JP2014217157A - Power management system and power management device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power management system and a power management device capable of easily defining EMS non-responding equipment as an object to be controlled.SOLUTION: A power management device 10 is configured to, when power reduction is requested, allow EMS non-responding equipment 30 in which a network IF is not disposed to execute a power reduction operation by transmitting a remote control signal. Thus, it is possible to allow the EMS non-responding equipment 30 to perform the power reduction operation, and to achieve the power reduction of a whole building 200.

Description

  The present invention relates to a power management system and a power management apparatus that can control non-EMS (energy management system) -compatible devices.

  In recent years, as the global environmental problems become more serious and the degree of interest in this has increased, energy-saving techniques for suppressing CO2 emissions have been actively studied. In particular, with regard to electrical energy, the dependency on nuclear power generation and solar power generation is increasing, but it is still largely dependent on thermal power generation, and the reduction in the use of fossil fuel leads to the reduction of CO2 emissions. Furthermore, when looking at the actual state of consumption of electrical energy, the consumption at home is increasing more rapidly than the consumption in the industrial field such as buildings and factories, and there is an urgent need to reduce it.

JP 2003-88004 A

  Here the idea of smart city is in the spotlight. It aims to reduce electric energy as a whole by conserving electricity throughout the city. In order to achieve such a goal, it is preferable that the electrical equipment used in each building, such as a house or a building, can cope with demand response. Demand response refers to the use of electricity from consumers (businesses, general households, etc.) when the power supply is tight or when the grid becomes unstable, that is, when the power company becomes difficult to supply power. Requesting that the power be reduced, and in response to the request, the demand response device reduces the power. As demand response devices increase, the range of power savings will increase, and the entire city will have more room for power savings.

In order to respond to the demand response of the power reduction, in addition to the power management device (controlling side: EMS device) that manages the power of the target building, the electrical device (controlled) is controlled by the power management device. Side: EMS compatible device) is required.
As an EMS-compatible device, it is necessary that an air conditioner, a television, a recorder, a lighting, and the like have a network IF (interface) that can support communication such as Ethernet (registered trademark), wireless LAN, PLC, Echo-net, and ZigBee. (See Patent Document 1).

  However, electric appliances such as those described above have severe demands for cost reduction, and it is difficult for manufacturers to mount expensive network IFs in electric devices, and EMS non-compliant devices that do not have network IFs are widespread. For this reason, since the EMS non-corresponding device cannot be set as a control target, the actual situation is that it is not possible to reduce the power of the building.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said situation, The objective is to provide the power management system and power management apparatus which can make EMS non-compliant | compatible apparatus control object.

  According to the present invention, by transmitting a remote control signal from the power management apparatus, an EMS non-compliant device that does not have a network interface is controlled, so the EMS non-compliant device is controlled to control the building power. Reduction can be achieved.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the entire system in the first embodiment. Front view showing the power management device The figure which shows the electric power change at the time of the electric power reduction operation of the air conditioner Flow chart showing operation of power management device FIG. 1 equivalent view showing the second embodiment 4 equivalent diagram FIG. 1 equivalent diagram showing the third embodiment 2 equivalent diagram 4 equivalent diagram FIG. 1 equivalent diagram showing the fourth embodiment 4 equivalent diagram FIG. 1 equivalent diagram showing the fifth embodiment 4 equivalent diagram FIG. 1 equivalent diagram showing the sixth embodiment 4 equivalent diagram FIG. 1 equivalent diagram showing a seventh embodiment 4 equivalent diagram

(First embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 1, the power management system includes, for example, a power management device 10 that manages power consumption of a building 200 such as a house or a building, a power monitoring device 20 that monitors the power of the building 200, and an EMS non-compliant device 30. Consists of. The power management apparatus 10 is connected to an external network 40 via a gateway device 50 such as a router. The external network 40 is the Internet, cellular communication, microgrid, or the like. The gateway device 50 is a communication device that interconnects the external network 40 and the indoor network 60 (Ethernet, Echo-net, wireless LAN, dedicated communication line, etc.).

  The power monitoring device 20 is provided in the power supply source of the building 200, monitors the total power of the indoor power line 80 (AC100V, AC200V, DC power source, etc.) and periodically or in accordance with a command from the power management device 10 Is acquired and output to the power management apparatus 10.

