JP2014040935A - System and method for controlling air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform demand control of an air conditioner on the basis of environmental data obtained from an environmental sensor and the number of persons existing on a floor to reduce costs associated with power consumption of the air conditioner.SOLUTION: A server 13 that performs data processing for controlling a floor controller 10 includes: first determination means for determining whether or not power consumption obtained from an electric power meter 12 exceeds a predetermined target value; second determination means for determining whether or not a floor temperature obtained from an environmental sensor 11 falls within a prescribed range when the power consumption exceeds the predetermined target value; and third determination means for determining whether or not a ratio of the present number of persons existing on the floor stored in person count management/storage means to a predetermined maximum number of persons for that floor falls within a prescribed range when the temperature of the floor is within a certain range. When it is determined that the ratio of the number of persons is out of the prescribed range, the floor controller 10 changes the set temperature of the air conditioner into such a temperature that makes the power consumption less than that at an initially set temperature in response to a command from the server 13.

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner control system and method, and more particularly to a system and method for demand-controlling an air conditioner from the power consumption of the air conditioner according to the temperature and humidity of the floor and the number of people present on the floor.

  Various systems for demand-controlling the air conditioner by limiting the power consumption of the air conditioner have been proposed. For example, in Patent Document 1, in a demand control device for an air conditioner that restricts power consumption when the total power consumption of a plurality of air conditioners installed in the same building exceeds a preset reference value, When the total power consumption detected by the power meter that detects the total power consumption of the plurality of air conditioners, the solar position detection means that detects the position of the sun, and the power meter exceeds a preset reference value, Priority determining means for determining the priority order of the air conditioner to be demand controlled based on the information detected by the solar position detecting means, and stop control of the air conditioner or a decrease in capability according to the priority order information from the priority determining means An air conditioner demand control apparatus including an air conditioner control means for performing control is disclosed.

  Patent Document 2 also measures environmental data that can be used to calculate deviations around the air conditioner in demand control that prevents the maximum power demand from exceeding contract power by controlling a plurality of air conditioners using a demand monitoring device. The environmental data measurement unit, the environmental data collection unit that collects the environmental data measured by the environmental data measurement unit, and the deviation between the reference value set for each air conditioner and the environmental data collected by the environmental data collection unit Based on this, the order data creation unit for creating the order data of the air conditioners and the air conditioners for the electrical capacity that needs to be shut off are selected based on the order data in response to the shut-off signal from the demand monitoring device. An air conditioner control device in demand control that includes a stop instructing unit that issues a stop instruction and a control unit that stops the air conditioner in response to the stop instruction is disclosed.

  Further, Patent Document 3 includes position information of a mobile terminal carried by each of a plurality of users who use the living room space and comfort level information regarding the comfort level of the user who owns the mobile terminal with respect to the environment of the living room space. Based on the collected terminal information and the collected terminal information, the comfort level of the user with high comfort level is maintained and the comfort level of the high comfort level user is maintained. Thus, an environment control system including an adjustment unit that adjusts control conditions is disclosed.

  Patent Document 4 describes an entrance / exit information table in which information indicating user entry / exit is registered in association with a user ID, and a personal information table in which a user's department is registered in association with a user ID. The area in the facility that the user's department occupies has an area information table registered in association with the area ID, and the user ID of the user who entered or exited the facility is identified from the entrance / exit information table Then, the user's department is identified from the personal information table based on the user ID, and the area ID of the area occupied by the user's department is identified from the area information table based on the user's department. A facility management system that estimates the number of people in a specified area in accordance with the user's entry / exit to / from the facility is disclosed.

JP 2004-293892 A JP 2000-333368 A JP 2011-075138 A JP 2011-180974 A

  With respect to the above prior art, Patent Document 1 does not describe a control function for stopping an air conditioner or putting it into a standby state when a person forgets to stop the air conditioner or when there are no people in the room. Not in. Therefore, there is a possibility that the air conditioner may continue to operate, and there is a problem of unnecessary power consumption.

