JP2014128167A - Power interchange system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power interchange system that prevents a user from suffering disadvantage and prevents amenity from being reduced by performing control from the viewpoint of the user.SOLUTION: A power interchange system 1 comprises: a plurality of electric household appliances installed in a house: and a power control device 3 that is communicatively connected with the plurality of electric household appliances, obtains total consumption power, which is a total value of consumption power of electric household appliances in operation, and performs power interchange processing for controlling the operation state of the electric household appliances such that the total consumption power will be equal to or less than a predetermined upper limit target value. If the power interchange system determines that in the power interchange processing the total consumption power exceeds the upper limit target value, it preferentially supplies power to a cooking appliance 7 for cooking among the electric household appliances.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a power interchange system.

  Conventionally, there is one that controls power supply to home appliances such that the total power consumption of a house is equal to or less than a predetermined upper limit target value (see, for example, Patent Document 1). By adopting such a system, it becomes possible to contribute to the balance between power supply and demand, such as avoiding flake blockage and adapting to so-called peak shift control.

  However, there are various types of household electrical appliances used in homes, and it is not necessary to stop power supply to those that consume a large amount of power. In other words, if the judgment is made based only on the amount of power consumption, the home appliance that the user wants to continue driving stops, while the operation of the home appliance that the user does not need to continue continues. The situation may be contrary to your intention. In that case, since the user suffers a disadvantage, the comfort level decreases. In other words, control from the viewpoint of the user is required.

Japanese Patent No. 3402953

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a power interchange system that prevents a user from suffering a disadvantage and a decrease in comfort level by performing control from the viewpoint of the user.

  The power interchange system according to the embodiment includes a plurality of home appliances installed in a house, and a plurality of home appliances that are communicably connected to each other. And a power control device that performs power interchange processing for controlling the operating state of the home appliance so that the total power consumption is equal to or less than a predetermined upper limit target value, and in the power interchange processing, If it determines with total power consumption exceeding the said upper limit target value, it will give priority to the electric power supply to the cooking appliance which cooks among the said household appliances.

The figure which shows the structure of the electric power interchange system of one Embodiment roughly The figure which shows typically the electric constitution of the household appliances of one Embodiment The figure which shows typically the electric constitution of the electric power control apparatus of one Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the power consumption of the cooking appliance of one Embodiment The figure which shows the flow of the electric power interchange process by the power control apparatus of one Embodiment. The figure which shows the flow of the cooking appliance side process by the cooking appliance of one Embodiment. The figure which shows the flow of the non-cooking apparatus side process by the non-cooking apparatus of one Embodiment. The figure which shows transition of the power consumption in one Embodiment 1 FIG. 2 showing the transition of power consumption in one embodiment FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the transition of power consumption in an embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10.
As shown in FIG. 1, a power interchange system 1 installed in a house (hereinafter referred to as “home” for convenience) includes a distribution board 2 that distributes power supplied from an electric power company in the home, The control apparatus 3 and the some household appliances (4-12) are connected.

  The home appliances include, for example, a cooking device 7 for cooking such as a microwave oven 4, a warming pot 5 (rice cooker), an induction heating cooker (hereinafter referred to as IH cooker 6), and an air conditioner (hereinafter referred to as an air conditioner) 8), lighting 9, refrigerator 10, washing machine 11, vacuum cleaner 12, and the like, which is not a cooking device 13 that does not perform cooking. Each home appliance is supplied with power from the power line 14 connected to the distribution board 2 and can transmit operating state information such as individual power consumption to the power control device 3 via the communication line 15. Yes. Each household electrical appliance is configured to be able to receive control command information for changing the operating state from the power control device 3 side. The power line 14 and the communication line 15 may be configured to provide individual wirings, or may be configured to perform data communication on the power line 14 by, for example, a so-called power line communication method. Note that the household electrical appliance illustrated in FIG. 1 is an example, and other household electrical appliances may be provided. Further, for example, a configuration in which a plurality of air conditioners 8, lightings 9 and the like are provided may be employed.

The home appliance has an electrical configuration as shown in FIG. The cooking device 7 and the non-cooking device 13 have almost the same modeled electrical configuration, and will be described together as a home appliance with reference to the same FIG.
The household electrical appliance includes a control unit 20, a power supply unit 21, a display 22, an operation switch 23, a communication unit 24, a drive circuit 25, a load 26, and the like. Note that other circuits may be provided depending on the type of home appliance.