  The power management apparatus 10 is provided in the building 200 and has a function of notifying a user of consumption information regarding power consumption of a preset device. The preset device is a non-EMS-compliant device 30 that consumes power by power feeding through the indoor power line 80 in the building 200, and is a general electric device that does not have a network IF. The operation of the non-EMS compatible device 30 is set by receiving a remote control signal. All the EMS non-compliant devices 30 in the building 200 do not need to be set in advance and can be set as appropriate, but it is preferable to set the EMS non-compliant devices 30 with high power consumption.

The power management apparatus 10 is attached to the wall of a living room or dining room where the EMS non-compliant device 30 is installed indoors, for example, in a general home, so that the user can see it well. A touch panel display unit 11 (see FIG. 2) such as a liquid crystal or an organic EL is provided to display power consumption and power usage status. The power usage status is information regarding power consumption of the EMS non-compliant device 30 to be controlled by the power management system. The power management apparatus 10 stores the network IF unit 12 connected to the indoor network 60 and the power monitoring apparatus 20, a processor 13 (corresponding to control means) that controls the entire power management apparatus 10, and the power acquired by the power monitoring apparatus 20. The control signal transmitter 15 (to the control signal transmitter) that transmits a remote control signal (the same signal as an infrared ray or a specific power saving radio signal output from the remote controller) to the power storage unit 14 and the EMS non-compliant device 30 2), and a control signal storage unit 16 (corresponding to control signal storage means) that stores a remote control signal. If the remote control signal is infrared, the control signal transmitter 15 is attached to the same surface as the display unit 11 so that the remote control signal can easily reach the non-EMS 30. Further, in order to reach the remote control signal over a wide range in the room, a plurality of control signal transmitters 15 may be provided or installed at positions separated from the power management apparatus 10. If the remote control signal is a radio wave, it may be provided inside the power management apparatus 10.
The processor 13 includes a memory (not shown) such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory), and executes various control programs stored in advance in the ROM.

  A power management server (not shown) is connected to the external network 40. This power management server manages the total power of the external power network 70. When the total power is close to the power that can be supplied by the external power network 70, the power management server 10 installed in each building 200 can reduce power. Request.

  Next, the operation of the power management apparatus 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the power monitoring unit 21 monitors the power fluctuation (S101), the power storage unit 14 periodically stores the power value (S102), and whether the network IF unit 12 has received the power reduction request. It is determined (S103). The power management server requests the power management device 10 of each building 200 to reduce the power when the total power used by the entire external power network 70 is close to the power that can be supplied. Note that power reduction is also required when the administrator performs a power reduction operation on the power management apparatus 10.

  When the processor 13 receives the power reduction request (S103: YES), it is determined to reduce the power consumption of the controllable EMS non-compliant device 30 (S104), and it is selected to turn off the power from the control signal storage unit 16 (S105). Then, when a remote control signal for turning off the power is transmitted from the control signal transmission unit 15 (S106), the EMS non-compliant device 30 that has received the remote control signal for turning off the power turns off the power, so that the power of the entire building 200 is reduced. be able to.

  Here, the processor 13 compares the control content (power off) and the power fluctuation value (S107), and determines whether the control is in accordance (S108). When the control is in accordance with the control (S108: YES), the control is terminated. When the control is not in the control (S108: NO), the process proceeds to step S106 and the control is performed again.

  If the heating operation is stopped as the power reduction operation when the EMS non-compliant device 30 is an air conditioner, the electric power greatly decreases as shown in FIG. It can be determined that it has stopped. That is, the power is compared twice before and after the remote control signal is output, and when the power drop is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, it is determined that the EMS non-compliant device 30 has stopped as controlled. However, when the power of the EMS non-compliant device 30 is turned off, the power of the indoor power line 80 overshoots from the original reduced level, and the bounce (vibration) after the overshoot is another device connected to the same indoor power line 80, etc. It changes each time depending on the power load condition. For this reason, it is desirable to perform learning for determining whether the control is being performed. That is, it is possible to store the power fluctuation smoothed by a method such as integrating a power into a value quantized to obtain a power fluctuation value and compare it with the fluctuation value to improve the accuracy of determination.

In addition, the observation of power fluctuation is not limited to twice before and after the transmission timing of the remote control signal, and differential data of power fluctuation values can be obtained by sampling at more timings, so the differential data is referred to. As a result, the learning accuracy can be increased.
As described above, the power management apparatus 10 can reduce the power of the entire building 200 in response to a request for power reduction from the power management server.
In addition, when the power reduction request cannot be achieved only by reducing the power of one electric device, it is possible to cope with the problem by reducing a plurality of non-EMS-compatible devices 30 as the power reduction target.

