DE112015006058T5 - MANAGEMENT DEVICE FOR OPERATING A WATER HEATING DEVICE, MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR OPERATING A WATER HEATING DEVICE AND MANAGEMENT METHOD FOR OPERATING A WATER HEATING DEVICE - Google Patents

Abstract

A home gateway (3) located in each of at least one home collects operation data indicating an operation state of electrical devices (5-8) installed in each home, and sends the operation data to a management device (1) for the home office Operation of a water heater. The management apparatus (1) performs the operation of the water heater determined on the basis of the operation data, whether the occupant occupies the apartment, and generates Wohnungsbelegungs status data indicating the specific housing occupancy state. Further, the operation device (1) predicts an excess energy of solar power generation based on weather information for a region containing the location of the water heater, and generates excess energy prediction data including a time slot for generation of the predicted excess energy and a value of the excess energy Show. The water heater operation management apparatus (1) determines an operation plan for effecting the operation of a water heater (8) of each dwelling based on the dwelling condition status data and the surplus energy prediction data.

Description

Technical area

 The present disclosure relates to a management apparatus for operating a water heater to control a water heater installed in each of one or more homes, a management system for operating a water heater, and a management method for operating a water heater.

State of the art

For multi-unit buildings such as apartment complexes in which several storage type water heaters are installed which heat water by using electric power, various types of proposals have been made recently to promote energy load leveling and prevent an increase in energy consumption which is a problem when several electric-type hot water heaters perform a water heating operation for a whole tank at the same time during the same time slot.

 For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a management apparatus for operating a water heater for leveling the energy load by decreasing a maximum value of the energy consumption amount occurring in a certain time slot by dividing the water heating operation occurring in the specific time slot into two operation modes having different start and stop times of the water heating operation, and by distributing the energy consumption by performing the water heating operation in a time slot other than the designated time slot.

 Furthermore, in recent years, due to the introduction of a renewable energy feed-in tariff scheme, an inter-system connection (energy trading) has been very active in sending energy surges of excess energy generated by a solar power generation system to the power grid of an energy company.

 The amount of electricity generated by the solar energy generation system varies according to the solar radiation, and the amount of generated energy varies according to the weather. In the case of the power generation system in which the power generation varies in such a manner depending on the weather that is connected to the power grid and that provides energy return to the power grid, an adjustment of the demand supply balance by an energy leveling method such as the Patent document 1 difficult and there is the possibility of an adverse effect on the stability of the power grid, such as changes in the output voltage, the frequency and the like.

 In order to solve such a problem, Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 for an energy system connecting the commercial power supply network to a distributed power source such as a solar power generation system propose energy leveling methods that provide energy leveling by connecting to a storage battery is used to store excess energy, and realize by charging and discharging the storage battery.

CITATION

patent literature

• Patent Document 1: Publication of the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. 2014-137200
• Patent Document 2: Publication of Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. 2000-175360
• Patent Document 3: Publication of Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. 2006-295090

Summary of the invention

Technical problem

 However, when using a method of energy leveling as described in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3, the cost and burden imposed on the user to provide a large-capacity storage battery for storing unnecessary power are high. Furthermore, some of the excess energy may be wasted due to the occurrence of charge or discharge losses of excess energy by the storage battery.

 In view of the above circumstances, it is the object of the present disclosure, in the case of a power generation system in which the amount of energy generated varies depending on weather conditions and connected to a power grid, the excess energy at a lower cost than the cost of using a storage battery to effectively use and achieve energy leveling.

the solution of the problem

 In order to achieve the above object, the water heater operating device according to the present disclosure is a management device for operating a water heater for controlling the operation of an electric type water heater installed in each of at least one house and which is a power generation system , which connects energy in an amount that varies depending on weather conditions, connects to a power grid. The management apparatus for operating a water heater includes an operation data acquiring apparatus, a weather information acquiring apparatus, a home occupancy determiner, an excess energy prediction apparatus, and an operation plan determiner. The operation data acquisition apparatus acquires operation data indicating an operation state of an electric apparatus installed in the home. The weather information acquirer acquires weather information for an area containing the place of residence. The housing occupancy determiner determines whether a resident is in the flat based on the operation data, and generates housing occupancy status data indicating the determined occupancy status. The surplus energy prediction apparatus predicts surplus energy of the power generation system based on the weather information, and generates prediction surplus energy data indicating a time slot and a value of the predicted surplus energy. The operation plan determiner determines, based on the occupancy state data and the prediction surplus energy data, an operation plan for effecting the operation of the water heater of the dwelling, and generates operation plan information indicating the particular operation plan.

Advantageous Effects of the Invention

According to the present disclosure, in the case of the power generation system in which the amount of power generated varies depending on weather conditions and which is connected to the power grid, the water heating operation of the electric-type water heater for one or more homes can be performed with optimum timing Excess energy can be effectively utilized at a lower cost than in the case of using the storage battery, and energy leveling can be achieved.

Brief description of the drawings

1 FIG. 12 is a drawing illustrating a power system for connecting a solar power generation system to a power grid according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure; FIG.

2 FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a management system for operating a water heater according to Embodiment 1; FIG.

3 Fig. 12 is a drawing illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a home gateway according to Embodiment 1;

4 Fig. 12 is a drawing illustrating an example of a water heater according to Embodiment 1;

5 Fig. 12 is a drawing illustrating another example of the water heater of Embodiment 1;

6 , is a drawing illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a management apparatus for operating a water heater according to the embodiment 1;

7 FIG. 15 is a drawing illustrating an example of operation data according to Embodiment 1; FIG.

8th FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of operation data collection processing for the operation of an electric device according to Embodiment 1; FIG.

9 FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of a home occupancy state determination processing according to Embodiment 1; FIG.

10 Fig. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the home occupancy state prediction processing according to Embodiment 1;

11 Fig. 12 is a drawing illustrating an example of daily occupancy state data according to Embodiment 1;

12 Fig. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the surplus energy prediction processing according to Embodiment 1;

13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the operating schedule Determination processing illustrated in the embodiment 1;

14 FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the operation plan determination processing according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure; FIG. and

15 FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the water heater operating device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG.

Description of exemplary embodiments

In the following embodiments, examples of the application of the present disclosure will be described to each unit of shared buildings in which a plurality of households are accommodated, such as apartments and the like, each unit being capable of being independently used as an apartment, or for two or more households of single and common households where each household is located in a prescribed area.