  The control part 20 is comprised by the computer which has CPU, ROM, RAM, etc., for example, controls the whole household appliances according to the computer program memorize | stored in ROM etc., for example. Specifically, the control unit 20 transmits, together with the above-described units, operation information such as power consumption to the power control device 3 and obtains control command information from the power control device 3, and various notification operations to the user. Functioning means, operation input means for inputting user operations, load control means for controlling the operation of the load 26, and control means for controlling them.

  The power supply unit 21 generates, for example, a DC power source used in home appliances such as the control unit 20, the display 22, and the drive unit from an AC power supply of AC 100 V supplied from the distribution board 2. The display 22 is composed of, for example, a display lamp, an LCD panel, and the like, and displays various information such as the operating state and operating time of the home appliance. Further, although not shown, the display device 22 further includes sound output means such as a speaker, for example, and can notify by voice of operation switching or completion of driving. That is, the home appliance of this embodiment is provided with what is visually informed to the user and what is informed by voice. The operation switch 23 inputs an operation on the home appliance such as an instruction to start / end the operation of the home appliance, a setting of a stroke, and the like.

  The communication unit 24 communicates with the power control device 3 and acquires the total power consumption in the home as control command information. In addition, the communication unit 24 also includes, as control command information, an upper limit target value that is an upper limit value of total power consumption permitted for use at home, which is described in the second embodiment, and power consumption of other home appliances. It can be acquired. The drive circuit 25 generates and outputs a drive signal that drives the load 26.

In the case of the cooking appliance 7, as the load 26, for example, a microwave generator or a water vapor generator in the case of the microwave oven 4, a heater in the case of the heat insulating kettle 5, an induction heating coil or a heater in the case of the IH cooker 6 can be considered. It is done.
On the other hand, in the case of the non-cooking device 13, as the load 26, if it is the air conditioner 8, a heat pump, a ventilation fan, etc. can be considered. In the case of the refrigerator 10, a cooler, a compressor, a defrosting device that removes frost in the cabinet, and the like are conceivable. If it is the washing machine 11, a drum drive motor, a sending fan, a heater for drying, a heat pump, etc. can be considered.

  Moreover, the household electrical appliance of such a structure may be provided with the operation mode from which power consumption differs. For example, in the case of the cooking appliance 7, the output is variable as shown in FIG. On the other hand, in the case of the non-cooking device 13, “strong operation” or “weak operation” can be considered for the air conditioner 8, a change in the set temperature or a change in the air volume, etc. If the refrigerator 10 is not used, the above-described defrosting device is not used. If the vacuum cleaner 12 is used, “strong operation”, “weak operation”, and the like can be considered. That is, the home appliance can be operated in a state where the power consumption is relatively high and a state where the power consumption is relatively low (hereinafter referred to as a low power mode). Note that the low power mode in the present embodiment includes a state where the operation is stopped, that is, a state where there is no power consumption.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the power control device 3 includes a communication unit 31 that communicates various types of information between the distribution board 2 and each home appliance, and a display 32 that displays an operation state and the like. . In addition, the display device 32 is not essential in the present embodiment mobile phone. Total power consumption acquisition means for acquiring the current total power consumption (total value of power consumption of home appliances) and the upper limit target value which is the upper limit value of the generic non-power allowed from the power control device 3 and the distribution board 2 And also functions as an operating state acquisition unit that acquires operating state information related to the current operating state such as power consumption from each home appliance. In addition, the power control device 3 functions as a control command output unit that outputs control command information for changing the operation state of the home appliances connected to the power interchange system 1 as described later. That is, the power control device 3 can control the operation state of the home appliance while considering the total power consumption and the upper limit target value.

Next, the operation of the cooking appliance 7 having the above-described configuration will be described.
Among household appliances, the cooking appliance 7 operates in an output mode as shown in FIG. 4 as an example. Specifically, the microwave oven 4 can set the range output as 1000 W, 600 W, 500 W, and 200 W as the operation mode. The warming pot 5 has a maximum power consumption of 1100 W, and the IH cooker 6 has a maximum heating power of 3000 W as an upper limit. As described above, since the cooking device is subjected to heat treatment during the cooking process, its power consumption is relatively high among household appliances.

  This cooking appliance 7 is also a home appliance in which continuity of operation is important. That is, for example, with the air conditioner 8, even if the operation is temporarily stopped, the temperature can be adjusted to some extent if the operation is resumed. Or if it is the vacuum cleaner 12, even if a driving | operation is stopped temporarily for a certain purpose, if a driving | operation is restarted, cleaning will be completed as a result.

