WO2011145732A1

WO2011145732A1 - Air-conditioning system

Info

Publication number: WO2011145732A1
Application number: PCT/JP2011/061677
Authority: WO
Inventors: 章生仲野
Original assignee: パナソニック電工株式会社
Priority date: 2010-05-21
Filing date: 2011-05-20
Publication date: 2011-11-24
Also published as: JP2011247435A

Abstract

An air-conditioning system includes: an air-conditioner for regulating the temperature of an indoor space; a person-counting device for determining the number of people present in the space; and a control device for deciding the temperature at which to set the air-conditioner. The control device maintains a preset temperature range when cooling the space using the air-conditioner, and a preset temperature range when heating the space using the air-conditioner. When the number of people in the space, as determined by the person-counting device, is less than a prescribed number, the temperature of the air-conditioner is set to the upper limit temperature or the lower limit temperature in the preset temperature range by a heating operation or a cooling operation, respectively.

Description

Air conditioning system

The present invention relates to an air-conditioning system that adjusts the temperature in a space where the number of people present in the interior varies according to the time zone, such as a supermarket or a department store.

Generally, in this type of space, air conditioners are used to adjust the temperature. The energy consumed by the air conditioner for adjusting the temperature increases as the temperature decreases in the cooling operation, and increases as the temperature increases in the heating operation. Therefore, to achieve energy saving, the set temperature of the air conditioner, the temperature higher the cooling operation in the summer (eg, 28 ° C.) and, that the lower temperature in the heating operation in winter (e.g., 18 ° C.) Common (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. P2007-64571A).

By the way, in spaces such as supermarkets and department stores, the number of people present inside varies depending on the time of day. In quiet hours when the number of people is small, a small number of people enjoy the energy consumed to adjust the temperature, and the temperature is adjusted even in areas where there are no people in the space. In the area, energy is wasted. That is, the waste of energy consumption cannot be removed sufficiently only by fixedly setting the set temperature of the air conditioner in the cooling operation and the heating operation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above reasons, and its purpose is to adjust the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the number of people in the space, and to suppress the energy consumed by the air conditioner when the number of people in the space is small. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioning system capable of further energy saving.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes an air conditioner, a human counting device, and a control device. The air conditioner is configured to adjust the temperature of the indoor space. The person counting device is configured to determine the number of persons present in the space. The control device is configured to determine a set temperature of the air conditioner. In addition, the control device holds a set temperature range when the space is cooled by the air conditioner and a set temperature range when the space is heated by the air conditioner. Further, the control device sets the set temperature of the air conditioner to the upper limit temperature or the lower limit temperature in the set temperature range in the cooling operation or the heating operation, respectively, when the number of persons in the space obtained by the human counting device is less than a predetermined number. Configured to set.

In one embodiment, the control device has a first target temperature that is lower than the upper limit temperature in the set temperature range when cooling by the air conditioner, and is higher than the lower limit temperature in the set temperature range when heating by the air conditioner. The second target temperature is maintained. In addition, when the number of persons in the space obtained by the human counting device is larger than a predetermined number, the control device sets the set temperature of the air conditioner to the first target temperature or the second target in the cooling operation or the heating operation, respectively. Configured to set the temperature.

In one embodiment, the control device is configured to set the first target temperature as the lower limit temperature in the set temperature range when it is estimated that the outside air temperature is higher than the specified temperature in the cooling operation.

According to the configuration of the present invention, when a small number of people in the space in the cooling operation, the maximum temperature and the set temperature of the air conditioning system in the range specified, when a small number of people in the space in the heating operation, the air-conditioning the minimum temperature in the range specified Set to the set temperature of the device. Therefore, when the number of people in the space is small, the energy consumed by the air conditioner can be suppressed to save energy.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are described in further detail. Other features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood with reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a space using the above. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing the relationship between the set temperature and comfort of the air conditioner in the same as above. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing the relationship between the set temperature of the air conditioner and the power consumption of the air conditioner and the refrigeration apparatus. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation.