 Embodiment 1

1 FIG. 10 is a drawing illustrating a power system for connecting a solar power generation system to a power grid according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. FIG. From a power supply network 21 Electricity purchased from an energy company and self-generated electricity generated by a solar panel 22 via an energy conditioner 23 is delivered to a distribution board 25 delivered. Furthermore, it is an energy meter 24 with the energy conditioner 23 and if there is an excess of energy due to solar energy production, energy return and the sale of electricity are possible.

2 FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a management system for operating a water heater according to Embodiment 1. FIG. A management system 100 for the operation of a water heater includes a management device 1 for the operation of a heater and a housing gateway 3 , The apartment gateway 3 is in each of a total of N independent apartments installed in a group of apartments 1-N within a prescribed area. Further, in the present embodiment, although the number of dwellings is regarded as two or more, N may be equal to one. The management device 1 for the operation of the water heater and each of the apartment gateways 3 are through a communication network 2 radio-based, line-based or combined radio / line base interconnected. Furthermore, the communication network 2 use a general public communication line, an independent dedicated communication line, or a combination of such lines.

The solar panel 22 , the energy conditioner 23 , the energy meter 24 and the distribution board 25 , in the 1 may be associated with a group of apartments within a predetermined area for combined use by the group, or a respective arrangement of these components may be associated with each apartment (of N apartments). Furthermore, flats equipped with solar energy generation systems can coexist with flats that are not equipped with solar energy generation systems.

In the example below 2 are a TV 5 , an air conditioner 6 , a lighting device and a water heater 8th in each apartment installed as electrical devices to provide the occupants with predetermined functions, and each of the electrical devices is equipped with a communication device 4 connected by this. Each of the communication devices 4 is through a housing network with the apartment gateway 3 connected.

The apartment gateway 3 acquires from the communication device 4 Each electrical device operating data indicating the operating status of the TV 5 , the air conditioner 6 , the lighting device 7 and the water heater 8th , which are installed in the same apartment, and monitors the operating status of each electrical device. The electric devices installed in each home are not limited to these examples, and any device capable of being monitored and controlled by a home network can be used as the electric device such as a fan blower, an IH cooking heater, electric kitchen stove, refrigerator, rice cooker, personal computer, room air conditioner, underfloor heater, motorized window, motorized blind, and the like.

The energy measuring device 9 is connected to the housing network and collects, from CT sensors and the like attached to the breakers of each apartment at each branch circuit, energy consumption data indicating the total energy consumption of each apartment including the power consumption of electrical devices not connected to the housing network rather than the power consumption of electrical devices connected to the housing network. Furthermore, the energy meter collects 9 also energy generation data indicating the energy produced by solar energy production.

The apartment gateway 3 acquires the power generation data and the power consumption data from the communication device 4 the energy meter 9 , The apartment gateway 3 transmits a date and time of a collection indicating the time and date of the collection to those of the communication device 4 operating data acquired by each electrical device, and the power consumption data and the power generation data generated by the communication device 4 the energy meter 9 have been purchased (the operation data, power consumption data and power generation data are hereinafter collectively referred to as "operation data of the electric device"), and the waking gateway 3 transmits the resulting operation data of the electric device to the management device 1 for the operation of the water heater.

The management device 1 for the operation of the water heater determined on the basis of the weather information acquired from outside and the operation data of the electric device of each apartment gateway installed in each of the apartments 3 the operating plan of the water heater installed in each apartment 8th , The management device 1 for operation of the water heater, the schedule information indicating the particular operation plan is sent to the apartment gateway 3 the corresponding apartment. The apartment gateway 3 controls on the basis of the management device 1 plan information received for the operation of the water heater, the water heating operation of the water heater 8th ,

3 FIG. 12 is a drawing illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the apartment gateway according to Embodiment 1. FIG. The apartment gateway 3 contains an energy data acquisition device 31 , an operating data acquisition device 32 , a home gateway communication device 33 and a water heater control unit 34 , The home gateway installed in each of the apartments 1-N 3 have a similar functional configuration. The communication device 4 out 3 is omitted.

The energy data acquisition device 31 acquires the power consumption data and the power generation data from the power meter 9 , The energy consumption data is, for example, data representing the consumed power of the TV 5 , the air conditioner 6 , the lighting device 7 and the water heater 8th indicating the connected to the housing network, and data indicating the consumed energy of a dryer, a vacuum cleaner and the like, which are not connected to the housing network.

The operating data acquisition device 32 acquires the operating data, the operating status of each of the TV 5 , the air conditioner 6 , the lighting device 7 and the water heater 8th Show. The operating data is data such as a power on / off state and a volume of the TV 5 , an operation mode, a set temperature, and scheduled times for turning on / off the air conditioner 6 , and a stored amount of hot water and a setting temperature of the water heater 8th ,

The energy data acquisition device 31 can on the basis of the operating data acquisition device 32 acquired operating data calculate the power consumption of each electrical device by using the information indicating a previously stored power consumption per unit time. Further, when transmission of the power consumption data of the electric device to the home gateway needs 3 is possible by the electrical device, the transmission of the energy consumption data is not necessarily via the energy measuring device 9 to be done.

The apartment gateway communication device 33 is a communication interface that allows communication of different types of data with the management device 1 for the operation of the water heater via, for example, the communication network 2 performs, and the apartment gateway communication device 33 sends the from the energy data acquirer 31 and the operation data acquisition device 32 acquired operating data of the electrical device to the management device 1 for the operation of the water heater. Furthermore, the home gateway communication device receives 33 the plan information from the management device 1 for the operation of the water heater.

The water heater control unit 34 sends on the basis of the from the management device 1 for the operation of the water heater by the home gateway communication device 33 received plan information control commands to the water heater 8th and controls the water heating operation.

4 is a drawing showing an example of the water heater after the Embodiment 1 illustrated. In the example of 1 are in the water heater 8th a heater 801 of heat pump type and a hot water storage tank 802 through a water flow passage 803 connected with each other. In the heater 801 The heat pump type is heat from the air through a medium in an evaporator 814 This medium absorbs by compression in a compressor 811 heated to an even higher temperature and the heated medium becomes a heat exchanger 812 promoted. That through the water flow passage 803 passing water is through a circulation pump 804 in the heat exchanger 812 pumped, by heat exchange with a water cooling medium of the heat exchanger 812 heated and to the hot water storage tank 802 delivered. The expansion valve 813 the heater 801 of the heat pump type allows expansion of the high-pressure medium and causes a re-liquefaction of the medium.

The hot water storage volume of the hot water storage tank 802 is through a hot water storage sensor group 821 supervised. The hot water storage sensor group 821 sends information showing the hot water storage amount of the hot water storage tank 802 to the operating data acquisition device 32 of the apartment gateway 3 , Furthermore, the heater sends 801 of the heat pump type, the operation state indicating operation data to the operation data acquisition device 32 , The heater 801 heat pump type operates in response to one of the water heater control unit 34 sent control command.