  On the other hand, if the cooking device 7 cannot continue to be operated during cooking, the cooking device 7 may result in an irreversible result. For example, cooking has important meanings such as the timing of cooking, cooking time, switching timing, etc. If the power is insufficient or the timing is incorrect, the cooking finish will be worse, the taste itself Falls. In addition, when boiling water with the IH cooker 6, boiling with a high heating power in a short time tends to be more power efficient than boiling with a low heating power for a long time. Therefore, in the home, it is considered that it is more advantageous to continue the operation of the cooking device 7 even if the operation of other home appliances is temporarily interrupted during cooking.

Therefore, in the power interchange system 1 of the present embodiment, the operation of the cooking appliance 7 can be continued as follows. Hereinafter, a plurality of situations will be described while being classified.
<Case 1>
Case 1 is a case where the total power consumption reaches the upper limit target value during operation of the cooking appliance 7.

  The power control device 3 executes the power interchange process shown in FIG. 5 and acquires the current total power consumption from the distribution board 2 (A1), and then acquires the respective power consumption from each home appliance (A2). ). Subsequently, the total power consumption is calculated from the power consumption acquired in step A2, and it is determined whether the total power consumption exceeds the upper limit target value (A3). This corresponds to, for example, the state where range cooking has been started in the example of FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 to FIG. 11 described later all indicate time.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the power control device 3 is in a state in which the power consumption gradually increases after the lighting 9 is turned on and the air conditioner 8 is turned on after the range cooking is started (however, the upper limit target value is still If the total power consumption does not exceed the upper limit target value (A3: NO), it is determined whether the operating state information described below has been received (A5). (A5: NO), it is further determined whether there is a non-cooking device 13 that has transmitted control command information described below (A7). And if there is no non-cooking equipment 13 which transmitted control command information (A7: NO), it will shift to Step A1 and repeat the same processing.

Here, the driving state information and the control command information will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.
-About driving | running state information The cooking appliance 7 is performing the cooking appliance side process shown in FIG. 6, and if the operation which starts cooking is input by the user, it will be set as driving | running state information that it shows driving | operation start information, and it is an electric power control apparatus. 3 (B1), the operation is started (B2). That is, the power control device 3 can grasp that the operation is started before the operation of the cooking appliance 7 is started. Subsequently, the cooking device 7 waits for transmission of the operation state information until cooking is completed (B3: NO. However, the cooking operation is being performed). When cooking is completed (B3: YES), the operation is terminated. The indication is transmitted to the power control device 3 as operating state information (B4). That is, the driving state information is information indicating the start and end of driving. In addition, since the power consumption may change during cooking as the cooking process progresses, the current power consumption is periodically transmitted as driving state information, or the predicted value of power consumption is changed to the driving state at the timing of cooking process switching. It is good also as a structure which transmits as information.

-About control command information The non-cooking equipment 13 is performing the non-cooking equipment side processing shown in FIG. After transmitting to the device 3 (C1), the operation is started (C2). Subsequently, the non-cooking device 13 determines whether control command information has been received from the power control device 3 (C3: YES), and if not received (C3: NO), continues the operation as it is (C5). : After NO, go to Step C3). On the other hand, when the control command information is received (C3: YES), the user is notified by the display 22 or the like, and the operation state is switched (C4). The operating state is performed based on the control command information. Therefore, if the control command information is “switch to low input mode”, the control mode is switched to the low input mode in step C4, and if the control command information is “return to original state”, the original state (low input mode). State before switching to the mode). Thereafter, when the operation is terminated (C5: YES), the fact that the operation is terminated is transmitted to the power control device 3 as the operation state information (B4).

  Thus, in this embodiment, while the control command information for changing the power consumption is transmitted to the non-cooking device 13 among the home appliances, the control command information is transmitted to the cooking device 7. Not sent. That is, the cooking appliance 7 does not change its power consumption from the outside (the power control device 3) during operation, and is supplied with priority over the non-cooking appliance 13.

  Now, when the air conditioner 8 is turned on and the power consumption gradually increases and exceeds the upper limit target value, the power control device 3 causes the total power consumption to exceed the upper limit target value in the power interchange process shown in FIG. (A3: YES), the control command information is transmitted to the non-cooking device 13 in operation (lighting 9 in FIG. 8) so as to reduce its power consumption. And since the illumination 9 received control command information as shown in above-mentioned FIG. 7 (C3: YES), a driving | running state is switched (C4). Thereby, the illumination is reduced as shown in FIG. In the case of the illumination 9, the user is also notified by reducing the light.

