JPH11325539A - Demand control method for air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To previously prevent regional power interruption by restricting a rapid increase of load electric power during dedmand control and upon returning of an air conditioner while keeping comfortability. SOLUTION: An inverter frequency determined by a difference between set temperature of an air conditioner 1 and indoor temperature is divided finely by a demand control request from an external power supply destination 6, and operation of the air conditioner is achieved with flue inverter frequency. Hereby, load electric power is prevented from being rapidly increased during demand control or upon completion of the demand control while keeping comfortability.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a demand control method for a power company to perform stable power control in a jurisdiction area by an inverter type air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, air conditioners for general household use have become remarkably widespread throughout the year as safe and clean air conditioners that can be used, and accordingly, the power consumption in winter, both in summer and in winter, has increased significantly. ing.

[0003] In addition, by gradually reducing the power consumption of each home at the time of a power peak, it is possible to prevent a local power failure caused by overload of a power plant or a substation. Therefore, demand for an air conditioner that consumes a large amount of power in general households is increasing. In general households, in order to efficiently perform the demand control of the air conditioner, it is necessary to minimize the deterioration of the comfort of the indoor environment and prevent the demand control from being canceled.

Conventionally, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-1114654 discloses a demand control device for a plurality of air conditioners, which shifts a set temperature of an air conditioner by 1 ° C. in a direction of decreasing power when contract power is exceeded. It has been disclosed.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-30834, information is exchanged between a wireless remote controller for transmitting a signal to an air conditioner, a wireless remote control type air conditioner, and a communication network terminal of a power company. A communication unit, a reception unit of an air conditioner that receives a signal from the wireless remote controller, an indoor environment detection unit that detects indoor environment information, and a power company obtained through the communication network at the time of the environment information and power peak. An operation mode calculation unit for calculating a demand operation mode of the air conditioner from demand information requesting suppression of power consumption of the air conditioner and a current operation mode transmitted from the wireless remote controller, and And a signal transmitting unit for transmitting to the air conditioner. Demand control device (9) is disclosed.

Next, a general household air conditioner called an inverter air conditioner will be briefly described. Most of the power consumption of the air conditioner is consumed by the compressor.
As described above, the power consumption of the air conditioner is almost proportional to the inverter frequency.

Further, although different depending on the manufacturer of the air conditioner, the upper limit is set to 1.5 to 2 as shown in the table of FIG. ℃, the lower limit is -1 ℃,
The inverter frequency is assigned every 0.5-1 ° C. In addition, the start-up return frequency from when the compressor is stopped is f
The maximum and the time for maintaining this fmax are also determined.

[0008]

However, in the configuration of the above-mentioned conventional Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-1114654, the main purpose is to reduce the load power by the air conditioner.
If the set temperature is remarkably changed or the time has passed after the temperature is set, the comfort of the air conditioner user will be impaired, and the probability that the user will cancel the demand control will increase. It is difficult to realize stable demand control as described above.

FIG. 11 shows a change in power consumption of an air conditioner by a conventional demand control in which the set temperature of the air conditioner is changed from 26 ° C. to 30 ° C. in an outdoor environment of 35 ° C. (a).
And the change (b) in PMV. As can be seen from the assignment of the inverter frequency based on the difference between the suction temperature and the set temperature in FIG. 8, when the set temperature is changed by 4 ° C., the inverter frequency becomes 0, the air conditioner stops, and the power consumption becomes 0.

However, the temperature in the room rises remarkably, and PM
There is a problem that V significantly deteriorates. FIG.
9 in (b) is a PMV value measured using a simple amenity meter, and 9 is a numerical value of the report result of the subject.

Here, the PMV will be briefly described. PMV
Is a numerical representation of the thermal sensation of a person. Specifically, "Hot ... 3 warm ... 2 Slightly warm ... 1 Just good ... 0 Slightly cool ...- 1 Cool ...- 2 Cold ...
-3 ". Also, as a human sense,
When the PMV changes by about 0.5 from the just-good state, the user starts to feel discomfort. Therefore, in the part 12 in FIG. 11B, the user of the air conditioner feels remarkable discomfort. As a result, the user of the air conditioner takes an action to cancel the demand control or lower the set temperature.

