WO2011077220A1

WO2011077220A1 - Cogeneration system

Info

Publication number: WO2011077220A1
Application number: PCT/IB2010/003301
Authority: WO
Inventors: 雅也本間
Original assignee: パナソニック電工株式会社
Priority date: 2009-12-21
Filing date: 2010-12-20
Publication date: 2011-06-30
Also published as: JP5457818B2; JP2011127883A

Abstract

Disclosed is a cogeneration system provided with: a hot water supply device which has a hot water storage tank for storing hot water, and which supplies hot water from the hot water storage tank; an electricity generation device which heats the hot water stored in the hot water storage tank using the waste heat generated during electricity generation; a heating device which heats the hot water stored in the hot water storage tank separately to the electricity generation device; and a control device which controls the operating conditions of the heating device on the basis of the amount of electricity generated by the electricity generation device.

Description

Specification

Koji energy system

Technical field

The present invention relates to a cogeneration system that supplies electricity and heat. Background art

Conventionally, when using a power generation device such as a fuel cell, there is a cordage energy generation system that can use waste heat generated by a power generation device for hot water supply by collecting the exhaust heat generated during power generation with a refrigerant. Proposed.

If this type of cogeneration system is used, it is possible to use both the electric energy and heat energy generated by the power generation equipment. It is possible to supply well (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The cogeneration system described in Patent Document 1 includes a hot water supply device having a hot water storage tank (water storage tank) for storing hot water, and heats the hot water stored in the hot water storage tank by exhaust heat generated by the power generation device (fuel cell). The thermal energy generated by the power generator is used.

Normally, in this type of cogeneration system, the generator is not operated constantly, but is operated according to a time schedule (operation start time, operation time) determined based on past power consumption data. Controlled. In general, the power consumption of the next day is predicted from the power consumption of the current day, and the power generator is operated so that the amount of power corresponding to the predicted value is generated.

However, even if it is operating according to the time schedule, if the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank is saturated and the exhaust heat of the power generation device cannot be recovered any more, the power generation device automatically stops operation, and energy is wasted. Prevent it from occurring. For this reason, power is also supplied from the commercial power source during times when there is a demand for power that exceeds the power generation capacity of the power generation equipment and during times when the power generation equipment is not in operation. By the way, in the above-mentioned cogeneration system, if a large amount of hot water is used in a time zone before the power generator starts operation, even if the hot water amount in the hot water storage tank is small, the hot water in the hot water storage tank may be lost. In order to deal with such cases, measures have been taken to provide a backup heat source so that hot water can be supplied while being heated by the backup heat source. There is a problem that a sufficient amount of hot water cannot be supplied.

Therefore, a heating device that heats the hot water stored in the hot water storage tank is provided separately from the power generation device. It is conceivable that a certain amount of hot water is secured in the hot water storage tank in advance with a heating device before operation to prevent the hot water in the hot water storage tank from running out.

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 4 2 9 6 7 4 1 (paragraph 0 0 1 5-0 0 2 3) A certain amount of water is applied to the hot water storage tank by hot water heated by a heating device. If hot water is secured after that, if the hot water in the hot water storage tank is hardly used, the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank immediately saturates and the operation of the power generation device stops even if the power generation device starts operating. . If this happens, the generator cannot be operated until the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank is reduced, and the necessary electrical energy may not be generated by the generator. Summary of the Invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above reasons, and is capable of appropriately determining the amount of heat applied in advance by the heating device while allowing a sufficient amount of hot water to be supplied before the start of operation of the power generation device. Provide a single system.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a hot water supply apparatus having a hot water storage tank for storing hot water and supplying hot water using hot water in the hot water storage tank, and hot water stored in the hot water storage tank is heated using exhaust heat generated during power generation. A heating device that heats hot water stored in a hot water storage tank separately from the power generation device, and a control device that controls the operating status of the heating device based on the amount of power generated by the power generation device. Predicting means for predicting the amount of power consumed in the future unit period based on the amount of power consumed in the past unit period, and predicting the heat generation amount of the power generation device based on the predicted amount of power; The amount of heat applied from the heating device is determined so as to ensure the amount of heat necessary for the unit period in combination with the amount of heat generated by the power generation device predicted by the prediction unit, and when the amount of heat is not zero, the unit period Co one-generation system and a preheating control means for operating the heating device before the power generator starts operating is provided.

