JPH0638369A - Home service demand control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate feelings of inconvenience from ordinary home users by preferentially limiting the operation of equipment in rooms where nobody exists and not limiting as much as possible the operation of equipment in rooms where someone exists. CONSTITUTION:A main controller 14 checks whether or not the total demand current value of a home reported from a demand controller 4 exceeds a prescribed cautious level and, when the value exceeds the cautious level, the controller 14 checks whether or not someone exists in the home based on the information from a human sensor 21 connected to terminal equipment 18a for sensor. When a room is found to be empty, the controller 14 informs each terminal equipment of commands for inhibiting new operation of equipment in such room through home buses 13a-13n. Then the controller 14 checks whether or not the total demand current value exceeds a limit level and, when the value exceeds the limit level, the controller 14 stops the operation of the equipment in the empty room. Therefore, the usefulness of this demand control system is improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention monitors the total current consumption in a home, and monitors and controls the operating state of each controlled device in the home by using a home bus to reduce the total current consumption to a predetermined contract current. The present invention relates to a home demand control system for efficiently limiting the value within a value.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as described in JP-A-2-13228, etc., the main purpose is generally to avoid paying a penalty charge to an electric power company when the contracted power is exceeded for business purposes. The target device was determined only by the priority based on the degree of importance in business, and the usability was not sufficient for general household use as it is.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent a trouble such as the breaker being opened and the illuminating lamp being used turned off when the electric power used exceeds the contracted electric power in a general household. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a household demand control system which is easy to use for general households.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention monitors the total current consumption in a house, and when the new current consumption causes the total current consumption to exceed a predetermined contract current, In a demand control system for limiting the total current consumption to be equal to or less than the contract current by limiting the operation of a preset device, it is provided with means for recognizing the presence or absence of an occupant in each room. The apparatus includes a restriction target device and a selection unit that selectively controls the operating state of the restriction target device depending on the presence or absence of the restriction target device.

[0005]

With the above-mentioned structure, the operation of the device in the room where there is no occupant is preferentially restricted so that the operation of the device in the room where the occupant is present is not restricted as much as possible. It is possible to prevent home users from feeling inconvenient for the demand control system.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 is a main breaker that also serves as an earth leakage breaker, and a lead-in wire 2 from outside the house of a commercial power source is connected to an indoor power supply wire 3a. The indoor power supply wire 3a is a demand controller 4 having a current measuring means.
Each remote control breaker 5 via the indoor power line 3b via
a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e, and each remote control breaker has remote control lines 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d, 6e.
Is connected to the demand controller 4, and the demand controller 4 monitors and controls each remote control breaker. A lighting 8, a ventilation fan 9, and a humidifier 10 are connected to the remote control breaker 5a via an equipment power supply terminal 3a, 7b, 7c by an indoor power supply line 3c, and an air conditioner 11 is connected to the remote control breaker 5b by an indoor power supply line 3d.
a is connected, an air conditioner 11b is connected to the remote control breaker 5c by an indoor power supply line 3e, and a device control terminal device 7d, 7e, 7f and a multi-terminal control terminal is connected to the remote control breaker 5d by an indoor power supply line 3g. Electrical equipment 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d and 12 via the device 17
e is connected, and the device control terminal devices 7a to 7f are connected.
The lighting 8, the ventilation fan 9, the humidifier 10, and the electric devices 12a to 12e connected to the multi-terminal control terminal device 17 are all restricted devices that can restrict operation during current limiting.
