JP2002040065A - Control system of electric equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a control system of electric equipment capable of saving energy by providing a means of enhancing a user's consciousness of energy saving. SOLUTION: This control system of electric equipment comprises a plurality of electric equipment groups operated with an AC power source and a means connected to a plurality of pieces of electric equipment to calculate the operation time, electric energy consumption, electric rate, carbon dioxide discharge quantity of each operation equipment of the electric equipment groups every moment and displaying them to the user.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control system for electric equipment used to reduce the power consumption of electric equipment operated by a commercial AC power supply.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, power consumption in general households has been increasing due to the spread of personal computers and peripheral devices, the spread of air conditioners, and the increase in the number of households due to the increase in size and price of television sets (TV). Following. On the other hand, as a response to recent global environmental problems, there is an urgent need to reduce the power consumption of the above-described electric devices. To reduce the power consumption of each electrical device, we are reviewing the electronic circuit design and working to reduce the operating and standby time. For example, a video tape recorder (VTR) has a function of not displaying time during standby, thereby reducing power consumption during standby. In the personal computer, small power management is performed by setting a power saving mode on a hard disk or a display device.

[0003]

As described above, although individual power savings have been made for each electric device, conventionally, users know how much power is consumed for the operation of each electric device. As a result, it was difficult for the user to be conscious of power saving. As a result, there were many cases where electricity was used in a dripping state, such as when the TV was running and not being watched, or the air conditioner or the electric carpet was left running forgotten when it was unnecessary. On the other hand, as the number of electrical devices in the home increases, power is consumed by simply plugging the power cable into an outlet even when the device is not in operation. It has reached about 10% and cannot be ignored.

[0004] Conventionally, the amount of electricity used can only be determined from the total electricity bill in the home at the end of the month at the request of the power company. Therefore, it is not possible to grasp the amount of electric use of each electric device or the actual use result in the middle of the month, and the user hardly has the opportunity to recognize the electricity rate while using the electric device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to display energy usage of each electric device to a user on a display device at any time or on a regular basis, to raise the user's awareness of energy saving, and to suppress excessive power consumption, thereby saving energy. An object of the present invention is to provide a control system of an electric device that enables the control.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a control system for an electric device according to the present invention is operated by a commercial AC power supply and includes a plurality of electric devices each having a means for detecting power consumption. The power consumption of each electric device output from the group and the electric device group or the carbon dioxide emission generated when the power consumption is generated based on the preset reference data is constantly calculated. A computing unit; and a display unit for displaying a result calculated by the computing unit.

[0007] According to this configuration, the user can use the display means to recognize data such as the power consumption of each electric device and the amount of carbon dioxide emitted when the power consumption is generated. As a result, it is possible to raise the user's awareness of energy saving, to suppress unnecessary or excessive power consumption, and to realize energy saving.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control system for an electric appliance, wherein the control system has the above-mentioned configuration, and means for recording a date and time designated in advance by a user, an accumulated power consumption from the designated date and time to the present, or Cumulative electricity bill,
Alternatively, it is provided with a cumulative calculating means for calculating the cumulative carbon dioxide emission, and a means for displaying the result calculated by the cumulative calculating means.

According to this configuration, data such as the accumulated power consumption during a period desired by the user can be recognized by the display device at any time. As a result, it is possible to raise the user's awareness of energy saving, to suppress unnecessary or excessive power consumption, and to realize energy saving.

[0010] A control system for electric equipment according to still another aspect of the present invention is the control system having the above-mentioned configuration, in which the operating time, the power consumption, the electricity bill, and the carbon dioxide emission of each electric equipment are determined in advance by the user. There are storage means for storing the set upper limit value, comparing means for comparing the upper limit value with the current calculation amount, and signal generating means for issuing a signal to the user based on the comparison result of the comparing means.

