JP6315334B2 - Power management equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a power management apparatus used for demand response.

  A demand response (DR: Demand Response), which is a mechanism for stabilizing a power system, is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). In DR, for example, an electric power system is stabilized by requesting individual consumers (consumers) to suppress power consumption at peak times.

JP 2012-255567 A

  In DR, consumers have the disadvantage that they cannot use electrical equipment freely during DR. On the other hand, in DR, a consumer has the merit that an incentive is obtained by responding to the suppression of power consumption. Therefore, it is desirable that consumers can secure power to be used and suppress power consumption within an appropriate range.

  The present invention provides a power management apparatus capable of appropriately suppressing power consumption in a consumer.

  A power management apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a receiving unit that receives a power restriction instruction that instructs suppression of use of power in a power system; and the necessity of power in the consumer based on a human activity amount in the consumer A determination unit configured to determine an amount; and a transmission unit configured to transmit a command for suppressing use of power exceeding the determined necessary amount when the reception unit receives the power limit instruction.

  A power management apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a receiving unit that receives a power restriction instruction that instructs suppression of use of power in the power system; And a transmission unit that transmits a command for suppressing use of power exceeding the required amount when the reception unit receives the power restriction instruction.

  According to the power management apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to appropriately suppress power consumption in a consumer.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the DR system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the system configuration of the customer. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the controller. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the power limiting device. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the operation of the server in the DR system. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the controller power consumption suppression process. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of priority order information stored in the storage unit. FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the server according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of power consumption suppression processing performed by the server. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of a customer according to the third embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

  It should be noted that each of the embodiments described below shows a comprehensive or specific example. The numerical values, shapes, materials, constituent elements, arrangement positions and connection forms of the constituent elements, steps, order of steps, and the like shown in the following embodiments are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the present invention. In addition, among the constituent elements in the following embodiments, constituent elements that are not described in the independent claims indicating the highest concept are described as optional constituent elements.

  Each figure is a schematic diagram and is not necessarily shown strictly. Moreover, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the substantially same structure, and the overlapping description may be abbreviate | omitted or simplified.

(Embodiment 1)
Embodiment 1 demonstrates the example of the power management apparatus implement | achieved as a controller provided in a consumer.

[overall structure]
First, the overall configuration of the DR system according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the DR system according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the DR system 1 includes a power management system 100, a plurality of customers 150, and a server 200.

  The power management system 100 is a server owned by a power supplier (for example, a power company) that manages a power system. The power management system 100 is connected to the server 200 via a communication network such as the Internet line or a dedicated communication line.

  The consumer 150 is a consumer who has a power supply contract with a power supplier. Electric power is supplied to the customer 150 through the power distribution network 300 (power line 310) owned by the power supply company or the power distribution company. The customer 150 is connected to the server 200 through the Internet 400 (signal line 410). The building (facility) of the consumer 150 is, for example, a house, but the building of the consumer 150 may be an apartment house, a factory, an office building, a commercial facility, or the like. In the following embodiment, the building of the consumer 150 may be simply referred to as the consumer 150.

  The server 200 is a server owned by an aggregator (power management company), which is a company that mediates between the power supply company and the customer 150 in the DR. The aggregator enters into a DR contract with the consumer 150 and, for example, causes the consumer 150 to suppress power consumption at the peak of power consumption.

  In the DR system 1 as described above, first, the power management system 100 transmits a power restriction request to the server 200 (aggregator) based on the supply and demand situation of the power system. The server 200 that has received the power restriction request transmits a power saving request to the customer 150 through the Internet 400. In the consumer 150, power consumption is suppressed by the controller, and an incentive is paid from the aggregator to the consumer 150 in which the power consumption is suppressed.

[System configuration of customer]
Next, the system configuration of the customer 150 will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration of the customer 150.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the customer 150 includes a controller 10, a router 20, a smart meter 30, a power limiting device 40, an activity amount measuring device 50, and a load 90.

  The controller 10 is an example of a power management apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the controller 10. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the controller 10 includes a communication unit 11, a determination unit 12, a transmission unit 13, and a storage unit 14.

  The communication unit 11 (reception unit) receives from the server 200 a power limit instruction that instructs suppression of use of power in the power system. The communication unit 11 can also transmit information to the server 200. Specifically, the communication unit 11 is a communication module (IC) corresponding to the Internet line.

