JP2022181055A - Distributed power supply system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a distributed power supply system comprising a measurement device that performs a radio communication by a communication power generated by an electromagnetic induction power generation using a current flowing a wire of a measuring object, in which a communication failure of the measurement device is suppressed.SOLUTION: A distributed power supply system comprises: a dispersion type power source that is connected to a main breaker in a path different from a commercial power source, and supplies a power to a load via the main breaker; a measurement device that is arranged in a wire connected between the main breaker and the load, measures a measurement value related to the power transmitted in the wire, and transmits information on the measurement value by a radio communication with a communication power generated by an electromagnetic induction power generation using a current flowing in the wire; and a control part that controls an output of the dispersion type power source on the basis of the measurement value in the information acquired from the measurement device by the radio communication.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a distributed power supply system.

In addition to commercial power sources, it is important to monitor overcurrents, reverse currents, etc. in buildings where so-called distributed power sources such as cogeneration systems that generate power using fuel cells and utilize waste heat are installed. For example, for distributed power sources such as cogeneration equipment, a measurement device such as a clamp-type current sensor is attached to the distribution board of the building, and after wiring work that penetrates the building wall, the distributed power sources such as cogeneration equipment are controlled. It was common to monitor overcurrent, reverse power flow, etc. by connecting to a device.

By the way, it is possible to directly obtain data on the power usage of a building from a smart meter using wireless communication technology, or indirectly obtain data on the power usage of a building from a home controller such as HEMS (home energy management system). If it can be acquired, it will be possible to omit the work of attaching the clamp-type current sensor to a distribution board and the work of wiring that penetrates the wall of the building, but it has not yet been realized.

Also, when wireless communication technology is used for a measuring device such as a current sensor, it is necessary to supply the power required for wireless communication to the measuring device. Moreover, when the battery runs out, wireless communication becomes impossible. Therefore, the use of an energy harvesting technique that obtains communication power necessary for wireless communication by electromagnetic induction power generation using current flowing through wiring to be measured is being studied (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 5617103

Here, for example, a measuring device is placed on the wiring between the main breaker to which the distributed power source is connected and the commercial power supply, and information on the measured value (for example, electric energy) regarding the power transmitted through the wiring is obtained from the measuring device. A configuration is conceivable in which the power is obtained and the output of the distributed power source is controlled so that the power approaches 0W. In the case of using the above-described measuring device that performs wireless communication by obtaining power for communication by electromagnetic induction generation using the current flowing in the wiring as the measuring device, the power transmitted through the wiring in which the measuring device is arranged continues to be 0 W, power for communication cannot be secured. As a result, information on measured values cannot be obtained from the measuring device, and there is a possibility that the output of the distributed power supply cannot be controlled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to suppress communication failures of measuring devices in a distributed power supply system including measuring devices that perform wireless communication using communication power generated by electromagnetic induction power generation using current flowing in wiring of a measurement target. and

A distributed power supply system according to a first aspect includes a distributed power supply connected to a main breaker through a path different from a commercial power supply and supplying power to a load via the main breaker, and between the main breaker and the load. is placed on a wire connected to the wire, measures a measured value related to the power transmitted through the wire, and wirelessly communicates the measured value with power for communication generated by electromagnetic induction power generation using the current flowing through the wire. A measuring device that transmits information, and a control unit that controls the output of the distributed power supply based on the measured value in the information acquired from the measuring device through the wireless communication.

Thus, in the configuration of the first aspect, the measuring device measures the measured value of the power transmitted through the wiring connected between the main breaker and the load, and generates electromagnetic induction power using the current flowing through the wiring. Measured value information is transmitted by wireless communication using the communication power generated in . The control unit controls the output of the distributed power supply based on the measured value in the information obtained from the measuring device through wireless communication.

Here, the measuring device is arranged in a line connected between the main breaker and the load. Even if the power transmitted to the wiring between the main breaker and the commercial power source continues to be 0 W, if the power is transmitted to the wiring connected between the main breaker and the load, the power for communication can be ensured. Therefore, it is possible to suppress communication failure of the measuring device due to lack of power for communication.

