JP2016001958A - Photovoltaic power generation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photovoltaic power generation system capable of urging a user to take an action suitable for a weather change by promptly and exactly notifying the user of information suited to an actual weather at any time of day or night.SOLUTION: The photovoltaic power generation system includes: a solar battery 1 installed outdoors; a power conditioner 2 for converting electric power photoelectrically converted by the solar battery 1 into AC power; a power monitor 7 for displaying information on AC power converted by the power conditioner 2; a rain sensor 13 for sensing rain outdoors; and a notification section for making notification of a rain sensing result from the rain sensor 13.

Description

  The present invention relates to a system for detecting and notifying information such as weather in a solar power generation system.

  Conventionally, in order to know the solar power generation status in a solar power generation device, the electrical parameters of the solar cell output are measured, or the power generation status is detected from the power parameters output from the power converter, and the installation location and installation There has been proposed a system that can calculate the theoretical solar radiation intensity from the azimuth, installation angle, and calendar information, obtain the fine weather degree, and provide the weather information (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In addition, a system has been proposed that has a function of connecting to the Internet line, fetching weather information from a data server, and displaying today's weather (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  In addition, a system has been proposed in which a weather situation is predicted from a power generation situation in a solar power generation apparatus, notified by display and voice, and further transmitted to a mobile communication terminal (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

JP 2003-121558 A JP 2008-202983 A JP-A-2005-101208

  However, the system described in Patent Document 1 can discriminate between clear weather and cloudy weather, but cannot discriminate until it is raining.

  In addition, the system described in Patent Document 2 has a problem that current weather information is not updated in a timely manner and a problem that it cannot cope with local and sudden weather changes such as recent guerrilla heavy rain and lacks real-time characteristics. .

  In addition, in the system described in Patent Document 3, since rain is only estimated from changes in the power generation status, it cannot be accurately determined whether it is cloudy or rainy. Therefore, it is impossible to notify the user that it is raining in a weather situation such as rain where it is raining even though it is sunny. For this reason, it will not be possible to prevent rain blowing and wetting of the laundry. Further, when it starts to rain in the evening and at night, there is a problem that the weather change cannot be detected accurately because there is no rain sensor.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a photovoltaic power generation system capable of promptly and accurately notifying information according to actual weather regardless of day or night, and prompting a user to take action according to changes in the weather. Objective.

  The photovoltaic power generation system according to the present invention relates to a solar cell installed outdoors, a power conditioner that converts electric power photoelectrically converted by the solar cell into AC power, and AC power converted by the power conditioner. A power monitor for displaying information, a rain sensor for sensing rain in the outdoors, and a notification unit for notifying a rain result of the rain sensor.

  According to the present invention, since the rain sensor for sensing rain outdoors and the notification unit for notifying the rain sensor result of the rain sensor are provided, the rain sensor can actually measure the day or night based on the rain sensor result. The information according to the weather can be notified immediately and accurately. Thereby, it is possible to prompt the user to take an action according to the change in the weather.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the photovoltaic power generation system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a part of a flowchart showing a weather information notification process in the first embodiment. 4 is a remaining part of a flowchart illustrating a weather information notification process in the first embodiment. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display of the power monitor when the day is sunny in Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen display of the power monitor when the daytime is cloudy in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen display of a power monitor in case of rain during the daytime in Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen display of the power monitor when there is no rain at night in Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display of the power monitor in the case of rain at night in Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of a photovoltaic power generation system according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 9 is a part of a flowchart illustrating weather information notification processing according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a remaining part of a flowchart showing a weather information notification process in the second embodiment. FIG.

<Embodiment 1>
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the photovoltaic power generation system according to Embodiment 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the photovoltaic power generation system includes a solar cell 1, a power conditioner 2, a distribution board 3, a state detection unit 6, a power monitor 7, and a LAN adapter 9. The solar cell 1 is installed on an outdoor roof or the like, and generates electricity by photoelectrically converting sunlight. The power conditioner 2 converts the DC power generated by the solar cell 1 into AC power and supplies the AC power to the distribution board 3 side.

  The distribution board 3 is connected to a commercial power source (system) 4, and after branching to a plurality of breakers in the home, is connected to an electrical device (load) 5. A trading power measuring unit 8 is arranged on a power supply line between the distribution board 3 and the commercial power supply 4. The trading power measuring unit 8 measures the power generation amount (power generation state) and the power sale / power purchase amount of the solar cell 1 from the current flowing through the power supply line between the distribution board 3 and the commercial power supply 4.

