JP6387683B2 - Energy amount display device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to energy used in conjunction with a power generator connected to a commercial power system, a power supply device for a household load, or a device that uses gas or water in a home such as a water heater. With regard to the amount display device, in particular, the comparison between the amount of power used and the amount of generated power, the comparison between the amount of power generated last month and the amount of power generated this month, or the comparison between the current amount used and the target amount based on past results The present invention relates to an energy amount display device capable of visually recognizing a situation related to a pair of energy amounts.

  For example, in recent years, with the widespread use of solar power generation panels, solar power generation panels are installed in homes, and the generated power is used at home or surplus power is sold. Patent Document 1 (see, for example, FIG. 4) discloses that information relating to energy consumption such as power generation amount, power consumption, gas usage amount, water amount used for hot water supply, and the like is displayed on a monitor. Further, Patent Document 2 (see FIGS. 4 to 6) discloses that the character status is changed according to the amount of power saving and displayed on the monitor.

JP 2012-178701 A JP 2007-272268 A

  However, in the conventional energy usage display device, the correlation between the two energy amounts to be compared, such as the state of the generated power amount with respect to the used power amount, is displayed on the monitor. It was necessary to read each numerical value, and the user could not grasp intuitively at a glance.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to set information relating to the first energy amount that fluctuates over time and a target to be compared with the first energy amount. It is to provide an energy amount display device that can grasp the situation of both at a glance for information related to the second energy amount.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention takes the following technical means.

  That is, the present invention includes a control unit having a storage unit that stores the first and second energy amounts set as objects to be compared, and a display unit that performs graphic display by display control from the control unit. The control unit controls display of the display unit so as to display a figure having a size and / or shape corresponding to a ratio of the first energy amount to the second energy amount (claim). Item 1).

  According to the energy amount display device of the present invention, by displaying the graphic display of the size and / or shape according to the ratio of the first and second energy amounts set as the objects to be compared on the display unit, The correlation status between the two can be grasped intuitively at a glance.

  The figure may be one, but the first figure corresponding to the first energy amount and the second figure corresponding to the second energy amount can be displayed side by side. The size and / or shape of the first and second figures can be set in accordance with the ratio. When displaying one figure with a size corresponding to the ratio, in order to grasp at a glance whether the ratio is larger or smaller than the predetermined boundary value, a boundary with a size corresponding to the boundary value is used. Lines can also be displayed.

In the energy amount display device of the present invention, the control unit includes a first graphic having a size set based on a first correlation set in advance so that the size increases as the ratio increases, Display control of the display unit to simultaneously display a second graphic having a size set based on a second correlation set in advance so that the size increases as the reciprocal of the ratio increases. (Claim 1 ). According to this, the larger the ratio of the first energy amount to the second energy amount, the larger the size of the first graphic corresponding to the first energy amount is displayed, and the second energy amount of the first energy amount is displayed. The larger the ratio to the energy amount, the larger the size of the second graphic corresponding to the second energy amount can be displayed, and the correlation between the first and second energy amounts is more intuitive by two graphic displays. Can be grasped.

Furthermore, the first energy amount is the current power generation amount of the power generation system, the second energy amount is the current power consumption amount in the residence where the power generation system is installed, and the ratio is a predetermined value. as the size of the first and second graphics display is the same first and second correlation can be assumed to be set to (claim 2). According to this, since the size of the two graphic displays is the same when the ratio of the generated power amount to the used power amount is a predetermined value, for example, when the predetermined value is set to 1.0, the used power amount and the generated power amount The figure display size can be made the same when the power is balanced, and when the predetermined value is set to 3.0, the figure is displayed when the generated power is three times larger than the user's power consumption. The display size can be made the same, and the convenience of the user who has installed the power generation system for the purpose of selling power can be improved.

Further, the control unit displays the third graphic having a size corresponding to the amount of purchased and sold power, which is the difference between the generated power amount and the used power amount, between the first and second graphic displays. It is possible to control the display of the unit (claim 3 ). According to this, while performing the ratio of the amount of used electric power with respect to the amount of generated electric power and the ratio of the amount of generated electric power to the amount of used electric power with the first and second graphic displays, Can be grasped intuitively by the third graphic display.