According to this configuration, even if the user does not constantly monitor the display device, if the power consumption exceeds a preset value, it can be recognized by the warning signal. As a result, the user can control the operation of each electric device to realize energy saving.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control system for an electric device, comprising: a communication unit for transmitting information of a result calculated by the arithmetic unit or the cumulative arithmetic unit to an external unit or receiving various data from the external unit; have. Also,
It is preferable that the control system having the above-described configuration includes a power control unit that transmits a power control signal to each connected electric device and controls the operation of each electric device. Further, the electric charge per unit power consumption, the reference update data of the carbon dioxide emission amount is received from outside, and the set reference data is updated to calculate the electric charge, the carbon dioxide emission amount, and the communication cost. It preferably has a function of

According to the control system having this configuration, the function of transmitting the calculated information to the outside allows the user to check data such as power consumption by a mobile phone even when the user goes out, and to transmit a control signal. The operation of each electric device can be controlled. As a result, the user can recognize these data anytime and anywhere and control the operation of each electric device. Further, by transmitting the power consumption to the power company, the need for a monthly meter reading operation can be eliminated. Further, by updating the reference data set by the reference update data received from the electric power company, it is possible to calculate an electric charge, a carbon dioxide emission amount, and the like using the latest reference data. Transmission and reception with a power company can be performed by communication using a power line or various telephone systems.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of a control system for electric equipment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the following embodiments, the electric devices to be controlled will be described as a television, a VCR, an air conditioner, a personal computer, and an electric carpet.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a control system for electric equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the control system for the electric device according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,
Each of the electric devices such as a television (TV) 1, a video deck (VTR) 2, an air conditioner (AC) 3, a personal computer (PC) 4, and an electric carpet (DC) 5 has a voltmeter, an ammeter, etc., inside each of the above electric devices. Detector 1 for detecting power consumption of equipment
1 is provided. Each detection unit 11 of each electric device 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 is connected by a cable 7 to a display device 6 that displays the operating state of each electric device.

The display device 6 receives the latest electricity rate per unit power and the reference rate of carbon dioxide emission provided by an electric power company or the like through, for example, an electric power distribution line or various telephone systems, and outputs the calculation results to the outside of the system. And a communication unit 9 for transmitting the information to the user. In addition, the display device 6 calculates the power consumption based on the output result from the detection unit 11 of each electric device, and uses the reference rate and the power consumption received by the communication unit 9 to calculate the electricity rate and the carbon dioxide emission. An arithmetic unit 12 for calculating and recording the amount is provided, and a display unit 13 for displaying the calculated amount of power consumption, amount of electricity, and carbon dioxide emission. Further, the display device 6 sets an upper limit value such as an electric energy, an electricity rate, and a carbon dioxide emission amount used by the user in advance, and stores and stores the upper limit value set in the user setting unit 14 and the user setting unit 14. A comparison unit 15 that compares the value with the output result of the calculation unit 12 is provided.

Further, the display device 6 uses the output result of the comparison unit 15 as necessary, for example, the actual usage electricity rate actually calculated by the operation unit exceeds the set scheduled usage electricity rate. In this case, a signal transmission unit 10 that issues a warning by means such as a warning sound or lamp blinking, and a power control unit 16 that controls the operation of each electric device by a control signal from the comparison unit 15 or a control signal from the outside are provided. I have.

In the control system for electrical equipment according to the present invention, the individual electronic equipments 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are connected to the display device 6 by cables 7, 7,. Calculate the amount, electricity consumption rate, and carbon dioxide emissions,
Can be displayed in real time. In this way, by displaying information such as the amount of electricity used and the electricity rate of each electric device in real time, the user can recognize useless use of electric power and increase interest in energy saving. As a result, the operation of each electric device can be adjusted to achieve power saving.

The user setting unit 14 of the display device 6 is used for operating time, power consumption, electricity rate, and the like of each connected electric device.
The upper limit value set by the user in advance is stored for the carbon dioxide emission amount, and the comparing unit 15 compares the upper limit value with the current calculated amount. And, since the signal generation unit 10 for issuing an alarm signal to the user is provided based on the comparison result, the consumer can recognize the excessive use of the electric power by the alarm without monitoring the display device 6. And excessive power consumption can be prevented. The calculation unit is provided at regular intervals,
Alternatively, in accordance with the selection operation of the user, the display content, for example, the possible operating time for the setting, power consumption, electricity rate,
A function of switching and displaying the amount of carbon dioxide emission can be provided.