Further, the remote control breaker 5e is connected to the electric devices 12e, 12f, 12g by the indoor power supply line 3f. In addition, home buses 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d, 13
e, 13f, 13g, 13h, 13i, 13j, 13
Reference numerals k, 13m, and 13n are wiring lines around the bus interface unit 15 in the main control unit 14 as a center, and the demand controller 4, the air conditioner control terminal devices 16a and 16b,
The device control terminal devices 7a, 7b, 7c, the sensor terminal devices 18a, 18b, the information outlet 19, the device control terminal devices 7d, 7e, 7f and the multi-terminal control terminal device 17 are connected, and in the main control device 14 The load resistor 20 of the home bus is connected with. A human sensor 21 that detects the presence or absence of a person by infrared rays or the like is connected to the sensor terminal device 18a, and each sensor for temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, illuminance, oxygen concentration, air volume, and odor is collected in the sensor terminal device 18b. Environmental sensor 2
2 are connected. In addition, the control terminal device 16 for the air conditioner
a and 16b are connected to the air conditioners 11a and 11b by HA cables 23a and 23b for transmitting control and monitor signals, respectively. The air conditioners 11a and 11b are connected to the HA cable 2 respectively.
3a, 23b via the air conditioner control terminal device 16a,
The upper limit of the operation current value and the operation mode can be changed by an input signal from 16b, and the air conditioners 11a and 11b are operation restriction target devices whose operation states are restricted when the current is limited. Further, the information outlet 19 has an interface corresponding to the home bus system, and if a monitor device capable of transmitting and receiving each command sent to the home buses 13a to 13n is connected by a predetermined modular cable, it is completely consumed at any place at any time. Information on current and equipment in operation can be monitored. The main controller 14 is a home bus 13a to 1
It manages 3n, monitors and controls each terminal device connected to the home buses 13a to 13n, and interfaces with devices or systems outside the house.
4 is a demarcation point with the telephone line 24 and is connected to a network termination 25 which is an interface section. The network termination 25 is connected to the bus interface section 15 and the main control unit 14
Is connected to the control unit 26. The control unit 26 has an EEP
The control unit 2 is composed of a storage means such as a ROM or EPROM that normally holds data and can rewrite data when necessary.
A system memory unit 27 for storing the control program of No. 6, various commands of the home bus system, the address of each terminal device, the contracted current, and the initial data of the operation-restricted device.
Is connected, and the operating current of each operating mode of each electric device, the value of the operating current of the previous operation of each device, the data such as the operating status of each device, and the total current consumption value are retained and written as needed. The system memory unit 27, the normal memory unit 28, and the control unit 26 are connected to the normal memory unit 28 using an EEPROM so that the data can be replaced and the data is not lost even when a power failure occurs. Selection for detecting the presence or absence of a person through the home buses 13a to 13g, the sensor terminal device 18a, and the bus interface 15 and selectively controlling the operating state of each device based on the information of the total current consumption value from the demand controller 4 It constitutes means 29. Further, the control unit 26 is connected to a display unit 30 capable of monitoring the operating state of each device and the total operating current as needed, and an input unit 31 for setting initial data, switching operating modes, and inputting start / stop of operation. The time measuring means 32 for measuring the time, the driving time, etc. is connected to the use mode setting means 33 such as daytime / nighttime / outside, etc. and the control section 26, and the control stored in the system memory section 27 according to the use mode. Time information for carrying out a process of controlling the operation of a plurality of devices included in the program in a time-divisionally-set order, time distribution, and operating conditions is transmitted to the control unit 26 and the use mode setting means 33, and used. The mode setting unit 33 is connected to the control unit 26 together with the time counting unit 32, and the time setting unit 32 and the control unit 26 are operated by the time information of the time counting unit 32 and the manual use mode setting input. To transmit the information of the use mode.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the current limiting operation of the demand controller 4. The demand controller 4 constantly measures the total current consumption in the house (34). It is a safe level that is sufficiently small for the contract current and there is no danger of exceeding the contract current, and a caution level that does not have much margin for the contract current. Also, it is divided into three levels, namely, the contract current level and above, and the total current consumption is checked to see if it is above a certain caution level (3
5) If it is above a predetermined caution level, all current consumption values are reported by the home buses 13a to 13n by simultaneous broadcast or group broadcast (36), and the main controller 14 and other devices connected to the home buses 13a to 13n are notified. Inform the terminal device. Further, when the total current consumption is at a safety level lower than the predetermined caution level, it is checked whether or not there is a notification request of the total current consumption value from other devices connected to the home buses 13a to 13n (37), If there is a notification request, the total consumption current value is notified to the home buses 13a to 13n and the process proceeds to the next process (38). If there is no notification request for the total consumption current value, the process immediately proceeds to the next process (38). 37). After detecting that the total current consumption is above the caution level and then reporting the total current consumption value, it is checked whether the total current consumption is above the limit level (39). If the total current consumption is above the limit level, The home bus 13a to 13n with a limit command requesting a current limit (40), and if the total current consumption is below the limit level, the home bus 13a to 13n is issued a caution command to limit new operation. After that, the process moves to the next process (41). Further, when the limit command is issued, the breaking operation time of the breaker changes depending on the magnitude of the excess current with respect to the rated current. Therefore, a predetermined value before the main breaker 1 operates, which is predetermined according to the total current consumption value, is activated. After waiting for a time (42), it is checked again whether or not the total current consumption is below the limit level (43), and normally the main controller 14 is subject to a predetermined operation limitation target by the notification of the total current consumption value or the limit command. By limiting the operation of the device, the total current consumption falls below the limit level, and the next process starts.