  In addition, since the air conditioner control device described in Patent Document 2 controls the air conditioner with the maximum power demand, there is a problem that depending on the number of people present on the floor, there is a possibility that power consumption may be wasted.

  In addition, in the environment control system described in Patent Document 3, it is necessary to determine the priority of a plurality of users when calculating the motion information of a person based on the position information of the mobile terminal. There is a problem that it is not considered for implementation in a public facility (for example, public facilities) and is not suitable for control according to an unspecified number of users.

  The facility management system described in Patent Document 4 needs to be managed with a pre-registered ID when estimating the number of people based on entrance information, but is considered when an unspecified number of people enter and exit (for example, public facilities). However, there is a problem that the number of users cannot be grasped unless an ID is used.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to perform demand control of an air conditioner based on environmental data obtained from an environmental sensor and the number of people on the floor, and to reduce the cost due to power consumption of the air conditioner. It is to provide a possible air conditioner control system and method.

The air conditioner control system according to the present invention is preferably an air conditioner control system having an air conditioner that adjusts the temperature of a floor where a person enters and exits, and a floor controller that controls the air conditioner.
An environmental sensor installed on the floor for detecting environmental information including at least the temperature of the floor;
Having a power meter for measuring the power consumption of the air conditioner;
A server that performs data processing for controlling the floor controller, and the server calculates the number of people currently on the floor based on information from a person detecting unit that detects a person entering and exiting the floor. Number-of-persons calculation means, and number-of-persons management storage means for storing and managing the current number of persons calculated by the calculation means;
First determination means for determining whether the power consumption acquired from the power meter is equal to or greater than a predetermined target value;
If the result of determination by the first determination means is that the power consumption is greater than or equal to the target value, second determination means for determining whether the temperature of the floor acquired from the environmental sensor is within a predetermined range;
If the temperature of the floor is within a certain range as a result of the determination by the second determination means, the current number of persons on the floor stored in the number management storage means for the predetermined maximum number of persons on the floor A third determination means for determining whether the ratio (number ratio) is within a predetermined range;
As a result of the determination by the third determination means, when the ratio of persons is determined to be outside the predetermined range, the floor controller sets the set temperature of the air conditioner to a temperature set initially from the command from the server. The air conditioner control system is characterized in that the setting is changed to a temperature at which power consumption is reduced.

The air conditioner control method according to the present invention is preferably an air conditioner control method in an air conditioner control system having an air conditioner that adjusts the temperature of a floor where people enter and exit, and a floor controller that controls the air conditioner. ,
The server that performs data processing for controlling the floor controller
Based on the information from the person detecting means for detecting the person entering and exiting the floor, the number calculating step for calculating the number of persons currently on the floor;
A number management storage step of storing and managing the current number of people calculated by the number of people calculation means;
A first determination step of determining whether the power consumption acquired from the power meter that measures the power consumption of the air conditioner is greater than or equal to a predetermined target value;
If the result of determination in the first determination step is that the power consumption is greater than or equal to the target value, whether or not the floor temperature acquired from an environmental sensor that detects environmental information including the floor temperature is within a predetermined range. A second determination step for determining;
If the floor temperature is within a certain range as a result of the determination in the second determination step, the current number of people on the floor stored in the number management storage step for the predetermined maximum number of people on the floor A third determination step for determining whether the ratio (number ratio) is within a predetermined range;
As a result of the determination in the third determination step, when the number ratio is determined to be out of the predetermined range, the floor controller sets the set temperature of the air conditioner to be lower than the initially set temperature by an instruction from the server. And an air conditioner control method characterized by having a step of changing the setting to a temperature at which power consumption is reduced.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to perform demand control of an air conditioner based on the environmental data obtained from an environmental sensor, and the number of persons in a floor, and to reduce the cost concerning the power consumption of an air conditioner.

