CLIAMS:We claim:
1. A method of automated monitoring and energy management in a building, said method comprises:
measuring energy consumption in said building;
measuring energy requirement in said building;
identifying an energy regulation requirement based on said measured energy requirement and said measured energy consumption; and
regulating power in said building based on said identified energy regulation requirement.
2. The method as in claim 1, wherein said measuring energy consumption in said building further comprises measuring energy consumption by a plurality of household devices in said building.
3. The method as in claim 2, wherein said measuring energy consumption by said plurality of household devices further comprises separately measuring energy consumption of each of said plurality of household devices.
4. The method as in claim 1, wherein said energy requirement in said building is measured based on a plurality of supportive information.
5. The method as in claim 4, wherein said supportive information further comprises at least one of a temperature and humidity inside and outside said building, orientation of said building and position of sun and occupancy of people inside a room in said building.
6. The method as in claim 1, wherein said identifying energy regulation requirement in the building further comprises comparing said measured energy requirement and said measured energy consumption.
7. The method as in claim 1, wherein information on said measured energy consumption is recorded in an associated database.
8. The method as in claim 7, wherein energy consumption for a selected time period is predicted based on said recorded energy consumption information.
9. A system for automated monitoring and energy management in a building, said system configured for:
measuring energy consumption in said building using at least one of a plurality input devices;
measuring energy requirement in said building using at least one of said plurality of input devices and a central server;
identifying energy regulation requirement based on said measured energy requirement and said measured energy consumption using said central server; and
regulating power in said building based on said identified energy regulation requirement using said central server.
10. The system as in claim 9 is further configured for measuring said energy consumption in said building by measuring energy consumption by a plurality of household devices in said building, using said plurality of input devices.
11. The system as in claim 10 is further configured for measuring said energy consumption of said plurality of household devices by separately measuring energy consumption of each of said plurality of household devices, using said plurality of input devices.
12. The system as in claim 9 is further configured for measuring said energy requirement in said building based on a plurality of supportive information using said central server.
13. The system as in claim 9 is further configured for identifying said energy regulation requirement in the building by comparing said measured energy requirement and said measured energy consumption using said central server.
14. The system as in claim 9 is further configured to record information on said measured energy consumption in an associated database.
15. The system as in claim 14 is further configured to predict energy consumption for a selected time period in said building based on said recorded energy consumption information using said central server.
,TagSPECI:FORM 2
The Patent Act 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
The Patent Rules, 2005
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(SEE SECTION 10 AND RULE 13)

TITLE OF THE INVENTION
“Automated energy consumption monitoring and managing system”

APPLICANTS:
Name : HCL Technologies Limited
Nationality : Indian
Address : HCL Technologies Ltd., 50-53 Greams
Road,Chennai – 600006, Tamil Nadu, India

The following specification particularly describes and ascertains the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:-
TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The embodiments herein relate to home automation and, more particularly, to a system for automated monitoring and energy consumption management.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[002] Energy conservation and management is a prime area of interest for researchers. Most of the energy resources in use at present are either depleting or are dangerous to mankind. For example, main source of electrical energy are water, wind, thermal plants, nuclear plants and so on. But phenomenon like global warming has affected availability of natural energy sources such as water and coal and resources such as nuclear resources are considered potentially dangerous. In this scenario, most parts of the world suffer from energy crisis and the authorities are searching for alternate energy options as well as means to conserve energy. Now, as we say charity begins at home, each individual can contribute to this by ensuring that there is no energy wastage at home.
[003] For example, most of the household users forget or do not pay attention to switch off lights when they are not required. Similarly, they don’t turn off air conditioners (a/c), fans, heating units, boilers and so on even when they are not required. In another case, devices such as a light or a/c may not have to work at full swing and provide maximum output throughout the day. For example, temperature settings of the a/c may not have to be the same throughout the day and it may be varied based on parameters such as change in outside temperature. Since, most of the people don’t pay attention to these factors; it results in wastage of energy.