  Note that at least the first energy amount varies with the passage of time (for example, the amount of generated power, the amount of power used, the amount of fuel used such as gas, the amount of water used), An energy amount measuring unit that measures the first energy amount stored in the storage unit can be further provided. According to this, it is possible to display while dynamically changing the size and / or shape of the first graphic display according to the first energy amount that varies in real time. The second energy amount may also vary with time, but is calculated based on a preset target energy amount, an actual energy amount for a predetermined period such as last month, the number of days elapsed in this month, and the like. The target energy amount may be the second energy amount.

  According to the energy amount display device according to claim 1 of the present invention, a graphic display having a size and / or shape corresponding to the ratio of the first and second energy amounts set as objects to be compared is displayed on the display unit. By doing so, the correlation state between the two can be grasped intuitively at a glance.

Furthermore, according to the energy amount display device of the first aspect of the present invention, the larger the ratio of the first energy amount to the second energy amount, the larger the size of the first figure corresponding to the first energy amount. In addition, the larger the ratio of the second energy amount to the first energy amount, the larger the size of the second graphic corresponding to the second energy amount can be displayed. Therefore, the correlation status between the first and second energy amounts can be grasped.

According to the energy amount display device of the second aspect of the present invention, the size of the two graphic displays is the same when the ratio of the generated power amount to the used power amount is a predetermined value. When the power consumption and generated power are balanced, the size of the graphic display can be made the same. When the predetermined value is set to 3.0, the user power consumption Thus, when the amount of generated power is three times larger, the size of the graphic display can be made the same, and the convenience of the user who installs the power generation system for the purpose of selling power can be improved.

According to the energy amount display device according to claim 3 of the present invention, the ratio of the used power amount to the generated power amount and the ratio of the generated power amount to the used power amount are actually displayed by the first and second graphic displays. The magnitude of the amount of electric power being bought and sold can be intuitively grasped by the third graphic display.

It is a schematic block block diagram of the electric power generation system which comprises the energy amount display apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows one Example of the screen display of the energy amount display apparatus. It is a front view which shows another Example of the screen display of the energy amount display apparatus, (a) is a display example at the time of power sale, (b) shows a display example at the time of power purchase.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration of a power generation system installed in a residence such as a detached house. In this power generation system, for example, direct current power generated by a power generation unit 1 constituted by a solar cell panel or the like is converted into alternating current power linked to a commercial power system by a power conditioner 2 and supplied to an electric load 3 in a residence. In addition, the surplus power is configured to flow backward to the commercial power system.

  A single-layer three-wire lead-in wire 4 drawn into a residence from a pole transformer of a commercial power system is connected to a switchboard 7 via a power purchase meter 5 and a power sale meter 6. The switchboard 7 is provided with an ampere breaker 8 (contract breaker), an earth leakage breaker 9 and a safety breaker 10, and system power is supplied to the electric load 3 through these breakers 8, 9, 10. In addition, the switchboard 7 is provided with a power measurement unit 11 that receives supply of system power from the safety breaker 10. The output of the power conditioner 2 is connected in parallel to the system at a connection portion 13 between the ampere breaker 8 and the earth leakage breaker 9 via the power generation breaker 12.

  Further, a current transformer 14 (current sensor) for detecting a current value flowing through the system is provided on the lead-in line 4 side from the connecting portion 13, and the current transformer 14 is connected to the power measuring unit 11 (energy amount). The detection value is supplied to the power measurement unit 11. The power measurement unit 11 buys and sells the commercial power system per unit time (for example, several tens of milliseconds) based on the system voltage of the system power supplied from the safety breaker 10 and the current value detected by the current transformer 14. The electric power amount is periodically calculated, and the electric power sales amount (instantaneous value) obtained by the calculation is sent to the power conditioner 2 via the signal line 15 by serial communication. The amount of electric power purchased and sold by calculation is positive when power is purchased from the grid (in the case of power purchase), and negative when it is flowing back to the grid (in the case of power sale). I am doing so. In addition, the power measuring unit 11 is connected to a gas meter 16, a water meter 17, and the like so as to be able to measure the amount of gas used, the amount of water used in the residence, and the like. The gas meter 16 and the water meter 17 may output a pulse for each unit usage amount, for example, and in this case, the power measurement unit 11 side may measure the gas usage amount or the water usage amount as the total usage amount. it can. The gas usage and water usage are also sent to the power conditioner 2 via the signal line 15. In the illustrated embodiment, the power measurement unit 11 is provided separately from the power conditioner 2, but the power measurement unit 11 may be built in the power conditioner 2.