The figure which shows the structure of the demand control system of the air conditioner by one Example. The figure which shows the structural example of authentication location DB in one Example. The figure which shows the structural example of the people management DB in one Example. The flowchart which shows the processing operation which produces the data of number-of-people management DB using the entrance / exit information of authentication location DB in one Example. The flowchart which shows the processing operation of the air-conditioning control by the EMS server in one Example. The flowchart which shows the processing operation of the air-conditioning control by the EMS server in one Example. The figure which shows the power consumption (measured value) of the air conditioner acquired with time from an electric power meter. The figure which shows the power consumption for every time computed from the power consumption of an air conditioning machine with time.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a demand control system for an air conditioner.
The demand control system for an air conditioner in the present embodiment describes an example applied to air conditioner control of a plurality of floors such as an office building. On each of the plurality of floors, an air conditioner 16, a plurality of environmental sensors 11 such as a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor, a power meter 12 that measures power consumption of the air conditioner 16, and measurements from the environmental sensor 11 and the power meter 12 A floor controller 10 that controls the air conditioner 16 based on the data is installed.

  The demand control system for an air conditioner includes a plurality of environmental sensors 11, a power meter 12, a floor controller 10 having a function of controlling the air conditioner and managing a schedule, and an EMS (connected to the floor controller 10 to control each part. An energy management system) server 13 and an entrance / exit management system 14 connected to the EMS server 13 (hereinafter simply referred to as the server 13). The environmental sensor 11 constitutes a first monitoring unit.

  The server 13 includes a processing unit 131 that executes various programs to perform data processing, a database (DB) 132 that stores data, and an input / output device (not shown). The control flow of the air conditioner by the processing unit 131 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5B. In addition, as a DB or table formed in the DB 132, an authentication location DB (see FIG. 2) that manages a person's authentication ID acquired by the entrance / exit management system 14 and a person's number of people in each floor are managed. It has a number management DB (see FIG. 3).

  The server 13 cooperates with the entrance / exit management system 14 and counts and manages the number of people present in the floor or in the indoor space. Based on the environmental data such as the temperature obtained from the environmental sensor 11 of each floor, the power consumption obtained from the power sensor 12, and the number of people information obtained from the entrance / exit management system 14, via the floor controller 10 installed on each floor. The air conditioner 16 is controlled.

  A general-purpose air conditioner or a dedicated air conditioner can be applied to the air conditioner 16. In the illustrated example, the air conditioner 16 includes, for each floor, an indoor unit control system 161 composed of a plurality of indoor units and a connection device that connects them, and a plurality of air conditioning outdoor units and a connection device that connects them. And a heat exchanger inverter control system 163 composed of a heat exchanger and a connecting device for connecting the heat exchanger. However, the air conditioner 16 does not have to include all of these control systems 161 to 163, and only needs to have at least one type of air conditioning control system. Moreover, since power consumption is monitored by the power meter 12 and demand control of the air conditioner is performed, output control is not necessarily required for each sensor of the air conditioner body.

  The entrance / exit management system 14 includes a processing unit 141 that executes data processing by executing a program, and a card reader 142 that reads identification information (ID) of an employee-specific ID card possessed by an employee entering or leaving the floor. Configured. The processing unit 141 recognizes the person using the identification information read by the card reader 142 and transfers the data of the person's recognition result to the server 13. The entrance / exit management system 14 acquires the employee's ID by the card reader 142 when the employee enters / leaves the office (restricted floor), so that the number of people (person location information) on the floor is obtained. ). The person's occupancy information acquired by the entrance / exit management system 14 is processed by the server 13 and used for demand control of the air conditioner 16 under the control of the floor controller 10. Acquisition of the person's occupancy information by the entrance / exit management system 14 is referred to as monitoring of the number of persons information by the second monitoring means.

Next, a configuration example of each DB will be described with reference to FIGS.
The authentication location DB 1321 shown in FIG. 2 is an authentication ID, a floor number, a room number, and a distinction between entering and leaving a person who is authenticated by the entrance / exit management system 14 (that is, a person who is permitted to enter and exit the floor). And each data of access history (namely, the history which authentication ID detected) is stored.