In the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-30834, if the set temperature is increased by 1 ° C. when the set temperature and the suction temperature are balanced, an inverter frequency assignment table based on the difference between the suction temperature and the set temperature is obtained. As can be seen, the difference between the suction temperature and the set temperature is -1 ° C, and the inverter frequency is f-2 or 0. When the inverter frequency becomes zero, the air conditioner temporarily stops and the power consumption becomes almost zero. However, since the compressor inverter frequency is fmax (rise) at the time of restart after the air conditioner is stopped, the power consumption is sharply increased at the time of restart. On the other hand, since the set temperature and the suction temperature are balanced, when the air conditioner starts up (thermo-on), it stops immediately (thermo-off) and repeats the thermo-on / thermo-off as shown in FIG. It can happen.

Due to this phenomenon, the set temperature is lowered by 1 ° C.
Despite efforts to reduce the power consumption of the air conditioner, the power company may not be able to reduce the power consumption of the air conditioner even during demand control, There is a problem that an unexpected power peak occurs because the power demand cannot be predicted.

Further, as can be seen from FIG. 11, the power consumption of the air conditioner is significantly increased after the set temperature is returned from 30 ° C. to the original 26 ° C. and the demand control is completed.
In such a control method, the demand control has to be repeated again at the end of the demand control of the air conditioner, or the power consumption of the air conditioner at the time of return start is about twice as large as that at the start of the demand control. However, there is a problem that the possibility of a local power outage becomes extremely high.

An object of the present invention is to solve such a conventional problem and to provide a demand control method using an inverter type air conditioner.

[0016]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A power control signal receiving device that receives a power control signal output from an external power supply destination at the time of a peak of a power load, a temperature setting unit that sets a control target temperature of the air conditioner, and an indoor temperature detection unit that detects an indoor temperature A temperature difference calculating means for calculating a difference between a control target temperature and an indoor temperature, which are output values from the temperature setting means and the indoor temperature detecting means, and a temperature difference which is an output value from the temperature difference calculating means. In the air conditioner that determines the inverter frequency of the compressor, when the power control signal is received, the level of the inverter frequency of the compressor is subdivided according to the temperature difference that is the output value from the temperature difference calculation unit, The inverter frequency of the compressor is reduced according to the control signal level.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the inverter frequency of the compressor is changed stepwise according to the power control signal level from the start of receiving the power control signal.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when a demand control end signal, which is a power control signal from an external power supply destination, is received, the inverter frequency of the compressor is restored in order to return to the thermal environment at the start of the demand control. It is characterized in that the level is subdivided and the inverter frequency of the compressor is increased stepwise.

The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that when a demand control end signal which is a power control signal from an external power supply destination is received, or when the compressor is stopped during execution of demand control, The present invention is characterized in that the return-start operation is performed at the inverter frequency of the compressor which is kept lower than during the operation.

The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that when a demand control end signal, which is a power control signal from an external power supply destination, is received, or when the compressor is stopped during execution of demand control, at least And the inverter frequency of the compressor is increased stepwise from the return start.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In a demand control method according to a first embodiment of the present invention, an air conditioner that receives a power control signal corresponding to a desired load power reduction effect from a power supply destination has an indoor temperature and a temperature. The inverter frequency of the compressor is subdivided according to the difference from the temperature set by the setting means, and the inverter frequency of the compressor is reduced according to the power control signal level. As a result, an effect of reducing power in accordance with the emergency state of the power load peak of the power supply destination can be obtained.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, the inverter frequency of the compressor, which is subdivided in stages, is changed from the start of demand control according to the level of a power control signal from an external power supply destination. As a result, the load power suppression effect can be obtained at the start of demand control, and the inverter frequency can be finely changed stepwise in accordance with the passage of time and the power situation of the external power supply destination. Changes in comfort are also suppressed, and the demand control cancellation rate is kept low.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, when a demand control end signal, which is a power control signal from an external power supply destination, is received, the inverter frequency of the subdivided compressor under demand control is used. In this way, the inverter frequency level of the compressor is gradually increased. This can prevent a sudden increase in load power after demand control.