In the distributed power supply system according to the second aspect, the control unit performs control to set the power consumption of the load as an output target of the distributed power supply based on the measured value.

Here, in the configuration in which the measuring device is arranged in the wiring between the main breaker and the commercial power supply, the output of the distributed power supply is controlled so that the power transmitted through the wiring approaches 0W. On the other hand, in the second mode, control is performed with the power used by the load as the output target of the distributed power supply, so that the output of the distributed power supply can be brought close to the power used by the load with high accuracy.

Since the present invention is configured as described above, in a distributed power supply system including measuring devices that perform wireless communication using communication power generated by electromagnetic induction power generation using current flowing in wiring of a measurement target, communication failure of the measuring device It has an excellent effect of being able to suppress

1 is a schematic diagram showing a power supply system according to an embodiment; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a distributed power supply system according to an embodiment; FIG. It is a block diagram showing an example of functional composition of a processor of a control device concerning this embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of control processing executed by the control device according to the embodiment;

An example of an embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Power supply system 10)
The configuration of the power supply system 10 according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a power supply system 10 according to this embodiment.

The power supply system 10 is a system for supplying power to an electrical device 14 as an example of a load. In this embodiment, the power supply system 10 is applied to a house 12 and supplies power to electrical equipment 14 installed in the house 12 . Examples of the electrical equipment 14 installed in the house 12 include equipment such as lighting fixtures, air conditioners, refrigerators, televisions, and washing machines.

The application target to which the power supply system 10 is applied is not limited to the house 12, and may be, for example, buildings and facilities such as offices, stores, performance halls, warehouses, factories, and hospitals. Also, in the present embodiment, the electric device 14 is used as an example of the load, but an example of the load may be a device that uses power, in other words, a device that consumes power. Also, the object to which power is supplied by the power supply system 10 may be a connection terminal (specifically, an outlet or the like) to which a load such as the electric device 14 is connected.

The power supply system 10 specifically includes a distributed power supply system 50 , electric wires 18 , electric wires 19 , and a distribution board 30 . The distributed power supply system 50 is a system having distributed power supplies, and includes a cogeneration device 20 as an example of the distributed power supply, a measurement device 40 and a control device 60 . Each part of the power supply system 10 will be described below.

(Cogeneration device 20)
The cogeneration device 20 is an example of a distributed power source, as described above. A distributed power source is a power supply device that is provided separately from the commercial power source 16 and supplies power to the electrical equipment 14 . A distributed power source is a power source whose output (that is, the amount of power supplied to the electrical equipment 14) can be controlled.

The cogeneration system 20 is a domestic fuel cell cogeneration system in this embodiment, and is installed on the site outside the house 12, for example. The cogeneration system 20 is connected to a main breaker 34 of the distribution board 30 through a path different from the commercial power supply 16 , and supplies generated power to the electrical equipment 14 via the main breaker 34 . Specifically, the cogeneration device 20 has, as an example, a fuel cell unit 22, a hot water storage unit 24, and a heat source machine 26.

Each of the fuel cell unit 22, the hot water storage unit 24, and the heat source device 26 has a separate housing, and is configured by equipment provided in each housing. Note that the fuel cell unit 22, the hot water storage unit 24, and the heat source device 26 may be configured in a single housing.

Although not shown, the fuel cell unit 22 has a fuel processor, a stack, an inverter, and a heat recovery device. In the fuel cell unit 22, the fuel processor generates hydrogen from city gas, and the stack reacts the hydrogen with oxygen in the air to produce DC power (hereinafter referred to as DC power), heat, generate Further, in the fuel cell unit 22, the inverter converts DC power into AC power (hereinafter referred to as generated power). The heat recovery device of the fuel cell unit 22 recovers the heat by heating the water sent from the hot water storage unit 24 with the heat generated in the stack.

The hot water storage unit 24 has a storage tank (not shown). In the hot water storage unit 24, the water obtained from the tap water supply is sent to the heat recovery device of the fuel cell unit 22, and the water heated by the heat recovery device (that is, hot water) is stored in the storage tank.

