JP6475787B2 - Control system and control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a control system and a control method.

In recent years, with the heightened awareness of energy saving, energy saving of devices such as home appliances has been promoted.
For example, in recent years, a system (for example, a home energy management system (HEMS)) capable of collectively controlling a plurality of devices such as home appliances and house equipment has been spreading.

  In the system described in Patent Document 1 below, network home appliances such as an air conditioner and an illumination lamp connected to a home network are operated on a screen displayed by a personal computer. In response to the operation, the ASP server specifically controls the operation of the network home appliance. On the screen of the personal computer, mode buttons corresponding to life scenes such as “Odekake”, “Good night”, “Okaeri” are provided as convenient buttons. For example, when the user operates the “Odekake” button, the air conditioner is stopped accordingly and the illumination lamp is turned off. In this manner, different types of network home appliances can be collectively controlled in a certain mode.

  In addition, the following Patent Document 2 is troublesome when the adjustment for controlling the electric device is manually performed to suppress electric power, and there is a concern about uncertainty due to unevenness of implementation / non-implementation. If it is simply controlled, it is affected by weather conditions, etc., and the effect is uncertain, so the simulation is performed for multiple control candidates as cost evaluation values comprehensively based on constraints such as electricity bills and weather conditions, and user comfort, It is disclosed that a candidate with the smallest evaluation value is adopted to automatically control each device.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a power consumption history pattern of each office building calculated from past to present data of power consumption measurement data of each office building, power consumption measurement data of each office building, weather including temperature and humidity, office Network that predicts the total power demand of each office building based on the supplementary information for total power demand prediction including event information in the building, and controls the power consumption in each office building based on the total power demand of each office building Command through. Thereby, the electric power consumed by the equipment including a plurality of energy consuming devices (for example, air conditioners) can be appropriately reduced.

Patent Document 3 is an energy management system that manages the amount of energy, a setting unit that sets a target value of the amount of energy that the facility reduces within a first predetermined period (for example, 24 hours), and the target Distributing means for distributing values to the plurality of energy consuming devices, and each of the plurality of energy consuming devices actually consumed within a second predetermined period (for example, a time elapsed from the start of the first predetermined period). A calculating unit that calculates an actual value that is an amount of energy; and the distribution unit resets the target value for the plurality of energy consuming devices in consideration of the actual value for the plurality of energy consuming devices. To do.
Thereby, coexistence of power consumption suppression and comfort can be aimed at.

JP 2006-350819 A JP 2002-209335 A JP 2012-191717 A

  However, the home appliance control system of Patent Document 1 is a device in which a user manually operates the device from the screen of a personal computer, and does not automatically control the device.

  In addition, the consumer power consumption control management system of Patent Document 2 is targeted for the entire building and does not control individual home appliances. Therefore, there is a possibility that the power consumption is suppressed without considering the usage form of the user's individual home appliance.

  Moreover, in the energy management system of patent document 3, the method of distributing the target value of the power consumption of the whole house to individual home appliances based on the past power consumption performance of the user is used, and the usage pattern of the user is proven. Although considered in terms of power consumption, the results are in accordance with past controls, and user preferences have not been taken into account.

  It is an object of the present invention to automatically control a device without impairing comfort by reflecting user preferences.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, based on the actual power consumption value calculation unit for calculating and holding the actual power consumption of each measured device and the actual power value for each device in the first period, The next period power consumption prediction unit that predicts the power consumption for each device in the next second period, the statistical value of the power consumption for each device in the second period, and a preset target value are compared. And a control processing unit that changes the state of the device in a direction approaching the target value.

  For example, the power consumption of each home appliance is predicted based on the actual value and “one or more of temperature information, holiday information, and home schedule”. In addition, the state of the device is changed according to settings such as temperature setting and activation change.

The control processing unit determines a control target of a device based on a priority indicating an order of controlling the device set for each device. The priority of the controlled device is lowered below a set value, and the control is terminated when the entire power consumption value falls within the target value.
The control processing unit may change the priority according to a user's control rejection operation.

  According to the present invention, automatic control of equipment can be performed without impairing comfort.

It is a functional block diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of the household appliance control system (HEMS) by embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of the air-conditioner apparatus provided with the information processing apparatus by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the example of an algorithm of the power consumption control processing of the household appliance by this Embodiment. It is a functional block diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of the information processing part which performs the process by the power consumption prediction program by this Embodiment. It is a functional block diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of the information processing part which performs the process by the power consumption prediction program by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the prediction target day of power consumption value, and the calculation target day used for prediction by a calendar. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of a process in an information processing part. It is a figure which shows the example in the case of calculating | requiring the time dependence of a power consumption value instead of a power consumption value. It is a figure which shows the example (Here, the example which calculates | requires time dependence is shown) when an extrapolated value is made into a statistical value instead of an average value. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of a process in an information processing part. It is a functional block diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of the electric power control apparatus of the household appliance by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of operation | movement of a scheduler part. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of operation | movement of a scheduler part. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of operation | movement of a scheduler part. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of the level shift process in a scheduler. It is a figure which shows the process example based on the user-oriented maximum level shift amount. It is a figure which shows the process example based on a user-oriented level shift priority. It is a figure which shows the example of the smoothing process of a level shift order. It is a figure which shows the GUI example of the calendar function for obtaining absence information. It is a figure explaining the outline | summary of a function. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of the process based on the home / absence input of power consumption prediction. It is a figure shown about at-home / absent input correspondence of the power consumption prediction regarding a day of the week. It is a figure which shows a mode that the control which reduces the electric power of an air conditioner, illumination, and a television is performed. It is a figure which shows a mode that a target is achieved by reducing the power consumption of the time slot | zone (here shown with a broken line) which is likely to exceed the target value regarding power consumption. It is a figure which shows a mode that the automatic driving | operation (dedicated household appliance) for power consumption reduction and a power-saving cooperation request display (home appliance which attached the power sensor) are performed so that the target regarding household power consumption may be achieved. It is a figure which shows the example of the display method regarding the automatic driving | operation notification, power-saving advice, today's automatic driving | running plan (display on TV), the notification regarding wasteful spending, and the calendar screen. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the automatic driving | operation plan of a household appliance. It is a figure which shows an example of the notification from a household appliance controller. It is a figure which shows a mode that an automatic driving | operation is notified in order to prevent overuse of electric power. It is a figure which shows a mode that the automatic driving | operation according to user operation is notified. It is a figure which shows the example of the advice for power saving. It is a figure which shows the example of the advice for power saving. It is wastefulness detection / notification display, and when the home appliance controller detects wastefulness of the home appliance with the power sensor, a notification display is performed. It is a figure which shows the list of the advice regarding wasteful spending. It is a figure which displays a family's absence schedule as a list by inputting family home / absence information on the calendar screen. It is a setting screen regarding the alarm sound at the time of performing notification notification. It is a setting screen regarding the alarm sound at the time of performing notification notification. It is a setting screen of the priority regarding a household appliance automatic driving | operation or notification.