According to this configuration, a certain amount of hot water can be secured in the hot water storage tank in advance by the heating device before the power generation device starts operation in the unit period. Therefore, before the power generation device starts operation, In any case, a sufficient amount of hot water can be supplied. In addition, the amount of heat applied in advance by the heating device is determined based on the heat generation amount of the power generation device so as to ensure the amount of heat necessary for the unit period together with the heat generation amount of the power generation device predicted by the prediction means. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately determine the amount of heat applied in advance by the heating device while allowing a sufficient amount of hot water to be supplied before the operation of the power generation device is started.

In the cogeneration system of the present invention, the hot water storage tank is filled with hot water. An upper limit value of the amount of heat that can be stored in a range that is less than or equal to the limit value of the amount of heat that can be stored in the entire hot water is set, and the preheating control means determines that the amount of heat in the hot water storage tank during the unit period It is also possible to determine the amount of heat applied to the hot water from the heating device so as not to exceed.

According to this configuration, the amount of heat applied to the hot water from the heating device is determined so that the amount of heat in the hot water storage tank does not exceed the upper limit value during the unit period, so the amount of heat generated by the heating device and the power generation device can be used without waste. can do.

The control device predicts the amount of hot water consumed in a future unit period based on the amount of hot water consumed in the unit period in the past, and based on the prediction, the more hot water consumed in the unit period, the more the unit period It is also possible to have adjusting means for changing the upper limit value so as to increase the upper limit value.

According to this configuration, the adjustment means changes the upper limit value so that the upper limit value of the unit period increases as the predicted amount of hot water consumption increases, so the amount of heat that can be accumulated in the hot water storage tank is consumed. It will be possible to adjust appropriately according to the amount of hot water.

Further, the control device may include heating control means for operating the heating device when the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank falls below a predetermined lower limit value.

According to this configuration, even when the amount of hot water consumed is large, it is possible to avoid running out of hot water in the hot water storage tank by operating the heating device when the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank falls below a predetermined lower limit value. You can.

The predicting means may predict the heat generation amount of the power generation device with the unit period as a unit of one day.

According to this configuration, since the heat generation amount of the power generation device is predicted in units of 1 km, where the amount of consumed electric power and the amount of hot water are substantially stabilized, compared to the case where the unit period is, for example, one hour unit, The accuracy of calorific value prediction is increased.

Further, the prediction means acquires weather forecast data for the unit period in the future, and calculates the amount of power predicted to be consumed during the unit period between the preset weather forecast data and the power consumption of the load. A correction function that corrects using a correspondence relationship may be provided.

According to this configuration, weather forecast data is reflected in the prediction of power consumption. For example, the power consumption of a load whose power consumption changes due to the influence of weather conditions such as an air conditioner can be predicted. The accuracy of heat generation prediction is increased.

The cogeneration system of the present invention may further include a power generation device that generates power using natural energy separately from the power generation device, and the prediction means is consumed in the unit period in the future. The power generation amount of the power generation device may be obtained by subtracting the power generation amount of the power generation device from the power amount.

According to this configuration, since the power generation amount of the power generation device is reflected in the power generation amount of the power generation device, the accuracy of prediction of the heat generation amount of the power generation device is increased. The natural energy here includes, for example, sunlight, solar heat, wind power, hydropower, biomass, snow and ice heat, and the like.

Preferably, a solar cell is provided as the power generation device, and the prediction means acquires weather forecast data for the unit period in the future, and predicts the power generation amount of the solar cell in the unit period based on the weather forecast data. Then, the power generation amount of the power generation device may be obtained by subtracting the power generation amount from the power amount predicted to be consumed in the unit period.

According to this configuration, weather forecast data is reflected in the prediction of the amount of power generated by the solar cell, so it is possible to predict the amount of power generated by the solar cell whose power generation capacity changes due to the influence of weather conditions. The accuracy of prediction is increased. Brief Description of Drawings

Objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic system configuration diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the power generation amount and the heat generation amount of the power generation device of the above.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the operation described above.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation described above. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification. Throughout the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description thereof is omitted.