The heat source device 26 further heats the hot water sent from the storage tank of the hot water storage unit 24 by burning city gas and supplies it to the house 12 as needed.

In this embodiment, the cogeneration device 20, which is a power generation device using a fuel cell, is used as an example of a distributed power source, but the present invention is not limited to this. As an example of a distributed power source, for example, a power generation device that rotates an engine or a turbine by combustion of gas, a power generation device that uses sunlight, wind power, etc., a storage battery, etc., and various power supply devices can be used. is possible. In a power generation device using sunlight, wind power, etc., for example, by controlling a conversion device (specifically, a power conditioner) that converts the generated DC power into AC power, power to the electrical equipment 14 output is controlled. Further, in the storage battery, for example, electric power from the power generation device or the commercial power source is stored, and the output of the electric power supplied to the electric device 14 is controlled.

(Electric wire 18, electric wire 19, and distribution board 30)
The electric wire 18 is an electric wire for drawing commercial power from the commercial power supply 16 to the distribution board 30 . One end of the electric wire 18 is connected to the commercial power supply 16 and the other end is connected to the distribution board 30 . The other end of the electric wire 18 is specifically connected to a service breaker 32 (described later) of the distribution board 30 . Specifically, the electric wire 18 is, for example, a single-phase three-wire electric wire, and has a neutral wire 18A and voltage wires 18B and 18C. If the distribution board 30 does not have a service breaker 32 described later, the electric wire 18 is connected to a main breaker 34 of the distribution board 30 described later. Note that the electric wire 18 is not limited to a single-phase three-wire electric wire, and may be any electric wire capable of transmitting electric power.

The electric wire 19 is an electric wire for drawing in the power generated by the cogeneration device 20 to the distribution board 30 . The electric wire 19 has one end connected to the cogeneration system 20 and the other end connected to the distribution board 30 . Specifically, one end of the electric wire 19 is connected to the fuel cell unit 22 of the cogeneration system 20 . The other end of the electric wire 18 is specifically connected to a service breaker 32 of the distribution board 30, which will be described later. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the electric wire 19 transmits the AC power generated by converting the DC power in the inverter of the fuel cell unit 22 to the service breaker 32 of the distribution board 30 . The electric wire 19 is specifically a single-phase three-wire electric wire, and has a neutral wire 19A and voltage wires 19B and 19C. Note that the electric wire 19 is not limited to a single-phase three-wire electric wire, and may be any electric wire capable of transmitting electric power.

As described above, the commercial power supply 16 is connected to the main breaker 34 described later by the electric wire 18 , and the cogeneration device 20 is connected to the main breaker 34 described later by the electric wire 19 . That is, the commercial power source 16 and the cogeneration device 20 are connected to a main breaker 34 described below through different paths.

The distribution board 30 has a service breaker 32, a main breaker 34, a safety breaker 36, and a circuit 31 in which these breakers 32, 34, 36 are arranged. The service breaker 32, the main breaker 34, and the safety breaker 36 are arranged in this order from the upstream side in the direction of current flow in the circuit 31. FIG.

Specifically, the circuit 31 is configured by a single-phase three-wire electric wire, and has a neutral wire 31A and voltage wires 31B and 31C. Furthermore, the circuit 31 has a connecting portion 33 that connects the service breaker 32 and the main breaker 34, and an extension portion 35 that extends from the main breaker 34 toward the safety breaker 36 side. The connecting portion 33 of the circuit 31 and the electric wire 18 are an example of wiring connected between the commercial power source 16 and the main breaker 34 .

The extending portion 35 of the circuit 31 is connected to a plurality of wirings 37 branched from the extending portion 35 for transmitting power to the electric device 14 . In other words, the wiring 37 can also be said to be a branch circuit branching from the extension portion 35 . Each of the plurality of wirings 37 is composed of a pair of wirings (electric wires), and each of the pair of wirings is connected to each of the neutral wire 31A and the voltage wires 31B and 31C in the extending portion 35. be done. In the example shown in FIG. 1, one wiring 37 is connected to the neutral wire 31A and the voltage wire 31B, and one wiring 37 is connected to the neutral wire 31A and the voltage wire 31C.