  Hereinafter, an information processing technique according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following, an example of a device will be described using home appliances such as an air conditioner and a television as an example, and a control process of the device will be described as an example of information processing. FIG. 1A is a functional block diagram showing a configuration example of a home appliance control system (HEMS) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, for example, the power consumption from each of the home appliances A to D is measured by a “plug-type power sensor” 18 or a “CT sensor” 18a attached to a distribution board. To the HEMS management unit 30. In addition, the HEMS management unit 30 performs “control of home appliances” for controllable home appliances A to D and the like, and displays advice on a television or a small monitor for home appliances that cannot be controlled.

The HEMS management unit 30 includes at least a home appliance power consumption prediction unit 31 and a home appliance scheduler 33. The home appliance power consumption prediction unit 31 has a configuration corresponding to the power consumption prediction unit 21a-3 of FIG. 3A. Or the structure which acquires collectively the prediction information from the power consumption estimation part 21a-3 of FIG. 3A, and utilizes for control may be sufficient.
Further, FIG. 1A includes an advice generation unit 35, a visualization / control user interface unit 37, and an energy storage energy device management unit 41.

  The home appliance power consumption prediction unit 31 analyzes a user's life pattern from the power usage history in the home, and predicts the future power consumption value in the home together with the season / weather and input information of various sensors. .

  The home appliance scheduler unit 33 operates the home appliance in accordance with the power consumption prediction unit 31 and the like (level shift = On / Off, temperature, luminance, etc.) and operation timing (time shift, that is, change of use time zone). Scheduling (planning). Controllable home appliances are controlled according to the scheduling result and the like.

  The advice generation unit 35 generates advice according to the scheduling result and displays advice to the user via the visualization / control user interface 37.

  The energy storage energy equipment management unit 41 performs energy management of the energy storage energy storage equipment 50 such as the solar battery 51, the storage battery 53, and the electric vehicle 55, and also plans for the overall energy consumption of the home appliances AD in the home. Generate information. The plan information may be a target value for each time zone of energy consumption of the home appliance AD, or may be an upper limit value or a lower limit value.

  In the present HEMS system, the home appliance scheduler 33 generates the operation state and timing of the home appliance based on the two information of the power consumption prediction result of the home appliance AD and the plan information. The information to be generated by the scheduler section 33 of the home appliance is not limited to these.

  FIG. 1B is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an air conditioner apparatus including the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The information processing apparatus may be connected to the air conditioner apparatus in a wired or wireless manner. As shown in FIG. 1B, the air conditioner A including the air conditioner control device 5 according to the present embodiment includes an indoor unit 1, an outdoor unit 3, a remote control device 17, and a power consumption measuring device 18. . A remote control signal for performing on / off of the device and temperature control from the remote control device 17 is received by the remote control signal light receiving unit 30. The power consumption measuring device 18 is, for example, a device that is arranged between a home appliance such as a smart tap and an indoor outlet, calculates power consumption from the detected voltage and current, and transmits the result, for example, by wireless communication. Can be realized.

  The air conditioner control device 5 includes a CPU (control unit) 21, a RAM (main storage device) 23, and a ROM (nonvolatile memory) 27. In a ROM (non-volatile memory) 27, a measured value storage unit 27a for storing measured values measured by the power consumption measuring device 18, an automatic operation program 27b for automatically operating the air conditioner, and a power consumption prediction program 27c. Etc. are stored. The power consumption prediction program 27c is a program that causes the CPU 21 to function as an information processing unit 21a that performs information processing for predicting power consumption.

  The measured value storage unit 27a stores the time change of the power consumption value of the device measured by the power consumption measuring instrument 18 and the like together with the year, month, day, day of the week, for example, in units of 24 hours. The automatic operation program 27b is a control program for controlling the air conditioner device. For example, at the start of the air conditioner start-up, it is determined whether the air conditioner is operated in the energy-saving operation mode “eco-automatic operation” and “air-conditioning” or “heating” depending on the button pressed by the user. If the judgment of “cooling” and “heating” is the same, the air conditioner operates in “eco-automatic operation”. On the other hand, when the judgment of “cooling” and “heating” depending on the button pressed by the user is different from the judgment of “cooling” and “heating” judged when the air conditioner operates in “eco-automatic operation” Operates in the “cooling” or “heating” state in which the user's judgment (operation) is prioritized. In addition, when activated by the “automatic” button, “eco-automatic operation” is performed. For example, a table showing what kind of driving is performed according to the relationship between the set temperature at the start of driving and the eco-automatic driving range (determination of driving state when eco-automatic driving is performed). Controlled based on. The operation control of the air conditioner can correspond to various known methods. In the above description, eco-automatic driving has been described as an example. However, auto-driving is not specialized for ecology, and may be automatic driving of a general air conditioner, and is not limited to eco-driving.