(Embodiment 1)

The cogeneration system of the present embodiment uses a hot water supply device 1 having a hot water storage tank 10 for storing hot water as shown in FIG. 1 and supplying hot water using hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 and exhaust heat generated during power generation. And a power generator 2 that heats the hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 10. In addition, the cogeneration system includes a heating device 3 that heats hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 10, and a control device that controls the operating status of the heating device 3 and the power generation device 2. 4 and. Here, the power generation device 2 is mainly composed of a fuel cell 20, and steam reforms raw fuel such as city gas mainly composed of methane gas or the like by a reformer (not shown). Producing reformed gas rich in hydrogen Then, the reformed gas is introduced into the fuel cell 20 to generate power. The power generation device 2 in the present embodiment generates exhaust heat in the fuel cell 20 and the reformer during stagnation. The exhaust heat is recovered by the refrigerant and used for heating hot water in the exhaust heat exchange section 21 provided in the power generation device 2. The power generation amount and the heat generation amount in the power generation device 2 have a correspondence relationship as illustrated in FIG. However, the power generator 2 only needs to have a configuration capable of recovering exhaust heat generated during power generation. The power generator 2 is not limited to the fuel cell 20, and may be a main configuration of, for example, a gas engine.

The heating device 3 is installed outside the house and includes a heat pump type heating device 3. Here, the hot water storage tank 10 is connected to a water supply or the like and has a water supply port 11 at the bottom for supplying low temperature water to the inside, and connected to a hot water supply pipe for discharging hot water to discharge hot water. It has a discharge port 1 2 at the top. Hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 is transported from the bottom of the hot water storage tank 10 to the heat exchanger 30 in the heating device 3 through the outgoing line 1 3, and stored in the hot water tank 10 through the return pipe 1 4. Returned to tank 10 In the heating device 3, the heat in the atmosphere is collected in a natural refrigerant (for example, CO 2), compressed to a high temperature by compressing the natural refrigerant with a compressor, and then the heat of the natural refrigerant is transferred to hot water in the heat exchanger 30. By heating the hot water. The hot water storage tank 10 has a heat insulating structure so that the heat of the hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 is not easily released.

Therefore, the hot water storage tank 10 is always filled with hot water, the water supply port 1 1 is provided at the bottom of the hot water storage tank 10 and the hot water heated by the heating device 3 is returned from the top of the hot water storage tank 10. Thus, the temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 becomes higher as it goes upward. Here, a plurality of temperature sensors 15 are arranged in the hot water storage tank 10 in the vertical direction, and the output of the temperature sensor 15 allows the hot water to flow from above to any position in the hot water storage tank 10. By detecting whether the hot water is at a predetermined temperature (for example, 90 ° C.), the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 can be determined. Here, the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 means the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 that is not lower than a predetermined temperature.

In addition, although the heat pump type thing which receives the electric power supply to a compressor and operates as the heating apparatus 3 was illustrated here, it is not limited to this example, a heater type heating apparatus, or a gas combustion type heating apparatus, etc. Can also be used.

By the way, in the present embodiment, the hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 10 is heated not only by the heating device 3 but also by the exhaust heat exchanger 21 provided in the power generation device 2 as described above. That is, the heat exchanger 30 of the heating device 3 and the exhaust heat exchange unit 21 of the power generator 2 are connected to the upper pipe 13 connected to the bottom of the hot water storage tank 10 and the upper part of the hot water storage tank 10. It is provided in parallel with the road 14. As a result, the hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 is transferred to the heat exchanger in the heating device 3 through the outgoing line 1 3 if necessary. It is transported to at least one of 30 and the exhaust heat exchanging portion 21 in the power generator 2, and returned to the hot water storage tank 10 from the upper part of the hot water storage tank 10 through the return pipe 14.

Hot water is transferred from the hot water storage tank 1 0 to the heat exchanger 3 0 to the exhaust heat exchanger 2 1 by the pump 1 6 provided on the outgoing pipe 1 3, and the heat exchanger 3 0 and the exhaust heat exchanger 2 The flow rate of hot water supplied to each of 1 and 1 is individually adjusted by flow control valves 1 7 and 1 8 provided between the heat exchanger 30 and the exhaust heat exchanger 21 and the outgoing pipe 1 3 respectively. Is done. The pump 16 and the flow control valves 17 and 18 on the outgoing line 13 are controlled by the controller 4 together with the heating device 3 and the power generator 2.

With the configuration as described above, in the cogeneration system of this embodiment, both the heat energy generated by the heating device 3 and the heat energy of exhaust heat generated during power generation by the power generation device 2 are stored in the hot water storage tank 1 It can be used for heating hot water in the water.