  The determination unit 12 determines the required amount of power in the consumer 150 based on the amount of human activity in the consumer 150. The amount of activity is information representing the amount of physical movement of a person. The determination unit 12 determines the required amount of power to be larger as the activity amount is larger. This is because when the amount of activity is large, it is estimated that power is in a necessary state. The determination unit 12 is realized by a microcomputer, for example, but may be realized by a processor or a dedicated circuit.

  When the communication unit 11 receives the power restriction instruction, the transmission unit 13 transmits a command for restricting the use of power exceeding the determined necessary amount to the power restriction device 40. The transmission unit 13 is a communication module that supports communication between the transmission unit 13 and the power limiting device 40, for example. Examples of communication between the transmission unit 13 and the power limiting device 40 include wired communication such as PLC (Power Line Communication), and wireless communication using Zigbee (registered trademark).

  The determination unit 12 and the transmission unit 13 are realized by, for example, a microcomputer, but may be realized by a processor or a dedicated circuit.

  The storage unit 14 is a table for the determination unit 12 to determine the required amount of power (a table in which the amount of activity and the required amount of power at the customer 150 are associated), and the determination unit 12 operates. This is a memory in which a program for storing data is stored. Specifically, the storage unit 14 is a semiconductor memory or the like.

  The router 20 is a communication device for connecting the controller 10 to the Internet 400. The router 20 may be a wired router or a wireless router.

  The smart meter 30 is a device that measures the power supplied from the power system (distribution network 300) to the consumer 150, that is, the total power consumed by the consumer 150. Specifically, the smart meter 30 is a power meter having a communication function that is installed in a consumer 150 by a power supply company or a power distribution company.

  The smart meter 30 can communicate with the controller 10 and transmits a power measurement value to the controller 10. In addition, the smart meter 30 can transmit a power measurement value to the power management system 100 using, for example, a PLC.

  The power limiting device 40 is a device that limits the supply of power from the power system to the electrical equipment provided in the consumer 150. The power limiting device 40 is a device corresponding to a so-called distribution board, and distributes the power supplied from the distribution network 300 through the smart meter 30 to the electric devices in the consumer 150 and also supplies power to some of the electric devices. Supply can be limited. In addition, the power limiting device 40 cuts off the supply of power to the electrical equipment in units of circuits as described later.

  Here, a detailed configuration of the power limiting device 40 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the power limiting device 40.

  As illustrated in FIG. 4, the power limiting device 40 includes a power cutting unit 41, a plurality of power cutting units 42, a power cutting unit 44a, a power cutting unit 44b, a power measuring unit 43a, and a power measuring unit 43b. Prepare. In the following description, the power distribution network 300 side of each component is described as a front stage, and the circuit side (load 90 side) is described as a rear stage.

  The power cutting unit 41 is a breaker that turns on or off the power supply to the general circuit 61 connected to the subsequent stage based on the control of the controller 10 through the signal line 46 (command from the transmission unit 13). A plurality of sets of a power disconnection unit 42 and a load 90 connected via the power disconnection unit 42 are connected to the subsequent stage of the power disconnection unit 41. The power cutting unit 42 is a breaker that turns on or off the supply of power to the load 90 connected to the subsequent stage of the power cutting unit 42.

  The power measuring unit 43a is a power meter that measures the power supplied to the specific circuit 62a. By providing the power measuring unit 43a, the controller 10 can acquire the amount of power used in the specific circuit 62a out of the total power measured by the smart meter 30.

  The controller 10 and the power measurement unit 43 a are connected by a signal line 45, and the controller 10 acquires data of power measured by the power measurement unit 43 a via the signal line 45. Further, a power disconnection unit 44a is connected to the subsequent stage of the power measurement unit 43a.

  The power cutting unit 44 a is a breaker that turns on or off the supply of power to the specific circuit 62 a connected to the subsequent stage based on the control of the controller 10 via the signal line 46.

  The power measuring unit 43b is a power meter that measures the power supplied to the specific circuit 62b. By providing the power measurement unit 43b, the controller 10 can acquire the amount of power used in the specific circuit 62b out of the total power measured by the smart meter 30.

  The controller 10 and the power measurement unit 43 b are connected by a signal line 45, and the controller 10 acquires data of power measured by the power measurement unit 43 b via the signal line 45. Further, a power disconnection unit 44b is connected to the subsequent stage of the power measurement unit 43b.

  The power cutting unit 44 b is a breaker that turns on or off the power supply of the specific circuit 62 b connected to the subsequent stage based on the control of the controller 10 via the signal line 46.