5 FIG. 14 is a drawing illustrating another example of the water heater of Embodiment 1. FIG. In the example of 5 contains the water heater 8th in addition to the structure of in 4 illustrated water heater 8th a radiator 805 , a floor heating 806 and a flow passage adjusting valve 807 , In the 5 illustrated water heater 8th uses an opening / closing operation of the flow passage adjusting valve 807 either to circulate through the heater 801 heat pump type heated hot water to the hot water storage tank 802 or to a heating system containing the radiator 805 and the underfloor heating 806 , That is, the in 5 illustrated water heater 8th is equipped with both a water heating function and a room heating function. Operating data indicating the valve direction, that is, indicating whether a hot water supply to the water heater 8th or space heating takes place, through the flow passage adjustment valve 807 to the operating data acquisition device 32 Posted. The flow passage adjustment valve 807 opens and closes in response to that from the water heater control unit 34 sent control command.

Furthermore, though 4 and 5 Examples of the generation of hot water by the heater 801 illustrate the heat pump type, not limiting these examples, and the water heater may be any electric-type water heater that uses electricity for generating hot water, such as a water heater that generates hot water by using an electric heater.

6 FIG. 12 is a drawing illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the management apparatus for operating the water heater according to Embodiment 1. FIG. The management device 1 for the operation of the water heater includes a communication device 11 , a home occupancy determining device 12 , a weather information acquisition device 13 , a store 14 , an apartment occupancy prediction facility 15 , a predictor 16 for excess energy and a scheduling device 17 ,

The communication device 11 is a communication interface that transmits and receives various types of data over, for example, the communications network 2 performs. The communication device 11 stores the operating data of the electrical device coming from each of the apartment gateways 3 be received in the memory 14 , The Housing Determination Device 12 determined on the basis of in the memory 14 accumulated operation data on the electric device, the housing occupancy state of the resident living in each apartment during a predetermined unit time period and generates the Wohnungsbelegungs status data indicating the specific housing occupancy state.

For example, for a considered dwelling, when a change of the power consumption and a change in the operating state of each electric apparatus take place in a certain predetermined time unit, the determination that the dwelling state is "occupied" in the prescribed time unit and no such change takes place is made the provision that the occupancy status in the prescribed unit of time is "not occupied". The Housing Determination Device 12 stores the generated housing occupancy status data in the memory 14 ,

In the present embodiment, the housing occupancy state indicating whether the occupant occupies the apartment is indicated by the value "1" or "0". The state in which the occupant occupies the apartment is indicated by "0", and the state in which the occupant does not occupy the apartment is indicated by "1", and this value is referred to as "state value". Here, the predetermined time unit shows a determination period of the determination of the home occupancy state by the home occupancy determining device 12 and may be any time period longer than a signal reception period of receiving the operation data of the electric device by the communication device 11 is. For example, 60 minutes is used as the determination period, and one minute is used as the signal reception period of the operation data of the electric device. In this case, the home occupancy determining device determines 12 the home occupancy state based on the trend of a 60-minute period range of the operation data of the electric device.

In the present embodiment, the energy measuring device collects 9 the power consumption data of the electric device, and the management device 1 for the operation of the water heater uses the collected energy consumption data to determine the occupancy state. However, this configuration is not limiting, and the energy meter 9 can collect used amounts of data for commodities such as gas and water, and the management device 1 For the operation of the water heater, such used amounts may use data for determining the occupancy state.

The weather information acquisition device 13 acquired by the communication device 11 the weather information for the past, present and future of the area containing the location of each dwelling. The weather information is information such as the outside air temperature, humidity and meteorological information. Such acquired weather information is stored in the memory 14 stored and collected as data.

The memory 14 stores those from the apartment gateway 3 received operating data of the electrical device, the of the home occupancy determining device 12 generated housing occupation state data and that of the weather information acquisition device 13 acquired weather information. Furthermore, the memory stores 14 Date and time data acquired from a source such as the Internet or a standard time radio wave broadcasting station, and displaying a date and time including year, month, day, hour, minute and second Day of the week, and the date and time data are associated with the date and time of collecting the operating data of the electrical device. 7 is a drawing illustrating an example of the operating data according to the embodiment 1. The operation data includes the date and time of collection indicating the date and time of collecting the operation data, and an identifier of the device type indicating the type of the electrical device, as well as a state 1, a state 2, and a state 3 indicating the operating state of the electrical device. For example, the TV's state 1 indicates an ON / OFF state of power, state 2 indicates a volume setting, and state 3 indicates a channel selected for viewing.

The Housing Determination Device 12 refers to the operation data within the prescribed time unit and determines that the home occupancy state is "occupied" in the prescribed unit time when there is a change of at least one of the state 1, the state 2, or the state 3 of the electric device. Further, the number of operating states of the electric device indicated by the operation data is not limited to three, and this number may be any number equal to or greater than one.

The Housing Forecasting Device 15 says based on the date and time data, the weather information and the home occupancy state data of the memory 14 predicts the future home occupancy status for each home and generates prediction occupancy status data indicating the predicted occupancy status. Furthermore, the home occupancy prediction device 15 predict the future housing status of each dwelling based on the housing movement data alone.

The prediction device 16 for surplus power, on the basis of the date and time data and the power consumption data and the power generation data of the memory included in the operation data of the electric device 14 predicts a future surplus energy of each dwelling and generates surplus energy prediction data indicating a value of the predicted surplus energy (hereinafter referred to as the "prediction surplus energy").

The scheduling device 17 determined on the basis of the prediction occupancy condition data obtained by the Apartment occupancy predictor 15 and the excess energy prediction data generated by the excess energy prediction device 16 is generated, the operation plan for performing the water heating operation of the water heater installed in each dwelling, and generates plan information indicating the particular operation plan.

The communication device 11 sends the from the planning device 17 Plan information for the apartment gateway 3 the corresponding apartment. The management device 1 for the operation of the water heater manages in this way time slots for the water generating device 8th each apartment to perform the water heating operation.

The of the management system 100 Various processing performed for the operation of the water heater of the present embodiment will be described next. Each processing is performed periodically with a predetermined period. The apartment gateway 3 performs a "collective processing" for the "operation data of the electric device".

Collective processing for the operating data of the electrical device 8th FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of collecting processing for the operation data of the electric device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. The operating data acquisition device 32 of the apartment gateway 3 acquires the respective operating data from the TV 5 , the air conditioner 6 , the lighting device 7 and the water heater 8th (Step S11). The energy data acquisition device 31 acquires the power consumption data and the power generation data from the power meter 9 (Step S12).