Normally, in this type of cogeneration system, the power generator 2 does not always operate, but operates according to a time schedule (operation start time, operation time) determined based on past power consumption data, etc. To be controlled. Generally, the power consumption of the next day is predicted from the power consumption of the current day, and the power generator 2 is operated so that the amount of power corresponding to the predicted value is generated. Here, the control device 4 does not always operate the power generation device 2, but operates the power generation device 2 according to a time schedule (operation start time, operation time) determined based on past power consumption data and the like. To control. Here, the control device 4 starts the operation of the power generation device 2 in the morning. After that, when the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 is saturated and the exhaust heat of the power generation device 2 cannot be recovered any more, Stop operation so that energy is not wasted. For this reason, the power generation system also supplies power from a commercial power source during times when there is a demand for power that exceeds the power generation capacity of the power generation device 2 or when the power generation device 2 is not in operation.

In addition, when the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 falls below a predetermined lower limit value, the control device 4 sets the hot water storage tank 10 to 10 by operating the heating device 3 regardless of whether the power generation device 2 is in operation. It has a heating control means 40 for heating the hot and cold water stored. As a result, even when a large amount of hot water is used all at once, the heating device 3 starts operation when the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 falls below the lower limit value. It is possible to avoid running out of hot water.

Further, the control device 4 stores the hot water storage tank 10 in the hot water storage tank 10 even when the power generation device 2 is not operating so that a certain amount of hot water is secured in the hot water storage tank 10 before the power generation device 2 starts operation. Heat the hot and cold water. As a result, it is possible to avoid running out of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 even if a large amount of hot water is used in the time period before the power generation device 2 starts operation, such as in the early morning. However, if the hot water heated by the heating device 3 is stored in the hot water storage tank 10 before starting the operation of the power generation device 2, then the hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 is almost not used. As soon as the operation of the power generator 2 is started, the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 is saturated and the operation of the power generator 2 is stopped. As a result, even when it is desired to generate power to the power generation device 2 because of a large demand for power, the power generation device 2 cannot be operated because the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 is saturated, and the power generation device 2 is efficiently operated. Unusable situations can occur.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control device 4 controls the operation status of the heating device 3 as described below in order to avoid the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 being saturated.

That is, the control device 4 includes a prediction unit 41 that predicts the heat generation amount of the power generation device 2 every predetermined unit period (here, 1 day), and heating before the power generation device 2 starts operation in the unit period. Preheating control means 4 2 for operating the device 3. In the prediction means 41, a measurement unit for measuring electric energy provided in a distribution board (not shown) is connected, and a function for monitoring the electric energy consumed by the load in the house is added. Yes.

Prediction means 4 1 is the amount of power consumed in the last unit period in the past (here, the current day) from the amount of power measured by the measurement unit at a predetermined time (here, 2 o'clock). And predict the amount of power consumed in the future unit period (here, the next day) based on the amount of power. Prediction method 4 1 calculates the amount of power generation (electric power demand) of power generation device 2 based on the prediction result of power amount, and the heat generation amount of power generation device 2 corresponding to the power generation amount (amount of exhaust heat generated during power generation). Predict. The storage means 43 provided in the control device 4 stores a table indicating the correspondence between the power generation amount and the heat generation amount of the power generation device 2. The preheating control means 4 2 is a hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 10 from the heating device 3 so that the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 is not saturated based on the calorific value of the power generator 2 predicted by the prediction means 4 1. Reverse heat applied to s :.

In short, if the amount of heat when the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 saturates is the upper limit qma X, in order to use the power generation device 2 efficiently, even if the power generation device 2 starts operation, It is necessary to limit the amount of heat from the heating device 3 so that the amount of heat applied to the hot water does not exceed the upper limit qmax. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 3, the preheating control means 4 2 uses the amount of heat applied to the hot water storage tank 10 to the remaining heat quantity q (i-1) of the hot water storage tank 10 at the end of the unit period (24:00). The amount of heat qin is calculated so that the sum of the two values (qin + qfc) is within the upper limit qma X. Here, the amount of heat applied from the heating device 3 is q i n, and the amount of heat generated in the power generation device 2 is q f c.

The upper limit qmax is set to an initial value that can be arbitrarily set by the user using the setting function of the hot water supply device 1. It is assumed that the adjustment means 44 of the control device 4 can be changed so as to increase as the amount of hot water consumed per unit period increases. Specifically, the amount of hot water consumed in the future unit period is predicted based on the amount of hot water consumed in the past unit period, and the upper limit value qmax is changed step by step based on the prediction result. To. Here, the sum of the amount of heat qout consumed by hot water supply during the unit period and the amount of heat lost due to heat loss during the unit period q I oss is added to the upper limit value qma X as the new upper limit value q ma X . However, not limited to this configuration, the upper limit qmax may be a fixed value.