In the embodiment described below, an open type freezer / refrigerator facility (hereinafter referred to as “refrigerator”) and an indoor air conditioner (hereinafter referred to as “air conditioner”) such as a supermarket handling food products (hereinafter referred to as “food supermarket”). Assuming a space (indoor space) in the building where the device is called. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, a space in a food supermarket store provided with an air conditioner 1 and a refrigerator 2 is assumed. However, the technology of the present embodiment can be applied even in a space where the refrigeration apparatus 2 is not used. In addition, the technology described in the present embodiment can be used even in a space other than a food supermarket, such as a department store, a convenience store, a large bookstore, and an underground mall. In the present embodiment, the air conditioner 1 has both cooling function and heating function has as an operation mode, the cooling operation for cooling the room (mode) and a heating operation for heating the room and a (mode) .

In the example shown in FIG. 2, it is assumed that the outlet 3 of the air conditioner 1 is provided in a plurality of locations on the ceiling in the store, which is the space of interest, and the open refrigeration device 2 is arranged along the wall surface. . In addition, a register counter 4 is provided in the vicinity of the entrance and exit, and a cart place 5 is provided in the vicinity of the register counter 4. Furthermore, an outside air temperature sensor 7 for detecting the outside air temperature of the store is arranged.

As in the supermarket illustrated, in a space as the air conditioning apparatus 1 and the refrigerating unit 2 is present, in order to save energy by reducing the total power demand of the air conditioning apparatus 1 and the refrigerating device 2, the air conditioner 1 Various techniques for controlling the refrigeration apparatus 2 have been proposed.

For example, a technology for setting the control content for each time zone according to the schedule or a technology for changing the control content according to the power demand that changes with time has been proposed. Alternatively, in order to reduce the power consumption in the refrigeration apparatus 2, a technique has been proposed in which the set temperature of the air conditioner 1 is set lower in the vicinity of the refrigeration apparatus 2 than in the distance from the refrigeration apparatus 2.

When these technologies are adopted, particularly in the summer, if the set temperature for the cooling operation of the air conditioner 1 is increased in order to reduce the amount of power consumption, the heat load of the refrigerator 2 increases. In the food supermarket, the refrigeration device 2 may consume more power than the air conditioner 1. If the heat load of the refrigeration device 2 increases as described above, the total power demand of the air conditioner 1 and the refrigeration device 2 is increased. The amount may increase.

By the way, in food supermarkets and the like, in order to secure the ability to attract customers, in-store comfort is required as one of the services for visitors, so that the comfort of the air conditioner 1 can be obtained for as many visitors as possible. It is necessary to determine the set temperature. Moreover, if the preset temperature of the air conditioner 1 is appropriate, an increase in the amount of power demand by the refrigeration apparatus 2 is also suppressed.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, a technology is adopted in which the set temperature of the air conditioner 1 is determined according to the number of people in consideration of the number of visitors. As shown in FIG. 1, the control of the air conditioner 1 is performed by the control device 10, and the control device 10 is provided with a target temperature selection unit 11 that determines the set temperature of the air conditioner 1.

In the control device 10, the start and stop of the operation of the air conditioner 1 is selected by an instruction from the input device 22, and the cooling operation and the heating operation of the air conditioner 1 are selected by an instruction from the operation switching input unit 23. I do. Further, as described above, when the refrigeration apparatus 2 is present in a space where air conditioning is performed by the air conditioner 1, it is necessary to change the control content of the air conditioner 1, and therefore, the input device 22 uses the refrigeration apparatus in the space. A function of notifying the control device 10 of the presence or absence of 2 is also provided. However, in this embodiment, the operation of changing the control content of the air conditioner 1 according to the presence or absence of the refrigeration apparatus 2 will not be described in detail.

The control device 10 is provided with a target value setting device 24 in order to determine the set temperature of the air conditioner 1 according to the number of visitors. The target value setting device 24 is provided with a person counting device 9 for obtaining the number of visitors.