The fourth embodiment of the present invention relates to a case where a demand control end signal which is a power control signal from an external power supply destination is received, or a case where the compressor is stopped during execution of demand control. Is a recovery start-up operation at the inverter frequency of the compressor which is kept lower than that in the normal operation. As a result, a sudden increase in the load power at the time of starting the compressor return can be suppressed as compared with the steady state.

The fifth embodiment of the present invention relates to a case where a demand control end signal which is a power control signal from an external power supply destination is received, or a case where the compressor is stopped during execution of demand control. In addition, the compressor is restarted at the lowest inverter frequency, and the inverter frequency of the compressor is increased stepwise according to the time from the restart.
Thus, by preventing a sudden increase in load power after the compressor is restored and started, it is possible to prevent a local power failure due to overload of a power plant or a substation, and to prevent demand control from reentering.

[0026]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) In FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 denotes a power control signal receiving device for receiving a power control signal output from an external power supply destination 6 at the time of a peak power load, and 3 denotes a temperature target of the air conditioner. Temperature setting means such as a remote controller to be set. Reference numeral 4 denotes suction temperature (room temperature) measuring means, and 5 has a function of controlling the air conditioner 1 and determining the inverter frequency of the compressor based on a difference between the suction temperature and the temperature set by the temperature setting means. It is a microprocessor.

FIG. 2 shows an example of an inverter frequency allocation table determined by the difference between the set temperature of the air conditioner and the suction temperature (≒ room temperature) based on a power control signal from an external power supply destination. The inverter frequency level is 0.2
It is subdivided every 5 ° C.

In the inverter type air conditioner, the inverter frequency determined by the difference between the set temperature of the air conditioner set using a remote controller or the like and the suction temperature (≒ room temperature) has an upper limit in the example of FIG. 1.5-2 ° C, lower limit is -1
The temperature is assigned every 0.5-1 ° C. In the demand control device externally attached to the air conditioner as shown in FIG. 9, the minimum change unit of the set temperature of the remote controller is 1 ° C. When demand control is performed using this temperature setting function, As described above, when the set temperature and the suction temperature are balanced, when the air conditioner starts up (thermo-on), it immediately comes to a stop state (thermo-off) and repeats thermo-on / thermo-off as shown in FIG. Become.

As a result, the demand for reducing the load power of the air conditioner during the demand control cannot be obtained, or the demand for the load power at the external power supply destination cannot be predicted due to the rapid fluctuation of the power consumption. Stable operation of control cannot be achieved.

On the other hand, in the air conditioner demand control method according to one embodiment of the present invention, the set temperature and the suction temperature (≒) of the air conditioner in the microprocessor are controlled by a power control signal from an external power supply destination. The level of the inverter frequency according to the difference of (room temperature) is subdivided as shown in FIG. 2, and the subdivided inverter frequency is changed stepwise to operate the air conditioner. Consecutive can be prevented (FIG. 3-7).

FIG. 10 shows the demand control of the air conditioner when the set temperature of the air conditioner is shifted from 26 ° C. to 0.5, 1, 2 ° C. in an environment of 35 ° C. outdoors (demand control time: 15 (Minutes), the load power suppression effect of the air conditioner and the change in PMV during demand control (ΔPMV). Depending on the shift amount of the set temperature of the air conditioner,
It can be seen that the load power reduction effect 10 can be obtained. On the other hand, it can also be seen that ΔPMV11 deteriorates according to the shift amount of the set temperature. As described above, a person starts to feel uncomfortable when the PMV changes by about 0.5 from the right state. Therefore, when the ΔPMV exceeds 0.5, the person should take an action to lower the set temperature (cancel the demand control). become.