  The power consumption prediction program 27c and the processing contents based on it will be described in detail below.

  FIG. 3A is a functional block diagram showing a configuration example of the information processing unit 21a that performs processing by the power consumption prediction program 27c according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing, in a calendar form, prediction dates for power consumption values and calculation dates used for prediction. FIG. 5A is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the information processing section 21a.

  The information processing unit 21a includes a power consumption reading unit 21a-1 that reads power consumption values from a memory, a statistical processing unit 21a-2 that performs statistical processing related to information processing of power consumption values, and a power consumption value that has undergone statistical processing And a power consumption prediction unit 21a-3 that predicts a power consumption value based on the above.

  The prediction target day of the power consumption value is, for example, July 28 (Saturday), and the power consumption value measured in the previous period is used for the prediction. The extent of going back to the past can be arbitrarily selected, for example, one month ago.

  When the information processing is started (step S1), the power consumption reading unit 21a-1 predicts the prediction target date (July 28th) from the measured value storage unit 27a that stores the power consumption value of the day together with the date and day of the week. The past power consumption value of the same day (Saturday of calendar: Saturday of the week starting from Monday in FIG. 4) is read from the measured value storage unit 27a (S2). For example, the power consumption values on July 21st, July 14th, and July 7th are read out on Saturday of July.

  The statistical processing unit 21a-2 obtains a statistical value (for example, an average value) obtained by statistically processing the past power consumption value of the same day (step S3). The power consumption prediction unit 21a-3 obtains the power consumption value on the prediction target day based on the statistical value obtained by the statistical processing unit 21a-2 (step S4). If it is an average value, the power consumption value on July 28, which is the prediction target day, is obtained by calculating the average over three days.

FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating an example of obtaining time dependency of a power consumption value instead of a power consumption value.
When the information processing is started (step S11), the power consumption reading unit 21a-1 predicts the prediction target date (July from the measurement value storage unit 27a that stores the time dependency of the power consumption value of the day together with the date and day of the week. 28), the time dependence of the past power consumption value on the same day of the week is read out from the measured value storage unit (step S12). For example, the power consumption values on July 21, July 14, and July 7 are read out.

  The statistical processing unit 21a-2 obtains a statistical value (average value) obtained by statistically processing the time dependence of the past power consumption value of the same day (step S13). The power consumption prediction unit 21a-3 obtains the time dependency of the power consumption value on the prediction target day based on the statistical value obtained by the statistical processing unit 21a-2 (step S14). Here, the average value over three days is obtained as the average value, thereby making the power consumption value of July 28, which is the prediction target day, time-dependent, and the process is terminated (step S15).

FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example in which an extrapolated value is a statistical value instead of an average value (here, an example of obtaining time dependence) is shown.
When the information processing is started (step S21), the power consumption reading unit 21a-1 predicts the prediction target day (July from the measurement value storage unit 27a that stores the time dependency of the power consumption value of the day together with the date and day of the week. 28) and the time dependence of the past power consumption value on the same day of the week is read out from the measured value storage unit 27a (step S22). For example, the power consumption values on July 21, July 14, and July 7 are read out.

  The statistical processing unit 21a-2 obtains a statistical value (extrapolated value) obtained by statistically processing the time dependence of the past power consumption value of the same day (step S23). The extrapolated value is an extrapolated value to the prediction target date. In this case, an extrapolated value is obtained as a statistical value instead of the average value. That is, for example, the length of the period is plotted on the horizontal axis and the statistical value is plotted on the vertical axis, and extrapolated in a direction in which the period becomes shorter (for example, the period between the prediction target days is 0). The values of July 28, July 14, July 21, and the power consumption values on the time axis are plotted to obtain the value of July 28. The power consumption prediction unit 21a-3 obtains the time dependency of the power consumption value on the prediction target day based on the statistical value obtained by the statistical processing unit 21a-2 (step S24). Here, the extrapolated value is the power consumption value of July 28, which is the prediction target date, or its time dependence, and the process ends (step S25).

Also by any of the above processes, the power consumption depending on the day of the week for the usage status of the user's air conditioner device can be obtained.
In this way, it is considered that the day of the week is the most likely to affect the lifestyle that affects power consumption, such as at home and away from home, so power prediction that depends on the day of the week can be used to accurately predict power consumption. Can be done well.

  FIG. 3B is a functional block diagram showing a configuration example of the information processing unit 21b that performs processing by the power consumption prediction program 27c according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6B is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the information processing section 21b.

  The information processing unit 21b includes a power consumption reading unit 21a-1 that reads a power consumption value, a statistical processing unit 21a-2 that performs statistical processing related to information processing of the power consumption value, and a statistic that determines the dependency of different power consumption values. A coefficient calculation unit 21b-1 that obtains a weighting coefficient of the dependency based on the value, and a power consumption prediction unit 21a- that predicts the power consumption value based on the power consumption value as a result of performing statistical processing and coefficient calculation 3.

  The prediction target day of the power consumption value is, for example, July 28 (Saturday), and the power consumption value measured in the previous period is used for the prediction. The extent of going back to the past can be arbitrarily selected, for example, one month ago.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, when the information processing is started (Start: Step S51), the power consumption reading unit 21a-1 starts from the measured value storage unit 27a that stores the power consumption value of the day together with the date and the day of the week. A past power consumption value on the same day as the prediction target day (July 28) is read from the measured value storage unit (step S52). For example, using the prediction target day (July 28 (Saturday)) and, for example, the same day one week ago (July 21 (Saturday)) as the reference day, the past power consumption values on the same day before this reference day And the past power consumption value (for example, from July 1 to July 20) before the reference date (Saturday, July 21) is read from the measured value storage unit 27a. The previous past power consumption value may be excluded on the same day (Saturday) in order to clarify whether or not it depends on the day of the week.