The display device 6 has a communication unit 9 and a power control unit 16 therein. For example, a user can use a mobile phone 8 to know the amount of electricity used while away from home. . As a result, even if the power switch is forgotten to be turned off, by sending a cutoff control signal to the power control unit 16, it is possible to prevent the power switch from being forgotten and to suppress unnecessary power consumption.

If the power consumption and the electricity rate of all the electric appliances in the home are transmitted to the power company via a communication line, the power company can read the home power meter one by one, as in the related art. There is no need to go around, and significant labor costs and labor can be reduced, and immediate counting can be expected. It should be noted that the method of obtaining the latest information from the power company via the communication line from the communication unit 9 and setting the information on the reference rate used when calculating the electricity rate as described in the present embodiment is quick, accurate and preferable. .

In the first embodiment, each of the electric devices 1, 2, 3,
Although the detection units 11 and 4 and the display device 6 are connected by the cable 7, the cable 7 is not necessary if each electric device is provided with a wireless communication function so that data is transmitted wirelessly. Therefore, it is suitable. The calculation unit for calculating information such as power consumption, electricity rate, and carbon dioxide emission amount may be included in each electric device instead of the display device 6 that controls each electric device. The contents of the display may be not only a graph display as shown in FIG. 1 but also a digital display of numerical values.

[0023]

As described in detail in the above embodiments, in the control system for electric equipment according to the present invention, the user can use the electric power consumed by the individual electric equipment during operation, the associated electric charge, Information such as carbon emissions can be obtained at any time. Therefore, the user can raise awareness of power consumption, pay attention to excessive use, and prevent wasteful power consumption. In addition, by issuing a warning when the value exceeds the upper limit set in advance by the user, it is possible to recognize even if the user does not monitor the display device, thereby raising the user's awareness. And the effect of energy saving is increased. In addition, by using communication means, a user can confirm the amount of power consumption using a mobile phone or the like from outside and control the operation of electric equipment, or obtain the latest rate from a power company and update the reference rate. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a control system for an electric device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the electric device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Television 2 VCR 3 Air conditioner 4 Personal computer 5 Electric carpet 6 Display device 7 Cable 8 Mobile phone 9 Communication means 10 Alarm signal generator 11 Detection unit 12 Operation unit 13 Display unit 14 User setting unit 15 Comparison unit 16 Power control unit

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of electric equipment groups, each of which is operated by a commercial AC power supply and has means for detecting an amount of power consumption therein, and the power consumption amount of each electric equipment output from the electric equipment group or An electric unit having an arithmetic unit for constantly calculating an electricity rate or a carbon dioxide emission amount generated when generating the consumed electric energy based on set reference data, and a display unit for displaying a result calculated by the arithmetic unit. Equipment control system. 2. A means for a user to specify and record a date and time in advance, a cumulative calculating means for calculating a cumulative power consumption, a cumulative electricity rate, or a cumulative carbon dioxide emission from the specified date and time to the present, and the cumulative calculation 2. The control system according to claim 1, further comprising means for displaying a result calculated by said means. 3. A storage unit for storing an upper limit value set in advance by a user with respect to an operation time, an electric power consumption amount, an electric charge, and a carbon dioxide emission amount of each electric device, and compares the upper limit value with a currently calculated amount. 3. The control system according to claim 1, further comprising a comparing unit, and a unit that emits a signal based on a comparison result of the comparing unit. 4. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein the calculation means switches the display content on the display means and displays the display content at predetermined time intervals or according to a user's selection operation. Control system. 5. A communication device for transmitting information of a result calculated by the calculating means or the accumulating means to an external device and receiving various data from the external device. The control system for an electric device according to 2, 3, or 4. 6. A power control unit for transmitting a power control signal to each of the electric devices and controlling operation of each of the electric devices by the power control signal or a control signal obtained by the communication unit. The control system for an electric device according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. 7. The reference update data obtained by externally receiving reference update data of an electricity rate per unit power consumption and carbon dioxide emission by the communication means, and obtaining the set reference data by the communication means. 7. The control system for an electric device according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, wherein the electric charge, the carbon dioxide emission amount, and the communication cost are updated based on the following. 8. The control system for electric equipment according to claim 5, wherein the communication means transmits the amount of electricity used and the price of electricity to a power company.