Therefore, the external power supply destination includes a power control signal receiving device 2 for receiving a power control signal according to an embodiment of the present invention, taking into account ΔPMV with respect to a desired load power reduction effect. A temperature setting means 3 for setting a temperature control target of the air conditioner 1 and an inverter frequency of the compressor based on a difference between an indoor temperature obtained by the suction temperature measuring means 4 of the air conditioner and a temperature set by using the temperature setting means. By transmitting a power control signal corresponding to a desired load power reduction effect to the air conditioner at the external power supply destination 6, the air conditioner 1 that has received the signal determines The compressor inverter frequency determined by the difference between the temperature set by the air conditioner and the temperature setting means is subdivided, and the subdivided compressor of the compressor is selected according to the power control signal level. By going to change the inverter frequency stepwise, to prevent the canceling operation of the demand control of a user of the surge and the air conditioner load power, it is possible to obtain a stable load power reduction.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 3 shows that in the air conditioner 1, the inverter frequency of the compressor is changed stepwise from the start of demand control by the power control signal level from the external power supply destination 6. It is an example. The set temperature and the suction temperature are in equilibrium. In the demand control by the conventional demand control device, since the thermo-on / thermo-off is repeated, the load power suddenly changes as shown by a solid line 8 in FIG. On the other hand, in the embodiment of the present invention, a stable load power can be obtained as shown in FIG. 3 by a configuration in which the inverter frequency of the compressor is changed stepwise from the start of the demand control.

Further, lowering the inverter frequency of the compressor is the same as shifting the set temperature, and ΔPM changes with the lapse of time from the start of demand control.
V gets worse. For example, when demand control for more than 15 minutes is performed depending on the power supply situation of the external power supply destination, ΔPMV exceeds 0.5, and there is a possibility that the user of the air conditioner may cancel the demand control. By changing the inverter frequency stepwise by the power control signal level from the external power supply destination or the inverter frequency change function from the start of the demand control of the air conditioner, the demand control cancellation action of the air conditioner user can be suppressed. In addition, it is possible to increase the demand control execution time without impairing the comfort.

Furthermore, the inverter frequency of the air conditioner is changed in advance by predicting the time of the power peak, and the inverter frequency is further changed so as to obtain a step-by-step return and a load power reduction effect with the lapse of time. If there are multiple power jurisdictions, the inverter frequency should be up / down for each area to maintain the total load power reduction effect and suppress ΔPMV when considering each home. Is also possible.

(Embodiment 3) 7 in FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a subdivided compressor under demand control shown in FIG. 2 when a demand control end signal which is a power control signal from an external power supply destination is received. An example is shown in which the inverter frequency of the compressor is increased stepwise using an inverter frequency table, and the temperature is restored to the thermal environment at the start of demand control.

In the demand control device externally attached to the air conditioner shown in FIG. 9, since the demand control is performed using the temperature setting function of the remote controller, the minimum change unit of the set temperature is 1 ° C. As a result, after the demand control is completed, the compressor is operated at an inverter frequency that is shorter in time but higher than that at the start of the demand control, and there is a possibility that the power peaks again within this time. On the other hand, this phenomenon can be avoided by gradually changing the inverter frequency of the subdivided compressor even after the demand control is completed according to the embodiment of the present invention.

(Embodiment 4) FIG. 5 shows an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, which receives a demand control end signal, which is a power control signal from an external power supply destination, or executes demand control. In the case where the compressor is stopped during the operation, the effect of performing the return-start operation at the inverter frequency of the compressor suppressed to be lower than that in the normal operation is shown.

Normally, in a general air conditioner, after stopping the compressor, the air conditioner is operated at the maximum inverter frequency,
The configuration is such that the thermal environment is quickly restored. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the thermo-on / thermo-off is intermittently repeated even in a light-load thermal environment that immediately stops after the compressor operation, and as a result, a power peak appears instantaneously, and The amount of electric power increases, the thermal environment is damaged, and adverse effects occur. On the other hand, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the compressor is stopped during the demand control or at the end, for example, the normal inverter frequency f
By performing the start-up operation at f2 'instead of the start-up operation at max, it may take time to return to the thermal environment, but it is possible to reduce the instantaneous power peak value. Further, in the case as shown in FIG. 3, the intermittent operation of the thermo-on / thermo-off can be suppressed, and a rapid change in the thermal environment can be prevented.

(Embodiment 5) FIG. 6 shows an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention when a demand control end signal which is a power control signal from an external power supply destination is received or during execution of demand control. When the compressor is stopped, the compressor is restarted with the lowest compressor inverter frequency, and the compressor inverter frequency is increased stepwise according to the time from the recovery start to operate the air conditioner. This shows the effect of performing.