The statistical processing unit 21a-2 includes a first statistical value (for example, an average value) obtained by statistically processing past power consumption values on the same day, and a second statistical value (for example, an average value) obtained by statistically processing past power consumption values. ) Is obtained (step S53). The coefficient calculation unit 21b-1 obtains a weighting coefficient between the first statistical value and the second statistical value (step S54). Then, the power consumption prediction unit 21a-3 uses the weighting coefficient to calculate the power consumption of the prediction target day based on the statistical value obtained by the statistical processing unit 21a-2 and the coefficient obtained by the coefficient calculation unit 21b-1. A value is obtained (step S55). Then, the process ends (step S56).
The coefficient for obtaining the prediction result can be obtained as follows (in the example of the calendar in FIG. 4, data up to the 20th is used and compared with the 21st).

A (t): Average power consumption value for all past periods (for example, July 1st to 20th) (independent of day of week)
B (t): Average power consumption value of past designated days (for example, July 7th and 14th) (depends on day of week)
D (t): Power consumption value on the target date (July 21 one week before the forecast date) for fitting the forecast results
D (t) = aA (t) + bB (t) (1)
The combination of the coefficients (a, b) with which the value D (t) in the equation (1) is closest is calculated using, for example, a bisection method. Here, t is time. The calculated coefficients a and b and the power consumption value D ′ (t on July 28, which is the prediction target date, from A ′ (t) and B ′ (t) for the prediction target date (Saturday, July 28). ) Is calculated.
D '(t) = aA' (t) + bB '(t) (2)
Note that, for the above-described period and designated day of the week, general statistical processing such as excluding days with prominent values or changing the period depending on the obtained value can be applied.

Similar to the case of FIG. 5, the time dependence of the power consumption value can be obtained instead of the power consumption value. In this case, the statistical value and the coefficient value may be obtained for each time zone or every hour, or after dividing into on time and off time using threshold power consumption, etc., the on period and off time Statistical processing may be performed during the period.
As the statistical value, an average value may be used, and an extrapolated value may be used instead.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the weighting of the statistical value having the day of the week dependency and the statistical value not dependent on the day of the week is obtained, and this weighting is performed when obtaining the power consumption value of the prediction target day. By using it, it is possible to perform prediction in consideration of day-of-week dependency.
The power consumption value with respect to the usage status of the air conditioner device can be predicted by any one of the processes described above.
The prediction method of the power consumption of the household appliance demonstrated above is an example, and you may use another method. For example, it is possible to obtain different conditions such as a home pattern, each device, the entire building, weather conditions, each country, and region from the past power usage pattern.

  Next, a home appliance scheduler unit 33 that performs home appliance power consumption control based on the prediction result of the home appliance power consumption prediction unit 31 (21a-3) will be described.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of an algorithm example of the power consumption control processing of the home appliance according to the present embodiment.
1) Learn the correlation between conditions (a) such as past weather, temperature, humidity, day of the week, and presence / absence information of people, and the past actual power consumption (b).
2) Prediction (d) of power consumption is performed from the forecast information (c) on the prediction target date and the correlation between (a) and (b) above. Note that the device state prediction can be easily realized by replacing (A) with past device state actual measurement data.
3) Compare the predicted power consumption value (d) with the target value (v) for power consumption. If there is a time zone that does not meet the target, a number of power consumption values for that time range will be within the target. Make a driving plan for home appliances (ki).
4) When making an operation plan, prioritize the control for each home appliance (f). The priority can be given from the past automatic driving refusal count, home appliance operation information, setting information, and the like.
As shown in (g), the automatic operation control of home appliances is divided into a suppression section and a non-suppression section after starting suppression, for example.
Note that the algorithm of FIG. 2 is an example, and various modifications can be made.

  FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration example of the home appliance power control apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment performs the following based on the actual power consumption value calculation unit 101 that calculates the actual power consumption value for each control target unit and the actual power consumption value for the period. The next period power consumption prediction unit 102 that predicts the power consumption of the period, the control target determination unit 103 that determines whether or not it is a control target, and the power consumption control of the home appliance on the day of the week determined to be the control target It includes a control processing unit 104, a period changing unit 105 that changes to processing in the next period, and a storage unit 106 that stores various data.

8A to 8C are diagrams showing an outline of the operation of the scheduler unit.
First, in the first processing example, as shown in FIG. 8A, when the processing is started (step S101), the actual power consumption value calculation unit 101 calculates the power consumption value for each home appliance, and in step S102, The next period power consumption prediction unit 102 predicts the power consumption value of the home appliance in the next period. In step S103, the control target determining unit 103 compares the target value with the predicted value, and in step S104, for example, changes the driving status of the home appliance so as not to exceed the target value. In step S105, the period changing unit 105 If there is a next period, the period is changed and the process returns to step S102. The memory | storage part 106 memorize | stores the driving | operation setting value etc. of a household appliance.
In the example shown in FIG. 8B, in step S104a instead of step S104, the upper limit value and the lower limit value of the target value are determined, and the driving state of the home appliance is changed so as to be within the range between the upper limit and the lower limit. In this Embodiment, how to determine the driving | running state of a household appliance is arbitrary.
FIG. 8C is a diagram illustrating an example of the relationship between time and power consumption, and shows that the power consumption after the operation change can be made closer to the target value based on the target value and the predicted value.