  The power conditioner 2 includes a control unit 21, a DC / DC converter 22 that boosts and outputs DC power generated by the power generation unit 1, and an inverter 23 that performs DC / AC conversion on the output of the converter 22. The operations of the converter 22 and the inverter 23 are controlled by the control unit 21 so as to obtain the maximum output, and the output of the inverter 23 becomes the output of the power conditioner 2. The control unit 21 controls the reactive power control function that suppresses the increase in the system voltage by controlling the power factor of the output AC power, the output suppression control function that suppresses the output active power, and the system voltage A disconnection control function for disconnecting the power generation system from the system when a predetermined voltage defined in the interconnection regulations is exceeded is provided. Each of these functions may be realized by sequence control of a microcomputer, may be configured by an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or may be realized by a dedicated control circuit for each means.

  The control unit 21 is supplied with data related to the amount of electric power purchased and sold, the amount of gas used, and the amount of water used via the signal line 15. Further, the power conditioner 2 includes a generated power amount measuring unit (energy amount measuring unit) for measuring an instantaneous generated power amount per unit time (for example, every several tens of milliseconds). The measurement unit can be configured by, for example, an output voltage sensor and an output current sensor (not shown) of the power conditioner 2 and the control unit 21, and the control unit 21 is an average value of the output voltage within a unit time. Can be measured by multiplying the average value of the output current and the unit time.

  An external energy amount display device 30 according to the present embodiment is connected to the power conditioner 2 so as to be communicable by wire or wirelessly, and the control unit 21 of the power conditioner 2 is connected to the energy amount display device 30. The instantaneous power generation amount, the instantaneous electric power consumption amount, the gas usage amount (total amount), and the water usage amount (total amount) are transmitted periodically. The energy amount display device 30 is installed indoors, and includes a display monitor 31 configured by, for example, a dot matrix LCD capable of color display, and a control unit (not shown) that controls various displays on the display monitor 31. . The control unit is mainly composed of a microprocessor and a memory (storage unit), and receives the instantaneous power generation amount, instantaneous electric power sales amount, gas usage amount and water usage amount received from the control unit 21 of the power conditioner 2. Each time it is updated and stored in the memory, the instantaneous power usage at the electrical load 3 per unit time is calculated based on the instantaneous power generation amount and the instantaneous trading power amount, and this instantaneous power usage amount is also stored in the memory. Update and store as needed. In addition, for example, it is possible to calculate the accumulated values of the monthly power generation amount and the power consumption amount, the total gas usage amount and the monthly water usage amount by calculation, and store them in the memory. The total amount of power, gas and water used can be stored in the memory as past performance values. The calculation of the integrated value and the calculation of the total amount used can be performed by the control unit 21 of the power conditioner 2 or the power measurement unit 11 so as to transmit data to the energy amount display device 30.

  The energy amount display device 30 can perform various displays by operating a touch panel or appropriate operation switches. For example, in order to compare the instantaneous power generation amount and the instantaneous power consumption amount, the power generation status and the power The usage status can be displayed graphically, or a graphical display can be performed that compares the integrated value (total amount) of power, gas, or water usage for the current month with the current target usage.

  Next, an example of display control by the control unit for the display monitor 31 of the energy amount display device 30 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, based on the instantaneous power generation amount (first energy amount) and the instantaneous trading power amount (second energy amount) stored in the memory, The control unit controls display of the display monitor 31 so as to display the amount of electric power purchased and sold by three circular figures. A first circular figure 32 corresponding to the instantaneous power generation amount is displayed on the left side of the display screen, and a second circular figure 33 corresponding to the instantaneous power consumption amount is displayed on the right side of the display screen. In addition, a third circular figure 34 corresponding to the instantaneous electric power consumption is displayed between the second circular figures 32 and 33.