The apartment gateway communication device 33 As the operation data of the electric device, transmits the operation data, the power consumption data, and the power generation data generated by the operation data acquisition device 32 and the energy data acquisition device 31 acquired through the communications network 2 to the management device 1 for the operation of the water heater, and the processing ends.

The timing of the apartment gateway 3 for example, which performs the aggregation processing for the operation data of the electric device is set to a cycle period of one minute as described previously. However, this configuration is not limitative, and the cycle period may be shorter than the determination period. Further, for example, rather than successively sending the operation data of the electronic device as in step S13, a memory for the home gateway 3 be provided, and the operating data for the electrical device can be stored in fixed time period sections such as sections of a day. In this case, the operation data of the electric device may be from a fixed time period section through the home gateway communication device 33 grouped together and by the home gateway communication device 33 to the management device 1 be sent for the operation of the water heater. Further, if necessary, processing such as averaging, integration, and the like may be performed to process the values within the fixed time period.

The management device for the operation of the water heater 1 executes the "occupancy state determination processing", "occupancy state prediction processing", "weather information acquisition processing", "excess energy prediction processing", and "operation plan determination processing".

 Occupancy status determination process

9 FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the home occupancy state determination processing according to Embodiment 1. FIG. The Housing Determination Device 12 the management device for the operation of the water heater 1 reads from the memory 14 a single determination period portion of the operation data of the electronic device for the immediately preceding determination period (step S21). The Housing Determination Device 12 refers to the single determination period portion of the operation data of the electronic device for the immediately preceding determination period, and determines whether a change in the operating state of the television 5 is present (step S22).

If the determination indicates that a change in the operating condition of the TV 5 is present (YES in step S22), the housing occupancy determination device determines 12 in that the occupant occupies the apartment, and sets the state value of this time slot of the occupancy state data to "0" (step S27), and the processing ends, in the event that there is no change in the operating state of the television 5 is present (NO in step S22), the occupancy determination device refers 12 on the single determination period portion of the operating data of the electronic device for the immediate previous determination period, and determines whether a change in the operating condition of the air conditioner 6 is present (step S23).

If the determination indicates that a change in the operating condition of the air conditioner 6 is present (YES in step S23), the housing occupancy determination device determines 12 in that the occupant occupies the apartment, and sets the state value of this time slot of the occupancy condition data to "0" (step S27), and the processing is terminated., in the event that there is no change in the operation state of the air conditioner 6 is present (NO in step S23), the housing occupancy determiner refers 12 on the single determination period portion of the operation data of the electronic apparatus for the immediately preceding determination period, and determines whether a change in the operation state of the lighting apparatus 7 is present (step S24).

If the determination indicates that a change in the operating state of the lighting device 7 is present (YES in step S24), the housing occupancy determination device determines 12 in that the occupant occupies the apartment and sets the state value of this time slot of the occupancy state data to "0" (step S27), and the processing ends. In the case that there is no change in the operation state of the lighting device 7 (NO in step S24), the housing occupancy determiner refers 12 to the single determination period portion of the operation data of the electronic device for the immediately preceding determination period, and determines whether a change in the operation state of the water heater 8th is present (step S25).

If the determination indicates that a change in the operating state of the water heater 8th is present (YES in step S25), the housing occupancy determination device determines 12 in that the occupant occupies the apartment, and sets the state value of this time slot of the occupancy state data to "0" (step S27), and the processing is terminated., in the case that there is no change in the operation state of the water heater 8th is present (NO in step S25), that is, in the case where there is no change in the operating state of any of the electrical devices connected to the housing network, the occupancy determination device refers 12 to the single determination period portion of the operation data of the electronic apparatus for the immediately preceding determination period, and determines whether there is a change in the amount of power consumption for the entire home or each of the branch circuits (step S26). This processing makes it possible to detect a change in the operating state of the electrical devices that are not connected to the housing network and not the operating data collection by the housing gateway 3 are.

If the determination is made that there is a change in the amount of energy consumption of the entire apartment or there is a change in the amount of power consumption of any of the branch circuits (YES in step S26), the occupancy determination device determines 12 in that the resident occupies the apartment, and sets the state value of this time slot of the occupancy state data to "0" (step S27), and the processing is terminated In the event that there is no change in the total amount of energy consumption of the entire apartment or the energy consumption amount of any of the branch circuits is present (NO in step S26), the housing occupancy determination device determines 12 in that the occupant does not occupy the apartment, and sets the state value of this time slot of the occupancy state data to "1" (step S28), and the processing is terminated.

The timing of performing the home occupancy state determination processing by the water heater operation management device 1 For example, it is set to a 60-minute cycle as described above. However, this period is not limitative, and the period may be any period longer than the signal reception cycle for the operation data of the electronic device.

Further, the electronic devices subjected to the determination of the home occupancy state in steps S22 to S25 may be changed as required. For example, in a case such as that in which a preset time is set so as to allow the operation of the air conditioner 6 before the occupancy of the apartment begins, so that a reasonable temperature is reached in the apartment when the resident returns home, a prior exclusion of the air conditioner 6 among the electric devices that are subjected to the determination of the home occupancy state, the prevention of an erroneous determination of the occupancy state that would occur due to a change in the operating state of an electrical device that operates while the occupant is not occupying the home.

Furthermore, the circuit subjected to the determination of the power consumption amount in step S26 may be changed in the same manner as required. Such Change makes it possible to prevent erroneous determination of the housing occupancy state that would occur due to the change of the operating state of an electrical device that operates while the occupant is not occupying the apartment.

 Occupancy condition prediction processing

10 FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the home occupancy state prediction processing according to Embodiment 1. FIG. The memory 14 the management device for the operation of the water heater 1 may group and store a 24-hour portion of the home occupancy status data as daily occupancy status data. The Housing Forecasting Device 15 reads from the memory 14 from the most recent, multi-day section of daily occupancy status data, the daily occupancy status data applicable to a date and time that are the same as a date that has been submitted to the setting of the operational plan or that for one certain condition such as the day of the week, the weather and the like are applicable (step S31).

11 FIG. 12 is a drawing illustrating an example of the daily occupancy condition data according to Embodiment 1. FIG. The daily occupancy status data includes the determination date, hourly determination times, and the status value of each determination time. In the example of 11 The occupant does not occupy the apartment from 09:00 to 22:00.

The Housing Forecasting Device 15 calculates, for each determination time, an average of the state values (average state value) of the read daily occupancy state data (step S32). The Housing Forecasting Device 15 compares the average state value with a preset threshold (step S33).