  Next, a basic algorithm of the scheduler unit will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing details of step S104 in FIG. 8A. In step S104-1, a time zone in which the predicted value exceeds the target value is extracted, and in step S104-2, the time extracted in step S104-1 In the band, a home appliance with a large predicted power consumption is detected. In step S104-3, the operating state of the home appliance is changed. In step S104-4, it is determined whether or not the overall power consumption is lower than the target value. If Yes, the process proceeds to step S104-5, and NO. If there is, the process returns to step S104-1. As described above, it is possible to perform a level shift (change in device operation state; hereinafter referred to as a level shift) to bring the power consumption closer to the target value.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. A priority is set when device control is performed. The priority can be set by the user.
The system learns, for example, the preference of the user of the house based on the history of whether the user has accepted a setting change or the like in the scheduler unit, and has a function of automatically changing the priority order of the device state change.

  The scheduler priority learning function will be described in detail below. FIG. 10A is a flowchart illustrating a detailed processing flow of the operation state change processing in step S104-3, which illustrates a processing example based on the user-oriented maximum level shift amount. As shown in FIG. 10A, in step S201, the maximum level shift amount (allowable value) of each home appliance is set. For example, the maximum shift amount is set to 1-5 for each home appliance. The initial value is, for example, 2. The temperature shift amount (maximum 2) for air conditioners, the luminance shift amount for LED lighting, the luminance shift amount (maximum 1) for TV, etc. are determined for each home appliance.

  In step S202, if the time shift is rejected, 1 point is subtracted (-1) for the priority, and if the time shift is accepted, 1 point is added (+1) for the priority. Thereby, a user's intention can be taken in by reducing the priority as a control object about the household appliance in which operation to the direction where power consumption increases is performed. Next, in step S203, the priority is changed within the maximum level shift amount, and the process proceeds to step S104-4. As described above, according to the present embodiment, the priority is changed by detecting a home appliance with a large expected power consumption in a certain time zone and continuing the control to change the device operating state of the device. Thus, there is an advantage that the process of bringing the power consumption close to the target value can be performed smoothly.

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The information processing technology according to the present embodiment relates to a priority setting process related to a change in the state of home appliances.

  FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating a processing example based on a user-oriented level shift priority. In step S301, for example, six levels of priority 0-5 are set for each registered home appliance. Note that a priority of 0 means no control. In step S302, the level shift amount is changed by one step in order from the home appliance with the highest priority. That is, the scheduler changes the level shift amount of the device with the highest priority by one step, and if it is insufficient, the scheduler changes the device with the same priority by one step. If there is still a shortage, a one-stage change is performed again between the highest priority device and the next highest device and within the range of the maximum shift amount. Such processing is referred to as level shift order smoothing processing. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of level shift order smoothing processing. As shown in FIG. 11, in the smoothing process, the following process is performed.

First process: 1) level shift of living room air conditioner of priority 5 is performed, and if it is insufficient, 2) level shift of 1 stage of bedroom LED is performed.
Second process: If power control is insufficient in the first process, a one-level level shift is performed for priority levels 5 and 4 in order from the top. The process ends when the level shift target is achieved.
Third processing: The same processing is performed for the priorities 5, 4, and 3. However, in this example, the living room air conditioner and the living room television do not perform level shift because they exceed the maximum shift amount.
Fourth processing: The same processing is performed for the priorities 5, 4, 3, and 2.
Process after the fifth time: The same process is performed for all priorities, and when all household appliances reach the maximum shift amount, the process shifts to the time shift process.

  As described above, by smoothing the level shift priority order, the power consumption can be controlled gently without being biased toward high-priority home appliances.

  Next, an information processing technique according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention including control based on absence information will be described. The power consumption of home appliances varies depending on whether the family is at home or away. Therefore, the prediction accuracy can be further improved by taking into account the information regarding the user's working days, holidays, and holidays, and the information about going out.

  FIG. 12A is a diagram illustrating a GUI example of a calendar function for obtaining absence information. In the GUI shown in FIG. 12A, for example, a face icon for specifying a user by a date selection unit including a current date and time, a calendar format, a home time input bar, a face of a resident of the house, and home / absent input switching are performed. An icon to be performed and an icon for inputting an absence schedule are provided.

  FIG. 12B is a diagram for explaining an overview of functions. In the example shown in FIG. 12B, the calendar display function displays 6 weeks a month, and displays the dates of the week of the previous month and the next month for half-lengths within one week. In today's marking, the color of today's date part in the calendar is changed (marked) to make it easier to notice.

The input functions that are present and absent are as follows.
1) Easy to enter “Absence Schedule” Easy to enter with 2 touches of “Date” and “Face Icon” or 3 touches (regardless of order) including “Absence Schedule Icon”, change home time by touch The feature is that it can be input.
2) Resident registration function (up to 6)
The feature is that up to six users living in the house can be selected with icons to input the absence schedule.
3) Face icon function A feature is that the family face icon can be selected from eight types (father, mother, boys A and B, girls A and B, grandfather, grandmother, etc.) and the absence schedule can be entered. It is good to display only the icon registered as a resident.
4) Absence date and time input function Inputs in 1-hour increments for the calendar display date. The date is selected by calendar, and the time input can be changed and input by touching (sliding) the home time input bar. Absence information can be obtained by performing the above input.

  The home / absent input for power consumption prediction will be described below. It is considered that the power consumption used at home changes depending on whether the family is at home or away. Therefore, it is considered that the prediction accuracy can be further improved if there is information on the user's working days, holidays, and holidays and information on going-out schedules. However, it must be assumed that there are people in the family who do input and those who do not.

  As shown in FIG. 13, in step S102b-1, home / absence information is acquired from step S102.

