Electronic system for power consumption management of appliances

Abstract

An electronic system for power consumption management of one or more domestic appliances is routinely informed on actual energy tariff through a network control unit or through a predetermined time-table stored in the system. A user interface of the electronic system is provided where the user can set his preference concerning the switch-on time of each appliance and/or function thereof and read the related estimated energy consumption and/or energy cost of the appliance working program.

We claim:  
     
         1 . An electronic system for power consumption management of one or more domestic appliances, the system comprising: 
 a user interface configured to allow a user to set a preference concerning the switch-on time of each appliance or function thereof and to read estimated energy consumption or energy cost of operating each appliance based on actual energy information obtained through a network control unit or a predetermined time table.    
     
     
         2 . The electronic system according to  claim 1 , wherein the user interface further comprises inputting means for setting a predetermined energy cost saving target.  
     
     
         3 . The electronic system according to  claim 2  wherein the energy cost saving target is displayed as money saved referred to a predetermined time.  
     
     
         4 . The electronic system according to  claim 1 , wherein the system is able to control the total power consumption of the appliances by setting priorities or time planning among appliances according either to user preferences or to actual energy information.  
     
     
         5 . The electronic system according to  claim 1 , wherein the system is hosted in a specific device connected to a home network.  
     
     
         6 . The electronic system according to  claim 1 , wherein the system is hosted in an appliance connected to a home network.  
     
     
         7 . The electronic system according to  claim 1 , wherein the user interface comprises a display which can show, when a selector key is activated by the user, the cost of running a working program of the appliance for a certain delay time, the selector key being configured to enable a scroll among different costs at different delay times.  
     
     
         8 . The electronic system according to  claim 1 , wherein the system is configured to be connected to a plurality of devices able to interrupt electrical supply to appliances according to priorities selected by the user through the user interface.  
     
     
         9 . A process for managing the power consumption of one or more domestic appliances, in which an electronic system is routinely informed on actual energy tariff through a network control unit or through a predetermined time-table, the process comprising the steps of: 
 setting preferences concerning a switch-on time of each appliance; and    getting information on the related energy consumption and/or energy cost.    
     
     
         10 . The process according to  claim 9 , further comprising the step of defining a predetermined energy consumption treshold and switching off the appliances when the actual energy consumption is higher than the predetermined treshold.  
     
     
         11 . The process according to  claim 9 , further comprising the step of switching off appliances or function thereof when the actual energy consumption remains within two energy consumption tresholds for more than a predetermined time.  
     
     
         12 . The process according to any of  claim 9 , further comprising the step of stopping, pausing or starting power saving functionality of appliances based on priorities and targets selected through the user interface.  
     
     
         13 . The process according to any of  claim 9 , futher comprising the step of checking if the power level in a power network is sufficient for allowing an appliance to be switched on.  
     
     
         14 . The process according to any of  claim 9 , further comprising the step of carrying out a negotiation with a utility company for maximizing the appliances performances relatively to the available energy.