When the main controller 14 is inspecting or initializing, or when a device such as an air conditioner is manually forcibly operating, the total current consumption does not decrease below the limit level even if rechecked. In such a case, the demand controller 4 is the remote controller. Breakers 6a to 6
One of the predesignated remote control breakers in e is operated to report the processing by the home bus 13a to 13n by simultaneous broadcast or group broadcast (44). Next, it is checked whether or not the total current consumption is at the safe level (45), and if it exceeds the safe level, it is again checked whether it is at or above the limit level. The remote control breaker is restored, the relevant processing is reported by the home buses 13a to 13n (46), and the next processing is performed. Incidentally, the remote control breaker which remains in the shut-off operation is restored by a manual operation or a restoration command of the main controller 14. Next, the operation of the process of limiting the total current consumption of the main controller 14 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the current limiting operation of main controller 14. The main controller 14 checks whether or not the current consumption value reported from the demand controller 4 is held in the regular memory unit 28 (4
7) If the total current consumption value is not held in the regular memory unit 28, the main controller 14 immediately requests the demand controller 4 to report the total current consumption value (48), and the next total current consumption value Is above a predetermined caution level (49), and if the total current consumption value is below the caution level, proceed to the next processing, and if above the caution level, connect to the sensor terminal device 18a. The presence / absence of a person is checked based on the information about the presence / absence of a person from the person sensor 21 (50), and if there is a person's absent location, a command to prohibit a new operation of a device in the absent location is homed. It notifies each terminal device via the buses 13a to 13n to prohibit new operation of the device in the absence of a person (51), and then checks whether or not the total current consumption value is equal to or higher than the limit level (52), All current consumption values are at the limit level In the above case, the operation of the device in the absence of a person is stopped (53), and it is checked again whether the total current consumption is above the limit level (54). It is checked whether or not the device at the location of the device can change the upper limit of the operating current value or the operating mode by the signal input from the terminal device to which the device is connected from the external signal input terminal of the device (55), and change Home bus 13 when possible air conditioners 11a, 11b etc. are in operation
Air conditioner control terminal device 16 to which equipment capable of limiting the upper limit of the operating current value during operation is connected via a to 13n
a), 16b, etc., the upper limit of the operating current value of the equipment is lowered to limit the operating current (56), and it is again checked whether the total current consumption is at or above the limiting level (57). The control device 14 selects the operating mode for reducing the current consumption of each device by the selecting means 29 and switches the operating mode of the device by inputting a predetermined signal from the external signal input terminal of the device. The operation mode of the air conditioners 11a, 11b, etc., which can be operated, is switched from the cooling operation to the blowing operation, for example, via the home buses 13a to 13n.
