Power usage monitoring of power feed circuits using power distribution units

Abstract

A method of monitoring power usage includes 1) accessing power usage data for power distribution unit infeeds of a plurality of power distribution units; 2) accessing stored circuit descriptions describing interconnections of the power distribution unit infeeds to a number of power feed circuits; 3) transforming the plurality of power distribution units into a power usage monitor for monitoring power usage of the power feed circuits by aggregating at least some of the power usage data based on the interconnections of the power distribution unit infeeds to the number of power feed circuits; and 4) outputting representations of the aggregated power usage data.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A power usage monitoring system, comprising:
 a circuit description receiving interface, the circuit description receiving interface receiving a number of circuit descriptions describing interconnections of power distribution unit infeeds to a number of power feed circuits;   a power usage communication interface, the power usage communication interface receiving power usage data for the power distribution unit infeeds;   a memory subsystem, the memory subsystem storing the received circuit descriptions and the power usage data; and   a processing unit interconnected with the circuit description receiving interface and the power usage communication interface, the processing unit programmed to receive the number of circuit descriptions and the power usage data, aggregate at least some of the power usage data based on the interconnections of the power distribution unit infeeds to the number of power feed circuits, and output representations of the aggregated power usage data.   
     
     
         2 . The power usage monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the circuit description receiving interface receives circuit descriptions that associate power distribution unit infeeds with lines of the power feed circuits. 
     
     
         3 . The power usage monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the circuit description receiving interface receives circuit descriptions that associate power distribution units with power feed circuits. 
     
     
         4 . The power usage monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the processing unit communicates with a number of power distribution units, over a network, via the power usage communication interface. 
     
     
         5 . The power usage monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the processing unit communicates via the power usage communication interface with a data store in which some or all of the power usage data is stored. 
     
     
         6 . The power usage monitoring system of  claim 1 , further comprising a display on which the representations of the aggregated power usage data are displayed. 
     
     
         7 . The power usage monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is programmed to output the representations of the aggregated power usage data as data points for generating a trend chart on a display. 
     
     
         8 . The power usage monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is programmed to output the representations of the aggregated power usage data as data points for generating a phase distribution chart on a display. 
     
     
         9 . The power usage monitoring system of  claim 1 , further comprising a network interface over which the representations of the aggregated output power usage data are transmitted. 
     
     
         10 . The power usage monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the representations of the aggregated power usage data include power usage values. 
     
     
         11 . The power usage monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the representations of the aggregated power usage data include power usage status indicators. 
     
     
         12 . The power usage monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the power usage data includes power readings. 
     
     
         13 . The power usage monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the power usage data includes current readings. 
     
     
         14 . The power usage monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is further programmed to aggregate at least some of the power usage data based on the interconnections of power distribution unit infeeds to lines of the number of power feed circuits. 
     
     
         15 . The power usage monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is further programmed to generate a graphical user interface, the graphical user interface exposing the circuit description receiving interface to a user of a display and providing graphical tools for associating the power distribution unit infeeds with the power feed circuits. 
     
     
         16 . The power usage monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is further programmed to generate a graphical user interface, the graphical user interface exposing the circuit description receiving interface to a user of a display and providing graphical tools for associating the power distribution unit infeeds with lines of the power feed circuits. 
     
     
         17 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:
 access power usage data for power distribution unit infeeds;   access stored circuit descriptions describing interconnections of the power distribution unit infeeds to a number of power feed circuits;   aggregate at least some of the power usage data based on the interconnections of the power distribution unit infeeds to the number of power feed circuits; and   output representations of the aggregated power usage data.   
     
     
         18 . A method of monitoring power usage, comprising:
 accessing power usage data for power distribution unit infeeds of a plurality of power distribution units;   accessing stored circuit descriptions describing interconnections of the power distribution unit infeeds to a number of power feed circuits;   transforming the plurality of power distribution units into a power usage monitor for monitoring power usage of the power feed circuits by aggregating at least some of the power usage data based on the interconnections of the power distribution unit infeeds to the number of power feed circuits; and   outputting representations of the aggregated power usage data.