JP2008005572A - Photovoltaic power generation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photovoltaic power generation system which can make an operation time of an electric apparatus being an object to be fed with electricity which uses only photovoltaic generated power longer than that of a conventional system. <P>SOLUTION: In the photovoltaic power generation system including the electric apparatus 3 operated by power generated by solar battery panels 20, 21 of a photovoltaic power generation part 2, there are provided: a communication part 24 and a communication line 5 being communication means each transmitting at least one kind of information on power generation amounts P of the solar battery panels 20, 21, an electricity accumulation amount R of an accumulator 23, and the maintenance status M of the photovoltaic power generation part to the electric apparatus 3 side from the photovoltaic power generation part 2 side; and a communication part 32. The power consumption of an electric apparatus body 30 is controlled on the basis of at least one kind of the information on the power generation amounts P, the electricity accumulation amount R, and the maintenance status M which are received at the electric apparatus 3 side via the communication means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a photovoltaic power generation system in which an electrical device to be fed is combined with a photovoltaic power generation unit, and more particularly to a photovoltaic power generation system suitable for general household use.

  In recent years, as the cost of solar cells has progressed and the awareness of environmental maintenance and resource protection has increased, expectations for solar power generation systems have only increased, but on the other hand, the generated power depends on natural phenomena. Since it is in a state of entrustment and is particularly affected by weather conditions, it is indispensable to take fine-grained measures accordingly.

  Therefore, in the conventional technology, not only the photovoltaic power generation system is used alone, but also by connecting to another power source, for example, a commercial power source, stable power can be generated against changes in the amount of power generated by solar power generation. A method for ensuring supply is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In the case of this conventional technology, if the power generation amount of the photovoltaic power generation system falls below the power demand of the electric equipment to be fed, the shortage of power is received from the commercial power source (purchasing power), so that stable power supply can be achieved. If the amount of power generated by solar power generation exceeds demand, surplus power will be transmitted (sold) to the commercial power source.
JP 2001-268800 A

  The conventional technology does not give consideration to the fact that the viewpoint is fixed in the stabilization of power supply by the solar power generation system, and there is a problem that it cannot sufficiently respond to the recent increase in energy saving (energy saving) momentum. there were.

  In recent years, various types of electrical equipment have been provided with various control functions related to power consumption reduction, and low power consumption has been achieved. Here, in the case of the conventional technology, control for reducing power consumption is as follows. The situation on the power supply side was not taken into consideration, limited to those based on autonomous judgment by each electrical device itself.

  In the prior art, when the amount of power generated by the solar power generation system falls below the demand, the power is simply purchased from the connected commercial power source. Therefore, in this case, the power consumption of the electric equipment to be supplied is the solar power generation system. Therefore, it can be said that there is a problem in energy saving in the conventional technology.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a photovoltaic power generation system in which the operation time of only the photovoltaic power generation of an electric device to be fed can be obtained longer than that of the prior art.

  The object is to provide at least one type of information on the power generation amount and the storage amount of the solar power generation unit and the maintenance status of the solar power generation unit in a solar power generation system including an electric device that operates with electric power generated by the solar power generation unit. Communication means for transmitting the power from the solar power generation unit to the electric device, and the power generation amount, the storage amount, and the maintenance status received by the electric device via the communication means are controlled regarding the power consumption of the electric device. This is achieved based on at least one type of information.

  At this time, the electric device includes an information storage unit, and the control related to the power consumption of the electric device is executed based on at least one type of information history of the power generation amount, the storage amount, and the maintenance status. The object can be achieved, and at the same time, the photovoltaic power generation unit includes an antenna, and the object is achieved even if a signal received by the antenna is transmitted to the electric device by the communication means. be able to.

  Further, at this time, the above-mentioned object can be achieved even if the communication means has a bidirectional communication function and the operation state of the photovoltaic power generation unit can be controlled from the electric device. Display means, and the display means may display the operating state of the photovoltaic power generation unit, and at this time, the display means is a display means originally provided in the electric device. The display unit of the electric device itself and the display unit of the solar power generation unit may be switched to use.