The service breaker 32 is a breaker for determining the contracted capacity, and has a function of breaking the circuit 31 when power exceeding the contracted capacity is supplied. Note that the service breaker 32 may not be provided in some cases.

The main breaker 34 functions as an earth leakage breaker that cuts off the circuit 31 when an electric leakage occurs in the electrical equipment 14 or the like. The safety breaker 36 is a circuit breaker that is attached to each wiring 37 and cuts off the wiring 37 when a short circuit due to a failure of the electrical equipment 14 or the use of power above a certain level is detected. Therefore, multiple safety breakers 36 are provided. Specifically, the safety breakers 36 are provided in the same number as the wirings 37 .

In the present embodiment, the commercial power from the commercial power source 16 and the power generated by the cogeneration device 20 are sent to the distribution board 30 to join together, and are used as power for the electrical equipment 14 installed in the house 12. can be used. Here, when the output power output from the cogeneration device 20 is insufficient for the power used (power consumption) used in the electrical equipment 14, the shortage of commercial power is used. That is, when the power generated by the cogeneration device 20 is insufficient for the power used by the electrical equipment 14, the commercial power is transmitted from the commercial power supply 16 to the main breaker 34 through the connection portion 33 of the wire 18 and the circuit 31. . Therefore, when the electric power used by the electrical equipment 14 exceeds the rated output of the cogeneration device 20 , the cogeneration device 20 outputs at the rated output and the shortfall is supplied from the commercial power source 16 .

On the other hand, when the power used by the electrical equipment 14 and the power generated by the cogeneration device 20 are in balance, the commercial power is not used, and power is not transmitted to the wire 18 and the connecting portion 33 of the circuit 31 .

Furthermore, when the generated power generated by the cogeneration device 20 exceeds the power used by the electrical equipment 14, the commercial power is not used, and the excess generated power is supplied from the main breaker 34. It may be transmitted to the commercial power supply 16 side through the connection portion 33 of the electric wire 18 and the circuit 31 (that is, reverse power flow).

Note that the circuit 31 is not limited to a single-phase three-wire electric wire, and may be any circuit capable of transmitting electric power.

(Measuring device 40)
The measuring device 40 is arranged downstream with respect to the main breaker 34 . Specifically, the measuring device 40 is arranged on the extending portion 35 of the circuit 31 of the distribution board 30 . That is, it is arranged between the main breaker 34 of the distribution board 30 and the electrical equipment 14 . More specifically, it is arranged between the main breaker 34 and the plurality of safety breakers 36 in the circuit 31 of the distribution board 30 and on the upstream side to which the wiring 37 as the branch circuit is connected. More specifically, the measuring device 40 is arranged on the neutral wire 31A in the extension 35 of the circuit 31. As shown in FIG. By means of this measuring device 40, measurements are taken of the power supplied to all electrical appliances 14 (full load).

The measuring device 40 is a device that measures a measured value (specifically, at least one of a current value, a voltage value, and a power amount) transmitted through the extension 35 of the circuit 31 of the distribution board 30. be. In other words, the measuring device 40 measures the power usage of the electrical device 14 .

Specifically, the measurement device 40 has a measurement section 42, an induction power generation section 44, and a communication section 46, as shown in FIG. Although not shown, the measurement unit 42 has, for example, an annular core surrounding the circuit 31 and a winding wound around the core. A measurement of power transmitted through extension 35 is measured by measuring a measurement of power transmitted through . In this way, the measuring unit 42 measures the measured value related to the power transmitted through the extension 35 by measuring the measured value correlated with the power transmitted through the extension 35 . The measurement unit 42 is not limited to the configuration described above, and may have a configuration capable of measuring a measurement value related to the power transmitted through the extension 35 .

