High speed feedback adjustment of power charge/discharge from an energy storage system
The invention provides systems and methods for control of power charge/discharge from energy storage system. The invention also provides for power monitoring and management, including power management for a variable generator. An intelligent charge system may include a premise sensor, a variable generator sensor, one or more energy storage units, and a controller, which may receive information about the power demand, power provided by an electricity provider, and charge/discharge information from an energy storage unit. The information received may all be time synchronized in relation to a time based reference. The controller may provide instructions to an energy storage unit at a rapid rate.
1. A smart charge system comprising:
a premise sensor that:
monitors an amount of power flowing through a power feed that is in electrical communication with an electricity provider, and
generates time-synchronized premise power information that is time synchronized with a first time-synchronization reference;
an energy storage unit comprising:
one or more batteries, and
a bidirectional power converter that controls a first amount of power transferred in either direction between the power feed and the one or more batteries,
wherein the energy storage unit provides a first time-synchronized state-of-charge of the one or more batteries that is time synchronized with the first time-synchronization reference; and
a control computer configured to:
receive, from the premise sensor, the time-synchronized premise power information,
receive, from the energy storage unit, the first time-synchronized state-of-charge, and
provide, to the energy storage unit and based on each of the time-synchronized premise power information and the first time-synchronized state-of-charge, a charge/discharge instruction,
wherein the energy storage unit, in response to the charge/discharge instruction, charges/discharges the one or more batteries to mitigate variations in power transported via the power feed.
2. The smart charge system of claim 1 , further comprising a variable generator sensor that:
monitors an amount of power flowing from a variable generator, and
transmits time-synchronized variable generator power information to the control computer, wherein the time-synchronized variable generator power information is time synchronized with the first time-synchronization reference.
3. The smart charge system of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the premise sensor or the variable generator sensor is provided on a customer side of the smart charge system.
4. The smart charge system of claim 2 , wherein the variable generator is at least one of a wind generator, a solar electric generator, a water-powered generator, or a geothermal generator.
5. The smart charge system of claim 1 , wherein the control computer provides the charge/discharge instruction every 1 second or less.
6. The smart charge system of claim 1 , wherein the control computer provides the charge/discharge instruction every 15 minutes or less.
7. The smart charge system of claim 1 , wherein:
the energy storage unit comprises two or more energy storage units, each of the two or more energy storage units comprising:
one or more batteries, and
a bidirectional power converter coupled to the one or more batteries, and
each of the two or more energy storage units provides a distinct time-synchronized state-of-charge of the one or more batteries.
8. The smart charge system of claim 7 , wherein the control computer provides the distinct charge/discharge instructions to the two or more energy storage units.
9. The smart charge system of claim 1 , wherein the charge/discharge instruction includes at least one of:
instructions to charge or to discharge the energy storage unit,
a target power level at which to charge or discharge the energy storage unit,
a maximum duration to charge or to discharge the energy storage unit in case of loss of communication, or
a phase of power against which the charge/discharge instruction is to apply for each phase.
10. The smart charge system of claim 1 , wherein the energy storage unit is provided on a customer side of the smart charge system and is capable of being installed with pre-existing equipment on the customer side of the smart charge system.
11. The smart charge system of claim 1 , wherein the control computer further comprises a communication device that receives instructions from a central operation system.
12. A method of power monitoring and management comprising:
receiving, at a controller, time-synchronized premises power information from a premises sensor, wherein the premise sensor senses an amount of power flowing through a power feed that is in electrical communication with an electricity provider and the time-synchronized premises power information is time synchronized with a first time-synchronization reference;
receiving, at the controller from an energy storage unit, a first time-synchronized state-of-charge of one or more batteries included in the energy storage unit, wherein the first time-synchronized state-of-charge of the one or more batteries is time synchronized with the first time-synchronization reference;
generating, by the controller and based on each of the time-synchronized premise power information and the first time-synchronized state-of-charge, a charge/discharge instruction; and
transmitting, from the controller to the energy storage unit, the charge/discharge instruction,
wherein a bidirectional power converter included in the energy storage unit, in response to the charge/discharge instruction, charges/discharges the one or more batteries to mitigate variations in power transported via the power feed.
13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
receiving, at the controller from a variable generator sensor, time-synchronized variable generator power information that is time synchronized with the first time-synchronized reference,
wherein the variable generator sensor monitors an amount of power flowing from a variable generator, and
wherein the charge/discharge instructions are further based on the time-synchronized variable generator power information.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the variable generator comprises at least one of a wind generator, a solar electric generator, a water-powered generator, or a geothermal generator.
15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the charge/discharge instructions are provided every 15 minutes or less.
16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the charge/discharge instruction causes the energy storage unit to be charged or discharged.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein:
the energy storage unit maintains a current level while allowing voltage to be varied or maintained, or
the energy storage unit maintains a voltage level while allowing the current to be varied or maintained.
18. The method of claim 12 , further comprising receiving, at the controller from a central operation system, charge/discharge delivery modifying instructions.