  Here, the information transmission path by the communication means may be constituted by a line for supplying electric power from the solar power generation unit to the electric equipment, and the communication means is also a power line communication means. And optical communication means and wireless communication means.

  According to the present invention, the operating conditions related to the power consumption of the electrical equipment are changed according to the amount of power generated by the solar power generation unit, and the continuation of the operation can be obtained while suppressing the functional degradation of the electrical equipment to the extent possible. As a result, it is possible to further reduce the amount of power purchased compared to the prior art.

  Hereinafter, the photovoltaic power generation system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments. Here, FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and a solar power generation system 1 shown here includes a solar power generation unit 2, an electric device 3, a power line 4, and a communication line 5. ing. First, the solar power generation unit 2 is provided with solar cell panels 20 and 21, a management unit 22, a storage battery 23, and a communication unit 24, and the electric device 3 has an electric device main body 30 and a control unit 31, and communicates with it. A part 32 is provided.

  At this time, the power line 4 is connected between the power generation output of the solar cell panels 20 and 21 and the power input of the electric device main body 30, and supplies the electric power generated by the solar cell panels 20 and 21 to the electric device main body 30. The communication line 5 is connected between the communication unit 24 on the photovoltaic power generation unit 2 side and the communication unit 32 on the electrical equipment 3 side, and functions to transmit signals between them.

  At this time, although not shown in the figure, the power obtained from the solar cell panels 20 and 21 is a direct current, and therefore, the power for converting the direct current power generated by these into the alternating current power required by the electric device main body 30. Usually, a conversion device (for example, an inverter device) is provided on the power line 4.

  First, the management unit 22 on the solar power generation unit 2 side monitors the operation state of the solar cell panels 20 and 21, the charge / discharge state of the storage battery 23, and the maintenance status thereof, and generates power for the solar cell panels 20 and 21. The charging / discharging of the storage battery 23 is controlled according to the amount P and the amount of demand power Q sent to the electric equipment 3 side via the power line 4. Together with this, a signal SP representing the amount of power generation P, a signal SR representing the amount of electricity R stored in the storage battery 23, and a signal SM representing the maintenance status M are communicated via the communication line 5 on the side of the electric power equipment 3. The communication unit 24 is controlled so as to be transmitted to the unit 32.

  Next, the control unit 31 on the electric equipment 3 side controls the communication unit 32 to receive the signal SP and the signal SR and the signal SM transmitted from the photovoltaic power generation unit 2 side via the communication line 4. The power generation amount P, the storage amount R, and the maintenance status M can be captured from these signals and the electric device main body 30 is controlled, and the operation related to the power consumption of the electric device main body 30 is the power generation amount. The change control is performed according to at least one kind of information of P, the amount of electricity R, and the maintenance status M.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Now, assuming that the operation of the electric device main body 30 is started, power is supplied from the photovoltaic power generation unit 2 to the electric device main body 30 through the power line 4, and the electric device main body is operated in the operation mode set at this time. 30 starts to operate. For example, if the electric device main body 30 is a television receiver, a television broadcast is received and an image is displayed and sound can be heard. If the electric device main body 30 is a personal computer, a predetermined initial menu is displayed.

  At this time, the management unit 22 controls charging / discharging of the storage battery 23 according to the power generation amount P and the demand power amount Q of the solar battery panels 20 and 21, and the power generation amount P is more than the demand power amount Q requested at this time. When there is too much, the storage battery 23 is charged, and when it is insufficient, it is controlled to be discharged. At this time, since the power generation amount P, the storage amount R, and the maintenance status M are given to the communication unit 24 by the monitor of the management unit 22, the signals SP, SQ, SM are transmitted to the communication line 5, It is received by the communication unit 32 on the electric equipment 3 side.