[004] These are the scenarios which forced innovators to think of home automation systems which automatically monitors and regulates operation of household devices so as to manage energy consumption. Problem with existing systems is that they lack efficiency in identifying optimal settings to regulate operation or functioning of the devices.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[005] In view of the foregoing, an embodiment herein provides a method of automated monitoring and energy management in a building, said method comprises measuring energy consumption in said building; measuring energy requirement in said building; identifying an energy regulation requirement based on said measured energy requirement and said measured energy consumption; and regulating power in said building based on said identified energy regulation requirement.
[006] Embodiments further disclose a system for automated monitoring and energy management in a building, said system configured for measuring energy consumption in said building using at least one of a plurality input devices; measuring energy requirement in said building using at least one of said plurality of input devices and a central server; identifying energy regulation requirement based on said measured energy requirement and said measured energy consumption using said central server; and regulating power in said building based on said identified energy regulation requirement using said central server.
[007] These and other aspects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[008] The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, in which:
[009] FIG. 1 illustrates block diagram that shows architecture of the energy management framework, as disclosed in the embodiments herein;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a block diagram that shows various components of the central server, as disclosed in the embodiments herein; and
[0011] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram that shows various steps involved in the process of monitoring and managing energy consumption using the energy management framework, as disclosed in the embodiments herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
[0012] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
[0013] The embodiments herein disclose an energy management process using an energy management framework. Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 3, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown embodiments.
[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates block diagram that shows architecture of the energy management framework, as disclosed in the embodiments herein. The energy management framework further comprises a central server 101, a network 102, input devices 103 and a plurality of household devices 104. The central server 101 is a device that is capable of monitoring and measuring power consumption of household devices 104 when plugged in to a power socket in the house or any other building where the system has been implemented. In an embodiment, the central server 101 monitors and measures energy consumption information of various household devices 104 such as lights, chillers, boilers, fans, air conditioner (a/c), refrigerators and so on, using the input devices 103, which may be various types of sensors. At least one sensor each may be connected to each of the household devices 104 such that they can sense and measure energy consumption of corresponding household device 104.
[0015] In addition to the energy consumption information, the sensors are also configured to sense supportive information such as temperature and humidity inside and outside the house, house orientation and position of the sun, occupancy of people inside a room and so on. This information is then sent to the central server 101. The central server further analyzes based on the measured energy consumption information and the supportive information, whether operation of any of the household devices 104 has to be controlled or not. Based on the analysis, the central server 101 may control operation of the any of the selected household device 104. For example, if the central server 101 identifies that a/c is functioning in full swing in a room where nobody is present, it may either turn off the a/c or may reduce power consumption of the a/c by making it work in a different mode.
[0016] In a preferred embodiment, the central server 101 may be able to record average energy consumption level per a specific time period; say a day, month year and so on and may predict energy consumption for a selected time period. For example, the central server 101 can record energy consumption in the month of January, February and March and can predict energy consumption for the month of April. In another embodiment, the central server 101, using the network connectivity, can fetch weather information and other required supportive information from online resources.
[0017] FIG. 2 is a block diagram that shows various components of the central server, as disclosed in the embodiments herein. The central server 101 further comprises an Input/Output (I/O) module 201, a processing module 202, a memory module 203, an analysis module 204, a control module 205 and a network interface 206. The I/O module 201 acts as an interface to connect the household devices 104 and the input devices 103 to the central server 101 for data transfer. In a preferred embodiment, the data transfer between the central server101, the input modules 103 and the household devices 104 is using a wireless channel using a suitable protocol such as Zigbee. In another embodiment, the data transfer between the central server101, the input modules 103 and the household devices 104 is using a wired channel.
[0018] The processing module 202 is used for initial processing of data received from various input devices 103. During the initial processing, the processing module 202 may convert data from various input modules 103 to a common format for further processing. For example, data received from various sensors may be in different formats. This data may have to be converted to a standard format so as to make it readable for other components of the system.
[0019] The memory module 203 may be used to store information such as measured energy consumption for a set period of time and so on. This information may be used to predict energy consumption in upcoming months. The analysis module 204 analyzes the energy consumption data and the supportive information and decides whether operation of any of the household device 104 has to be regulated or not so as to save energy. The analysis module 204 may also analyze the data stored in the memory module 203 and predict energy consumption for the upcoming months. The memory module 203 may also comprise pre configured information on charge per unit for electricity, which may be used by the analysis module to calculate and predict costs for upcoming month, year and so on.