  The rain sensitive sensor 13 is installed on an outdoor roof, a balcony, an outer wall, or the like, and senses rain in the outdoors. In other words, the rain sensitive sensor 13 detects a raining condition or a raining condition outdoors. Here, as the rain sensor, it is desirable to use a capacitance type rain sensor with a built-in heater. In the present embodiment, the rain sensor 13 includes a heater 13a, and removes the influence of fog and condensation by the action of the heater 13a, or reliably detects a rain rising state at the end of the rain state. Is possible.

  The state detection unit 6 detects weather information indicating an outdoor weather state based on the power generation amount of the solar cell 1 and the rain sensitivity result of the rain sensor 13. The state detection unit 6 has a function as a current time acquisition unit that acquires time information that is the current time, and includes, for example, a microcomputer having a real-time clock function that holds real time. Note that the current time acquisition unit may be provided separately from the state detection unit 6.

  The power monitor 7 is a display device and displays information related to AC power converted by the power conditioner 2. More specifically, the power monitor 7 displays the amount of power generation, the amount of electricity sold / the amount of electricity purchased, and the amount of consumption, and further displays weather information. In addition, the power monitor 7 includes an audio unit 7a composed of, for example, a speaker.

  Moreover, the state detection part 6 has a function as a screen display change part which changes the display of the screen 7b (refer FIG. 4) of the electric power monitor 7 according to weather information. Details thereof will be described later. Note that the screen display change unit may be provided separately from the state detection unit 6.

  The LAN adapter 9 (communication unit) is connected to a modem 10 connected to a network 11 that is an Internet line, and communicates with a user's portable information terminal 12 via the network 11. More specifically, the LAN adapter 9 transmits a mail to the portable information terminal 12. Here, the portable information terminal 12 is, for example, a mobile phone or a smartphone. The power monitor 7, the voice unit 7 a, or the LAN adapter 9 corresponds to a notification unit that notifies the rain sensing result of the rain sensing sensor 13.

  Furthermore, the solar power generation system includes a storage unit (not shown), and can register (store) the mail address of the user's portable information terminal 12 in the storage unit.

  The rain sensor 13 installed outdoors detects a raindrop on the sensor surface and sends a signal to the state detector 6. In the photovoltaic power generation system according to the first embodiment, the user registers the e-mail address of the portable information terminal 12 in advance as an initial setting so that the mobile information is received via the network 11 when rain is detected. A notification mail for notifying the terminal 12 of information that it has rained can be transmitted. Even when the user is not in the room where the power monitor 7 is installed, a notification e-mail can be sent to the portable information terminal 12, so that the user is more surely notified of the rain. can do.

  Next, the weather information notification process will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a part of a flowchart showing the weather information notification process, and FIG. 3 is a remaining part of the flowchart showing the weather information notification process. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the screen display of the power monitor 7 when it is sunny in the daytime, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the screen display of the power monitor 7 when it is cloudy in the daytime. These are figures which show an example of the screen display of the power monitor 7 in the case of daytime rain, FIG. 7 is a figure which shows an example of the screen display of the power monitor 7 in the case of no rain at night, FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen display of the power monitor 7 in the case of rain at night.

  The user or the installer who installed the solar power generation system registers the position information, the installation direction, the installation angle, and the like of the solar cell 1 in the storage unit by default. Here, the position information is registered by an address or a zip code. The storage unit stores calendar information, which is date information, in advance.

  The state detector 6 derives the sunrise time and sunset time based on the position information, calendar information, and time information (step S1). Specifically, the state detection unit 6 identifies the latitude and longitude of the installation position of the solar cell 1 based on the position information, and based on the latitude and longitude of the installation position of the solar cell 1, calendar information, and time information, The sunrise time and sunset time are derived. Thereby, the state detection part 6 can judge whether it is the daytime or the night now.

  If the present time is night (NO in step S2), the state detection unit 6 determines whether the sensor surface of the rain sensor 13 is wet based on the signal from the rain sensor 13, and the sensor surface is wet. If not (NO in step S14), the state detection unit 6 changes the background color to black on the screen 7b of the power monitor 7 and displays an illustration 60 (figure) such as the moon or the starry sky as shown in FIG. (Step S18), this process ends. In addition, the visibility can be improved by making the character color white while the background color becomes black.

  When the sensor surface is wet at night (YES in step S14), the state detection unit 6 sets the background color to black on the screen 7b of the power monitor 7 and displays the rain illustration 70 (graphic) as shown in FIG. It is displayed (step S15). In addition, the visibility can be improved by making the character color white while the background color becomes black. Next, the voice unit 7a notifies a voice message notifying the rain (step S16), and the LAN adapter 9 transmits a notification message indicating that it is raining to the registered mail address (step S17). The process ends.