  Therefore, in the communication unit 32 on the electric equipment 3 side, each information of the power generation amount P, the storage amount R, and the maintenance status M is extracted, and these are input to the control unit 31. Therefore, the control unit 31 changes and controls the operation related to the power consumption of the electric device main body 30 according to the information, thereby extending the operation period of the electric device 3 only by the generated power of the solar battery panels 20 and 21. Is to be able to plan.

  Here, the change control of the operation related to the power consumption of the electric device main body 30 is, in short, the change control that causes the power consumption of the electric device main body to be reduced, and the content thereof varies depending on the type of the electric device. At this time, it is desirable to limit the operation of the electric device so as not to reduce the function as much as possible. In the case of the above-described television receiver or personal computer, for example, low luminance of image display corresponds.

  More specifically, for example, in the case of a device having a function of monitoring a non-operation state such as the above-described television receiver, personal computer, video, etc., and automatically shifting to a low power consumption state after a lapse of a predetermined time, the change control includes power generation. If the amount of electricity or the amount of electricity stored is small, the time to shift to the low power consumption state may be shortened, or the screen brightness may be reduced to reduce power consumption.In the case of an air conditioner, air conditioner or heating device, When the amount of power generation or the amount of electricity stored is small, the air volume may be weakened or the temperature setting may be changed so that the operating state is shortened.

  Therefore, in these cases, the control unit 31 estimates the power that can be supplied by the solar power generation unit 2 based on the power generation amount P, the power storage amount R, and the maintenance status M, and this is the normal demand by the electric device main body 30. While the power value exceeds the power value, the change control of the operation related to the power consumption of the electric device main body 30 is not performed. When the power value is lower, the change control is performed so that the power consumption of the electric device main body can be reduced.

  Therefore, according to this embodiment, the operation condition regarding the power consumption of the electric device main body 30 is changed according to the amount of power generated by the photovoltaic power generation unit 2, and the operation can be continued while suppressing the functional degradation of the electric device as much as possible. As a result, energy saving can be achieved by suppressing the amount of power purchased.

  At this time, it is not always necessary to perform the change control of the operation related to the power consumption of the electric device main body 30 based on all the information on the power generation amount P, the power storage amount R, and the maintenance status M, and at least one kind of these information In this case as well, it is possible to obtain continuation of operation while suppressing the degradation of the function of the electric equipment as much as possible, and as a result, by suppressing the amount of power purchased Needless to say, energy saving can be achieved.

  Here, in the case of the solar power generation system of the prior art, as described above, the solar power generation unit and the various electric devices are independent, and each of the various electric devices has power control such as low power consumption. It is carried out. For this reason, in an environment where power is supplied by a solar power generation system, there are some aspects that are not flexible, for example, when it is desired to use them properly depending on the usage state of the equipment and power consumption.

  For example, if the electrical device is a television or personal computer, when the amount of power generated by the photovoltaic power generation unit is large, the brightness is set to be high even if the power consumption increases slightly. Is set to low brightness, the temperature setting for air conditioners, the drying time setting for dishwashers and washing machines, etc., depending on the amount of power generation, other time setting for automatic power off of equipment If the amount of power generation is small, it may be possible to set it short, but these can also be performed manually.

  However, in practice, this is a rather cumbersome and troublesome operation, and could not be executed in practice. However, according to the above-described embodiment, these are automatically executed. Thus, energy saving is obtained. Then, next, the detail of the solar power generation system which concerns on this invention is demonstrated in detail by another embodiment.

  First, in FIG. 2, the memory 33 is provided in the control unit 31 of the electrical device 3, and the power generation amount P, the storage amount R, and the maintenance status M are sequentially stored therein, and the power consumption of the electrical device body 30 is related. This is an embodiment in which the operation change control is performed based on the power generation amount P, the storage amount R, and the history of the maintenance status M.

  In the case of the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 1, the operation change control related to the power consumption of the electric device main body 30 is executed in accordance with the monitored power generation amount P, the storage amount R, and the maintenance status M each time. However, according to the embodiment of FIG. 2, it can be executed in response to those histories.