According to such an embodiment, the following effects can be produced.
When power reduction is requested, the power management apparatus 10 causes the EMS non-compliant device 30 not equipped with the network IF to execute a power reduction operation by transmitting a remote control signal, so that the EMS non-compliant device 30 However, since the power reduction operation is performed, the power consumption of the entire building 200 can be reduced.

  The power management apparatus 10 monitors the power before and after transmitting the remote control signal to confirm that the EMS non-compliant device 30 has correctly received the remote control signal, and confirms that the power has fluctuated as expected. It is possible to reliably check whether the non-compliant device 30 has received the remote control signal and executed the power reduction operation.

(Second Embodiment)
The second embodiment is characterized in that a function of executing a power reduction operation in cooperation with the EMS-compatible device 31 and the EMS non-compatible device 30 shown in FIG. 5 is added. That is, in the mixed environment of the EMS non-compliant device 30 and the EMS compatible device 31, it is difficult to operate them cooperatively. Therefore, when the non-EMS compatible device 30 and the EMS compatible device 31 are air conditioners, one air conditioner is used. However, the other air conditioner is stopped while consuming a large amount of power at the maximum load. Alternatively, the user needs to change the temperature setting of the EMS non-compliant device 30 using the remote control device. If the control of the EMS compatible device 31 is changed in response to a power reduction request in such an operation state, the balance of power is lost, resulting in a problem that more power is consumed. In other words, since the air conditioner has extremely poor power performance when operated at the maximum load, it is possible to reduce the power overall by operating a plurality of air conditioners appropriately.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, in a mixed environment of the EMS non-compliant device 30 and the EMS compatible device 31, by controlling both while monitoring the power, the control that reduces the power consumption is realized. In the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, it is assumed that the power reduction operation described in FIG. 4 of the first embodiment can be performed, and a cooperative operation using such a power reduction operation will be described. In the following third to sixth embodiments, the power reduction operation described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the power storage unit 14 stores the current power A (S201), inquires the EMS compatible device 31 about the set temperature and room temperature (S202), and receives the set temperature and room temperature from the EMS compatible device 31. (S203). Next, the processor 13 changes the room temperature of the EMS non-compliant device 30 by 1 ° C. in a direction in which the power consumption decreases (S204). That is, it is lowered by 1 ° C. during heating and raised by 1 ° C. during cooling. Then, after waiting until the room temperature is stabilized, the power storage unit 14 stores the current power B (S205), and the processor 13 restores the room temperature of the EMS non-compliant device 30 (S206).

  The processor 13 changes the room temperature of the EMS non-compliant device 30 by 1 ° C. in a direction in which the power consumption decreases (S207). That is, it is lowered by 1 ° C. during heating and raised by 1 ° C. during cooling. Then, after waiting until the room temperature is stabilized, the power storage unit 14 stores the current power C (S208), and the processor 13 restores the room temperature of the EMS non-compliant device 30 (S209).

  Next, the processor 13 determines whether power A-power B is smaller than power A-power C (S210). That is, a device with a small electric power required to change the temperature of 1 ° C. is determined among the EMS non-compliant device 30 and the EMS compatible device 31 installed in the same room. When the EMS non-compliant device 30 is smaller (S210: YES), the power reduction operation is executed by the EMS non-compliant device 30 (S211). When the EMS-compatible device 31 is smaller (S210: NO), the EMS-compatible device 31 performs a power reduction operation (S212).

  According to such an embodiment, even in an environment where the EMS non-compliant device 30 and the EMS compatible device 31 are mixed, the EMS non-compliant device 30 and the EMS compatible device 31 can be cooperatively operated in a power reduction manner.

(Third embodiment)
The third embodiment is characterized in that a learning function for learning a remote control signal transmitted from the remote control device is added.
As shown in FIG. 7, the power management apparatus 10 includes a control signal receiving unit 17 (corresponding to a control signal receiving unit), and the user can increase the number of target devices and functions by learning a remote control signal. That is, in the EMS non-compliant device 30 that has been newly released after the installation of the power management apparatus 10, the remote control signal may be changed or added. In order to cope with this, by adding the control signal receiving unit 17, the user himself / herself can learn the remote control signal using the remote control device attached to the corresponding EMS non-compatible device 30.

  The control signal receiving unit 17 is provided on the surface of the power management apparatus 10 as shown in FIG. 8, and receives a remote control signal output from the remote control apparatus 90 attached to the EMS non-compliant device 30. It has a function of learning remote control control contents, and can increase the number of target devices and control contents.