6a, 16b, etc. are instructed to output a predetermined switching signal (58) to reduce the current consumption of the device to reduce the total current consumption, and then check the total current consumption again ( 59), if the total current consumption is still above the limit level or if the operating conditions of the operation-restricted device are changed, the main controller 14
If that is not the case, a device whose operation can be restricted is selected by the selection means 29 according to the usage mode set by the usage mode setting means 33, and the illumination 8 is turned off in the "daytime" mode, for example. The device control terminal device 7a is instructed via the home buses 13a to 13n (60) to reduce the total current consumption. Then, the main controller 14
The total current consumption is checked again (61), and if the total current consumption is still above the limit level, the selecting means 29 operates based on the environmental condition information from the environmental sensor 22 connected to the sensor terminal device 18b. If the humidity is at an appropriate level, the humidifier 10 is instructed to the device control terminal device 7c to stop the operation, and if the oxygen concentration or odor is at an appropriate level, the ventilation fan 9 is set as the device. Operation is restricted by instructing the control terminal device 7b to stop the operation (62), and the total current consumption is checked again (6
3) Based on the control program stored in the system memory unit 27, the devices to be operated at the same time when the total current consumption is still above the limit level are preliminarily set in the control program according to the time information of the time measuring means 32. The terminal control devices are instructed to operate in the set order, time distribution, and operating conditions (64). The main controller 14 further checks the total current consumption (65), and if the total current consumption is still above the limit level, it instructs the demand controller 4 to bring the remote control breakers 5a to 5e to the appropriate total current consumption below the limit level. The operation is appropriately performed (66) to move to the next processing. If the total current consumption is below the limit level when checking the total current consumption (52, 54, 57, 5
9, 61, 63, 65) and checks whether the total current consumption is above the caution level (67), and if the total current consumption is above the caution level, the main controller 14 sends the home bus to each control terminal device. An instruction to limit the new operation is given via 13a to 13n, and the bus interface unit 15 is controlled by the control unit 26.
Monitoring the command accompanying the change of the operating current of each device from each control terminal device sent to the home buses 13a to 13n via the home bus 13a to 13n, and detecting the command, the common memory unit 2
The operating current is changed by the above command based on the operating current of each operating mode of each device recorded in 8 and the value of the operating current of the previous operation of each device and the operating status of each device. The control unit 26 predicts and calculates the total current consumption after the change of the operating state of the device, and if the predicted calculated value is equal to or higher than a predetermined contract current, that is, the limit level, a new operation is performed based on a preset condition. To prevent the total current consumption from exceeding the limit level (68), and proceed to the next process, and when the total current consumption is below the caution level (67), immediately Move on to the next processing.

[0009]

As described above, according to the present invention, the restricted device and the operating state of the restricted device can be selectively controlled according to the presence or absence of a person in each room. Providing a demand control system suitable for households that can prevent the wasteful use of electricity in a room where there are no people, limit the overall current consumption, and prevent the inconvenience caused by the breaking operation of the main breaker without experiencing discomfort. it can. Also, using a home bus as a control signal transmission path,
By making it possible to monitor the information on the total current consumption and the equipment in operation at any place on the home bus, it is possible to know the total current consumption and the operation status of the equipment at any time when necessary, and to operate the unnecessary equipment. It is possible to reduce the waste of electricity by limiting it. Further, by preferentially stopping the device in the room where it is determined that there is no person, the total current consumption can be reduced without hindering the operation of the device in the room where the person is present. Also,
If the total current consumption exceeds the specified contract current even if the equipment set to allow the operation to be stopped in advance in a room where there is no person is stopped, the room set to have a person determined to exist is set in advance. By limiting the maximum operating current of the stored equipment to a small amount by a predetermined amount, it is possible to reduce the total current consumption without making the user feel uncomfortable, and especially for the variable output type using an inverter such as an air conditioner. In equipment, even if the maximum operating current is limited by a predetermined amount, there is almost no problem in actual use, and it is an effective method for limiting the total current consumption. In addition, for a device that has been preset as a device whose operation can be restricted, by inputting a predetermined signal from the external signal input terminal of the device, the operating mode of the device is switched and the current consumption of the device is reduced By configuring so as to limit the current consumption, the current consumption can be reduced without stopping the device. In addition, the system is equipped with means for setting