  After turning off the lighting, the total power consumption has been below the target upper limit for a while, but has reached the upper limit again. Therefore, in the power interchange process shown in FIG. 5, the power control device 3 again exceeds the upper limit target value (A3: YES), so that the non-cooking device 13 in operation (this time, the air conditioner 8). Control command information is transmitted so as to reduce the power consumption. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the air conditioner 8 receives the control command information (C3: YES), and switches the operation state to “weak operation” (C4). Thereby, as shown in the figure, the total power consumption is reduced, and then the total power consumption is further lowered when the range cooking is finished.

<Case 2>
Case 2 is a case where the total power consumption reaches the upper limit target value after starting the operation of the cooking device 7 during the operation of the non-cooking device 13.
As shown in FIG. 9, when the washing machine 11 is in operation and the illumination is turned on and range cooking is started, the power control device 3 performs the power interchange processing shown in FIG. The total power consumption is equal to or lower than the upper limit target value (A1, A2, A3: NO), but the operation start signal is received (A5: YES), but the upper limit target value is not reached immediately after the start of range operation in FIG. (A6: NO), the process proceeds to step A7. At this time, the control command information is not transmitted to any non-cooking device 13 (A7: NO).

  In this state, when the total power consumption gradually increases as shown in FIG. 9, when the power control device 3 reaches the upper limit target value (A3: YES), the control command information is sent to the non-cooking device 13. Is transmitted (A4). In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, although the lighting 9 was first reduced, the total power consumption still reached the upper limit target value, so the control command information is also transmitted to the washing machine 11 (A3: YES). , A4), the washing machine 11 is put into the operation standby state.

  In the case of the washing machine 11 of this embodiment, after the start of operation, a washing process, a rinsing process, a dehydrating process, and a drying process are provided. When it is determined that the upper limit target value is exceeded during each stroke, the driving motor and the like are stopped at that time, and an operation standby state is entered (transition to the low power mode). In the state where only water supply and drainage are being performed, the operation may be continued, but the process waits without proceeding to the next process when the water supply or drainage is completed.

  In this case, as the operation standby state, the operation of the washing machine 11 may be terminated and the standby power may be zero (at this time, the user is notified that the washing machine 11 has been terminated). The operation standby state is assumed to be a temporary stop mode (a state in which only standby electric power is consumed) in which the operation can be resumed from a point of time when the electric power supply is resumed (when the electric power supply is resumed). . In this temporary stop mode, the position at which the operation is resumed (state at the time of resumption) differs depending on the type of stroke and the degree of progress.

  For example, if the operation is in a dehydration process (more precisely, the drum is rotating for dehydration), the operation is immediately stopped and then a command to resume operation is received. The operation is restarted from the beginning of the dehydration process because there is a possibility that the dehydration process has not been sufficiently performed since the dehydration process was stopped. Thereby, even if it is a case where driving | running | working is stopped in the middle of a process, washing | cleaning can be finally completed.

  In addition, even when the washing machine 11 is stopped in the same dehydration process, if the operation is stopped when the dehydration target upper limit rotational speed is reached or when a predetermined time has passed, In other words, if it is determined that the dehydration process has progressed to a state where a predetermined dehydration rate has been secured, when a command for restarting operation is subsequently received, it is scheduled next to the rinsing process, the drying process, etc. Resume driving from the current journey. If the dehydration target upper limit rotational speed has not been reached, the dehydration process is resumed from the beginning because the dehydration is not sufficient. In the dehydration process, the operation is resumed from the next process because the dehydration process cannot be resumed in the middle (that is, from the stopped state), and the time and energy loss increases. It is.

  In addition, when the washing machine 11 is in the operation standby state during the washing process, the washing machine 11 shifts to a placing mode in which the laundry is placed and washed without stirring. In this setting mode, the laundry is not agitated (that is, the motors for drums, pulsators, etc. are not driven), so the power consumption is low. In this case, the operation may be resumed from the beginning of the washing process, or the operation may be resumed from the remaining time according to the progress of the washing process at the time of stoppage.