  The diameters (sizes) of the first and second circular figures 32 and 33 are set using a predetermined formula or table (correlation) based on the ratio C of the instantaneous power generation amount to the instantaneous power consumption amount. . For example, the diameter R1 of the first circular figure 32 can be calculated by an equation (first correlation) of R1 = 0.25 × ratio C + 0.5 (unit: cm), and a predetermined upper limit value. (For example, 3 cm) and a lower limit (for example, 1 cm) can also be set. The diameter R2 of the second circular figure 33 can be calculated by an equation (second correlation) of R2 = 3 / ratio C + 0.5 (unit: cm), and a predetermined upper limit value (for example, 3 cm) and a lower limit (for example, 1 cm) can be set. Inside the first circular figure 32, the characters “power sale” are displayed, and a numerical value obtained by converting the current instantaneous power generation amount into an hour unit is displayed. In addition, inside the second circular figure 33, “use” is displayed, and a numerical value obtained by converting the current instantaneous power generation amount into an hour unit is displayed. The character size of the character display and the converted numerical value is set to a size corresponding to the diameter of each of the first and second circular figures 32 and 33. This character size can also be set using a predetermined mathematical formula or table. In order to reflect the absolute value of each power amount in each diameter R1, R2, a value obtained by multiplying each power amount by a predetermined coefficient is added instead of or in addition to the constant term of each mathematical expression. It is also possible.

  In addition, the diameter (size) of the third circular figure 34 is set using a predetermined mathematical formula or table based on the instantaneous electric power purchased and sold stored in the memory. For example, the diameter R3 of the third circular figure 34 can be a numerical value obtained by converting the instantaneous electric power consumption in units of one hour, and can be a size of 3 cm in the case of 3 kWh. The diameter of the third circular figure 34 can also set an upper limit value and a lower limit value. Inside the third circle figure 34, a character display indicating whether the electric power is currently being sold or purchased is displayed, and a numerical value obtained by converting the instantaneous electric power sales amount into an hour unit is displayed. Note that by changing the display color of the third circle figure 34 between power sale and power purchase, it is possible to make it easier to grasp the current power sale situation.

  When the instantaneous power generation amount of the power generation system is 4 kWh, “power generation: large”, 2 kWh is “power generation: medium”, and 1 kWh is “power generation: small”. Assuming that the amount is 4 kWh and the standby power amount is 0.5 kWh, the case where the instantaneous power consumption is 4 kWh is “use: large”, the case where it is 2 kWh is “use: medium”, and the case where it is 0.5 kWh. Assuming that “use: small”, the power generation diameter R1 of the first circular figure 32 and the use diameter R2 of the second circular figure 33 are as shown in Table 1 below.

  The value obtained by the above formula is displayed in the “calculation result” column in Table 1, and the values derived by setting the upper limit value and the lower limit value to 3.0 and 1.0, respectively, are the “upper and lower limit cut” columns. The control unit of the energy amount display device 30 displays the circular figures 32 and 33 on the display monitor 31 using the upper and lower limit cut values as the diameters of the first and second circular figures 32 and 33. Display control is performed. Each of the circular figures 32 and 33 may be displayed by changing the diameter substantially steplessly by a circular figure drawing routine, or a plurality of circular figure display bitmaps having different diameters in advance. It is also possible to prepare the data and display and control the circular figures 32 and 33 using the bitmap data having the diameter closest to the diameter obtained by the above formula. Moreover, in the said Example, when the ratio of the instantaneous electric power generation amount with respect to an instantaneous use electric energy is about 3.464, the size of the 1st and 2nd circular figures 32 and 33 becomes the same.

  As is clear from Table 1, according to the present embodiment, when the generated power amount is sufficiently large with respect to the used power amount, the power generation diameter R1 is displayed to be large, thereby sufficiently generating power in comparison with the used power amount. You can intuitively understand what is being done. In addition, when the amount of power used is equal to or larger than the amount of generated power, the user can intuitively prompt the user that the power consumption is too large for the amount of generated power by displaying the diameter of use R2 large. Awareness of power saving can be improved.

  In the above-described embodiment, the instantaneous power consumption, the instantaneous power generation amount, and the instantaneous trading power amount are illustrated as an example. However, the control unit is configured to use the cumulative power consumption from the reference time of the day to which the current time belongs. Further, it is also possible to store a cumulative amount for a predetermined period, such as a cumulative amount of generated power and a cumulative amount of purchased and sold power, in a memory, and display each circular figure 32, 33, 34 based on the cumulative amount. .

  As another method for setting the diameters of the first, second, and third circular figures 32, 33, and 34, table reference can be used. For example, Table 2 below shows an example of a table for setting the diameter of each of the circular shapes 32, 33, and 34 according to the ratio of the generated power amount to the used power amount and the used power amount. .