  The number management DB 1322 shown in FIG. 3 manages the number of people in each floor and the set upper limit number of people on the floor. The number of people in the room for each floor is calculated by the processing unit 131 adding the number of people in the room for each floor stored in the authentication location DB.

  In this embodiment, the demand control system of the air conditioner realizes effective reduction of contract (maximum annual demand) power by load leveling measures that suppress peak power in reducing electricity charges. Automatic processing (ie demand control) is performed. Rather than thinking that the user consciously stops the air conditioning, etc., and reduces the electricity bill at the expense of comfort, the demand power is predicted and calculated by air conditioning control, and the air conditioning equipment is operated. Therefore, the operation timing is adjusted so as not to be overloaded.

Next, demand monitoring and demand power will be described.
In demand monitoring, demand power is predicted from power consumption. The prediction method is performed, for example, with a slope calculated from the most recent demand power value (point cloud), and based on this slope, a prediction line passing through a point with the latest power value is drawn on the graph. Alarm detection is performed for each 30-minute time period, and the alarm threshold value set in advance is compared with the predicted value indicated by the previously obtained prediction line. If the alarm threshold value is exceeded, an alarm is issued. is there.

  In demand power, when contract power with an electric power company is set to 1,000 kWh, it is calculated as power consumption (kWh) per hour (twice) from power consumption for 30 minutes in demand monitoring. For example, when the power consumption for 30 minutes is 600 kWh, it means that the predicted power consumption for each hour is 1,200 kWh, and the power consumption is measured every 30 minutes, and the peak power at the time of measurement ( The maximum value is stored, and the air conditioning is controlled within the contracted power with reference to the peak power. Specifically, the measured value (FIG. 6) of the power consumption of the air conditioner acquired over time from the power meter 12 is acquired, and the power consumption per hour (FIG. 7) calculated from the power consumption is obtained. By arbitrarily outputting an alarm detection result, a current value of demand power, a predicted value, and the like as a power consumption monitoring state, it is possible to link with an expansion process using these values as a trigger.

[Calculation example]
As a specific example of the power charge in the total power consumption per month by demand control, for example, the total power consumption of the office A is low in operation of the air conditioner from April to May, and the total power consumption (kW) is about Suppose that it is 1600 kW.
In the following, the monthly basic power charge is 1600 yen / kW, and the formula for calculating the monthly reduced power consumption and the reduced power charge is as follows: power charge (yen) = basic power charge (yen / kW) x total power consumption (kW) Thus, when the electric power charge (yen) is obtained from the electric power charge, the electric power charge = 1600 × 1600 = 256000 yen.

For example, if air conditioning is stopped according to the schedule and the power consumption is reduced by -20%, the reduction power (kW) = total power consumption (kW) x reduction rate (%) (1)
From (Equation 1), the amount of reduced power = 1600 × (20/100) = 320 kW.

Next, when calculating the electricity charge (yen) for the reduction,
Reduced electricity charge (yen) = basic electricity charge (yen / kW) x reduced electricity consumption (kW) (2)
From (Equation 2), the reduced power charge = 1600 × 320 = 512000 yen.
As a result, the monthly reduced power amount: 320 kW and the reduced power fee: 512,000 yen are calculated.

Furthermore, when real-time air-conditioning control using demand control realizes a 10% reduction in power consumption (total power consumption 30%) in addition to the above,
Reduced power amount = 1600 × (30/100) = 480 kW.
Next, from (Equation 2), the reduced power charge = 1600 × 480 = 768,000 yen.
As a result, the monthly reduced power amount: 480 kW and the reduced power rate: 768,000 yen are calculated.

Next, a processing operation for creating data in the number management DB 1322 from the entry / exit information in the authentication location DB 1321 in the server 13 will be described with reference to FIG.
First, when entry / exit information is transmitted from the entry / exit management system 14 to the server 13 in real time, the server 13 notifies the floor controller 10 that real-time processing has occurred (S41). In the entrance / exit management system 14, person authentication using the card reader 142 is performed, and this process (S41) is performed each time the person is authenticated.
Each time the process S41 is executed, the acquired entry / exit information (authentication ID / floor No / room No / elapsed process / access history) is stored in the authentication location DB 1321 (S42).