Here, the heat quantity qout consumed by the hot water supply and the heat quantity q I _OSS that becomes the heat dissipation loss are predicted by the control device 4 based on the amount of hot water consumed in the past unit period. The amount of hot water consumed can be obtained from a sensor (not shown) provided in the hot water supply apparatus 1. Further, the residual heat quantity q (i-1) can be obtained from the temperature sensor 15 of the hot water storage tank 10.

Next, the operation of the control device 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

At a predetermined time (here, 24:00), the predicting means 41 first obtains the power generation amount (electric power demand) of the power generation device 2 required in the future unit period (S 1), and calculates the calorific value qfc corresponding thereto. Predict (S 2). Then, the preheating control means 42 adds a difference value between the heat generation amount qfc of the power generator 2 and the total amount of heat generated from the hot water storage tank 10 (qout + q IOSS) to the residual heat amount q (i-1). It is determined whether or not the value is less than the upper limit value qmax (S 3).

At this time, if it is determined that it is less than the upper limit value qma X (S 3 _: Y es), the amount of heat qin applied from the heating device 3 is changed to rqma x— qfc— q (i — 1) + qout + q I ask you (S 4). On the other hand, if it is determined that the upper limit value qma x is greater than or equal to (S 3: No), the upper limit value qma x (Q 5 + q (i — 1) one qout— qlos sj or more (S 5). At this time, the heat quantity qin applied from the heating device 3 may be zero, or the upper limit after the change Using the value q ma X, calorific value qin ¾T “qmax— qfc— q (i — 1) + qout + q I os sj is also acceptable. However, the changed upper limit q ma X is the latest It is valid only for the unit period (here, the next day), and is restored to the original upper limit qmax at the end of the unit period.

Thereafter, the preheating control means 42 heats the hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 10 by operating the heating device 3 before the power generation device 2 starts operation, so that the heat quantity qin obtained as described above is heated. Add from device 3. Here, in general, the heating device 3 is operated during the midnight hours when power consumption due to the load in the house is reduced. According to the cordierization system having the above-described configuration, the preheating control means 4 2 operates the heating device 3 in advance to ensure a certain amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 before the operation of the power generation device 2 starts. As a result, it is possible to supply a sufficient amount of hot water even in the early morning, even before the generator 2 is started. Moreover, the amount of heat applied in advance by the heating device 3 is determined based on the amount of heat generated by the power generation device 2 within the unit period predicted by the prediction means 41 so that the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 is not saturated. Therefore, it is possible to avoid saturation of the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 even if the power generator 2 is operated later.

By the way, different patterns may be used for each season and day of the week for prediction of power consumption and hot water consumption. In other words, instead of simply predicting the power consumption of the next day from the power consumption of the current day, the power consumption of the next day is predicted from the power consumption of the past unit period (1 曰) with the same conditions for the season and day of the week. You may make it measure. Further, the preheating control means 42 may predict the power consumption and hot water consumption for each time zone, and may determine the operation schedule of the heating device 3 more finely based on the prediction result.

It is also conceivable that the prediction means 41 has a correction function that corrects the predicted value of power consumption based on weather forecast data. In this case, the correspondence between the weather forecast data and the power consumption of the load is stored in advance in the storage means 43, and the forecast means 41 acquires the weather forecast data for the future unit period, and The predicted value of the power consumption is corrected using the correspondence relationship with the power consumption. This makes it easier to predict the power consumption of loads such as air conditioners that change power consumption due to the influence of outside air temperature and humidity, and lighting fixtures whose power consumption (usage time) changes due to the effects of sunlight. As a result, the prediction accuracy of the heat generation amount of the power generator 2 is increased.

In the present embodiment, the unit period is described as 1 unit. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and any unit period such as a time zone unit, a week unit, or a month unit can be set. is there. Furthermore, the timing for determining the amount of heat from the heating device 3 and the timing for operating the heating device 3 are not limited to the above-described example, and can be set as appropriate.

(Embodiment 2)

The cogeneration system of the present embodiment is different from the cogeneration system of the first embodiment in that a solar cell 5 is added separately from the power generator 2.

A power conditioner is connected to the solar cell, and the DC power generated by the solar cell is converted to AC power by an inverter circuit in the power conditioner and supplied to the load in the house. That is, in this embodiment, both the power generation device 2 and the solar battery can supply power to the load. Therefore, the power generation amount required for the power generation device 2 during the unit period is consumed in the unit period. From the expected electric energy The amount of power generated by the solar cell is subtracted.