  On the other hand, in the case of daytime (YES in step S2), the state detection unit 6 first determines whether the sensor surface of the rain sensor 13 is wet (step S3). If the sensor surface is wet (YES in step S3), the state detection unit 6 determines that it is in a raining state, and, as shown in FIG. 50 (figure) is displayed (step S11). Next, the voice unit 7a notifies a voice message notifying rain (step S12), and the LAN adapter 9 transmits a notification message indicating that it is raining to the registered mail address (step S13). The process ends.

  When the sensor surface is not wet (NO in step S3), the state detection unit 6 stores the position information, the installation direction, and the installation angle of the solar cell 1 input in advance by the user or the installer, in the storage unit. The theoretical irradiation intensity, which is the theoretical irradiation intensity, is derived from the calendar information and the time information acquired by the state detection unit 6 having a function as a current time acquisition unit (step S4).

  Next, the state detection unit 6 calculates the theoretical output (A) from the theoretical irradiation intensity and the conversion efficiency of the solar cell 1, acquires the actual power generation amount (B) from the power conditioner 2, and calculates from the ratio B / A Calculate the clearness. When the fine sky degree is 70% or more, the state detection unit 6 determines that the sky is clear, and the background color is changed to light blue on the screen 7b of the power monitor 7 as shown in FIG. Is displayed (step S9), the process ends.

  If the clear sky degree is less than 70% (NO in step S8), the state detection unit 6 determines that it is cloudy, and the background color is set to white on the screen 7b of the power monitor 7, as shown in FIG. After 40 (figure) is displayed (step S10), this process ends. Here, this process shall be repeatedly performed at the time of operation | movement of a solar energy power generation system.

  As described above, the solar power generation system according to Embodiment 1 includes the rain sensor 13 that senses rain outdoors and the notification unit that notifies the rain sensor 13 of the rain sensor. Based on the thirteen rain sensitivity results, it is possible to accurately and immediately notify information corresponding to the actual weather regardless of day or night. Thereby, it is possible to prompt the user to take an action according to the change in the weather.

  Also, by providing the rain sensor 13, it is possible to accurately detect that it is in a rainy state even when it is sunny but raining.

  The solar power generation system further includes a state detection unit 6 for detecting outdoor weather information based on the power generation state of the solar cell 1 obtained from the power conditioner 2 and the rain sensitivity result of the rain sensor 13, and notification The unit performs notification based on outdoor weather information detected by the state detection unit 6. By using the power generation state of the solar cell 1 and the rain sensitivity result of the rain sensor 13, it is possible to discriminate between rain and cloudiness. Therefore, when rain starts to fall on the day when the laundry is being dried outside. Notification can be made using the notification unit. As a result, the user can be prompted to take actions such as taking in laundry that has been dried outside or closing the window if the window is open.

  The notification unit is the power monitor 7, and the state detection unit 6 has a function as a screen display change unit that changes the display of the screen 7b of the power monitor 7 according to the weather condition. Therefore, the user can view the current weather information by viewing the display on the screen 7b of the power monitor 7.

  The state detection unit 6 has a function as a current time acquisition unit that acquires the current time. The display of the screen 7b changed by the screen display change unit includes the background color of the screen 7b and the illustration displayed on the screen 7b. The screen display changing unit changes the background color of the screen 7b according to the current time, and changes the graphic image according to outdoor weather information.

  Therefore, by changing not only the illustration but also the background color of the screen 7b at the same time, the user can easily see the current weather information by looking at the illustration and the background color of the screen 7b of the power monitor 7.

  In particular, when the screen size of the power monitor 7 is small, the illustration (graphic) is reduced accordingly. However, since the current weather information is also expressed by the background color of the screen 7b, the background color of the screen 7b is an illustration (graphic). Since the display range is large compared to the case only, it is easy to visually recognize.

  Since the rain sensor 13 includes a heater 13a for removing the influence of fog and condensation, the effect of the fog and condensation is removed by the action of the heater 13a, and the rain rising state that is the end of the rainfall state is reliably detected. It becomes possible to do. Further, since it can be sensed that the rain has stopped in a relatively short time even when the rain has stopped, it is possible to immediately notify the user that the rain has stopped. Thereby, the user can recognize that the rain has stopped, and can know the timing of hanging the laundry outside.