  The display unit 11 displays a learning content instruction for the EMS non-compliant device 30 to learn the remote control content. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, when the manufacturer name or model name of the EMS non-compliant device 30 to be registered is input (S301: YES), the processor 13 displays that the remote control button for the function to be stored is pressed. It is displayed on the part 11 (S302). In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, the target is an air conditioner, and an instruction to press a temperature lowering button is given. When the user presses the button for lowering the temperature of the remote control device 90, a remote control signal corresponding to the control is output. Therefore, when the control signal receiving unit 17 receives the remote control signal (S303: YES), The received remote control signal is stored in the control signal storage unit 16 (S304). The above operation is repeated until all the functions are completed (S305: NO), and when all the functions are completed (S305: YES), the process ends.

  According to such an embodiment, since the remote control learning function is added to the power management apparatus 10, control of the power management system is possible even for the EMS non-compliant device 30 newly released after the installation of the power management apparatus 10. The versatility of the power management apparatus 10 can be enhanced.

(Fourth embodiment)
The fourth embodiment is characterized in that it has a function of downloading a remote control signal from an external server.
As shown in FIG. 10, a control signal data distribution server 100 is prepared, and a remote control signal is received from the control signal storage unit 101 of the control signal data distribution server 100 via the external network 40 to store the control signal. Add / update the contents of the section 16. The control signal storage unit 101 can add / update a new remote control signal by the control signal update terminal 102.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the processor 13 (corresponding to download means) inquires the control signal data distribution server 100 (S401), and transmits a list of EMS non-compliant devices 30 held by the control signal data distribution server 100 to the processor 13 ( Download) (S402). The processor 13 displays the received list of non-EMS-compatible devices 30 on the display unit 11 (S403). Next, when a newly added EMS non-compliant device 30 is selected by the user (S404: YES), the processor 13 confirms the operation by operating the set non-compliant device 30 (S405). ), An option as to whether or not the operation has been performed correctly is displayed on the display unit 11 (S406). When the correct operation is selected (S407: YES), the process is terminated. When the correct operation is not selected (S407: NO), the above operation is repeated.

  According to such an embodiment, the control signal data distribution server 100 is prepared outside, and the power management apparatus 10 downloads and stores the remote control signal from the control signal data distribution server 100. Even an EMS non-compliant device 30 newly released after the installation of the device 10 can be a control target of the power management system.

(Fifth embodiment)
The fifth embodiment is characterized in that the data learned by the remote controller by the user in the third embodiment is uploaded to the external control signal data storage server 110 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 13, the processor 13 (corresponding to uploading means) stores the EMS non-compliant device 30 registered in the control signal storage unit 16 and the list of non-EMS compatible devices 30 registered in the control signal data storage server 110. In comparison (S501), if not registered in the control signal data storage server 110 (S501: NO), the data of the corresponding EMS non-compliant device 30 is uploaded to the control signal data storage server 110 (S502). The control signal data storage server 110 additionally stores the received data of the EMS non-compliant device 30 in the control signal storage unit 111.
If the data stored in the control signal storage unit 16 is lost due to some accident, it can be recovered by downloading the data from the control signal data storage server 110 and storing it in the control signal storage unit 16.
According to such an embodiment, since the control signal data storage server 110 functions as a backup of the control signal storage unit 16, the data can be restored even in the event of data loss in the control signal storage unit 16.

(Sixth embodiment)
The sixth embodiment is characterized in that the reach of the remote control signal is expanded.
As shown in FIG. 14, when the power management device 10 and the EMS non-compliant device 30 are installed in different rooms and the remote control signal from the power management device 10 is in a place that does not reach the EMS non-compliant device 30, By transmitting a remote control signal to the remote transmission device 120 via the network 60, the remote transmission device 120 receives the remote control signal from the indoor network 60, and the remote control received by the network IF unit 121. And a control signal transmission unit 122 that outputs a control signal.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the processor 13 sends a remote control signal for an EMS non-compliant device to the remote transmission device 120 via the network IF unit 12 of the power management device 10 (S601). When the network IF unit 12 receives the remote control signal for the EMS non-compliant device 30 (S602: YES), the remote transmission device 120 sends the received remote control signal from the control signal transmission unit 15 (S603). The corresponding device 30 receives the remote control signal and executes the power reduction operation. Then, the power monitoring unit 21 confirms that the EMS non-compliant device 30 has executed the power reduction operation according to the control signal (S604).