  Further, when the washing machine 11 enters the operation standby state during the drying process, the washing machine 11 does not dry the laundry (that is, does not drive a heat source such as a heater) and shifts to the low power drying mode to consume the laundry. Reduce power. In order to prevent wrinkles during the drying process, change to a low-power drying mode, for example, stop the heater or compressor, rotate the drum or pulsator slowly, or rotate the fan. It is desirable to maintain the stirring state. In this case, the operation may be resumed from the beginning of the drying process, the operation may be resumed from the remaining time according to the degree of progress of the drying process at the time of stop, and if it is determined that the drying has been completed. The drying process may be terminated and the next process may be performed. In addition, when there is no next process of drying operation, washing will be completed.

Thus, the washing machine 11 has different pause modes depending on the type of stroke and the degree of progress. Note that the pause mode described above is an example, and stop / restart may be performed in another manner.
After the washing machine 11 enters the operation standby state, the cooking device 7 transmits the operation state information to the power control device 3 at the point where cooking is completed (B3: YES) as shown in FIG. (B4). This situation corresponds to the end of the range cooking shown in FIG. And the electric power control apparatus 3 receives driving | running state information in the electric power interchange process shown in FIG. 5 (A5: YES), Since the total power consumption has fallen because the cooking appliance 7 stopped in this state, That is, since the total power consumption does not exceed the upper limit target value (A6: NO), it is determined whether there is a non-cooking device 13 that has transmitted the control command information (A7).

  Since the control command information is transmitted to the washing machine 11 (and the lighting 9) as described above (A7: YES) this time, the total power consumption when returning the power consumption of the non-cooking device 13 is It is determined whether the upper limit target value is exceeded (A8), and if not exceeded (A8: NO), the power consumption of the corresponding non-cooking device 13 is restored (A9). That is, the non-cooking device 13 whose power consumption is reduced in the operation standby state is returned from the operation standby state, and the operation is resumed. This corresponds to the resumption of operation of the washing machine 11 shown in FIG. Although FIG. 9 shows only the time until the washing machine 11 is restarted, the same processing is performed for the lighting 9.

<Case 3>
Case 3 is a case where it is assumed that the total power consumption reaches the upper limit target value by starting the operation of the non-cooking device 13.
As shown in FIG. 10, when the operation of the washing machine 11 is started and the total power consumption reaches the upper limit target value after the lighting is turned on and the air conditioner is turned on, as in the case 1 described above, Control command information is transmitted to the power interchange control so that the total power consumption is less than or equal to the upper limit target value. In the case of FIG. 10, the operation of the washing machine 11 is stopped, and the air conditioner 8 is set to a weak operation.

  In this state, when the user inputs a start operation so as to use the heat insulating pot 5 as the cooking appliance 7, the power control device 3 receives the operation state information in the power interchange process shown in FIG. 5 (A5: YES), it is determined whether the power consumption exceeds the upper limit when the operation is started (A6). In other words, the power control device 3 predicts whether or not the total power consumption exceeds the upper limit target value in Step A6 before the operation of the heat retaining pot 5 is started. As shown in FIG. 4, the power consumption of the heat insulating pot 5 of the present embodiment is 1100 W at the maximum, so if the current total power consumption is within the range of 1100 W or less up to the upper limit target value, In addition, if the heat retaining pot 5 is operated in the normal mode, the upper limit target value may be exceeded.

Therefore, if the power control device 3 predicts that the total power consumption exceeds the upper limit target value (A6: YES), the power control device 3 transmits control command information to the non-cooking device 13 (this time, the refrigerator 10) (A4). .
Now, the refrigerator 10 is a household electrical appliance in which the power is always turned on, and it is not preferable to interrupt the operation because the stored food may be damaged. However, the refrigerator 10 is also provided with a function that is considered to have a small effect on the refrigeration function in the short term. In this embodiment, the power consumption of the refrigerator 10 is made low by stopping the defroster provided in the refrigerator 10 as the example.

  The defrosting device provided in the refrigerator 10 is attached to the evaporator by energizing and heating the defrosting heater and heating the refrigeration evaporator and the refrigeration evaporator constituting the refrigeration cycle with the heat. The frost is melted and defrosted. At this time, in order to energize the heater for defrosting, the refrigerator 10 consumes more electric power than when not defrosting. In addition, since defrosting is performed by heating, the temperature in the storage chamber may rise slightly at the end of defrosting, and in order to cool it, the cooling cycle is driven at a higher load than before defrosting, and each part The fan speed is also higher than before defrosting. Therefore, when the defrosting device is driven, the refrigerator 10 consumes more electric power for a certain period of time after the completion of the defrosting than before the defrosting. In other words, if the defrosting device is not used, the power consumption of the refrigerator 10 can be reduced.