The human counting device 9, configured to detect a person into and out of the shop with a human detection sensor provided in the entrance of the store, the computer image processing be applied to an image captured by an imaging device provided on the ceiling of doorway of the store Therefore, it is possible to use a configuration for detecting a person entering and exiting. In addition, the person counting device 9 is configured to estimate the number of people in the store by counting the number of carts remaining in the cart yard 5, and based on the actual value of the number of visitors for each time period of the day, A configuration that estimates the number of people in another store can also be adopted.

In the present embodiment, the person counting device 9 basically employs a configuration that estimates the number of people for each time period, and measures the number of people as necessary (human sensor, imaging device, number of carts). Together with other counting).

The target value setting device 24 determines the set temperature of the air conditioner 1 according to the following procedure according to the number of customers in the store obtained by the person counting device 9. First, in consideration of customer comfort for the temperature in the store, the optimum temperature, the upper limit temperature and the lower limit temperature are defined. FIG. 3A shows the relationship between the temperature (room temperature) in the store in the cooling operation, the total power consumption of the air conditioner 1 and the refrigerator 2 and the comfort for the guests. Moreover, FIG. 3B has shown the relationship between the room temperature in heating operation, the sum total of the power consumption of the air conditioner 1 and the refrigerator 2 and the comfort for a visitor.

The total power consumption of the air conditioner 1 and the refrigeration apparatus 2 is less for the cooling operation as the room temperature is higher for the air conditioner 1 alone, as represented by the characteristic A1 in FIG. 4A. However, as described above, since the thermal load of the refrigeration apparatus 2 increases as the room temperature increases, the increase in power consumption of the refrigeration apparatus 2 (characteristic B1) is more than the decrease in power consumption of the air conditioning apparatus 1. It will exceed. In this case, as indicated by the characteristic C1, the total power consumption of the air conditioner 1 and the refrigeration apparatus 2 increases as the room temperature increases.

In the heating operation, as represented by the characteristic A2 in FIG. 4B, if only the air conditioner 1 is used, the power consumption gradually increases as the room temperature is increased. Similarly to the cooling operation, the power consumption of the refrigeration apparatus 1 increases as the room temperature increases (characteristic B2). Therefore, also in the heating operation, as shown by the characteristic C2, the amount of power consumption increases as the room temperature increases.

4A and 4B, the total amount of power consumed by the air conditioner 1 and the refrigeration apparatus 2 is adjusted to the room temperature (air conditioner 1 regardless of whether the operation mode is a cooling operation or a heating operation). It can be said that the higher the room temperature, the larger the tendency.

By the way, as shown as a comfort curve D in FIG. 3, comfort changes according to room temperature. In general, comfort is maximized at an appropriate temperature, and comfort is reduced on a higher temperature side and a lower temperature side than the temperature as the temperature difference from the temperature increases. The temperature at which the comfort is maximized in the cooling operation is the optimum temperature θ10, and the temperature at which the comfort is maximized in the heating operation is the optimum temperature θ20.

Here, if a boundary Lb between comfortable and unpleasant is set, the upper limit temperature and the lower limit temperature that are comfortable can be determined by the intersection of the comfort curve D and the boundary Lb. That is, the upper limit temperature and the lower limit temperature can be determined regardless of the cooling operation and the heating operation. The upper limit temperature and the lower limit temperature are temperature ranges in which comfort is maintained. If the set temperature range of the air conditioner 1 is defined as a temperature range between the upper limit temperature and the lower limit temperature, it is comfortable regardless of the set temperature. Sex can be maintained.