If the average state value is larger than the threshold value (YES in step S33), the occupancy prediction device continues 15 the state value of this time of the prediction occupancy state data is "1" (step S34), and the processing ends If the average state value is smaller than the threshold value (NO in step S33), the occupancy prediction device continues 15 the state value of this time of the prediction dwelling state data is "0" (step S35), and the processing is ended.

The management device for the operation of the water heater 1 performs this processing (steps S31 to S35) for the daily occupancy status data of all apartments.

More specifically, in the case of the prediction dwelling condition data for, for example, 07:00 to 07:30 of the fourth Wednesday for the dwelling 1 calculated on the basis of the dwelling condition data for the same month and the same day of the week, reads the occupancy prediction device 15 from the daily housing occupancy status data of apartment 1 of the most recent 21-day period (3 weeks) the three occupancy status data for 07:00 to 07:30 on the first, second and third Wednesday. If the first Wednesday's occupancy status value equals "1 (unoccupied)", the second Wednesday occupancy status value equals "0 (occupied)", and the third occupancy occupancy status value equals "1 (unoccupied)" , the average state value is "0.66 ...".

Here, when the threshold is set to "0.5", by the average state value being larger than the threshold, the home occupancy prediction device is saying 15 before that the occupancy state is "not busy", and sets the state value of the prediction occupancy state data to "1" for 07:00 to 07:30 for the fourth Wednesday.

 In the manner described above, the date and time data of conditions that are the same as those of the day undergone to set the operation plan are used for predicting the predicted occupancy state, and thus the resident's life plan can be predicted with high accuracy , Furthermore, the weather information is used for the prediction of the home occupancy state, and thus the prediction accuracy can be further increased.

For example, in the case of the prediction occupancy state data of June 6, in the time from 18:00 to 18:30, while the rain is predicted, based on the occupancy state data of a preceding 5-day section, in which Rain drops, calculated, reads the Housing Forecasting device 15 from the daily occupancy status data of a house A of the recent 56-day period (8 weeks) 5 daily occupancy status data for 18:00 to 18:30 of the immediately preceding 5-date days in which rain falls (June 5, 22 May, May 21, May 5 and April 30). If the respective state values of the home occupancy state data is "0", "0", "0", "1", and "0", the average state value is "0.2".

Here, when the threshold is set to "0.5", due to the average state value being smaller than the threshold, the home occupancy prediction device is saying 15 before that the occupancy state is "busy", and sets the state value of the prediction occupancy state data for 18:00 to 18:30 of June 6 to "0".

 The threshold for predicting the occupancy state may be changed as necessary. The threshold may be set to a value such as 0.7, which is greater than 0.5, to make the determination of non-occupancy more difficult. Conversely, the threshold can be set to a value, such as 0.3, that is less than 0.5 to make the determination of non-occupancy easier. For example, only in the case where there is a non-occupancy in all timeslots undergoing the determination, when it is desired to set the predicted home occupancy state, the threshold value can be set to 1.

The Housing Forecasting Device 15 the management device for the operation of the water heater 1 For example, at a point in time immediately before the day that the operating plan is set (for example, at 23:00 of the previous day), the occupancy state prediction processing is performed to predict the occupancy state of the following day for each apartment. The execution of the home occupancy state prediction processing by the occupancy prediction device 15 may at a time the completion of storage of the required data in the memory 14 respectively. However, performing the occupancy state prediction processing immediately before is advantageous in that such a performance does not effect the temporary storage of the prediction occupancy state data in the memory 14 requires, and a reduction in the storage capacity of the memory 14 allows.

 Furthermore, the predicted occupancy state in the present embodiment is determined by comparing between the average state value and the threshold. However, instead of predicting and using an average, the home occupancy state may be predicated on the basis of that of a plurality of state values having the largest number, "0" or "1" (majority-based determination).

 Excess energy-prediction processing

12 FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the surplus power prediction processing according to Embodiment 1. FIG. The excess energy prediction device 16 the management device for the operation of the water heater 1 reads the weather information for the following day from memory 14 (Step S41).

Next, the excess energy prediction device pulls 16 out of those in the store 14 stored weather information of the past one day, for which there is a similarity in the weather information for the following day (step S42). For example, the term "day for which there is a similarity in the weather information for the following day" means the day for which sun exposure prediction time slots of the following day are most similar to previous sun exposure time slots.

The excess energy prediction device 16 reads out the energy consumption data and the power generation data of each time slot of the similar day from the memory 14 (Step S43) and predicts the surplus energy of each time slot on the basis of the read power consumption data and power generation data (Step S44). The excess energy prediction device 16 generates the prediction surplus energy data indicating values of the prediction surplus energy (step S45), and the processing is ended.

The excess energy prediction device 16 the management device for the operation of the water heater 1 For example, performs the excess energy prediction processing to predict the surplus energy of the following day for each dwelling at a time immediately before (for example, 23:00 of the previous day) the setting of the operation plan. For example, the values of the prediction excess energy of each time slot for each dwelling are calculated using formula 1.

 [Formula 1]

• Ps _i = max ((Pg _i - (Pc _i - Pb _i )), 0)

Here, Ps _i indicates the prediction surplus energy of the dwelling i (where i is a number from 1 to N) which is in a certain time slot occurs. Pg _i indicates the generated energy of the apartment i in the same timeslot. Pc _i indicates the energy consumption of the apartment i in the same timeslot. Pb _i shows the energy consumption of the water heater 8th in this time slot in the case where this same time slot falls in a water heating operation prediction time. All of these data are out of memory in step S43 14 read. In the case where the dwelling i is not equipped with a solar power generation system, the value of Pg _{i is} always 0, and large Ps _i is = 0 in all timeslots.

 Furthermore, the method of extracting the day, which is similar to the past weather information with the following day, is not limited to the case of extracting the day for which the greatest similarity with respect to a certain meteorological condition exists, and several Days (such as a group of 5 days) that are most similar to specific meteorological conditions can be pulled out. In this case, averages of the several similar days may be formed to calculate the prediction excess energy. Further, the method of calculating the prediction surplus power may be different according to the application as for the power generation data by taking an average value of several days in which the weather information is similar, and for the energy consumption data by taking an average value of days, which represent the same day of the week is taken.

Operation plan determination processing 1

3 FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the operation plan determination processing according to Embodiment 1. FIG. The scheduling device 17 the management device for the operation of the water heater 1 sums the prediction excess energy Ps _i for each apartment, time slot-by-slot, based on the prediction excess energy data generated by the excess energy prediction processing, and calculates the group prediction excess energy (step S51). However, in the case where the solar energy generation system is shared by the group, the prediction surplus energy of the group is calculated by the equation of the formula 2, rather than by Ps _{i, in} total of all apartments.