  In this case, from the history of stored information, it is possible to know whether or not at least one of the power generation amount P and the storage amount R will be decreasing in the future. Then, at this time, the change control of the operation related to the power consumption of the electric device main body 30 can be started in advance, and further energy saving can be achieved.

  Next, in FIG. 3, the solar power generation unit 2 is provided with an antenna 25, and a signal STV received by the antenna 25, for example, by a television broadcast radio wave is transmitted from the communication unit 22 via the communication line 5 to the electrical device 3. Of the present invention in a case where the signal STV is supplied from the communication unit 32 to the antenna input of the television receiver 300 which is transmitted to the communication unit 32 on the side and is the electric device main body at this time The other configurations and operations are the same as those of the embodiment of FIG. 1 or FIG.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the communication unit 24 encodes each information of the power generation amount P, the storage amount R, and the maintenance status M into a signal of the same standard as the television broadcast signal, and modulates the information into the signal STV. The television receiver 300 is configured to multiplex and transmit the information to the communication unit 32, so that the information about the power generation amount P, the power storage amount R, and the maintenance status M is stored in the image display unit 301 as necessary. An image can be displayed.

  As for the encoding of the signal at this time, each information of the power generation amount P, the storage amount R, and the maintenance status M is generated in an image such as a numerical value or a graph and encoded into a video signal according to the NTSC standard, or not an image. A method of encoding as data in a blanking period according to the NTSC standard is adopted, and as for modulation, there is a method of modulating a frequency of a television band that is an empty channel in a region where the system is installed as a carrier. To be adopted.

  It should be noted that the information on the power generation amount P, the storage amount R, and the maintenance status M in this case may be easier to process on the receiving electrical device side if sent as numerical data. However, in the case of the embodiment of FIG. Each of the normal television reception, the power generation amount P, the storage amount R, and the maintenance status M can be obtained by simply switching the reception channel of the television receiver 300 without requiring addition of a new function to the television receiver 300. Both image displays of information can be obtained.

  Therefore, according to this embodiment, the user can easily monitor the status of the solar power generation unit 2 with a simple operation, and can easily know the power generation amount and the like. In the case of a system linked to a commercial power source here, the amount of power sold or the amount of power purchased can also be displayed. According to the embodiment of FIG. 3, it is not necessary to separately provide a feeder between the antenna 25 and the television receiver 300.

  Here, in the case of the conventional technology, a dedicated display device is necessary for the entire system when checking the state of the photovoltaic power generation unit indoors. In this case, a dedicated display is provided for notification of the status of the photovoltaic power generation unit. Since a device is required, there are disadvantages for the user in terms of cost and space saving. However, according to this embodiment, there is no fear of such disadvantages.

  By the way, in embodiment described above, the information transmission between the photovoltaic power generation part 2 side and the electric equipment 3 side is restricted to one direction toward the electric equipment 3 side from the photovoltaic power generation part 2 side. However, it may be configured to allow bidirectional transmission. Here, when the information transmission is in one direction from the photovoltaic power generation unit 2 side to the electrical equipment 3 side, the transmission of each information of the power generation amount P, the storage amount R, and the maintenance status M is always performed or at a predetermined time. Although it is supposed to be performed sequentially at intervals, according to the embodiment in which two-way communication is possible, the power generation amount P, the storage amount R, and the maintenance status M when required by a request from the electric device 3 side. Each piece of information can be transmitted.

  Moreover, in the above embodiment, the information transmission between the photovoltaic power generation unit 2 side and the electric equipment 3 side is performed by a communication unit including the communication unit 24, the communication unit 32, and the communication line 5. However, instead of this, communication means based on the power line standard, optical communication means based on the optical communication standard, or wireless communication means based on the wireless communication standard may be used.

  Here, in the case of communication means according to the power line standard, the power line 4 that is a line for supplying power from the photovoltaic power generation unit 2 to the electrical equipment 3 can be shared as the information transmission path by the communication means. In these cases, wiring in the room can be simplified. At this time, since the devices corresponding to various standards have been widely used in recent years, in this case, it is possible to obtain the convenience that the reception side can cope with only the change of software.