  Thereafter, the entry / exit information is read from the authentication location DB 1321, and the entry / exit of the person is determined from the target room No of the floor No. and the progress process (status information indicating which entry / exit occurred) (S43). ).

  As a result of the determination in step S43, when it is determined that the room No. and the target room No. are entered, the target number of persons is added to the number of people in the floor No. and target room No. of the number management DB 1322, and the added number of persons is determined. Store in the number management DB (S44). In addition, as a result of the above determination, when it is determined that the floor No. has left the target room No. from the progress process, the number of target persons is subtracted from the number of people in the floor No. and the target room No. Is stored in the number management DB (S45).

Next, with reference to FIG. 5A, the processing operation of the air conditioning control by the server 13 will be described.
First, the power consumption of the floor A is acquired from the power meter 12, and it is determined whether the power consumption is, for example, 80% or more with respect to a preset target value (S61).
As a result of the determination S61, when the power consumption amount of the floor A is 80% or more with respect to the target value, the temperature of the floor A is acquired from the environment sensor 11, and the room temperature becomes a preset temperature (comfort temperature). On the other hand, it is determined whether it is within ± 2 ° C. (S62).

As a result of the determination S62, when the difference between the temperature of the floor A and the warm temperature is larger than ± 2 ° C., the number of people in the floor A is acquired from the number management DB 1322, and the ratio of the number of floor A (= current number / maximum number) is obtained. It is judged whether it is 0-30% or 30-100% (S63).
As a result of the determination S63, when the ratio of the number of people on the floor A is 30 to 100%, the floor controller 10 is caused to execute the process X (S64). The process X will be described later with reference to FIG. 5B.

As a result of the determination S62, if the difference between the temperature of the floor A and the warm temperature is within ± 2 ° C., the number of people in the floor A is acquired from the number management DB 1322, and the ratio of the number of people in the floor A (= current number of people / maximum number of people) ) Is 0-30%, 30-70%, or 70-100% (S65).
Depending on the result of this determination S65, if the number ratio is 0 to 30%, the floor controller 10 is caused to execute the process Y (S66). If the ratio of persons is 30 to 70%, the floor controller 10 is caused to execute process Z (S67). Here, the reason for executing the processing S66 and the processing S67 is that even if the temperature of the floor A is in a comfortable temperature range, if the ratio of people is small, there is little influence even if the environment there is somewhat deteriorated. Execute the process. Processing Y and Z will be described later with reference to FIG. 5B.

Reference is now made to FIG. 5B.
For the process X (S64), first, the floor controller 10 transmits a command for acquiring the air conditioner setting state to the air conditioner 16 (S613). Then, the air conditioner 16 returns the set state (for example, set temperature) to the floor controller 10 (S614). For example, a set temperature of 27 ° C. is returned.
The floor controller 10 determines whether the set state (set temperature) acquired from the air conditioner is within a range of 24 to 29 ° C. (S615). Here, the temperature range of 24 to 29 ° C. is preset as a comfortable range.

  If the result of the determination is outside this temperature range, the process is terminated without doing anything. On the other hand, if it is within this temperature range, the process proceeds to a set temperature changing process S616. In the set temperature changing process S616, the floor controller 10 sends a command to the air conditioner to change the set temperature set to −1 ° C. for summer and + 1 ° C. for winter (S616). The air conditioner 16 changes the setting to the set temperature instructed from the floor controller 10 (S617). For example, when the initial set temperature of the air conditioner 16 is 27 ° C., the setting is changed to 26 ° C. in summer, and the setting is changed to 28 ° C. in winter.

Here, the process Y (S66) and the process Z (S67) are different from the process X (S64) only in the temperature at which the setting is changed, so that the duplicated explanation is omitted.
In step S618, the floor controller transmits to the air conditioner an instruction to set a set temperature of + 2 ° C. for summer and −2 ° C. for winter.
In step S619, the floor controller transmits a command for setting the set temperature to + 1 ° C. in summer and −1 ° C. in winter to the air conditioner.