  With the configuration as described above, the power limiting device 40 can individually turn on / off the power supply to the general circuit 61, the specific circuit 62a, and the specific circuit 62b. Further, according to the power limiting device 40, the power usage amount used in the general circuit 61, the power usage amount used in the specific circuit 62a, and the power usage amount used in the specific circuit 62b are individually acquired. be able to.

  In the first embodiment, the controller 10 disconnects the power disconnection unit 41, the power disconnection unit 44a, and the power disconnection unit 44b in this order of priority. The power disconnection unit 41 can be controlled by the server 200 (aggregator). Therefore, the general circuit 61 connected to the power disconnection unit 41 may be forcibly disconnected from the power supply based on a command from the server 200 depending on the content of the DR contract.

  Therefore, the general circuit 61 is connected to devices and facilities that do not cause a great inconvenience even if the power supply is cut off for a certain period. The general circuit 61 is connected to, for example, an entertainment device, an electrical device that is not essential for daily life such as mood lighting, or an electrical device that is not damaged even if the power supply is forcibly cut off.

  On the other hand, the specific circuit 62a and the specific circuit 62b are circuits to which equipment essential for daily life or equipment that causes a problem when suddenly disconnected is connected. The specific circuit 62a and the specific circuit 62b are connected to a device necessary for life support such as medical equipment and air conditioning in the bedroom, or a minimum illumination at night for accident prevention and crime prevention.

  Next, the activity amount measuring device 50 will be described. The activity amount measuring device 50 is a measurement device that is connected to a specific circuit and measures the activity amount of a person in the consumer 150. The activity amount measuring device 50 includes a plurality of human sensors 51 installed at each place in the consumer 150 and a measurement control unit 52.

  The human sensor 51 is, for example, a passive human sensor, and detects the presence of a person by detecting a change in the intensity of infrared light incident on the light receiving surface. As the human sensor 51, a sensor that detects a person using ultrasonic waves, visible light, or the like may be used.

  The measurement control unit 52 aggregates the detection results of the plurality of human sensors 51 and calculates the amount of activity. The amount of activity is determined by the number of detections by the plurality of human sensors 51. As the number of times of detection increases, it is estimated that there are more people or more human activity, and the amount of activity calculated by the measurement control unit 52 becomes larger.

  The controller 10 uses the activity amount as a guideline for determining the required amount of power. Therefore, it is not always necessary for the activity amount measuring apparatus 50 to measure an accurate activity amount. In addition, the measurement control unit 52 typically calculates the current value of the activity amount, but may calculate the average value of the activity amount for a certain time. This avoids sudden changes in the amount of activity and makes it easier to deal with people's lives.

[Operation]
The operation of the DR system 1 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the operation of the server 200 in the DR system 1.

  First, the server 200 (aggregator) receives a power restriction request from a power management system (a power supplier) (S11). The power limit request includes information on the target period of the power limit and the target value of the power suppression amount obtained in the target period.

  Here, the aggregator has a DR contract with a plurality of customers 150 in advance. Therefore, the server 200 searches the database for a customer 150 (hereinafter, referred to as a target customer 150) that has a contract capable of suppressing power during the period specified in the power restriction request. Then, the server 200 transmits a power saving request to the controller 10 of the target consumer 150 (S12). The power saving request is an example of a power limit instruction, and requests power saving during the specified period.

  In the target consumer 150 to which the server 200 has transmitted a power saving request, the controller 10 performs a power consumption suppression process as shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the power consumption suppression process of the controller 10.

  When the communication unit 11 receives a power saving request from the server 200 (S21), the determination unit 12 first acquires the current power consumption from the smart meter 30 (S22). The usage amount at this time is stored in the storage unit 14 as an initial usage amount.

  When the current power consumption acquired from the smart meter 30 is equal to or less than the predetermined value (No in S23), power suppression is not performed. That is, when the usage amount of power is already sufficiently low in the customer 150, the power is not suppressed.

  When the current power usage amount in the consumer 150 read from the smart meter 30 is larger than the predetermined value (Yes in S23), the determination unit 12 determines the power in the consumer 150 based on the amount of human activity in the consumer 150. Determine the required amount. Specifically, the determination unit 12 acquires an activity amount from the activity amount measuring device 50 (S24), and determines a necessary amount of power based on the acquired activity amount (S25).