  Here, a function to link calendar input information to the consumption prediction server is added. Information for setting a day of the week for a normal holiday for each user is added to the calendar setting screen. Add the ability for the user to set holidays for calendar entry. The fixed holidays are entered in advance.

  Next, in step 102b-2, prediction is performed only on past data in the same situation as the home information on the prediction target day. When performing power consumption prediction, prediction is performed only on past data having the same situation as the home situation on the prediction target day. Instead of B (t) in the equation (1) used in the conventional power consumption prediction and device state prediction, Bh (t) using the day pattern of holidays for each user is used. However, if the number of past data samples in the same situation is small, it must be excluded.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating home / absent input correspondence of power consumption prediction regarding a day of the week. Which day of the week is a holiday is input for each user, and holiday patterns depending on the user's holiday for each day of the week are shown as 1, 2, and 3 in FIG.

  In the case of FIG. 14, there are three weekday / holiday patterns: weekday pattern 1 for all users, holiday pattern 2 for only the father, and holiday pattern 3 for other than the father. In addition, the holidays set separately are set as pattern 4 as holidays for the whole family.

  Among these four patterns, Bh (t) is obtained by taking the average of past data for the same day of the week as the prediction target day. In the above example, there are 4 patterns. However, since it varies depending on user input, it is necessary to consider up to 7 patterns.

  Next, the home / absent input correspondence of the scheduler will be described. The learning pattern of the priority of the scheduler is changed for each holiday pattern described in “Home / absent input correspondence for consumption prediction” shown in FIG. In the case of FIG. 14, there are three types of holiday patterns. For each of these patterns, user-oriented-maximum level shift amount, level shift priority, etc. are individually learned. In addition, when holiday setting is changed or when the number of patterns increases, it is preferable to take over the learning result to the nearest holiday pattern. Whether the patterns are close can be determined by the number of matches of the users included in the existing pattern.

  A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. Below, the outline | summary of an automatic driving | operation is demonstrated. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a state in which control for reducing the power of the air conditioner, the lighting, and the television is performed. If you do not want to drive automatically, you may be able to cancel with the home appliance controller. A time zone exceeding the power consumption upper limit value of 600 W is set as a power suppression period, and during this period, as indicated by the LEDs, the lighting and the like are controlled to become darker.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the bar graph is a predicted value of power consumption set on the previous day, and the power consumption in a time zone (shown here by a broken line) that is likely to exceed the target value regarding power consumption is reduced. Can achieve the goal. In order to achieve the target value related to power consumption, automatic operation (dedicated home appliance) for power consumption reduction and power saving cooperation request display (home appliance with a power sensor) can be performed. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, automatic operation for reducing power consumption (dedicated home appliances) and a power saving cooperation request display (home appliances with power sensors) are performed so that a target for power consumption at home can be achieved. In 1) of FIG. 17, the following processing is performed in the control of the power consumption in accordance with the target regarding the power consumption as shown in FIG.

1) For dedicated home appliances, the home appliance controller performs automatic operation to achieve the target. Here, if you do not agree with the intention, you can cancel.
2) For home appliances with a power sensor, automatic operation is not possible, so a power saving cooperation request may be displayed on the home appliance controller.

Next, an explanation will be given of advice display for automatic operation and power saving.
1) Automatic operation and advice display 1-1) Automatic operation Change the set temperature of the air conditioner, change the brightness of the LED lighting, set the energy saving operation of the TV, etc. Immediately before the automatic operation, an “automatic operation notification” display is displayed on the home appliance controller or the TV.
1-2) Advice for Power Saving For devices that cannot be operated automatically, advice for power saving may be displayed, and the user himself / herself may perform an operation for power saving.

2) Conditions under which automatic driving and advice display are executed Using the following information, for example, automatic driving or advice display is performed when the power consumption of the user's home is used more than in the past.
2-1) Power consumption prediction information predicted from past and current home appliance usage conditions 2-2) Home / absence information input to calendar 2-3) Past weather information and future weather forecast information 2-4 ) Past cancellation history of automatic driving

  FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a function list. FIG. 18 shows an example of automatic operation notification, power saving advice, today's automatic operation plan (display on TV), information regarding wasteful use, and a display method and contents regarding a calendar screen. Based on these displays, the user can obtain a hint regarding power saving.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a display example of an automatic driving plan for home appliances. An automatic operation plan of home appliances can be displayed on the display screen of the TV. FIG. 19 shows a room name, a home appliance name, and today's automatic driving plan for each home appliance. When “Today's automatic operation plan” is selected from the TV link screen of the home appliance controller, the actual power consumption value of the day related to the dedicated air conditioner, the dedicated LED lighting, and the dedicated TV and the future automatic driving plan are displayed on the dedicated TV. The air conditioner indicates a set temperature, the LED illumination indicates a luminance level, and the TV indicates an image quality level. (TVs can reduce power consumption by about 25% by reducing the image quality, even with almost the same screen brightness).

  FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of notification from the home appliance controller. If the home appliance controller is a major change in the operating state of the dedicated home appliance, for example, if the set temperature of the air conditioner is changed one or more times, or if the illuminance of the LED lighting is changed in three or more stages, the power supply of the dedicated TV should be turned on For example, the operation is as follows. A “notification from home appliance controller” screen is displayed on the TV. For example, the notification display is performed for a maximum of 30 seconds, and when the “end button” is pressed by remote control operation of the TV, the notification display screen disappears and the original television screen is restored.

  FIG. 21 notifies automatic operation in order to prevent excessive use of electric power. For example, “notification of automatic driving” is displayed together with an alarm sound or the like immediately before the control for suppressing power. In the notification, for example, “automatically controlled equipment will change to the following content after 30 seconds” is notified, and further, it is possible to select home appliances that perform automatic operation. In this example, changeable room icons and device icons, change contents, and buttons for selecting whether or not to perform automatic driving are provided, and which home appliances are controlled by the user's intention Can be controlled with the confirm button.