However, in this embodiment, only the upper limit temperature θ11 is obtained for the cooling operation, and only the lower limit temperature θ21 is obtained for the heating operation. Thus, by obtaining the optimum temperatures θ10, θ20, the upper limit temperature θ11, and the lower limit temperature θ21, the set temperature of the air conditioner 1 can be adjusted so that the temperature range is comfortable for the visitor. That is, in the cooling operation, the temperature range between the optimum temperature θ10 and the upper limit temperature θ11 becomes the set temperature range of the air conditioner 1, and is held in the control device 10 (for example, in a storage device (memory) in the control device). Remembered). In the heating operation, the temperature range between the optimum temperature θ20 and the lower limit temperature θ21 becomes the set temperature range of the air conditioner 1, and is held in the control device 10 (for example, stored in a storage device).

3, characteristics C1 and C2 are the same as characteristics C1 and C2 in FIG. 4 and represent the total power consumption of the air conditioner 1 and the refrigerator 2, but the consumption of only the air conditioner 1. The amount of electric power decreases to the right during cooling operation and increases to the right during heating operation. In short, the higher the set temperature in the cooling operation, the smaller the power consumption in the air conditioner 1. In the heating operation, the lower the set temperature, the smaller the power consumption in the air conditioner 1.

Specific values of the optimum temperatures θ10, θ20, the upper limit temperature θ11, and the lower limit temperature θ21 are given by the temperature range input unit 21 attached to the control device 10. The temperature range input unit 21 can be operated by a user to input a desired temperature. Alternatively, the optimum temperatures θ10, θ20, the upper limit temperature θ11, and the lower limit temperature θ21 may be automatically set according to the use environment of the air conditioner 1.

To set the optimum temperatures θ10, θ20, the upper limit temperature θ11, and the lower limit temperature θ21, it is necessary to obtain the comfort curve D. The comfort curve D can be obtained based on an evaluation index for evaluating comfort. As this kind of evaluation index, for example, a thermal environment evaluation index (PMV = Predicted Mean Vote) can be used. PMV is a value that is evaluated in seven stages, from -3 to +3, using six parameters: temperature (room temperature), average radiation temperature, relative humidity, average wind speed, clothing amount, and work amount. In the thermal environment of the space, it is recommended that PMV be within a range of ± 0.5. Therefore, the temperature at which PMV becomes −0.5 can be determined as the lower limit temperature θ21, and the temperature at which PMV becomes +0.5 can be determined as the upper limit temperature θ11.

The value of PMV can be selected as appropriate. For example, the lower limit temperature θ21 may be set in a range where PMV is −0.5 to −0.3. By automating the process of obtaining PMV, it is possible to automatically and dynamically set the target temperature of the air conditioner 1 so as not to impair the comfort of people existing in the space where the air temperature is adjusted by the air conditioner 1 become.

Since PMV includes not only the temperature but also the amount of clothing as a parameter, it extracts a suitable number of customers from the image of the TV camera that captures the inside of the store, and calculates the amount of clothing based on the captured image (unit: Clo), and the amount of clothes may be used for calculation of PMV.

Note that it is not essential to determine the optimum temperatures θ10, θ20, the upper limit temperature θ11, and the lower limit temperature θ21 by PMV. Since these temperatures vary depending on the store specifications, the optimum temperatures θ10, θ20, the upper limit temperature θ11, and the lower limit temperature θ21 may be determined based on actual measurement results. Since the optimum temperatures θ10, θ20, the upper limit temperature θ11, and the lower limit temperature θ21 vary depending on various conditions, they may be appropriately set as the set temperature range of the air conditioner 1. In addition, an upper limit temperature θ11 for the cooling operation and a lower limit temperature θ21 for the heating operation are determined and a set temperature range is set. Within the set temperature range, a first target temperature lower than the upper limit temperature θ11 is set for the cooling operation. In the heating operation, a second target temperature higher than the lower limit temperature θ21 may be set. In this case, the first target temperature and the second target temperature may be used instead of the optimum temperatures θ10 and θ20. Note that the first target temperature and the second target temperature are held in the control device 10 (for example, stored in a storage device).

In the present embodiment, as described above, the set temperature of the air conditioner 1 is determined so as to obtain comfort for as many visitors as possible. On the other hand, energy saving is also required. Therefore, the target value setting device 24 determines the set temperature of the air conditioner 1 according to the number of visitors.