  The predetermined value may be a power usage amount allocated to the customer 150 by a contract or the like by a power supply company, or may be a target value of power usage set by the customer 150 itself. There may be.

  For example, the determination unit 12 determines the required amount of power by reading out from the storage unit 14 a table in which the amount of activity is associated with the required amount of power in the customer 150. At this time, the larger the activity amount, the greater the required amount.

  And the transmission part 13 transmits the instruction | command for suppressing the use of the electric power exceeding the determined required quantity based on control of the determination part 12 (S26). Specifically, the determination unit 12 causes the power disconnection unit 41, the power disconnection unit 44a, and the power disconnection unit 44b to be within a range in which the required amount of power is maintained by causing the transmission unit 13 to transmit a disconnection command. Disconnect in this order of priority. Priority information indicating the priority order is stored in the storage unit 14. When there is no priority order information, the determination unit 12 selects and disconnects the power disconnection unit so that the power consumption suppression amount is maximized within a range in which the required amount of power is maintained.

  In the DR system 1 described above, the power supply cutoff restriction is performed in units of power circuits, not in units of loads 90 (electrical devices). For this reason, when a power saving request is received, in a circuit where the amount of power used is small, there is a possibility that the amount of power used will increase thereafter, and the suppression of power consumption may not be realized.

  For this reason, for example, in the specific circuit, monitoring of the power usage amount in the smart meter 30 may be continued during the power consumption suppressing process. The controller 10 may further increase the number of circuits that cut off the power supply after warning the customer 150 by e-mail or message when the amount of power used increases during the process of suppressing power consumption. .

  In the DR system 1 described above, the controller 10 causes the power limiting device 40 to cut off the power supply from the power system, but the controller 10 directly communicates with the electric device (load 90) to May be turned off. In this case, the controller 10 and the electric device are connected by wired communication such as PLC or wireless communication using Zigbee (registered trademark), for example. That is, in this case, the transmission unit 13 is a communication module for PLC or a communication module for wireless communication, and transmits a command for suppressing the use of power to an electric device provided in the consumer 150.

  In such a configuration, if the storage unit 14 stores information that associates the ID of each electrical device with the circuit to which the electrical device is connected, the controller 10 maintains the required amount of power. Thus, the power supply of the electric device can be turned off for each circuit.

[effect]
According to the DR system 1 as described above, power consumption is appropriately suppressed while maintaining convenience in the customer 150.

  In other words, according to the DR system 1, by supplying the minimum power according to the needs of the customer 150, the customer 150 is prevented from falling into an inconvenient or unsafe state, and the customer 150 is informed of the DR. Encourage a contract. Therefore, the DR system 1 is useful for expanding the DR market.

  Further, as described above, in the customer 150, the power supply is cut off according to the priority order for each circuit. Thereby, the inconvenience and danger which arise when customer 150 participates in DR can be avoided.

  For example, the consumer 150 can reduce the risk of an accident by connecting a medical system or a cooling / heating system to a circuit having a low priority (power supply is difficult to be cut off). Further, the consumer 150 can avoid inconvenience by connecting an electric device (for example, a recorder in which a TV program is recorded) that is not necessarily stopped to a circuit having a low priority.

[Modification]
The amount of activity may be measured for each room in the consumer 150. In such a case, for example, if a room in a consumer and a specific circuit are associated with each other, it is possible to set a priority order for shutting off power supply according to the amount of activity. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of priority order information stored in the storage unit 14. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example simplified for explanation.

  For example, it is assumed that the electric device in the living room is connected to the specific circuit 62a, and the electric device provided in the study is connected to the specific circuit 62b.

  Here, the determination unit 12 normally supplies power preferentially to a place with a large amount of activity. Therefore, when the amount of activity in the living room is larger than the amount of activity in the study, as shown in the priority information 15a shown in FIG. 7A, the power supply is cut off from the specific circuit 62b associated with the study. Prioritized.

  Thereafter, when the power consumption suppression process is performed when the amount of activity in the living room becomes smaller than the amount of activity in the study, the determination unit 12 sets the priority information 15a in the storage unit 14 to FIG. 7B. It is changed (updated) as shown in the priority information 15b shown. That is, the power supply is cut off preferentially from the specific circuit 62a associated with the living room.