The induction power generation unit 44 generates communication power for wireless communication by electromagnetic induction power generation using the current flowing through the circuit 31 . Furthermore, the communication unit 46 transmits information on the measured value (hereinafter referred to as measurement value information) measured by the measurement unit 42 to the control device 60 by wireless communication using the communication power generated by the induction power generation unit 44 .

Note that the measuring device 40 is not limited to the configuration described above, and may be any device that can measure the measured value of the power supplied to all the electrical devices 14 (for all loads). For example, the measuring device 40 may have a configuration in which the measuring section 42 is arranged on each of the voltage lines 31B and 31C in the connection section 33, or has the measuring section 42 arranged on each of the plurality of wirings 37. It may be a configuration.

In addition, the measurement device 40 may be configured to always perform the measurement by the measurement unit 42 and the communication by the communication unit 46, or the measurement and communication may be performed periodically at predetermined intervals. It may be a configuration to execute.

(control device 60)
Control device 60 is an example of a control unit, and is a device that controls the operation of cogeneration device 20 . Specifically, it controls the output of the cogeneration device 20 (that is, the amount of electric power supplied toward the electrical equipment 14). Note that the control device 60 may function as a device that controls the amount of hot water supplied by the cogeneration device 20 and the amount of heating by the heat source device 26 in addition to the amount of electric power of the cogeneration device 20 .

The control device 60 is composed of a computer having a processor 61, a memory 62, a storage 63, and a communication interface 64, as shown in FIG.

The processor 61 is composed of, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), which is a general-purpose processor. An example of the processor may be a dedicated processor composed of a circuit designed exclusively for executing specific processing.

The communication interface 64 is an interface (that is, communication section) for communicating with other equipment including the measuring device 40 . In this embodiment, the communication interface 64 receives the measured value information transmitted from the measuring device 40 using a wireless communication function.

The storage 63 stores various programs including a control program 63A (see FIG. 3) and various data. The storage 63 is specifically implemented by a recording device such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), flash memory, or the like.

The memory 62 is a work area for the processor 61 to execute various programs, and temporarily records various programs or various data when the processor 61 executes processing. The processor 61 reads various programs including the control program 63A from the storage 63 to the memory 62 and executes the programs using the memory 62 as a work area.

In the control device 60, the processor 61 implements various functions by executing the control program 63A. A functional configuration realized by cooperation between the processor 61 as a hardware resource and the control program 63A as a software resource will be described below. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the processor 61. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the control device 60, the processor 61 functions as an acquisition section 61A and an output control section 61B by executing a control program 63A.

The acquiring unit 61A acquires measured value information transmitted from the measuring device 40 and received by the communication interface 64 .

The output control unit 61B controls the output of the cogeneration device 20 (that is, the amount of electric power supplied toward the electrical equipment 14) based on the measured value information acquired by the acquisition unit 61A. Specifically, the output control unit 61B controls the amount of power generation in the fuel cell unit 22 of the cogeneration device 20 so as to approach the amount of power (an example of the measured value) at the measurement position of the measuring device 40. Feedback control to control. In other words, the output control unit 61B controls the output of the cogeneration device 20 using the measured value in the measured value information acquired by the acquiring unit 61A as the control target value. Here, the measured value measured by the measuring device 40 corresponds to the power consumption (power consumption) of the electrical equipment 14 . Therefore, it can be said that the output control unit 61B performs control to set the power consumption (power consumption) of the electrical equipment 14 as the output target of the cogeneration device 20 .

Also, the measured value measured by the measuring device 40 may be a voltage value, a current value, or the like, and the control device 60 controls the output of the cogeneration device 20 based on the voltage value, the current value, or the like. good too.

(Action according to this embodiment)
Next, an example of the action of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of control processing executed by the control device 60. As shown in FIG.

This process is performed by processor 61 reading control program 63A from storage 63 and executing it. Execution of this process is started, for example, when the processor 61 acquires an instruction to execute the power generation operation of the cogeneration device 20 .

Processor 61, as shown in FIG. 4, determines whether measurement value information has been acquired from measuring device 40 (step S102).