That is, when the number of visitors is small, priority is given to energy saving, and when the number of visitors increases, the set temperature is set so as to prioritize comfort. As described above, the number of visitors is obtained by using the technique of estimating the number of people for each time zone and measuring the number of people in the person counting device 9.

In the following, a food supermarket whose business hours are from 7:00 to 24:00 will be described as an example. In this food supermarket, the opening times to 9:00, 13:00 to 17:00, 22:00 to closing times are quiet hours with few people, from 9:00 to 13:00, 17 Each time zone from 2:00 to 22:00 is assumed to be a crowded time zone with many people. Although the specific time periods for the quiet time period and the crowded time period vary depending on the food supermarket, this assumption may be applied to many food supermarkets. In addition, in the off-peak time of day, 13:00 to 17:00 is the outside air temperature is relatively high time zone, the temperature of the store than other off-peak time zone is likely to rise in the cooling operation, the other is in the heating operation The temperature of the store is less likely to drop than during the quiet hours.

The absolute number of visitors varies from day to day, but the tendency to increase or decrease is almost determined by the season and time of day. Therefore, regarding the increase / decrease in the number of visitors, it is determined whether it is a quiet time zone or a crowded time zone based on the season and time zone. However, since the absolute number of visitors fluctuates outside of these time zones, the standard of the number of visitors actually measured by the human counting device 9 is compared with an appropriate threshold outside these time zones, and the situation of the customers in the store Is estimated. In this way, the person counting device 9 determines the number of customers in the store based on the time zone and the actually measured number, and determines that it is “loose” when it is small and “congested” when it is large.

The target value setting device 24 provides the target temperature selection unit 11 with the information on the optimum temperatures θ10, θ20, the lower limit temperature θ21, and the upper limit temperature θ11 described above and the information on the number of visitors determined by the person counting device 9. The target temperature selection unit 11 uses the information input from the input device 11 and the operation switching input unit 23 to select the set temperature of the air conditioner 1 according to the relationship shown in Table 1.

In short, when it is "off-peak", since a small number of visitors affected determines the set temperature so as to give priority to energy saving than comfort, when a "congestion", from energy conservation since often foot traffic affected The set temperature is determined so as to give priority to comfort. Here, the upper limit temperature θ11 of the cooling operation (summer season) may be set to 26 ° C., for example, and the lower limit temperature θ21 of the heating operation (winter season) may be set to 13 ° C., for example. In the above-described operation, the heating operation sets the set temperature to the lower limit temperature θ2 and keeps the inside of the store at a low temperature. Therefore, energy saving of the refrigeration apparatus 2 is also achieved.

By the way, when the refrigeration apparatus 2 is present in the store, the heat load of the refrigeration apparatus 2 may increase if the set temperature is high in the cooling operation (summer season). However, immediately after opening the store or immediately before closing the store, the outside air temperature is relatively low, and the influence of the outside temperature on the room temperature in the store is relatively small, so the heat load of the refrigeration apparatus 2 does not increase greatly. Therefore, in these time zones, even if the set temperature of the air conditioner 1 is set to the upper limit temperature θ11, the increase in the power consumption of the refrigeration device 2 is suppressed, and the power consumption in the air conditioner 1 is suppressed. The energy-saving effect of is effectively utilized. That is, in the cooling operation, even when the refrigeration apparatus 2 exists, the set temperature of the air conditioner 1 is set to the upper limit temperature θ11 during the opening hours to 9:00 and 22:00 to the closing time in the above-described quiet period. By doing so, it is possible to save energy.