  Here, in this embodiment, the electric device is the television receiver 300, and a display unit is provided as an original function of the device. Therefore, in this case, on the electrical device 3 side, the received power generation amount P, stored electricity amount R, and maintenance status M information are converted by the control unit 31 into a format that can be displayed by the electrical device. For example, in the case of the television receiver 300 or video, it is converted and output so as to be output as a part of the OSD for displaying a menu or the like. In addition, when the electric device is, for example, a personal computer or a mobile phone, the user converts it into a display format desired by the software and outputs it.

  However, even if the display device is not equipped with a display device having a high drawing ability such as these, if a display device such as a liquid crystal capable of level display such as numerical display and graph is provided, the user's The display can be performed by providing a mode for switching to display each information of the power generation amount P, the storage amount R, and the maintenance status M by operation.

  For example, if the electrical device is an audio device, the liquid crystal display often has an area that can display numerical values, characters, and levels. In this case, there is no problem in displaying the above information. Can be made. In the examples given so far, a display unit provided as an original function in an electric device is used. However, a dedicated display unit may be provided separately.

  Therefore, according to these embodiments, it is possible to achieve both usability and low power consumption, such as controlling the backlight luminance of a liquid crystal television or a personal computer, for example, by the power generation amount P and the power storage amount R of the solar power generation unit 2. In this case, since the electric device has a display device, it is not necessary to prepare a separate monitor for checking the state of the solar power generation unit 2, and the cost of introducing the system can be reduced.

It is a block block diagram which shows 1st embodiment of the solar energy power generation system by this invention. It is a block block diagram which shows 2nd embodiment of the solar energy power generation system by this invention. It is a block block diagram which shows 3rd embodiment of the solar energy power generation system by this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1: Solar power generation system 2: Solar power generation part 3: Electric equipment 4: Power line 5: Communication line 20, 21: Solar cell panel 22: Management part 23: Storage battery 24: Communication part 25: Antenna 30: Electric equipment main body 31 : Control unit 32: Communication unit 33: Memory unit 300: Television receiver 301: Image display unit

Claims (8)

In a photovoltaic power generation system that includes electrical equipment that operates with the power generated by the photovoltaic power generation unit,
Providing communication means for transmitting at least one type of information on the power generation amount and power storage amount of the solar power generation unit and the maintenance status of the solar power generation unit from the solar power generation unit to the electrical device,
The operation related to the power consumption of the electrical device is configured to be changed and controlled based on at least one type of information on the power generation amount, the storage amount, and the maintenance status received by the electrical device via the communication unit. A featured solar power generation system. In the photovoltaic power generation system according to claim 1,
The electrical device comprises information storage means;
The photovoltaic power generation system is configured such that the operation change control relating to the power consumption of the electric device is executed based on a history of at least one kind of information of the power generation amount, the storage amount, and the maintenance status. . In the solar power generation system according to claim 1 or 2,
The solar power generation system, wherein the solar power generation unit includes an antenna, and a signal received by the antenna is transmitted to the electric device by the communication means. The photovoltaic power generation system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The solar power generation system, wherein the communication unit has a bidirectional communication function, and is configured to be able to control an operation state of the solar power generation unit from the electric device. The photovoltaic power generation system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A display unit is provided in the electric device, and the operation state of the solar power generation unit is displayed by the display unit. In the solar power generation system according to claim 5,
The solar power generation system, wherein the display means is a display means that is originally provided in the electric device, and is used by switching between the display means of the electric device itself and the display means of the solar power generation unit. . The photovoltaic power generation system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The information transmission path by the communication means is configured by a line for supplying electric power from the solar power generation unit to the electric device. The photovoltaic power generation system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The photovoltaic power generation system, wherein the communication means is any one of a power line communication means, an optical communication means, and a wireless communication means.

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