[0020] The control module 205, based on the commands from the analysis module, instructs sensors and/or any other devices capable of regulating operation and hence, power consumption of all or selected household devices 104. The network interface 206 may be used to establish internet connectivity and to fetch any required information from online resources. The network connectivity may also be used to upload and store the measured power consumption related data in any of the web based storage portal that would help the user to remotely access the data from any location.
[0021] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram that shows various steps involved in the process of monitoring and managing energy consumption using the energy management framework, as disclosed in the embodiments herein. The central server 101 in the energy management framework may be plugged in to a power socket in the house or any other building where the system has been implemented. In an embodiment, the can be central server 101 monitors (301) energy consumption in the house or building where it is installed. Further, the central server 101 measures (302) separately, energy consumption information of various household devices 104 such as lights, chillers, boilers, fans, air conditioner (a/c), refrigerators and so on, using the input devices 103. In an embodiment, the input devices 103 may be sensors that are capable of measuring individual devices/units in the household circuit. At least one sensor each may be connected to each of the household devices 104 such that they can sense and measure energy consumption of corresponding household device 104.
[0022] In a preferred embodiment, the sensors are also capable of collecting supportive information on parameters such as temperature and humidity inside and outside the building, orientation of the house and direction of the sun, occupancy of people in a room and so on. This supportive information is fetched (303) by the central server 101. The central server 101 further processes the energy consumption information as well as the supportive information together and identifies (304) energy requirements in that building. For example, assume that in a room, the a/c is running at full load. Now, with change in direction of sun and orientation of the house, there is a change in inside and outside temperatures and the a/c don't have to run at full power to meet requirements of the user.
[0023] Further, the central server 101 checks (305) whether power regulation is required or not. In a preferred embodiment, the central server 101 achieves power regulation by controlling (306) operation of all or selected household devices 104. In the above example, if the central server 101 identifies that the power of the a/c can be reduced, it may instruct a sensor or any such suitable device connected to the a/c to control power input to the a/c. In another embodiment, the sensor may automatically switch mode of operation of the a/c to a low power mode.
[0024] In a preferred embodiment, the central server 101 may be able to record average energy consumption level per a specific time period; say a day, month year and so on and may predict energy consumption for a selected time period. In another embodiment, the central server 101, using the network connectivity, can fetch weather information and other required supportive information from online resources. In another embodiment, the central server 101, using the network connectivity, may upload the measured energy consumption information to any web based storage system. Further, the user may remotely access this data from any internet enabled user device. The various actions in method 300 may be performed in the order presented, in a different order or simultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some actions listed in FIG. 3 may be omitted.
[0025] The embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented through at least one software program running on at least one hardware device and performing network management functions to control the network elements. The network elements shown in Fig. 1 include blocks which can be at least one of a hardware device, or a combination of hardware device and software module.
[0026] The embodiment disclosed herein specifies a system for automated energy consumption monitoring. The mechanism allows automatic energy management in a building, providing a system thereof. Therefore, it is understood that the scope of the protection is extended to such a program and in addition to a computer readable means having a message therein, such computer readable storage means contain program code means for implementation of one or more steps of the method, when the program runs on a server or mobile device or any suitable programmable device. The method is implemented in a preferred embodiment through or together with a software program written in e.g. Very high speed integrated circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL) another programming language, or implemented by one or more VHDL or several software modules being executed on at least one hardware device. The hardware device can be any kind of device which can be programmed including e.g. any kind of computer like a server or a personal computer, or the like, or any combination thereof, e.g. one processor and two FPGAs. The device may also include means which could be e.g. hardware means like e.g. an ASIC, or a combination of hardware and software means, e.g. an ASIC and an FPGA, or at least one microprocessor and at least one memory with software modules located therein. Thus, the means are at least one hardware means and/or at least one software means. The method embodiments described herein could be implemented in pure hardware or partly in hardware and partly in software. The device may also include only software means. Alternatively, the invention may be implemented on different hardware devices, e.g. using a plurality of CPUs.
[0027] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims as described herein.