As mentioned above, it is regarded as “quiet” from the opening time to 9:00, and thereafter it can be regarded as “crowded” from 9:00 to 13:00. In the cooling operation, the set temperature of the air conditioner 1 is set to the upper limit temperature θ11 when “off”, and after that, when it becomes “crowded”, the set temperature of the air conditioner 2 is set to the optimum temperature θ10 (for example, 24 ° C.). By pulling down, the customer's satisfaction with comfort is increased. On the other hand, in heating operation, it is set to the lower limit temperature θ21 the set temperature of the air conditioning apparatus 1 during the "quiet", then becomes a "congestion", the optimum temperature setting temperature of the air conditioner 2? 20 (e.g., 16 By raising the temperature to (℃), the customer's satisfaction with comfort is enhanced.

Also, from 13:00 to 17:00, it is assumed that it is “quiet” and the set temperature of the air conditioner 1 is changed so that energy saving is prioritized. That is, the set temperature is changed to the lower limit temperature θ21 (for example, 13 ° C.) in the heating operation, and the set temperature is changed to the upper limit temperature θ11 (for example, 26 ° C.) in the cooling operation.

It should be noted that this time zone almost coincides with the time zone during which the outside air temperature rises regardless of whether the operation is cooling or heating. Therefore, in the heating operation in winter, the heat load due to heating in the air conditioner 1 is reduced, and even if the set temperature is lowered to the lower limit temperature θ21, the room temperature in the store hardly decreases. Therefore, energy saving can be achieved for the air conditioner 1 without deteriorating the comfort in the store. Further, even if there is a day when the outside air temperature is extremely low during this time period, the set temperature of the air conditioner 1 is the lower limit temperature θ21, so that even if the degree of comfort is lowered, it does not deteriorate.

On the other hand, in the cooling operation in summer, the heat load of the air conditioner 1 is the largest. In this case, by setting the set temperature of the air conditioner 1 to the upper limit temperature θ11, the power consumption in the air conditioner 1 is suppressed, and the peak demand of the power consumption can be suppressed to save energy. However, at the time of “congestion” immediately before, since the set temperature is the optimum temperature θ10, it can be said that the room temperature is sufficiently lowered. Accordingly, an increase in room temperature is suppressed, and as a result, an increase in power consumption of the refrigeration apparatus 2 can be suppressed, and energy saving can be realized. Further, even if there is a day in which the outside air temperature is extremely high during this time period, the set temperature is the upper limit temperature θ11.

In the above-described operation, the set temperature is determined for each time zone. However, even in the crowded time zone (the time zone considered as “crowded”), the absolute number of visitors is actually less than the prescribed threshold value. It may be "distant". In the present embodiment, in preparation for such a case, the person counting device 9 measures the number of people in the store. That is, in the target temperature selection unit 11, when the result of actual measurement in the human counting device 9 is “low”, priority is given to the result of “low” even in the crowded time zone, and energy saving is set. Select the temperature. In the off-hours, the actual number of people in the store is not actually measured, or it is not used even if a judgment result of “congestion” is obtained.

The main operations of the target temperature selection unit 11 in the control device 10 are summarized in FIG. First, the target temperature selection unit 11 determines whether or not the current time is a quiet time zone (S1). It is determined whether it is “crowded” (S2). If it is determined in step S1 that it is a quiet time zone (S1: YES), or if it is determined in step S2 that it is “low”, a set temperature corresponding to “low” is selected. That is, the current operation mode is determined whether the heating mode or a cooling operation (S3), a cooling operation sets the set temperature to the maximum temperature [theta] 11 (S4), the lower limit temperature θ21 a set temperature in the heating operation Set (S5).

On the other hand, if “congested” is determined in step S2, it is determined whether the operation mode is a cooling operation or a heating operation (S6). In the cooling operation, the set temperature is set to the optimum cooling temperature θ10. (S7) In the heating operation, the set temperature is set to the optimum heating temperature θ20 (S8). That is, in the case of “congestion”, priority is given to comfort.