[Formula 2]

• 

Pg indicates the generated energy of the solar power generation system shared by the group. The scheduling device 17 determines whether there is a time slot (hereinafter referred to as the "excess power generation time slot") in which the prediction surplus energy of the group is greater than or equal to the power consumption of the water heating operation of the water heater 8th is (step S52). If there is no excess power generation time slot (NO in step S52), the scheduling device sets 17 the water heating operations of the water heater 8th the apartments for which the water heating operation is not allocated, and sets (all apartments) to the normal time slot (night time) (step S58).

If there is an excess power generation time slot (YES in step S52), the scheduling device determines 17 on the basis of the prediction dwelling state data generated by the dwelling state prediction processing, if there is a dwelling vacant in the surplus power generation time slot (step S53).

If there are apartments vacant in the surplus power generation time slot (YES in step S53), the scheduling device determines 17 from such apartments, a priority order by arranging the apartments in descending order from the house with the largest amount of remaining hot water (in ascending order from the house with the least amount of hot water) (step S54). The scheduling device 17 sets the water heating operation of the water heater 8th the highest priority apartment in the excess power generation time slot (step S55).

Subsequently, the planning determination device closes 17 the apartments for which the water heating operation of the water heater 8th is set in the excess power generation time slot (step S56) and subtracts the power consumption required for the water heating operation of the water heaters 8th is required from the prediction surplus energy of the excess power generation time slot (step S57). The processing returns to step S52, and steps S52 to S57 are repeated until there are no remaining surplus power generation time slots, or the water heating operation becomes the water heaters 8th all dwellings unoccupied in the surplus power generation time slot allocated, and there are no remaining dwellings unoccupied in the surplus power generation time slot.

If there are no surplus power generation slots (NO in step S52), or if there are no idle residences in the surplus power generation slots (NO in step S52), or if there are no idle residences in the surplus power generation slot (NO in step S53) ) sets the scheduling device 17 the water heating operation of the water heaters 8th the remaining unsettled dwellings for which the water heating operation is not allocated to the normal time slot (night time) (step S58).

On the other hand, if there are no vacant apartments in the excess power generation timeslot (NO in step S53), the scheduling apparatus sets 17 the water heating operation of the water heaters 8th the non-set apartments (all apartments) for which the water heating operation is not allocated, on the normal time slot (night time) (step S58). At this time, the prediction surplus energy of the excess power generation time slot need not be revised to zero, for convenience, for example.

The scheduling device 17 generates the schedule information planning the water heating operation for all apartments (step S59), the communication device 11 sends the plan information via the communication network 2 to the apartment gateways 3 of the respective apartments (step S60), and the processing is ended.

When the home gateway communication device of the home gateway installed in each home 3 the operating plan from the management device 1 for the operation of the water heater via the communication network 2 receives, sends the apartment gateway communication device 3 the operation plan to the water heater control device 34 , and the water heater control unit 34 controls, on the basis of the operation plan, the start and stop times of the water heating operation of the water heater 8th ,

 Further, in step S54, the order of priority is determined by arranging in descending order from the house with the largest amount of remaining hot water (in ascending order of the smallest amount of hot water) to avoid loss of comfort to the occupants, and this arrangement It is used to assign a priority order so as to be the highest when the likelihood of occurrence of hot water leakage is small. The method for determining the order of priority may be changed, for example according to the application, as in descending order with the energy consumption amount of each dwelling. Furthermore, if there is only a single apartment, the order of priority of the apartment is automatically set to the first priority.

The scheduling device 17 the management device 1 for the operation of the water heater, the operation plan determination processing performs at a preset time.

Although in the present embodiment, the determination of whether the dwelling in the excess power generation time slot is idle is made based on the prediction dwelling condition data generated in the dwelling state prediction processing, this configuration is not limitative. For example, in the case where the surplus power prediction processing for predicting the surplus power is performed on the following day for each dwelling at a time immediately before the operation plan is set, the determination of whether the dwelling is idle can be made on the basis of housing occupancy. Condition data is taken in real time from the home occupancy determining device 12 be generated. In this case, the provision of the home occupancy prediction apparatus is 15 for the management device 1 not required for the operation of the heater.

As described above, in the management system 100 for the operation of the water heating apparatus according to Embodiment 1 in the case of the power generation system in which the generated amount of energy changes depending on weather conditions and connected to the power grid, the water heating operation of the water type electric heater of one or more apartments is optimally timed Surplus energy is effectively used at a lower cost than in the case of using a storage battery, and energy leveling can be realized. Further, the water heating operation time slot of the water heater is set in consideration of the resident's life plan and is centered on the time slot which does not require the use of hot water heated by the water heater, and thus the surplus energy of the solar energy generation can be used effectively while the comfort for the inhabitants are preserved.

 Embodiment 2

A responsive technology exists as a technology in which bidirectional communication between the Energy company (supply side) and the consumer apartment (consumer side) as an apartment is realized via an intelligent meter, which is an electrical energy meter containing a bidirectional information communication function, the energy company sends energy price information to the consumer apartment and a housing energy management system (HEMS) within the consumer apartment on the basis of such price information optimally controls the electrical devices in the home.

In general, demand / response technology is a leveling technology that reduces peak electricity consumption by increasing electricity bills for peak energy consumption. However, the demand / response technology is used here for the benefit of excess energy by increasing the used electricity deficiencies in the time slots when excess energy is generated. In Embodiment 2, an intelligent meter for the energy measuring device 24 is used according to the embodiment 1, and thus excess energy is used by solar energy generation with a better real-time behavior.

The basic configuration of the management system for operating the water heater according to Embodiment 2 is similar to that of the management system 100 for the operation of the water heating device according to Embodiment 1. Components which are the same as or similar to the embodiments are given the same reference numerals, and the description of such components will be omitted.

The management device 1 for the operation of the water heater according to the embodiment 2, at least includes the communication device 11 , the memory 14 , and the scheduling device 17 , The subject matter of the operation plan determination processing in Embodiment 2 is a contracted apartment for which there is a contract that allows the power company to design electric dwell devices such as the water heater 8th in the timeslot, for which the energy company determines that excess energy is generated by solar energy generation to control automatically. For example, in order to co-operate on the use of surplus power and stabilize the power grid, the content of the contract is determined so as to incentivize the home by means such as lowering the electrical bill for that time slot. In the present embodiment, at least one contracted apartment among the apartments 1-N.