Here, the power generation capacity of solar cells is not constant, and greatly depends on weather conditions even in the same time zone. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the predicting means 41 has a function of acquiring weather forecast data for a future unit period and predicting the power generation amount of the solar cell in the unit period based on the weather forecast data. Thereby, the prediction accuracy of the power generation amount of the solar cell is improved, and as a result, the prediction accuracy of the heat generation amount of the power generation device 2 is increased.

In addition, instead of the solar cell described above, a power generation device that generates power using natural energy sources other than sunlight (for example, renewable energy sources such as solar heat, wind power, hydropower, biomass, snow and ice heat, etc.) It may be provided separately from 2. Even in this case, the prediction means 41 determines the power generation amount of the power generation device 2 by subtracting the power generation amount of the power generation device from the power amount consumed in the future unit period. Other configurations and functions are the same as those in the first embodiment. With this configuration, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained. That is, since the preheating control means 4 2 can operate the heating device 3 in advance and secure a certain amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 before starting the operation of the power generation device 2, the power generation device 2 such as early morning Even before the start of operation, a sufficient amount of hot water can be supplied. In addition, the amount of heat applied in advance by the heating device 3 is determined based on the amount of heat generated by the power generation device 2 within the unit period predicted by the prediction means 41 so that the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 is not saturated. Even if the power generation device 2 is operated later, it is possible to avoid saturation of the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the subsequent claims. It belongs to the category.

Claims

Claim

[Claim 1]

A hot water supply apparatus that has a hot water storage tank for storing hot water and that supplies hot water using hot water in the hot water storage tank, a power generation apparatus that heats hot water stored in the hot water storage tank using exhaust heat generated during power generation, and A heating device for heating hot water stored in a hot water storage tank;

A control device for controlling the operating status of the heating device based on the power generation amount of the power generation device;

Cogeneration system with

[Claim 2]

The control device predicts the amount of power consumed in a future unit period based on the amount of power consumed in a past unit period, and predicts the amount of heat generated by the power generation device based on the predicted amount of power And the amount of heat applied from the heating device so as to ensure the amount of heat necessary for the unit period together with the heat generation amount of the power generation device predicted by the prediction unit, and when the amount of heat is not zero, The cogeneration system according to claim 1, further comprising preheating control means for operating the heating device before the power generation device starts operation during a unit period.

[Claim 3]

The hot water storage tank is filled with hot water, and an upper limit value of the amount of heat that can be stored in a range that is less than or equal to the limit value of the heat amount that can be stored in the entire hot water is set, and the preheating control means includes the unit 3. The cogeneration system according to claim 2, wherein the amount of heat applied to the hot water from the heating device is determined so that the amount of heat in the hot water storage tank does not exceed the upper limit value during the period.

[Claim 4]

The control device predicts the amount of hot water consumed in a future unit period based on the amount of hot water consumed in the unit period in the past, and based on the prediction, the amount of hot water consumed in the unit period increases. 4. The cogeneration system according to claim 3, further comprising adjusting means for changing the upper limit value so as to increase the upper limit value.

[Claim 5]

5. The control device according to claim 2, further comprising a heating control unit configured to operate the heating device when the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank falls below a predetermined lower limit value. Coaches relation system as described.

[Claim 6] The cogeneration system according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the predicting unit predicts the amount of heat generated by the power generation device with the unit period as one unit.

[Claim 7]

The forecasting means obtains weather forecast data for the unit period in the future, and calculates the amount of power predicted to be consumed during the unit period as a correspondence relationship between preset weather forecast data and power consumption of the load. The cogeneration system according to any one of claims 2 to 6, further comprising a correction function that corrects the noise by using the.

[Claim 8]

The power generation device further generates power using natural energy, and the predicting means is based on a power amount obtained by subtracting a power generation amount of the power generation device from a power amount predicted to be consumed in the unit period in the future. The cogeneration system according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein a power generation amount of the power generation device is obtained.

[Claim 9]

The power generation device is a solar cell, and the predicting means acquires weather forecast data for the unit period in the future, predicts the power generation amount of the solar cell in the unit period based on the weather forecast data, and 9. The cogeneration system according to claim 8, wherein the power generation amount of the power generation device is obtained based on the power amount obtained by subtracting the predicted power generation amount from the power amount predicted to be consumed in the unit period. Yon system.