In the above operation, as the set temperature of the air conditioning apparatus 1 allows selecting the optimum temperature θ10 and the upper limit temperature θ11 in cooling operation, and enables selecting a optimum temperature θ20 and the lower limit temperature θ21 in heating operation. That is, only two set temperature selections are possible for the cooling operation and the heating operation. Instead of this operation, when the "busy", and can be selected temperatures between the optimum temperature θ10 and the upper limit temperature θ11 in cooling operation, the temperature between the optimal temperatures θ20 and the lower limit temperature θ21 in the heating operation May be selectable.

That is, when the number of the store is more than a predetermined number, depending on the number, and the temperature range of the set temperature between the optimal temperatures θ10 and the upper limit temperature θ11 in cooling operation, the optimum temperature θ20 and lower the heating operation The temperature between the temperature θ21 is set as the set temperature range. On the other hand, in the case of “quiet”, in order to give priority to energy saving, the set temperature is set to the upper limit temperature θ11 (cooling operation) or the lower limit temperature θ21 (heating operation) under the above-described conditions. Thus, even if the number of the store is increased immediately optimum temperature [theta] 10, instead of selecting a? 20, by setting the temperature corresponding to the number of persons, to achieve energy savings without sacrificing comfort It becomes possible. The control device is configured to control the air conditioner 1 (a plurality of air conditioners 1 in the example of FIG. 1) so that the temperature (room temperature) in the store becomes the set temperature, for example, as in the conventional case. Also good. For example, the air conditioning system may include one or more temperature sensors for measuring room temperature, and the control device may control the air conditioning device 1 so that the temperature obtained from the temperature sensor becomes the set temperature.

By the way, in the above-mentioned operation, the operation mode (operation state) of the cooling operation or the heating operation is selected by the operation switching input unit 23, but the cooling operation or the heating operation is performed using the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor 7. The operation mode may be selected. Further, when the outside air temperature is higher than the specified temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor 7 in summer, because room temperature in the store is likely to rise, in the cooling operation, when the number of the store is more than a predetermined number, the store Regardless of the number of persons, the lower limit temperature θ21 of the set temperature range may be set. In other words, the set temperature of the air conditioner 1 may be changed so that the first target temperature described above becomes the lower limit temperature θ21 of the set temperature range.

Similarly, in the case the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor 7 is lower than the specified temperature in winter, because at room temperature in the store tends to be reduced, the heating operation, the number of the store is more than a predetermined number, Regardless of the number of people in the store, the optimum temperature θ20 in the set temperature range may be set. In other words, the set temperature of the air conditioner 1 may be changed so that the above-described first target temperature becomes the optimum temperature θ20 in the set temperature range.

The outside air temperature may be obtained by the outside air temperature sensor 7 or may be estimated by other techniques. For example, the outside air temperature corresponding to the time zone may be estimated, or the outside air temperature may be acquired from a web server through a wide area network.

While the invention has been described in terms of several preferred embodiments, various modifications and variations can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention, ie, the claims.

Claims

An air conditioner configured to regulate the temperature of the indoor space;
A person counting device configured to determine the number of persons present in the space;
A controller configured to determine a set temperature of the air conditioner;
The controller is
Holding a set temperature range when the space is cooled by the air conditioner and a set temperature range when the space is heated by the air conditioner;
When the number of persons in the space obtained by the person counting device is less than a predetermined number, the set temperature of the air conditioner is set to the upper limit temperature or the lower limit temperature in the set temperature range in cooling operation or heating operation, respectively. An air conditioning system characterized by being configured.
The controller is
A first target temperature lower than the upper limit temperature in a set temperature range when cooling by the air conditioner, and a second target temperature higher than the lower limit temperature in a set temperature range when heating by the air conditioner And hold
When the number of persons in the space obtained by the person counting device is larger than a predetermined number, the set temperature of the air conditioner is set to the first target temperature or the second target temperature, respectively, in cooling operation or heating operation. The air conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein the air conditioning system is configured to be set.
The control device is configured to set the first target temperature as a lower limit temperature of a set temperature range when it is estimated that the outside air temperature is higher than a specified temperature in the cooling operation. The air conditioning system described.