  As shown in Table 2, the power consumption is divided into predetermined ranges, and the diameters of the circular figures 32, 33, and 34 are set according to the ratio of the generated power to the power consumption for each division. By providing a table (correlation) separately, the generated power amount and the purchased and sold power amount are used while reflecting the absolute values of the used power amount and the generated power amount in the diameter of each of the circular figures 32, 33 and 34. It becomes possible to intuitively grasp the ratio of the size of the first and third circular figures 32 and 34 to the second circular figure 33 representing the electric energy. Note that the shaded frame in Table 2 is not set because the amount of power generation exceeds the maximum value of the power generation output of the power generation system, but it can also be set. Further, the size of each character display in each of the circular figures 32, 33, 34 can be set by a similar table.

  FIGS. 3A and 3B show another example of graphic display on the display monitor 31 of the energy amount display device 30. FIG. 3A shows a display example during power sale and FIG. 3B shows a display example during power purchase. In the present embodiment, as the ratio of the amount of generated power to the amount of power used increases, a circular figure 35 having a large diameter (size) is displayed on the display monitor 31, and the ratio is 1. By displaying the circular boundary line 36 having a diameter of 0, it is possible to intuitively understand how much the generated power amount is with respect to the used power amount. In addition, in the circular figure 35, in order to easily understand that the figure 35 indicates the ratio of the generated power amount to the used power amount, the characters “power generation / use” are displayed. Further, in order to make it possible to intuitively grasp the current power sale status and the amount of electric power for sale and purchase, a circular figure 34 corresponding to the amount of electric power for sale and sale similar to the embodiment of FIG. It is displayed.

  Also according to the present embodiment, it is possible to intuitively grasp at a glance whether the electric power is being purchased or sold by displaying the circular graphic 35, and the amount of electric power purchased and sold can be determined by the size of the circular graphic 34. It can be grasped intuitively.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the design can be changed as appropriate. For example, in the above embodiment, the size of each figure is set by a linear function expression using the ratio of the amount of generated power to the amount of power used as a variable. However, the size of each figure is set by a quadratic function expression using the ratio as a variable. Other appropriate mathematical formulas can also be used. In the above embodiment, the degree of the first energy amount relative to the second energy amount is displayed by changing the size of the circular figure. However, the shape of the figure is changed together with the size change or instead of the size change. It is also possible to display the degree of the first energy amount with respect to the second energy amount by replacing, for example, from a circle to a star as the ratio of the first energy amount to the second energy amount increases. It is also possible to display a graphic display that is deformed.

  Also, in the above embodiment, the target of comparison display is the amount of power used and the amount of power generated.However, the cumulative value of the amount of power sold and the total amount of power purchased, the cumulative value of the amount of power used this month and the previous month or the same month last year. The present invention can be applied to a comparison display of appropriate energy amounts such as the amount of power used, the cumulative value of power consumption up to the present month and the current target power consumption. Furthermore, the target amount and the usage amount can be displayed in comparison with each other with respect to the gas usage amount and the water usage amount. In this case, it is also possible to make it possible to compare and display the power consumption, gas usage, and water usage while switching the display screen by a predetermined operation.

  Further, the energy usage amount display device of the above embodiment is connected to a water heater, and the amount of gas and water consumed in the water heater is compared with, for example, a target amount and a usage amount, or a past actual usage amount and a current amount. It is also possible to display the comparison with the usage amount.

30 Energy amount display device 31 Display unit (display monitor)
32 First graphic display 33 Second graphic display 34 Third graphic display

Claims (3)

A control unit having a storage unit that stores the first and second energy amounts set as objects to be compared, and a display unit that performs graphic display by display control from the control unit, the control unit, In the energy amount display device that controls display of the display unit so as to display one or a plurality of figures having a size and / or shape corresponding to a ratio of the first energy amount to the second energy amount ,
The control unit has a first figure set based on a first correlation set in advance so that the size increases as the ratio increases, and the size increases as the reciprocal of the ratio increases. Thus, the display unit controls the display so as to simultaneously display the second graphic having the size set based on the second correlation set in advance . 2. The energy amount display device according to claim 1 , wherein the first energy amount is a current power generation amount of the power generation system, and the second energy amount is a current power consumption amount in a residence where the power generation system is installed. And the first and second correlations are set such that the sizes of the first and second graphic displays are the same when the ratio is a predetermined value. 3. The energy amount display device according to claim 2 , wherein the control unit has a size corresponding to the amount of electric power purchased and sold, which is a difference between the amount of generated power and the amount of power used, between the first and second graphic displays. 3. An energy amount display device that controls display of the display unit so as to further display 3 figures.

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