Granted Patent B2

US 7,898,112 · App. 12/260,720 · Granted Mar 1, 2011

Abstract

Claims (38)

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a first connector configured to interface with a distributed energy source;

a second connector configured to interface with a connection point of an electric power system;

at least one switch coupled between the first connector and the second connector;

at least one sensor coupled with the switch; and

a controller coupled with the at least one switch, the controller to use the at least one switch to selectively connect or disconnect an electric path between the first connector and the second connector based on signals from the at least one sensor;

wherein, after opening the switch in response to an output of the distributed energy source being outside a predetermined range, the controller is to hold off a period of time according to a set of rules and constraints prior to resetting.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the distributed energy source comprises an electric power generator based on at least one of: solar, wind, water, tide, wave, geothermal, gas, biofuel, pressured air and batteries.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller and the at least one sensor are configured to use the at least one switch to disconnect the electric path between the first connector and the second connector when the distributed energy source is not in compliance with a standard for interconnecting distributed resources with electric power systems.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the standard is in accordance with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard 1547; and the controller is re-configurable to interface with a plurality of types of distributed energy sources for compliance with the IEEE standard 1547.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises a voltage sensor and a current sensor.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the current sensor measures a current between the first connector and the second connector.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the voltage sensor is configured to monitor an output voltage of the distributed energy source at least when the at least one switch disconnects the second connector from the first connector.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one switch comprises a semiconductor switch and a mechanical switch connected in serial between the first connector and the second connector.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the mechanical switch comprises a galvanic switch.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller includes a microprocessor, a memory configured to store instructions for the microprocessor, and an input/output (I/O) controller to interface with the at least one sensor and the at least one switch.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , further comprising:

a user interface coupled with the microprocessor to configure operations of the microprocessor.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the operations of the microprocessor are configurable for a plurality of different requirements associated with different types of distributed energy sources.

13. A method implemented in a controller, the method comprising:

monitoring an output of a distributed energy source using the controller;

determining whether the output of the distributed energy source is in a predetermined range;

controlling at least one switch to selectively couple or decouple the output of the distributed energy source to or from an electric power system based on whether the output of the distributed energy source is within a predetermined range; and

holding off a period of time according to a set of rules and constraints prior to resetting, after opening the switch in response to the output of the distributed energy source being outside the predetermined range.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the predetermined range is based on a standard for interconnecting distributed resources with electric power systems; and the controller is reconfigurable to monitor a plurality of different types of distributed energy sources for compliance with the standard.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the monitoring the output comprises monitoring a phase or frequency of the output of the distributed energy source.

16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the controlling the at least one switch comprises:

closing the switch to connect the distributed energy source to a point of common coupling to an area electric power system when the output of the distributed energy source is within the predetermined range; and

opening the switch to disconnect the distributed energy source from the point of common coupling to the area electric power system when the output of the distributed energy source is outside the predetermined range.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

storing the set of rules and constraints in a memory of the controller to represent the predetermined range.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

modifying the set of rules and constraints in the memory to adapt the controller for the distributed energy source.

19. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing instructions, the instructions causing a controller to perform a method, the method comprising:

monitoring an output of a distributed energy source using the controller;

determining whether the output of the distributed energy source is in a predetermined range;

controlling at least one switch to selectively couple or decouple the output of the distributed energy source to or from an electric power system based on whether the output of the distributed energy source is within a predetermined range; and

holding off a period of time according to a set of rules and constraints prior to resetting, after opening the switch in response to the output of the distributed energy source being outside the predetermined range.

Assignments (10)