  When the contract between the customer 150 and the aggregator is a contract that increases the consideration as the amount of power consumption is suppressed, the customer 150 desires to increase the price obtained by the DR rather than ensuring the convenience. It is better that the amount of power consumption is reduced. In such a case, priority order information 15b is used, in which power supply to the specific circuit 62b that consumes a large amount of power is cut off preferentially.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the controller 10 mainly performs the power consumption suppression process, but the server 200 may perform the power consumption suppression process. That is, the power management apparatus of the present invention may be realized as the server 200 managed by the aggregator.

  The second embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the second embodiment, the description will focus on parts that are different from the first embodiment, and redundant description will be omitted.

[Constitution]
First, a detailed configuration of the server 200 will be described. FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the server 200 according to the second embodiment. Note that the overall configuration and the configuration of the controller 10 are the same as those described in the first embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 8, the server 200 includes a reception unit 211, a determination unit 212, a communication unit 213 (transmission unit), and a storage unit 214.

  The receiving unit 211 receives a power restriction request from the power management system 100. In the second embodiment, the power limit request is an example of a power limit instruction. The receiving unit 211 is specifically a communication module corresponding to an Internet line or a dedicated line with the power management system 100.

  The determination unit 212 determines the required amount of power in the consumer 150 based on the amount of human activity in the consumer 150. The determination unit 212 is realized by a microcomputer, for example, but may be realized by a processor or a dedicated circuit.

  When the reception unit 211 receives a power restriction instruction, the communication unit 213 transmits a command for restricting the use of power exceeding the determined necessary amount to the controller 10 (communication unit 11). In addition, the communication unit 213 receives from the controller 10 the activity amount measured by the activity amount measuring device 50 and the power consumption measured by the smart meter 30.

  Specifically, the communication unit 213 is a communication module corresponding to the Internet line. When the receiving unit 211 is a communication module corresponding to the Internet line, the server 200 includes only the communication unit 213 among the receiving unit 211 and the communication unit 213, and the communication unit 213 issues a power restriction request from the power management system 100. You may receive it.

  The storage unit 214 is a memory that stores information such as contract details of DR contractors. Specifically, the storage unit 14 is an HDD (Hard Disc Drive) or the like.

[Operation]
Hereinafter, the power consumption suppression process performed by the server 200 will be described. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the server 200. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of power consumption suppression processing performed by the server 200.

  First, the receiving unit 211 of the server 200 receives a power restriction request from a power management system (power supply company) (S11). The power limit request is an example of a power limit instruction.

  The communication unit 213 of the server 200 transmits a power saving request to the controller 10 of the target consumer 150 (S12).

  The controller 10 that has received the power saving request from the server 200 cuts off the power supply to the general circuit 61 of each target consumer 150 based on the power saving request (S13). At this time, the controller 10 uses the smart meter 30 to calculate the power suppression amount before and after the power supply is cut off, and transmits the calculated power suppression amount to the server 200. The amount of power used before the power supply to the general circuit 61 is interrupted is stored in the storage unit 14 as the initial amount of use.

  The server 200 tabulates the power suppression amount before and after the power supply interruption of the plurality of consumers 150 (S14), and when the total suppression amount reaches the target value indicated in the power limit request (Yes in S15), No further control is performed.

  When the total amount of suppression does not reach the target value (No in S15), the determination unit 212 of the server 200 acquires the activity amount of the customer 150 from each customer 150 through the communication unit 213 (S16). And the determination part 212 determines the required amount of electric power in each consumer 150 based on the acquired activity amount (S17).

  And the communication part 213 transmits the instruction | command for suppressing the use of the electric power exceeding the determined required quantity to each consumer 150 based on control of the determination part 212 (S18). The command at this time includes priority order information of a specific circuit in which power supply is interrupted in the consumer 150. The priority information is stored in the storage unit 14 of the controller 10 and updated by the server 200.

  The specific circuit may include a specific circuit that the customer 150 desires to exclude from the power supply cutoff target in the contract. Such a specific circuit is exceptionally excluded from power supply interruption.

  For example, for a specific circuit to which an air conditioner of a room corresponding to an elderly person's bedroom is connected, a contract may be made such that the power supply is not cut off at night in the summer unless the activity amount is zero. Further, for example, when the temperature falls below 0 ° C., a contract may be considered in which the power supply is not cut off for the specific circuit to which the heating equipment of a specific room is connected. The information on the specific circuit that is exceptionally excluded from the target of shutting down the power supply is included in the command transmitted in step S18 together with the condition when handled as an exception.