Returning to the description of FIG. 5A.
After the processes S64, S65, and S67, it is determined whether or not the current time is in the range of 09:00 to 17:00 (S68). This is to determine whether it is within the working hours of the office on the floor A. As a result of this determination S68, if the current time is in the range of 09:00 to 17:00, it waits for 10 minutes (S69). On the other hand, if the current time is outside the range of 09: 00-17: 00, it waits for 60 minutes (S610). Thereafter, the process returns to the beginning S61 (S611).
Further, as a result of the determination in the above-described process S61, when the power consumption amount of the floor A is less than 80% with respect to the target value, the manual operation is performed. It is intended that the control of the air conditioner may be left to the user as long as the target value is not exceeded.

  As described above, when 80% of the target value is exceeded in process S61, power consumption is reduced by changing the setting of the air conditioner for the room determined to be within the comfortable temperature range in process S62. . Specifically, when the ratio of the number of people is 70% or less in the process S65, the set temperature is changed to a temperature with lower power consumption by the processes 66 and 67. Thus, it is possible to realize an air conditioner demand control system and method capable of performing demand control of an air conditioner based on the number of people present in each floor and reducing the cost related to the power consumption of the air conditioner. it can.

10: Floor controller 11: Environmental sensor 12: Electric power meter 13: EMS server 14: Entrance / exit management system 16: Air conditioner

Claims (2)

An air conditioner control system having an air conditioner for adjusting the temperature of a floor where people enter and exit, and a floor controller for controlling the air conditioner,
An environmental sensor installed on the floor for detecting environmental information including at least the temperature of the floor;
Having a power meter for measuring the power consumption of the air conditioner;
A server that performs data processing for controlling the floor controller, and the server calculates the number of people currently on the floor based on information from a person detecting unit that detects a person entering and exiting the floor. Number-of-persons calculation means, and number-of-persons management storage means for storing and managing the current number of persons calculated by the calculation means;
First determination means for determining whether the power consumption acquired from the power meter is equal to or greater than a predetermined target value;
If the result of determination by the first determination means is that the power consumption is greater than or equal to the target value, second determination means for determining whether the temperature of the floor acquired from the environmental sensor is within a predetermined range;
If the temperature of the floor is within a certain range as a result of the determination by the second determination means, the current number of persons on the floor stored in the number management storage means for the predetermined maximum number of persons on the floor A third determination means for determining whether the ratio (number ratio) is within a predetermined range;
As a result of the determination by the third determination means, when the ratio of persons is determined to be outside the predetermined range, the floor controller sets the set temperature of the air conditioner to a temperature set initially from the command from the server. , Change the setting to a temperature that consumes less power,
Air conditioner control system characterized by An air conditioner control method in an air conditioner control system having an air conditioner that adjusts the temperature of a floor where people enter and exit, and a floor controller that controls the air conditioner,
The server that performs data processing for controlling the floor controller
Based on the information from the person detecting means for detecting the person entering and exiting the floor, the number calculating step for calculating the number of persons currently on the floor;
A number management storage step of storing and managing the current number of people calculated by the number of people calculation means;
A first determination step of determining whether the power consumption acquired from the power meter that measures the power consumption of the air conditioner is greater than or equal to a predetermined target value;
If the result of determination in the first determination step is that the power consumption is greater than or equal to the target value, whether or not the floor temperature acquired from an environmental sensor that detects environmental information including the floor temperature is within a predetermined range. A second determination step for determining;
If the floor temperature is within a certain range as a result of the determination in the second determination step, the current number of people on the floor stored in the number management storage step for the predetermined maximum number of people on the floor A third determination step for determining whether the ratio (number ratio) is within a predetermined range;
As a result of the determination in the third determination step, when the number ratio is determined to be out of the predetermined range, the floor controller sets the set temperature of the air conditioner to be lower than the initially set temperature by an instruction from the server. Having a step of changing the setting to a temperature that consumes less power,
An air conditioner control method.

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