When the processor 61 determines that the measured value information has been acquired from the measuring device 40 (step S102: YES), the processor 61 adjusts the cogeneration device 20 so that the current value at the measurement position of the measuring device 40 approaches the reference current value. (step S104) and returns to step S102.

On the other hand, when the processor 61 determines that the measured value information has not been acquired from the measuring device 40 (step S102: NO), it performs step S102 again. That is, step S<b>102 is repeated until measurement value information is acquired from the measuring device 40 .

Note that in the control process shown in FIG. 4, for example, when an instruction to stop execution of the power generation operation of the cogeneration device 20 is acquired, this process ends regardless of which step is being executed.

(Effects of this embodiment)
In this embodiment, the measuring device 40 is arranged between the main breaker 34 of the distribution board 30 and the electrical equipment 14 .

Here, for example, in a configuration (hereinafter referred to as configuration A) in which the measuring device 40 is arranged at the connection portion 33 between the service breaker 32 and the main breaker 34 in the circuit 31 of the distribution board 30, the following , a communication error may occur in the measuring device 40 .

For example, when the power used by the electrical equipment 14 and the power generated by the cogeneration device 20 are in balance, commercial power is not used and power is not transmitted to the connection portion 33 of the circuit 31 . In this case, no current flows at the position where the measuring device 40 is arranged in the circuit 31 of the distribution board 30, and the communication power necessary for the wireless communication of the measuring device 40 cannot be obtained, and a communication error occurs in the measuring device 40. occur.

On the other hand, in the extension part 35 where the measuring device 40 according to the present embodiment is arranged, since there is a device (such as a refrigerator) that constantly uses electric power as the electric device 14, current always flows. At least, the current flows more frequently in the extending portion 35 than in the connecting portion 33 in the circuit 31 . Therefore, communication errors are less likely to occur in the measuring device 40, and communication failures in the measuring device 40 can be suppressed.

Further, in the configuration A described above, the output of the cogeneration device 20 is controlled so that the power transmitted through the connection portion 33 approaches 0W. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, control is performed so that the power used by the electrical equipment 14 is set as the output target of the cogeneration device 20. Therefore, the output of the cogeneration device 20 can be adjusted to match the power used by the electrical equipment 14 with high accuracy. can get closer.

Moreover, in this embodiment, since the measuring device 40 transmits the measured value information to the control device 60 by wireless communication, it is not necessary to connect the measuring device 40 and the control device 60 by wire. As a result, after attaching the measuring device 40 to the distribution board 30, it is not necessary to perform wiring work to penetrate the wall of the house 12. FIG.

10 power supply system 12 house 14 electrical equipment (example of load)
16 Commercial power supply 18 Electric wire (an example of wiring)
18A Neutral wire 18B Voltage wire 19 Electric wire 19A Neutral wire 19B Voltage wire 20 Cogeneration device (an example of distributed power supply)
22 Fuel cell unit 24 Hot water storage unit 26 Heat source device 30 Distribution board 31 Circuit 31A Neutral wire 31B Voltage wire 32 Service breaker 33 Connection part 34 Main breaker 35 Extension part (an example of wiring)
36 Safety breaker 37 Wiring 40 Measurement device 42 Measurement unit 44 Induction power generation unit 46 Communication unit 50 Distributed power supply system 60 Control device (an example of control unit)
61 processor 61A acquisition unit 61B output control unit 62 memory 63 storage 63A control program 64 communication interface

Claims (2)

a distributed power supply that is connected to a main breaker through a path different from a commercial power supply and supplies power to a load via the main breaker;
Communication power generated by electromagnetic induction power generation using the current flowing through the wiring placed in the wiring connected between the main breaker and the load to measure the measured value of the power transmitted through the wiring A measuring device that transmits information on the measured value by wireless communication by
A control unit that controls the output of the distributed power supply based on the measured value in the information acquired from the measuring device by the wireless communication;
Distributed power system with The distributed power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the controller controls the power consumption of the load to be the output target of the distributed power supply based on the measured value.

Images