Operation plan determination processing 2

14 FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the operation plan determination processing according to Embodiment 2. FIG. If the energy company determines that the energy delivery amount is increasing by solar energy production and the group is generating excess energy, the energy company will send excess energy information to the smart meter indicating the calculated value of the excess energy and the time slot for which the generation of excess energy for the group is determined , The smart meter sends the received excess power information to the communication device 11 the management device 1 for the operation of the water heater.

If no excess energy information is received (NO in step S61), the communication device repeats 11 the management device 1 for the operation of the water heater, the step S61 and waits for the receipt of the excess energy information. Upon receipt of the excess energy information by the communication device 11 (YES in step S61) determines the scheduling device 17 Whether the excess energy of the group of the time slot indicated by the excess energy information is greater than or equal to the power consumption by the water heating operation of the water heater 8th is (step S62). When the excess energy of the group is not greater than or equal to the power consumption of the water heating operation of the water heater 8th is (NO in step S62) sets the scheduling device 17 on the normal time slot (night time) of the water heating operation of the water heater 8th the non-set apartments (all apartments) for which the water heating operation has not yet been allocated (step S68).

When the excess energy of the group is greater than or equal to the power consumption by the water heating operation of the water heater 8th is (YES in step 62), the clear determination device refers 17 on the contract housing information previously stored in the store 14 indicate stored contract information, and determines if there is an unsettled contract housing for which the water heater operating time of the water heater 8th is not assigned (step S63).

If there is a contracted home (YES in step S63), the scheduling device determines 17 among the contracted apartments the order of priority, adding the contracted apartment with the highest energy consumption in the time slot is given the higher priority (step S64). The scheduling device 17 sets the water heating operation of the water heater 8th the highest priority apartment in the time slot indicated by the excess energy information (step S65).

Thereafter, the scheduling device closes 17 the apartments for which the water heating operation of the water heater 8th is set in the time slot indicated in the excess energy information (step S66), and that for the water heating operation of the water heater 8th required power consumption is subtracted from the surplus power of the time slot indicated in the excess power information (step S67). The processing returns to the step S62, and the steps S62-S67 are repeated until the excess energy of the group is smaller than the power consumption by the water heating operation of the water heater 8th or until there are no contract apartments for which the placement has not yet been made.

When the excess energy of the group is smaller than the power consumption by the water heating operation of the water heater 8th is (NO in step S62), or if there are no contract apartments left for which the setting has not yet been enforced (NO in step S63), the schedule determining apparatus sets 17 the water heating operation of the water heaters 8th the remaining apartments for which setting is not performed are set to the normal time slot (night time), and the water heating operation is not allocated (step S68). At this time, the surplus energy of the time slot indicated by the excess energy information can be revised to zero, for convenience, for example.

The scheduling device 17 generates the schedule information indicating the water heating operation plan for all apartments (step S69), the communication device 11 sends the plan information over the communication network 2 to the power company (step S70), and the processing is ended.

Upon receipt of the operation plan from the management device 1 for the operation of the water heater, the power company controls the start time and the stop time of the water heating operation of the water heater based on the operation plan 8th the contracted apartment.

Further, the order of priority is set in step S64 to assign a higher priority when the power consumption is higher in the time slot indicated by the excess energy information. The energy consumption for this time slot may be the real time energy consumption for that time by the energy data acquisition device 31 of the apartment gateway, or alternatively, the energy consumption may be the energy consumption predicted based on past energy consumption data. Furthermore, to provide an incentive by reducing the electricity bill for that time slot in the contracted home, for example, the management device 1 for the operation of the water heater, the occupancy prediction device 15 For example, the method of determining the order of priority may be changed according to the application, such as assigning the priority of the contracted apartment for which the prediction occupancy state data is "occupied."

 In the management system for operating the water heater according to the above-described Embodiment 2, a bidirectional communication function by the smart meter is used between the power company and the dwelling, and thus the surplus power can be used by solar power generation with better real-time performance. This will contribute to the stabilization of the power supply network of the energy company.

 Although Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 have been described separately above, these embodiments can be combined. Further, instead of solar energy generation, different means such as wind generation and geothermal generation may be used as the renewable energy according to Embodiments 1 and 2.

15 FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the management apparatus for operating the hot water device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. As in 15 is illustrated contains the management device 1 for the operation of the water heater, a control device 81 , a main memory 82 , an external memory 83 , an operation unit 84 , a display device 85 and a transceiver 86 , The main memory 82 , the external memory 83 , the operation unit 84 , the display device 85 and the transceiver 86 are each through an internal bus 80 with the control device 81 connected.

The control device 81 contains components such as a central processing unit (CPU) and corresponding to one in the external memory 83 stored control program 89 various processes of Apartment occupancy determiner 12 , the weather information acquisition device 13 , the excess energy prediction device 16 , the Housing Forecasting Device 15 and the scheduling device 17 the management device 1 for the operation of the water heater by.

The main memory 82 contains a memory such as a random access memory (RAM), is used to load the in the external memory 83 stored control programs and is used as a workspace of the control device 81 used.

The external memory 83 includes a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, a disk, a DVD-RAM and a DVD-RW, and previously stores a program for causing the controller 81 the processing of the management device 1 for the operation of the water heater, and in response to a command from the controller 81 delivers the external memory 83 data stored by the program to the control device 81 , and registered by the control device 81 delivered data. The memory 14 contains the external memory 83 ,

The operation unit 84 includes a keyboard and a pointing device such as a mouse and the like, and an interface device including the keyboard and the pointing device and the like with the internal bus 80 combines. In the case that the user inputs information directly into the management apparatus for the operation of the water heater, the inputted information becomes about the operation unit 84 to the control device 81 delivered.

The display device 85 includes a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display device (LCD), and the like. In the event that the user information directly into the management device 1 for the operation of the water heater shows the display device 85 an operation screen.

The transmitter / receiver 86 includes a network connection device or radio communication device that connects to a network, and a serial interface or a local area network (LAN) interface that connects to the network connection device or the radio communication device. The transmitter / receiver 86 has the function of the communication device 11 ,

The processing by the communication device 11 , the Housing Determination Device 12 , the weather information acquisition device 13 , the memory 14 , the Housing Forecasting Device 15 , the excess energy prediction device 16 and the scheduling device 17 the in 6 Illustrated management device for the operation of the water heater is through the processing of the control program 89 by using resources such as the control device 81 , the main memory 82 , the external memory 83 , the operation unit 84 , the display device 85 and the sender / receiver 86 carried out.

 In addition, the aforementioned hardware configuration or flowchart is an example and may be freely modified and revised.