  Therefore, the power control device 3 transmits control command information for prohibiting the operation of the defrosting device to the refrigerator 10 when starting the operation of the heat retaining kettle 5. At this time, if the defrosting device is operating, the operation may be stopped, and if the operation state information acquired from the heat retaining pot 5 includes cooking time (cooking time), the defrosting device is used during that time. May be prohibited. Further, the prohibition state may be canceled when the operation state information indicating the end of cooking from the heat retaining pot 5 is acquired, or a time during which the operation is prohibited is set in advance, and the prohibition state is automatically set when that time elapses. You may make it cancel.

  In the case of FIG. 10, since the total power consumption may exceed the upper limit only by disabling the defrosting device, the air conditioner 8 is stopped (that is, the low power mode with zero power consumption). . Then, since the air conditioner 8 is stopped, there is a margin in the total power consumption, so that the operation of the washing machine 11, which is a home electric appliance that does not exceed the upper limit target value even when the operation is resumed, is resumed.

  As described above, the power interchange system 1 preferentially supplies power to the cooking appliance 7 by performing power interchange control for setting the non-cooking appliance 13 to the low power mode based on the total power consumption and the upper limit target value. Is going. As a result, the cooking device 7 can continue to operate. Therefore, cooking with high thermal power becomes possible, and it is possible to improve power efficiency and finish.

According to the cooking appliance 7 of this embodiment demonstrated above, there exist the following effects.
In the power interchange system 1, if it is determined that the total power consumption of the home appliance exceeds the upper limit target value, priority is given to the power supply to the cooking appliance 7 that performs cooking among the home appliances, so that cooking can be continued. Therefore, the user does not suffer from disadvantages such as cooking failure or poor finish.

When determining that the total power consumption exceeds the upper limit target value, the power control device 3 sets the non-cooking device 13 during operation to a low power mode in which the power consumption is relatively low. Thereby, the electric power supplied to the cooking appliance 7 is securable.
When the non-cooking device 13 is an air conditioner 8, for example, switching from “strong operation” to “weak operation”, switching from “weak operation” to a stop state, changing the temperature setting or air flow, etc., the low power mode is set. Therefore, priority can be given to power supply to the cooking appliance 7.

When the non-cooking device 13 is the washing machine 11, for example, the operation of the washing machine 11 is terminated, or the operation is resumed from the time when the operation mode is shifted to the low power mode (the so-called resume function mode). Since it can be set to the low power mode by shifting to the setting mode, the low power drying mode, or the like, the power supply to the cooking appliance 7 can be prioritized.
When the non-cooking device 13 is, for example, the refrigerator 10, the power supply to the cooking device 7 can be prioritized because the operation of the defroster can be prohibited to enter the low power mode.

Since the non-cooking device 13 notifies that when the power consumption is reduced by the power control device 3, that is, when the non-cooking device 13 shifts to the low power mode, the user knows that the user has shifted to the low power mode. Can do. Therefore, even when the air conditioner 8 is stopped, an error such as a failure is not generated.
When the power control device 3 sets the non-cooking device 13 to the low power mode and then determines that the total power consumption does not exceed the upper limit target value even if the power consumption of the non-cooking device 13 is restored, the low power mode The non-cooking device 13 that has been turned back to the original state (that is, the operating state before the low power mode is set) is restored. Since the non-cooking device 13 in operation was originally operated according to the user's intention, convenience is improved by returning to the original operation state.
In addition, since it is determined whether or not the power consumption exceeds the upper limit target value before the actual operation is started, breaker interruption or the like can be avoided at the moment when the cooking appliance 7 is operated.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to those exemplified in the above-described embodiment, and can be modified or expanded as follows. In addition, some or all of the following modified examples and extended examples can be arbitrarily combined.

  In the embodiment, the upper limit value is fixed. However, the upper limit value may be acquired together with the total power consumption, and the mode may be switched in consideration of the upper limit value. This is because the distribution board 2 may change the upper limit based on a command from the electric power company in order to cope with so-called peak shift or the like. In such a distribution board 2, there is a social merit that it can contribute to maintaining the power supply-demand balance, but on the other hand, the upper limit value may be automatically changed regardless of the situation in the home. This is because the breaker may suddenly fall if the home appliance is operated at the upper limit at the time of contract. Therefore, by acquiring the upper limit value in the power control device 3, even if the upper limit value fluctuates, it is possible to cope with the disadvantage that the breaker is cut off and cooking cannot be continued. Can be reduced.