  According to such an embodiment, even when the EMS non-compliant device 30 is installed in a place where the remote control signal from the power management apparatus 10 does not reach, from the remote transmission device 120 installed in that place. Since the remote control signal is transmitted, the EMS non-compliant device 30 can be remotely operated to execute the power reduction operation.

(Seventh embodiment)
The seventh embodiment is characterized in that a function for monitoring whether the control to the EMS non-compliant device 30 is correctly performed is added.
As shown in FIG. 16, the power management apparatus 10 includes an environment monitoring unit 18 and an environment storage unit 19. In the present embodiment, an air conditioner, lighting, or the like is assumed as the EMS non-compliant device 30.

As shown in FIG. 17, in addition to the operation of the first embodiment (the same step number is added to the same operation as the first embodiment), the value acquired by the environment monitoring unit 18 by the processor 13 and the environment storage The operation of comparing the value stored in the unit 19 is executed (S109), and it is determined whether the control is in accordance with the environmental variation in addition to the power variation (S108). For example, in the case where the EMS non-compliant device 30 is an air conditioner, it is determined by a temperature sensor whether the room temperature has decreased when the set temperature is decreased to reduce power during heating operation. When the EMS non-compliant device 30 is illumination, it is determined by an illuminance sensor whether the brightness of the room is lowered when the power is turned off to reduce power.
According to such an embodiment, even when it is difficult to determine only by power fluctuation, more accurate determination can be made by referring to data acquired from an environment such as room temperature or room brightness.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be modified or expanded as follows, each modified example may be combined with the above-described embodiment, or each modified example may be combined.
The power for each EMS non-compliant device 30 to be controlled may be detected, and it may be determined whether the EMS non-compliant device 30 has executed the power reduction operation based on the power fluctuation.
The remote control signal may be easily transmitted to the EMS non-compliant device 30 by reflecting or relaying the remote control signal output from the power management apparatus 10.
If the EMS non-compliant device 30 is configured to generate a confirmation sound when it receives a remote control signal, whether or not the power reduction operation has been executed with reference to whether or not the confirmation sound has been received. You may make it judge.

  In the drawing, 10 is a power management apparatus, 13 is a processor (control means, download means, upload means), 15 is a control signal transmission section (control signal transmission means), 16 is a control signal storage section (control signal storage means), 17 Is a control signal receiving unit (control signal receiving means), 20 is a power monitoring device, 30 is a non-EMS compatible device, 31 is an EMS compatible device, 60 is an indoor network, 80 is an indoor power line, 100 is a control signal data distribution server, 110 Is a control signal data storage server.

Claims (7)

An EMS non-compliant device (30) that is powered through the indoor power line (80) and whose operation is set by receiving a remote control signal;
A power monitoring device (20) for monitoring the power of the indoor power line;
A power management device (10) for controlling the non-EMS compatible device,
The power management device includes:
Control signal storage means (16) storing the remote control signal;
Control signal transmission means (15) for transmitting the remote control signal stored in the control signal storage means to the EMS non-compliant device;
When reducing the power of the indoor power line, a remote control signal for instructing a power reduction operation is transmitted from the control signal transmitting means, and the EMS non-compliant device is controlled by the remote control control signal based on a power fluctuation by the power monitoring device. And a control means (13) for determining that the power reduction operation has been executed by receiving
A power management system characterized by comprising.   In the case where the power by the power monitoring device is reduced by a predetermined amount before and after the transmission timing of the remote control signal, the control unit receives the remote control signal and performs a power reduction operation when the EMS non-compliant device receives the remote control signal. The power management system according to claim 1, wherein: An EMS-compatible device (31) that is fed via an indoor power line and that performs a power reduction operation in response to a command for a power reduction operation from the power management device via the indoor network (60);
The control means selectively executes power reduction operation for the EMS non-compliant device and the EMS compatible device, and executes the power reduction operation when the power decrease by the power monitoring device is smaller. The power management system according to claim 1 or 2. A control signal receiving means (17) for receiving a remote control signal output from the remote control device (90);
The control signal storage means stores the remote control signal received by the control signal receiving means,
The said control signal transmission means reads and transmits the said remote control signal memorize | stored in the said control signal memory | storage means, when transmitting the said remote control signal. The power management system described in 1. A control signal data distribution server (100) that is provided outside and stores the remote control signal in a downloadable manner;
Download means (13) for storing the remote control signal downloaded from the control signal data distribution server in the control signal storage means;
The power management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: A control signal data storage server (110) provided outside;
Upload means (13) for uploading the remote control signal stored in the control signal storage means to the control signal data storage server;
The power management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising:   A power management apparatus used in the power management system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

Images