The components that are central to carrying out the processing of the management device 1 for the operation of the water heater and the control device 81 , the main memory 82 , the external memory 83 , the operation unit 84 , the display device 85 , the transmitter / receiver 86 , the internal bus 80 and the like are not necessarily components of a dedicated system, and these components may be implemented using a standard computer system. For example, the management device 1 for the operation of the water heating apparatus performing the aforementioned processing, by storing a computer program for performing the operations in a computer-readable recording medium (such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, and the like) by distributing the recording medium and by installing the computer program stored in the recording medium into the computer. Furthermore, the management device 1 for the operation of the water heater also by previously storing the computer program in a storage device of a server device in a communication network such as the Internet and by downloading the computer program by a normal computer system.

In addition, in the case of the realization of the functions of the management device 1 for the operation of the water heater by a processor allocated to an operating system (OS) and an application program or stored by execution in cooperation with the OS and the application of the application program part alone in the recording medium or the storage device.

 Alternatively, computer programs may be superimposed on a carrier wave for delivery via a communications network. For example, the computer program may be loaded onto a billboard system (BBS) in a communications network and delivered over a network. The above-described processes can be performed by starting the computer programs and running the computer programs under the control of the OS in a manner similar to other application programs.

 In the above, some embodiments will be described for illustrative purposes. Although the foregoing discussion represents specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and more particularly without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the description and drawings are to be considered in an illustrative rather than a limiting sense. Therefore, this detailed description is not to be construed in a limiting sense, and the scope of the invention is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

Management device for operating a water heater

2

communication network

3

Housing Gateway

4

communication device

5

TV

6

air conditioning

7

lighting device

8th

water heating

9

Energy measuring device

11

communication device

12

Apartment occupancy determiner

13

Weather information acquisition device

14

Storage

15

Apartment occupancy predictor

16

Excess energy prediction device

17

Plan determining device

21

Power grid

22

solar panel

23

power conditioner

24

energy meter

25

distribution panel

31

Energy Data Acquisition Device

32

Operating data acquisition device

33

Apartment gateway communication device

34

Wasserheizvorrichtungs control unit

80

internal bus

81

control device

82

main memory

83

external storage

84

operation unit

85

display device

86

Transmitter-receiver

89

control Program

100

Management system for operating a water heater

801

Heat pump type heater

802

Hot water storage tank

803

Water flow passage

804

circulation pump

805

radiator

806

underfloor heating

807

Flow passage adjustment valve

811

compressor

812

heat exchangers

813

expansion valve

814

Evaporator

821

Hot water tank sensor group

Claims (8)

 A management apparatus for operating a water heating apparatus for controlling the operation of an electric-type water heating apparatus installed in at least one dwelling connecting a power generation system that generates energy in an amount that varies depending on weather conditions to a power supply network the management device for operating the water heater comprises: an operation data acquisition device for acquiring operation data indicating an operation state of an electrical device installed in the home; a weather information acquiring device for acquiring weather information of an area containing a place of the home; an occupancy determination device for determining on the basis of the operation data whether a resident of the apartment occupies the apartment and for generating occupancy status data indicating a particular occupancy state; an excess energy prediction device for predicting an excess energy of the power generation system based on the weather information and generating excess energy prediction data indicating a time slot and a value of the predicted excess energy; and an operation plan determiner for determining an operation plan for effecting an operation of the water heater of the dwelling based on the dwelling condition data and the surplus power prediction data, and for generating operation plan information indicating the particular operation plan. A management apparatus for operating a water heater according to claim 1, Further, a home occupancy prediction apparatus for predicting the home occupancy state of the home in the time slot indicated by the surplus power prediction data based on at least the home occupancy state data, and generating home occupancy state prediction data indicative of the predicted home occupancy state, wherein the operation plan determiner is further provided for determining the operation plan and generating the operation plan information based on the home occupancy state prediction data and the excess energy prediction data. The water heater operating device according to claim 2, wherein the home occupancy prediction means is for predicting the home occupancy state of the home in the time slot indicated by the surplus energy prediction data based on the occupancy state data and the weather information, and generating the home occupancy status. forecast data. A water heater driving apparatus according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the operation plan determining means is further provided for allocating, for the time slot indicated by the surplus power prediction data, an operation of the water heater of the dwelling for which the occupancy state is determined by the occupancy State data for the time slot indicated by the excess energy prediction data is displayed as "not busy". A water heater operating device according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein said operation plan determining means is further provided for determining an order of priority of the home for which the home occupancy status is indicated by the occupancy status data as "not occupied" the basis of the operating data, and for allocating, for the time slot indicated by the surplus power prediction data, an operation of the water heater in descending order from an apartment having a highest priority in the order. A management apparatus for operating a water heater according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the at least one apartment has a contracted apartment in which the water heater is automatically controlled by an energy supplier in a timeslot so that the energy supplier determines the excess energy generated; the water heater operation management apparatus further comprises an excess-energy-information acquiring device for acquiring surplus-energy information indicative of a calculated value of the excess energy and the time-slot determined by the energy supplier to generate the surplus energy; and the operation plan determination device is further provided for determining the operation plan for effecting the operation of the contracted water heater on the basis of the surplus power information, and for sending the generated operation plan information to the power supplier. A management system for operating a water heater, comprising: the management apparatus for operating a water heater according to any one of claims 1-6; the electric-type water heater to be installed in each of the at least one apartment, a power generation system that generates energy in an amount that varies depending on weather conditions connects to the power grid; and a home gateway to be installed in each of the at least one home to collect the operation data indicating the operating state of the electric device installed in the home, and to send the collected operation data to the water heater operating device . wherein the home gateway is provided for controlling the water heater based on the operation plan information received from the water heater operation manager and indicating the operation plan for effecting the operation of the water heater of the at least one home. A management method for operating a water heater controlled by a water heater operating device that controls the operation of a water heater installed in each of at least one dwelling, the dwelling a power generation system that varies energy in an amount that varies depending on weather conditions; generated, connected to a power grid, is performed, which method comprises: a housing occupancy determination step of determining based on operating data indicating an operating state of an installed in the apartment electrical device, whether Residents of the apartment occupies the apartment, and generating Wohnungsbelegungs status data indicating a specific housing occupancy status; an excess energy prediction step of predicting excess energy of the power generation system based on weather information of an area containing a location of the dwelling and generating excess energy prediction data indicating a time slot and a value of the predicted excess energy; and an operation plan determination step of determining an operation plan for effecting the operation of the water heater of the dwelling based on the dwelling condition data and the surplus power prediction data, and generating operation plan information indicating the particular operation plan.

Images