  When a plurality of air conditioners 8 are installed, when a plurality of the air conditioners 8 are operating at the same time, the power supply to the cooking appliance 7 is secured by sequentially switching the operating air conditioners 8 to the low power mode. The room temperature can also be adjusted. In this case, for example, if the operation state is switched every few minutes, the variation in the room temperature is also reduced, so that the user can be prevented from feeling uncomfortable. In addition, when the air conditioner 8 is provided with a human sensor for detecting a person and the air conditioner 8 in which no person is detected is set to a low power mode or the like, a plurality of air conditioners 8 are installed. May be controlled. Of course, the priority order may be set in advance.

Moreover, the order which sets the non-cooking equipment 13 to the low power mode is set in advance, and when it is determined that the total power consumption exceeds the upper limit target value, the non-cooking equipment 13 is sequentially switched to the low power mode in the setting order. It is good. In that case, it is good also as a structure which stops from the thing with large power consumption based on the present individual power consumption, and gives a margin to power consumption. Or it is good also as a structure which estimates the total power consumption at the time of transfering to low power mode, and determines automatically the order which can continue the driving | operation of the non-cooking apparatus 13 as much as possible. Non-cooking equipment, such as changing the low power mode to the low power mode according to the change in the total power consumption, such as when the low power mode is temporarily shifted to the low power mode due to the total power consumption 13 is changed to the low power mode. When returning from the low power mode, the operation may be restarted in the order of stoppage, for example, or the air conditioner 8 and the washing machine 11 in the stop state may be restarted as shown in FIG. Among them, the order may be automatically set so as to give priority to the non-cooking device 13 whose total power consumption does not exceed the upper limit target value even when the operation is restarted. In addition, even if a priority order for restoration is set and a low priority order is restored first because of power consumption, if there is a margin in power consumption, the low priority mode that has been restored to a low power mode is set. Alternatively, a configuration in which a higher priority is restored may be used.

  In one embodiment, the display device 22 of the non-cooking device 13 is notified to the user, but the non-cooking device 13 switched to the low power mode is notified on the cooking device 7 side in use. Also good. According to such a configuration, in the case of a non-cooking device that requires user operation to resume operation when the operation is stopped, for example, it can be grasped even in the kitchen that the washing machine 11 has been stopped. It can be recognized that the operation of the washing machine 11 needs to be resumed later. In addition, it is possible to prevent the user from being dissatisfied with the fact that he / she stopped without permission when he went to see the washing machine 11 after cooking.

  In that case, the user may be allowed to switch to the low power mode when the user approves it (for example, when a confirmation operation is input). According to such a configuration, the user himself / herself switches the cooking device 7 to a low output mode (for example, the microwave output is set to 600 W in the case of the microwave oven 4) so that the operation of the non-cooking device 13 can be continued. Thus, the operation of both the cooking device 7 and the non-cooking device 13 can be continued.

  In one embodiment, the power control device 3 is individually provided. However, the cooking appliance 7 is mainly used to exchange information on various power consumptions with other home appliances (including other cooking appliances 7). You may instruct household appliances to switch to the low power mode. Further, the power control device 3 may be provided integrally with the refrigerator 10. If this is a refrigerator 10, it is useful as a subject to monitor the total power consumption because it is installed in most ordinary homes and is always powered, and in general, cooking Since it is installed near the device 7, it can be easily notified to the user during cooking.

When the stroke is switched while the non-cooking device 13 is in operation, it may be configured to switch to the low power mode at that timing.
Various numerical values and the like shown in the embodiment are examples, and the range output, power consumption, and the like shown in FIG. 4 are not limited thereto.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  In the drawings, 1 is a power interchange system, 2 is a distribution board, 3 is a power control device, 4 is a microwave oven (home appliances and cooking appliances), 5 is a warming pot (home appliances and cooking appliances), and 6 is an IH cooker. (Household appliances, cooking appliances), 8 is an air conditioner (home appliances, non-cooking appliances), 9 is illumination (home appliances, non-cooking appliances), 10 is a refrigerator (home appliances, non-cooking appliances), and 11 is a washing machine (home appliances) (Device, non-cooking device), 12 indicates a vacuum cleaner (home appliance, non-cooking device).