  Further, when “OK” is not pressed, automatic operation may be started regardless of the selection of “Yes / No”. This case corresponds to the case where 30 seconds have passed without pressing “OK” or the screen is closed with the “Close” button.

Needless to say, the above interface is merely an example, and other methods may be used.
Next, the change of the driving | running state of a household appliance and the interruption method of automatic driving | operation are demonstrated.

  For example, when the content of the automatic operation of the dedicated home appliance by the home appliance controller does not meet the user's intention, the content of the automatic operation can be changed (or canceled) by the following method. As shown in FIG. 22, when the home appliance controller performs an automatic operation that reduces the brightness of the ceiling lighting in the living room by four levels, when the user changes the brightness of the ceiling lighting in the living room with the infrared remote controller, Notification of cancellation. In this system, it is assumed that when the air conditioner or ceiling lighting is operated with the infrared remote controller, the home appliance controller is notified of the status change notification information. It can also be realized by detecting the operation of the infrared remote controller.

  If a household appliance that does not want to perform automatic driving on the “automatic driving notification” screen selects “No” and presses the “Confirm” button, automatic driving is not performed for that household appliance.

If “OK” is not pressed, automatic operation starts regardless of the selection of “Yes / No”. (When 30 seconds have passed without pressing “OK” or when the screen is closed with the “Close” button.)
When the user wants to change the operation state of the home appliance after the start of automatic operation, it can be freely changed from the home appliance controller / home appliance remote controller or a normal infrared remote controller.
Priorities and control levels for “home appliances that you do not want to control if possible” can be set on the setting screen. Here, the “scheduler priority learning” is referred to.
Smoothing is achieved by changing the state of a plurality of devices little by little, instead of achieving power consumption suppression by changing the extreme state of some devices. (See "Level Shift Priority Smoothing")

  FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of advice for power saving. Displays advice information for power saving. The user is prompted to stop using the displayed home appliance. In the figure, a setting time and a yes / no setting can be made for each room and home appliance. Once all settings are done, you can press Confirm.

  FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating an example of advice for power saving. If the advice information for power saving is displayed and there is no problem, the use of the displayed home appliance is requested to be interrupted. In this example, a room icon, a device icon, a set time, and a button for selecting whether or not the use can be stopped are provided, and an instruction to control which home appliance is controlled by the user's intention Then, control can be performed with the confirm button.

  Further, when “OK” is pressed, the device is turned off or energy is saved according to the selection of “Yes / No”. The setting is canceled when 30 seconds have elapsed without pressing “OK” or when the screen is closed with the “Close” button. Needless to say, the above-described inter-failure is merely an example, and other methods may be used.

  FIG. 24 is an advice for power saving, when “Yes (cooperate with power saving)” is selected and confirmed on the power saving cooperation request display screen of FIG. 23, but the power consumption of the home appliance does not decrease thereafter. Displays the corresponding home appliance and time yes / no every 15 minutes, and a re-request screen is displayed.

  In the future, the target value of power consumption may be set by the user himself / herself, or a value for home power optimization / regional power optimization may be set in cooperation with HEMS. The “power consumption target value” may be changed on the control side. When changing the target value, the target value and the scheduled change date are displayed in advance in the “message display field” of the home appliance controller.

  FIG. 25 is a wastefulness detection / notification display, which displays a notification when the home appliance controller detects wasteful use of a home appliance with a power sensor. As advice on wasteful use of home appliances, it is indicated that the set temperature for heating is 23 ° C or higher at a certain time and that the appropriate set temperature is 22 ° C. It is possible to display that the correct temperature is automatically set and to set the next notification by the time bar. Select if you do not want to display the same notice for a certain period of time.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a list of advice regarding wasteful spending. For example, the following advice is displayed when the power consumption of the demonstration LED lighting in the living room is 70 W or more, but the TV is not turned on.
The power consumption of LED lighting is over 70W. Decreasing the brightness of LED lighting by one level can reduce power consumption by about 10%.
Various other advice is displayed.

  As shown in FIG. 27, family absentee schedules can be listed by inputting family home / absent information on the calendar screen. The information input here is used as a material for determining which home appliance should be controlled when the home appliance controller performs home appliance automatic operation. In the figure, family presence / absence information (icon) is added for each day. Also, for example, the home schedule for December 25 is displayed for each user.

  FIG. 28 is a setting screen related to an alarm sound when notification notification is performed. As shown in FIG. 28, valid / invalid such as alarm setting can be set for each home appliance. As a result, fine setting is possible.

  FIG. 29 is a setting screen relating to an alarm sound when notification is performed. It is a setting screen regarding a period during which the same notification is not notified. By setting the notification content and the previous and time notification schedule (including no notification) for each home appliance, it is possible to set which period is notified and which period is not notified.

  FIG. 30 is a priority setting screen for home appliance automatic operation and notification. During installation, staff will interview and make initial settings. If you want to change this setting, let us know that you want to be notified.

  The priority of notifications and automatic driving can be changed, and home appliances with high priority are frequently changed in driving. When “0” is set, automatic driving and notification for the home appliance can be stopped. The maximum change level when changing the driving state of the home appliance with the home appliance automatic driving function can be set.

  If a small value is set here, there will be no significant change in operation. In this way, it is possible to set an arbitrary priority by enabling the priority and the maximum shift amount to be set for each home appliance.

  As described above, by providing various advices and notifications, there is an effect of encouraging the user to promote energy saving.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration and the like illustrated in the accompanying drawings are not limited to these, and can be changed as appropriate within the scope of the effects of the present invention. In addition, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the object of the present invention.