  When the rain sensor 13 detects rain, the notifying unit is a voice unit 7a that notifies the user of the fact by rain, so that the user can enter the room where the voice unit 7a is located, that is, the room where the power monitor 7 is installed. When it is, it can recognize that it has rained, and can take in the laundry which has been dried outside.

  The notification unit is a LAN adapter 9 that communicates with the mobile information terminal 12 to notify the mobile information terminal 12 registered in advance when the rain sensor 13 senses rain. A notification mail is transmitted to the portable information terminal 12 even when the user is outside the room where the power monitor 7 is installed. This makes it easier for the user to recognize that it has rained and to deal with laundry that has been dried outside.

  Further, when the rain sensor 13 senses that the rain has gone up, the voice unit 7a may notify that by voice. In this case, processing for notifying a voice message is performed immediately after step S9, step S10, and step S18 in the flowcharts of FIGS. Therefore, the user can recognize that the rain has stopped and can know the timing of hanging the laundry outside.

  When the rain sensor 13 senses that the rain has gone up, the LAN adapter 9 may communicate with the portable information terminal 12 in order to notify the portable information terminal 12 to that effect. In this case, processing for performing communication with the portable information terminal 12 is performed immediately after step S9, step S10, and step S18 in the flowcharts of FIGS. Thereby, even when the user is outside the room where the power monitor 7 is installed, a notification mail is transmitted to the portable information terminal 12. Therefore, the user can recognize that the rain has stopped and can know the timing of hanging the laundry outside.

  In addition, it is desirable that ON / OFF switching can be set for a voice message notifying a rainy state at night or a notification message to the portable information terminal 12. Thereby, sleep can be prevented from being disturbed by a voice message from the power monitor 7 or a reception sound of a message transmitted to the portable information terminal 12 at the time of going to bed at night or the like.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, the photovoltaic power generation system according to Embodiment 2 will be described. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the photovoltaic power generation system according to Embodiment 2. In the second embodiment, the same components as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In the second embodiment, instead of estimating the solar radiation amount from the power generation amount of the solar cell 1 and calculating the clear sky degree, the solar radiation meter 14 is installed outdoors, and the clear sky degree is measured by directly measuring the solar radiation amount. calculate.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the solar power generation system according to Embodiment 2 is obtained by adding a pyranometer 14 to the solar power generation system according to Embodiment 1 shown in FIG. The solar radiation meter 14 is installed on an outdoor roof, a balcony, an outer wall, or the like, and measures the amount of solar radiation outdoors. The measured amount of solar radiation is input to the state detector 6.

  Next, weather information notification processing according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 is a part of a flowchart showing the weather information notification process in the second embodiment, and FIG. 11 is the remaining part of the flowchart showing the weather information notification process.

  In the second embodiment, the process of step S5A is performed instead of steps S5 to S7 in the case of the first embodiment shown in FIG. That is, after the processing from step S1 to step S3 is executed, the state detection unit 6 stores the position information, installation direction, and installation angle of the solar cell 1 input in advance by the user or the installer, and the storage unit. The theoretical irradiation intensity is derived from the calendar information and the acquired time information (step S4). Next, the state detection unit 6 calculates a clear sky degree from the ratio between the amount of solar radiation measured by the solar radiation meter 14 and the theoretical irradiation intensity (step S5A). Since the subsequent processing is the same as that in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, the photovoltaic power generation system according to Embodiment 2 further includes a pyranometer 14 that measures the amount of solar radiation outdoors, and the state detection unit 6 replaces the power generation state of the solar cell 1, The outdoor weather information is detected based on the amount of solar radiation and the rain sensitivity result of the rain sensor 13. In this case, since the amount of solar radiation can be measured directly, the influence of deterioration or the like of the solar cell 1 can be eliminated, and the detection accuracy of fine weather is improved.

  Further, the power generation efficiency can be obtained from the ratio of the amount of solar radiation by the solar radiation meter 14 and the amount of power generated by the solar cell 1, and the secular deterioration and light deterioration of the solar cell 1 can be detected from the change in the power generation efficiency. If the efficiency drop is abnormal, it can be detected as an abnormality of the solar cell 1. When calculating the clear sky degree from the output of the solar cell 1, it is possible to calculate the clear sky degree with higher accuracy if the deterioration of efficiency due to aging deterioration, light deterioration and dirt attached to the surface of the solar battery 1 such as yellow sand can be taken into account. be able to.