  In this way, the power supply to a specific circuit is combined by combining conditions unique to the consumer 150 (such as housing circumstances, family structure, power saving policy set by the consumer 150), time, weather, and other external conditions. A configuration that can limit blocking is desirable. Thereby, DR according to the needs of the customer 150 is realized, and the satisfaction of the customer 150 can be increased.

  Further, as described in the modification of the first embodiment, the amount of activity may be measured for each room in the consumer 150, and the priority order for shutting off the power supply to the specific circuit may be determined according to the amount of activity. .

  Actually, in the suppression process, the total suppression amount may not reach the target value. In this case, for example, the server 200 transmits a power saving request to another consumer 150 other than the target consumer 150 or requests the target consumer 150 to further reduce power consumption. As described above, the server 200 comprehensively suppresses power consumption among all the customers 150 contracted by the aggregator.

  The consideration is paid as follows. The determination unit 12 of the controller 10 acquires the power consumption of the smart meter 30 after the completion of the power consumption suppression process, and determines the power suppression amount that is a difference from the initial usage amount stored in the storage unit 14. The data is transmitted to the server 200 through the communication unit 11.

  The server 200 calculates a total suppression amount obtained by adding up the total suppression amount from the controller 10 of each customer 150. When the total suppression amount has reached the target value, the server 200 notifies the power management system 100 of the result. As a result, the aggregator is paid for by the power supplier. In addition, consideration is paid to each customer 150 from the aggregator.

  At this time, if surplus power is generated and the negawatt transaction is possible, the aggregator can supply this to the negawatt market to obtain a profit.

  Note that the amount of power suppression in each customer 150 is not only transmitted from the controller 10 to the server 200 but also can be grasped by the power management system 100 through communication (for example, PLC) via the power distribution network 300. Therefore, the power management system 100 can verify whether the aggregator correctly reports the result.

[effect]
As described above, the power management apparatus of the present invention can be realized as the server 200 managed by the aggregator. According to the server 200 as described above, power consumption is appropriately suppressed while maintaining the convenience of the customer 150.

(Embodiment 3)
In the first and second embodiments, the required amount of power is determined based on the amount of activity, but the required amount of power may be determined based on the number of people in the consumer 150.

  The third embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the third embodiment, the description will focus on parts that are different from the first and second embodiments, and redundant description will be omitted.

[Constitution]
First, the system configuration of the customer 150 according to the third embodiment will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of the customer 150 according to the third embodiment. In the following third embodiment, an example in which the controller 10 determines the required amount of power in the consumer 150 will be described, but the same applies to the case where the server 200 determines the required amount of power in the consumer 150. The configurations of the controller 10 and the server 200 are the same as the configurations of the first and second embodiments.

  As shown in FIG. 10, in the third embodiment, the consumer 150 is provided with a person counting device 70 instead of the activity amount measuring device 50.

  The person counting device 70 includes a plurality of cameras 71 installed at each place in the customer 150 and a measurement control unit 72.

  The measurement control unit 72 performs image processing on images taken by the plurality of cameras 71 and calculates the number of people in the customer 150. The measurement control unit 72 uses, for example, a face recognition technique and sets the number of detected faces as the number of people.

  Note that the person counting device 70 is not limited to the above configuration. For example, the number of people in the customer 150 may be measured by an entrance / exit management system or the like.

  The determination unit 12 acquires the number of people in the consumer 150 from the number measuring device 70 and determines the required amount of power in the consumer 150 based on the number of people in the consumer 150. For example, the determination unit 12 determines the required amount to be larger as the number of people in the customer 150 is larger. The storage unit 14 may store a table in which the number of people in the customer 150 and the required amount of power are associated with each other.

[effect]
As described above, even when the required amount is determined based on the number of people instead of the amount of activity, the power consumption can be appropriately suppressed while maintaining the convenience of the customer 150. Note that the detailed operation, the priority order for shutting off the power supply, and the like are the same as those described in the first and second embodiments except that the amount of activity is replaced by the number of people.

[Modification]
Note that the determination unit 12 may determine the required amount of power based on both the amount of activity in the consumer 150 and the number of people in the consumer 150. In this case, for example, based on a weighted sum of an evaluation value that increases as the amount of activity increases and an evaluation value that increases as the number of people increases, the amount of power required increases as the weighting sum increases. It is conceivable that such a mode is determined.