a use mode such as daytime, nighttime, and outing, and means for detecting environmental conditions such as atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity, illuminance, etc. By enabling selective control of the devices to be restricted and the operation modes of the devices to be restricted, even if the operation is stopped or the operation mode is changed according to the situation, there is no practical problem for the user and the overall current consumption is reduced. be able to. In addition, it is desirable to stop by providing a clocking means in the system and controlling the operation of a plurality of devices in time division according to the time information of the clocking means in a preset order, time distribution, and operating conditions. If there are multiple devices that do not exist, and if you try to operate those devices at the same time, the specified contract current will be exceeded, and it will be possible to operate each device in a time-sharing manner without exceeding the specified contract current. In particular, it is suitable when it is desired to simultaneously air-condition a plurality of rooms. Further, in a home demand control system in which the home bus is used as a control signal transmission line, a memory unit for holding current value data during operation of each device in each operation mode is provided. When a command accompanied by a change in the operating current of each device flowing on the bus is monitored, and when such a command is detected, the operating state of the device is checked from the operating current data in each operating mode of each device held in the memory section. A change in the current consumption of the entire system due to a change is predicted and calculated, and when the predicted calculated value exceeds a predetermined contract current, the operation of a device to be newly operated is restricted based on a preset condition. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the total current consumption from exceeding the contract current.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a current limiting operation of the demand controller.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a current limiting operation of the main controller.

[Explanation of symbols]

4 ... Demand controller, 7a-7f ... Device control terminal device, 11a, 11b ... Air conditioner, 12a-12e ... Electrical device which is a restriction target device, 14 ... Main control device, 16
a, 16b ... Control terminal device for air conditioner, 18a, 18b
... sensor terminal device, 21 ... human sensor, 29 ... selection means.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. When the total current consumption in a house is monitored and the new current consumption causes the total current consumption to exceed a predetermined contract current, the preset operation of the device is limited to set the total current consumption. In the demand control system for limiting the current to the contract current or less, a means for recognizing presence / absence of a person in each room is provided, and a device to be limited and an operating state of the device to be limited are selected according to the presence / absence of a person in the room. A home demand control system, characterized by comprising selection means for controlling. 2. A home bus is used as a transmission path of a control signal, and it is possible to monitor the total current consumption and information about a device in operation at any place of the home bus. The demand control system for home use according to any one of 1. 3. A domestic demand control system according to claim 1, wherein the device for recognizing the presence or absence of a person in the room is used to preferentially stop the equipment in the room determined to be empty. 4. The total current consumption is reduced by stopping the equipment which is set to be stopped when the contract current exceeds the contract current in a room judged to be empty by means of recognizing presence / absence of a person. The maximum operating current of a preset device in a room in which a person is judged to be present is limited to a predetermined amount when the predetermined contract current is exceeded. Home demand control system. 5. A device which has been preset as a device capable of operation restriction can switch the operation mode of the device by inputting a predetermined signal from an external signal input terminal of the device to reduce the current consumption of the device. The demand control system for home use according to claim 1, characterized in that it is configured to limit the total current consumption. 6. A means for setting a use mode such as daytime, nighttime, and going out, and means for detecting environmental conditions such as atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity, and illuminance, and operating according to the use mode and environmental conditions. The domestic demand control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a device to be restricted and an operation mode of the device to be restricted can be selectively controlled. 7. A time measuring means is provided, and according to time information of the time measuring means, a plurality of devices are time-divisionally controlled to operate in a preset order, time distribution and operating conditions. The domestic demand control system according to any one of claims 1 to 7. 8. A memory section for holding current value data during operation in each operation mode of each device is provided, and a command accompanying a change in the operation current of each device from each control terminal device on the home bus is provided. A means for monitoring is provided, and means for predicting and calculating the total current consumption after the change of the operating state of the device that changes the operating current by the command based on the data of the memory unit is provided.
The home according to claim 2, wherein when the predicted calculation value exceeds a predetermined contract current, the operation of a device to be newly operated is restricted based on a preset condition. Demand control system for.