:

receive energy provider data from an energy provider for a selected time period, wherein the energy provider data is energy rates for a customer location;

receive near-real time individualized energy usage data for each of a plurality of end-uses and near-real time individualized whole premise energy usage data for the customer location, the plurality of end-uses comprising a plurality of appliances;

receive customer preferences from the customer;

receive near-real time and forecasted weather information for the customer location;

forecast, for the selected time period, individualized energy usage for each of the plurality of end-uses and individualized whole premise energy usage data for a customer location using: (1) the energy provider data, (2) the near-real time individualized energy usage data for each of a plurality of end-uses or near-real time individualized whole premise energy usage data for the customer location, (3) the customer preferences, and (4) the near-real time and forecasted weather information for the customer location;

optimize, for the selected time period, energy usage at the customer location using (1) the individualized energy usage for each of the plurality of end-uses and individualized whole premise energy usage data for a customer location, (2) the energy provider data, and (3) the customer preferences;

wherein the optimizing further comprises minimizing a degree of end-use load shifting, wherein minimizing the degree of end-use load shifting is represented as:

Min

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P

s

.

t

.

∑

t

∈

T

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X

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·

RP

j

=

Demand

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i

∈

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j

∈

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X

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RP

j

t

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wherein i represents a customer; j represents an appliance of the plurality of appliances, t represents a period, X ijt represents if appliance j of customer i can run in period t, Demand ij represents the forecast demand for the customer i and appliance j, P represents a peak demand, and Rp j represents a real power of appliance j, and

wherein the optimizing uses a predetermined bill level for the customer or customer location, and the optimizing is represented as:

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j represents an appliance of the plurality of appliances, t represents a period, X jt represents whether appliance j can run in period t, Demand jt represents the forecast demand for the customer and appliance j during period t, and R t represents cost charged to the customer during period t.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the optimizing uses at least one of:

the customer's preferences for interruptions by end-use;

probability the customer will override an interruption;

a maximum cycling for an end-use; or

end-use cycling constraints based on manufactured limits.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the forecasting of individualized energy usage for each of the plurality of end-uses or individualized whole premise energy usage data for a customer location also uses inputs selected from the group consisting of: risk given load uncertainty; customer compliance forecasts; customer probability of override forecasts; and combinations thereof.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the optimizing achieves at least one of a customer's CO2 creation target, a customer's CO2 reduction, or a customer's targeted energy usage.