According to this embodiment, a sudden increase in the load power can be prevented by gradually increasing the load power at the time of start-up when the compressor is stopped during the demand control or at the end of the demand control. In addition, it is possible to prevent a local power failure due to an overload of a power plant or a substation or to re-enter demand control.

[0043]

As is apparent from the above embodiment, the invention according to claim 1 prevents a sudden increase in load power and a cancel operation of demand control by a user of the air conditioner, thereby achieving a stable load power reduction effect. The effect that it can obtain is produced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the demand control canceling action of the air conditioner user can be suppressed, and the demand control execution time can be increased.

Also, by predicting the time of occurrence of the power peak,
Change the inverter frequency of the air conditioner in advance, and gradually change the inverter frequency so that the effect of load power reduction can be obtained as the process progresses. in case of,
By making the inverter frequency up / down for each region, the effect of reducing ΔPMV can be exhibited when considering each home while maintaining the total load power reduction effect.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, at the end of the demand control, although the time is short, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of the power peak again.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the intermittent operation of thermo-on / thermo-off can be suppressed, a sudden increase in load power can be prevented, and the load power peak value itself can be suppressed. Also, there is an effect that a sudden change in the thermal environment can be prevented.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, a sudden increase can be prevented by gradually increasing the load power at the time of start-up return. This has the effect of preventing entry into demand control.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an air conditioner having a demand control function according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an inverter frequency allocation table of the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a characteristic diagram of a time change of load power before and after demand control showing an effect of the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram of a time change of load power before and after demand control according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram of a time change of load power after demand control according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a characteristic diagram of a time change of load power after demand control according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between an inverter frequency and power consumption of the air conditioner.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional inverter frequency allocation table.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional demand control device for an air conditioner.

FIG. 10 is a correlation characteristic diagram between a set temperature shift amount, a load power reduction effect of the air conditioner, and ΔPMV.

11A is a characteristic diagram showing a change over time in load power according to a conventional demand control method. FIG. 11B is a characteristic diagram showing a change over time in PMV according to a conventional demand control method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 air conditioner 2 power control signal receiving device 3 temperature setting means 4 suction temperature measuring means 5 microprocessor 6 external power supply destination 7 power consumption of air conditioner according to the present invention 8 power consumption of air conditioner according to conventional example 9 PMV

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A power control signal receiving apparatus for receiving a power control signal output from an external power supply destination when a power load peaks, a temperature setting means for setting a control target temperature of an air conditioner, and detecting an indoor temperature. Temperature difference calculating means for calculating a difference between a control target temperature, which is an output value from the temperature setting means and the indoor temperature detecting means, and a room temperature, and an output value from the temperature difference calculating means. In the air conditioner that determines the inverter frequency of the compressor based on the temperature difference, when the power control signal is received, the level of the inverter frequency of the compressor based on the temperature difference that is the output value from the temperature difference calculation unit is set. A demand control method for an air conditioner, characterized by subdividing and lowering an inverter frequency of a compressor according to the power control signal level. 2. The demand control method for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the inverter frequency of the compressor is changed stepwise according to the power control signal level from the start of receiving the power control signal. 3. When a demand control end signal, which is a power control signal from an external power supply destination, is received, the level of the inverter frequency of the compressor is subdivided in order to return to the thermal environment at the start of the demand control. 3. The demand control method for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the inverter frequency of the compressor is increased stepwise. 4. When a demand control end signal, which is a power control signal from an external power supply destination, is received, or when the compressor is stopped during execution of the demand control, the demand control signal is suppressed to a level lower than in a normal operation. The demand control method for an air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the compressor is restarted and started at the inverter frequency of the compressor. 5. When the demand control end signal which is a power control signal from the external power supply destination is received, or when the compressor is stopped during execution of the demand control, the lowest inverter frequency of the compressor is set. 5. The demand control method for an air conditioner according to claim 4, wherein the compressor is restarted and the inverter frequency of the compressor is increased stepwise from the restart.