  Each component of the present invention can be arbitrarily selected, and an invention having a selected configuration is also included in the present invention.

  In addition, a program for realizing the functions described in the present embodiment is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium is read into a computer system and executed to execute processing of each unit. May be performed. The “computer system” here includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices.

  Further, the “computer system” includes a homepage providing environment (or display environment) if a WWW system is used.

  The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a storage device such as a flexible medium, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk incorporated in a computer system. Furthermore, the “computer-readable recording medium” dynamically holds a program for a short time like a communication line when transmitting a program via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In this case, a volatile memory in a computer system serving as a server or a client in that case, and a program that holds a program for a certain period of time are also included. The program may be a program for realizing a part of the above-described functions, or may be a program that can realize the above-described functions in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system. At least a part of the functions may be realized by hardware such as an integrated circuit.

(Appendix)
The present invention includes the following disclosure.
(1)
A power consumption actual value calculation unit that calculates individual power consumptions of the measured devices and holds them as actual values;
Based on the actual value of the power consumption for each device in the first period, the next period power consumption prediction unit that predicts the power consumption for each device in the next second period;
A control processing unit that compares a statistical value of power consumption for each device in the second period and a preset target value, and changes the state of the device in a direction approaching the target value. A characteristic information processing apparatus.
Change the status of the device according to settings such as temperature setting and startup change.
(2)
The control processing unit
The information processing apparatus according to (1), wherein a control target of the device is determined based on a priority indicating an order of controlling the device set for each device.
(3)
The information processing apparatus according to (2), wherein the priority of the controlled device is lowered below a set value, and the control is terminated when the entire power consumption value falls within the target value.
(4)
The control processing unit
The information processing apparatus according to (2) or (3), wherein the priority is changed in a direction of decreasing according to a user's control rejection operation.
(5)
According to the presence / absence information of the user, a statistical value of the present day of the same day of the past is used for the present day, and a statistical value of the absent day of the same day of the past is used for the absent day (1 The information processing apparatus according to any one of (4) to (4).
(6)
The information processing apparatus according to any one of (2) to (5), wherein a priority depending on a holiday pattern is set according to user holiday pattern information.
(7)
If the device cannot change its operating status automatically,
The information processing apparatus according to any one of (2) to (6), wherein an advice notification that prompts the user to change the setting of the device is performed.
(8)
A power consumption actual value calculation step for calculating individual power consumption of the measured device and holding it as a result value;
Next-period power consumption prediction step for predicting power consumption for each device in the next second period based on the actual value of power consumption for each device in the first period;
The statistical value of power consumption for each device in the second period is compared with a preset target value, and the operating state (temperature setting, brightness setting) of the device is changed in a direction approaching the target value. An information processing method comprising: a control processing step.
(9)
A program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method according to (8).

  The present invention is applicable to a home appliance control apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Power consumption performance value calculation part, 102 ... Next period power consumption prediction part, 103 ... Control object determination part, 104 ... Control processing part, 105 ... Period change part, 106 ... Memory | storage part.

Claims (6)

A power consumption prediction unit that predicts the power consumption of the device based on the actual value of the power consumption of the device;
An operation plan for changing the operation state of the device is established, the operation plan is executed, and a scheduler unit that performs power consumption control of the device;
Before executing the operation plan, comprising an advice generation unit that performs display for enabling selection of whether to execute the operation plan and the operation plan,
The scheduler unit
A power estimation results of the device, based on the target value and preset by the user related to the power consumption, make the operation plan relating to the operation state and the operation timing of the apparatus,
The advice generation unit
A control system for displaying the operation plan including the operation timing. A power consumption prediction unit that predicts power consumption of the plurality of devices based on actual values of power consumption of the plurality of devices;
Making an operation plan for changing the operating state of the plurality of devices, executing the operation plan, and controlling the power consumption of the plurality of devices;
Before executing the operation plan, comprising an advice generation unit that performs display for enabling selection of whether to execute the operation plan and the operation plan,
The scheduler unit
Wherein the power estimation result of the plurality of devices, based on the target value that the user related to the power consumption previously set, make a driving plan of the plurality of devices,
The advice generation unit
A control system that displays operation plans of the plurality of devices side by side, and displays to enable selection of whether or not to execute the operation plans for each device. The scheduler unit
Make an operation plan related to the operation state and operation timing of the plurality of devices,
The advice generation unit
The control system according to claim 2, wherein the operation plan including the operation timing is displayed. The scheduler unit
Based on the priority of the operation state change of the plurality of devices, make an operation plan of the plurality of devices,
The control system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the priority order is automatically switched according to a history of whether or not the operation plan has been executed. Predicting the power consumption of the device based on the actual value of the power consumption of the device;
A step make the prediction result of the consumption power, based on the target value and preset by the user related to the power consumption, the operation plan to change the operating state of the apparatus,
Executing the operation plan and changing the operating state of the equipment;
Before the step of changing the operating state of the equipment, and the step of performing a display for enabling selection of whether to execute the operation plan and the operation plan,
The operation plan includes the operation state and operation timing of the equipment,
The step of performing the display includes
A control method for displaying the operation plan including the operation timing. Predicting power consumption of the plurality of devices based on actual values of power consumption of the plurality of devices;
A step of standing the power estimation result of said plurality of devices, based on the target value and preset by the user related to the power consumption, the operation plan for changing the operating state of the plurality of devices,
Executing the operation plan and changing operating states of the plurality of devices;
Before the step of changing the operating state of the plurality of devices, the step of performing a display for enabling selection of whether to execute the operation plan and the operation plan,
The operation plan includes an operation plan for the plurality of devices,
The step of performing the display includes
A control method for displaying operation plans of the plurality of devices side by side and displaying for enabling selection for each device whether or not to execute the operation plans.

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