  Next, modifications of the first and second embodiments will be described. In the photovoltaic power generation systems according to Embodiments 1 and 2, a hygrometer that measures the humidity outdoors may be provided as a means for detecting rain instead of the rain sensor 13. In this case, the state detection unit 6 can determine that it is raining, for example, when the humidity is 90% or more. In accordance with this determination, the notification unit notifies that it is raining.

  In the photovoltaic power generation systems according to Embodiments 1 and 2, it is desirable to further include a thermometer that measures the temperature outdoors in order to detect rainfall and snowfall. By providing the thermometer, the state detection unit 6 can determine that it is snowing if the outside air temperature is below the freezing point when the rain sensor 13 senses rain.

  In the photovoltaic power generation systems according to Embodiments 1 and 2, it is desirable to further include an atmospheric pressure sensor that detects a temporal change in atmospheric pressure outdoors. In this case, the atmospheric pressure sensor detects a temporal change in the atmospheric pressure, and the state detection unit 6 detects that the weather is starting to deteriorate in a state where the atmospheric pressure is decreasing, and notifies that the weather is deteriorating. Can be notified.

  In the photovoltaic power generation system according to the first and second embodiments, outdoor weather forecast information is acquired via the LAN adapter 9 via the network 11 that is an Internet line, so that the accuracy of identifying snowfall and rainfall is improved. May be. In this case, the LAN adapter 9 corresponds to the information acquisition unit. Since the weather forecast also includes a temperature forecast, the state detection unit 6 can determine that it is snow if it is raining at a time when the outside temperature is predicted to be below freezing point, and can display it on the power monitor 7. Thereby, even when no thermometer is provided outdoors, it is possible to determine whether it is snowing or raining.

  It should be noted that the present invention can be freely combined with each other within the scope of the invention, and each embodiment can be appropriately modified or omitted.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Solar cell, 2 Power conditioner, 6 State detection part, 7 Electric power monitor, 7a Audio | voice part, 9 LAN adapter, 12 Portable information terminal, 13 Rain sensor, 13a Heater, 14 Solar radiation meter.

Claims (14)

A solar cell installed outdoors;
A power conditioner that converts electric power photoelectrically converted by the solar cell into alternating current power;
A power monitor that displays information about the AC power converted by the power conditioner;
A rain sensor for sensing rain outdoors;
A notification unit for notifying the rain sensor result of the rain sensor;
A solar power generation system comprising: Based on the power generation state of the solar cell obtained from the power conditioner and the rain sensitivity result of the rain sensor, further comprising a state detection unit that detects the outdoor weather state,
The solar power generation system according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit performs notification based on the outdoor weather state detected by the state detection unit. Further comprising a pyranometer for measuring the amount of solar radiation in the outdoors,
3. The sunlight according to claim 2, wherein the state detection unit detects a weather condition in the outdoors based on the amount of solar radiation and a rain sensitivity result of the rain sensor instead of the power generation state of the solar cell. Power generation system. The notification unit is the power monitor;
The solar power generation system of Claim 2 or Claim 3 further provided with the screen display change part which changes the display of the screen of the said electric power monitor according to the said weather condition. It further includes a current time acquisition unit for acquiring the current time,
The display of the screen changed by the screen display changing unit is a background color of the screen and an image of a graphic displayed on the screen,
5. The photovoltaic power generation system according to claim 4, wherein the screen display change unit changes a background color of the screen according to the current time and changes an image of the graphic according to a weather condition in the outdoors.   The solar power generation system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the rain sensor includes a heater for removing the influence of fog and condensation.   The solar power generation system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the notification unit is a sound unit that notifies the sound sensor when the rain sensor detects rain.   The said notification part is a communication part which communicates with the said portable information terminal in order to notify that to the portable information terminal registered beforehand, when the said rain sensor detects rain. 3. The solar power generation system according to 3.   The solar power generation system according to claim 7, wherein when the rain sensor senses that the rain has risen, the sound unit notifies the sound by sound.   The solar power generation system according to claim 8, wherein the communication unit communicates with the portable information terminal to notify the portable information terminal when the rain sensing sensor senses that the rain has risen. In place of the rain-sensitive sensor, comprising a hygrometer that measures the outdoor humidity,
The solar power generation system according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit notifies that it is raining based on the humidity.   The solar power generation system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising a thermometer for measuring the temperature in the outdoors.   The solar power generation system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising an atmospheric pressure sensor that detects a temporal change in atmospheric pressure in the outdoors.   The photovoltaic power generation system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising an information acquisition unit that acquires information on the weather forecast in the outdoors via the Internet.

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