Claims (17)

A plurality of home appliances installed in a house;
The total power consumption, which is a total value of power consumption of the household electrical appliances that are connected and communicably connected to the plurality of household electrical appliances, is acquired, and the total power consumption is equal to or less than a predetermined upper limit target value. A power control device that performs power interchange processing to control the operation state of the home appliance as described above,
When the power control device determines that the total power consumption exceeds the upper limit target value in the power accommodation process, the power control device gives priority to power supply to cooking appliances that perform cooking among the home appliances. system.   If the said power control apparatus determines with the said total power consumption exceeding the said upper limit target value, it will set the non-cooking apparatus which does not cook among the said household appliances during driving | operation as the low power mode in which power consumption becomes relatively low. The power interchange system according to claim 1, wherein priority is given to power supply to the cooking appliance.   The power interchange system according to claim 2, wherein the non-cooking device is an air conditioner. When a plurality of the air conditioners are installed in a house and a plurality of the air conditioners are operating at the same time,
When the power control device determines that the total power consumption exceeds the upper limit target value, the power control device prioritizes power supply to the cooking appliance by sequentially switching the operating air conditioner to the low power mode. The power interchange system according to claim 3. The plurality of air conditioners are provided with human sensors for detecting a person,
When a plurality of the air conditioners are installed in a house and a plurality of the air conditioners are operating at the same time,
When the power control device determines that the total power consumption exceeds the upper limit target value, the operating state of the air conditioner that is not detected by the human sensor among the air conditioners in operation is The power interchange system according to claim 3 or 4, wherein priority is given to power supply to the cooking appliance by switching to the low power mode.   The power interchange system according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the non-cooking device is a washing machine.   The said power control apparatus gives priority to the power supply to the said cooking appliance by ending the driving | operation of the said washing machine, if it determines with the said total power consumption exceeding the said upper limit target value. The described power interchange system. The washing machine includes a pause mode capable of resuming operation from the time when the low-power mode is entered, as the low-power mode,
When the power control device determines that the total power consumption exceeds the upper limit target value, the power control device prioritizes power supply to the cooking appliance by setting the washing machine in the temporary stop mode. Item 8. The power interchange system according to Item 6 or 7. The washing machine has a lay-down mode in which the laundry is laid and washed without stirring in the washing process as the low-power mode,
When determining that the total power consumption exceeds the upper limit target value in the washing process, the power control device prioritizes power supply to the cooking appliance by setting the washing machine in the setting mode. The power interchange system according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein The washing machine has a drying function, and has a low power drying mode in which the laundry is stirred while the laundry is not dried in the drying process,
When the power control device determines that the total power consumption exceeds the upper limit target value in the drying process, the power control device prioritizes power supply to the cooking appliance by setting the washing machine to the low power drying mode. The power interchange system according to any one of claims 6 to 9.   The power interchange system according to claim 2, wherein the non-cooking device is a refrigerator. The refrigerator includes a defrosting device that removes frost generated in the refrigerator,
The power control device, when determining that the total power consumption exceeds the upper limit target value, gives priority to power supply to the cooking appliance by prohibiting the operation of the defrosting device. 11. The power interchange system according to 11.   The power non-cooking system according to any one of claims 2 to 12, wherein the non-cooking device notifies that when the power consumption is reduced by the power control device.   Even if the power control device reduces the power consumption of the non-cooking appliance and then returns the non-cooking appliance to the state before switching to the low power mode, the total power consumption does not exceed the upper limit target value. The power interchange system according to any one of claims 2 to 13, wherein the non-cooking device is returned to a state before switching to the low power mode.   The power control device can set the order in which the non-cooking equipment is set to the low power mode, and when it is determined that the total power consumption exceeds the upper limit target value, the non-cooking equipment according to a preset order. The power interchange system according to any one of claims 2 to 14, wherein the power is switched to the low power mode. The non-cooking device performs a plurality of strokes during operation,
The said power control apparatus switches the said non-cooking apparatus to the said low power mode at the timing which a process switches, The power interchange system as described in any one of Claim 2 to 15 characterized by the above-mentioned. The upper limit target value can be changed from outside the house,
The power control apparatus follows the upper limit target value to be changed, and controls the operation state of the home appliance so that the total power consumption is equal to or lower than the upper limit target value. The power interchange system according to claim 16.

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