  When the required amount of electric power is determined based on the number of people, the required amount of electric power may be determined to be a low amount in situations where the consumer 150 is exercising vigorously with a small number of people. Further, when the required amount of power is determined based on the amount of activity, the required amount of power may be determined to be a low amount in situations where a large number of people are quietly watching a movie.

  On the other hand, if the amount of activity and the number of people are used together, even if you are exercising vigorously with a small number of people, or when you are watching a movie quietly with a large number of people, the amount of power required Can be secured appropriately.

  Further, the determination unit 12 further acquires weather information (such as temperature or humidity) indicating the weather in the region to which the customer 150 belongs, and adds power based on the weather information in addition to at least one of the activity amount and the number of people. The required amount may be determined. The weather information may be acquired from a server of a weather information company, or may be acquired from a thermohygrometer provided in the consumer 150 (including one built in an electric device such as an air conditioner).

  For example, an air conditioner is often used at a lower temperature than usual on a hot summer day. For this reason, it is better to determine the required amount of power to be larger than usual. Therefore, for example, when the temperature exceeds 30 ° C., a condition such as increasing the required amount of power by a predetermined amount is stored in the storage unit 14, and the required amount of power may be adjusted according to such information.

(Other embodiments)
As mentioned above, although Embodiment 1-3 was demonstrated, this invention is not limited to the said Embodiment 1-3.

  In the said embodiment, although the controller 10 and the active mass measuring device 50 were demonstrated as another apparatus, the active mass measuring device 50 may be contained in the controller 10 as a measurement part. Similarly, the people counting device 70 may be included in the controller 10 as a measuring unit.

  The communication method between the devices described in the above embodiment is an example, and any communication (communication method) of wired or wireless may be used between the devices.

  In the above embodiment, each component may be configured by dedicated hardware or may be realized by executing a software program suitable for each component. Each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU or a processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, another process part may perform the process which a specific process part performs. Further, the order of the plurality of processes may be changed, and the plurality of processes may be executed in parallel.

  The comprehensive or specific aspect of the present invention may be realized by a recording medium such as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a computer-readable CD-ROM. The comprehensive or specific aspect of the present invention may be realized by any combination of a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a recording medium.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to these embodiment or its modification. Unless it deviates from the gist of the present invention, various modifications conceived by those skilled in the art are applied to the present embodiment or the modification thereof, or a form constructed by combining different embodiments or components in the modification. It is included within the scope of the present invention.

10 Controller (Power management device)
11 Communication unit (receiving unit)
12, 212 Determining unit 13 Transmitting unit 14, 214 Storage unit 40 Power limiting device 150 Customer 200 Server (power management device)
211 reception unit 213 communication unit (transmission unit)

Claims (9)

A receiving unit that receives a power restriction instruction that instructs suppression of power use of the power system;
A determining unit for determining a priority order regarding a necessary amount of electric power in the consumer based on an amount of activity of a person in the consumer and an interruption of power supply of an electric power circuit in the consumer ;
When the receiving unit receives the power limit instruction, the command is for suppressing the use of power exceeding the determined required amount, and is directed to the power circuit determined based on the determined priority order. A power management apparatus comprising: a transmission unit that transmits a command to cut off power supply . The power management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines the necessary amount based on the activity amount and the number of people in the consumer. The power management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit further acquires weather information indicating weather in a region to which the consumer belongs, and determines the necessary amount based on the activity amount and the weather information. The power management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the determination unit determines the required amount when the amount of power used by the consumer is greater than a predetermined value. Furthermore, a storage unit that stores the correspondence between the amount of activity and the required amount of power in the consumer is provided,
The power management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines the necessary amount by referring to the correspondence relationship. The transmission unit transmits the command to a power limiting device that restricts supply of power from the power system to an electrical device provided to the consumer, or to an electrical device provided to the consumer. The power management apparatus according to any one of 1 to 5. The power management device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit acquires the activity amount from a measurement device and determines the necessary amount based on the activity amount acquired from the measurement device. The power management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the determination unit determines the required amount to be a larger amount as the activity amount is larger. A receiving unit that receives a power restriction instruction that instructs suppression of power use of the power system;
A determining unit that determines a priority of power consumption of the power circuit in the consumer based on the number of people in the consumer , and the power supply of the power circuit in the consumer ;
When the receiving unit receives the power restriction instruction, it is a command for suppressing the use of power exceeding the necessary amount, and is configured to supply power to the power circuit determined based on the determined priority order. A power management apparatus comprising: a transmission unit that transmits a command for blocking .

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