WO2019130489A1

WO2019130489A1 - Air conditioner management device

Info

Publication number: WO2019130489A1
Application number: PCT/JP2017/046991
Authority: WO
Inventors: 佑輝西川
Original assignee: 三菱電機株式会社
Priority date: 2017-12-27
Filing date: 2017-12-27
Publication date: 2019-07-04

Abstract

This air conditioner management device for managing and controlling a plurality of air conditioning devices, said air conditioner management device comprising: a table data creation unit that creates data for a plurality of preset items for each unit of control on the basis of operation data acquired by the operation of the plurality of air conditioning devices; and a priority order determination unit that calculates a degree of impact, which quantifies the impact on temperature variations in a space being air conditioned due to reducing power to the air conditioning device, for each unit of control on the basis of the data created by the table data creation unit, and determines the order of priority for reducing power on the basis of the calculated degree of impact.

Description

Air conditioner management device

The present invention relates to an air conditioner management apparatus that manages a plurality of air conditioners. In particular, the present invention relates to the realization of energy saving control to reduce power.

BACKGROUND Conventionally, there is an apparatus that manages and controls the states of a plurality of air conditioners and the like. Among them, there is an air conditioner control device that performs control to reduce power and save energy (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this air conditioner control device, the air conditioner is ranked according to the load index of the indoor units. And energy saving control which stops operation from the air harmony device with a low rank is performed. Moreover, when air conditioning a large space with a plurality of air conditioners, rotation is performed to minimize temperature change.

JP, 2014-089043, A

However, in the control of the air conditioner control device in Patent Document 1, energy saving is realized by performing processing for stopping the operation of the air conditioner. However, on the other hand, if the operation of the air conditioner is stopped, the comfort will be impaired. If the difference in heat load due to structural members (rebars, wooden etc.), windows, curtains, etc., and the size of the space differ for each facility to be the air conditioning target space, the comfort will further vary and energy saving Even if you expect sex, you will lose comfort.

This invention solves the above subjects, and it aims at obtaining the air conditioner management apparatus which can perform energy saving control according to the state of the air conditioning by equipment etc.

The air conditioner management apparatus according to the present invention is an air conditioner management apparatus that manages and controls a plurality of air conditioners, and is preset based on operation data obtained by the operation of the plurality of air conditioners. The table data creation unit creates a table data creation unit that creates data for each unit to be controlled for multiple items, and the numerical value of the influence of the power reduction of the air conditioner on the temperature change of the air conditioning target space. And a priority determination unit configured to calculate the unit to be controlled based on the created data, and to determine the priority to perform the power reduction based on the calculated degree of influence.

According to the present invention, the priority determining unit calculates the degree of influence from the data generated by the table data generating unit based on the operation data, and determines the priority for performing the power reduction. It is possible to reduce the power of the air conditioner having low impact with priority. For this reason, energy saving control can be performed according to the state of air conditioning that differs depending on equipment etc. without impairing the comfort.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows the structure of the air-conditioning monitoring system centering on the air conditioner management apparatus 1 in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the air conditioning apparatus 2 in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the air conditioner management apparatus 1 in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the flow of the process regarding the table data creation which the air conditioner management apparatus 1 in Embodiment 1 of this invention performs. It is a figure explaining preparation of the table data in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the transition until the average time and room temperature from thermo-off to thermo-on of air conditioning apparatus 2A in Embodiment 1 of this invention reach | attain a preset temperature. It is a figure explaining the transition until the average time from the thermo-off of the air conditioning apparatus 2B to thermo-on in Embodiment 1 of this invention and room temperature reach | attains preset temperature. It is a figure explaining the procedure which concerns on the priority determination in Embodiment 1 of this invention.

Embodiment 1
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an air conditioning monitoring system centering on an air conditioner management device 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioning monitoring system according to the first embodiment includes an air conditioner management device 1, a plurality of air conditioners 2 (air conditioners 2A to 2D), and an external device 3. There is. The air conditioner management device 1 is communicably connected to the plurality of air conditioners 2 and can transmit and receive signals. The air conditioner management device 1 is also communicably connected to the external device 3 through another communication path, and can transmit and receive signals.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the air conditioner 2 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, in the air conditioner 2, a refrigerant circuit is configured by connecting the outdoor unit 200 and the indoor unit 100 by a gas refrigerant pipe 300 and a liquid refrigerant pipe 400. The outdoor unit 200 includes a compressor 210, a four-way valve 220, and an outdoor heat exchanger 230. In the air conditioner 2 of the first embodiment, it is assumed that one outdoor unit 200 and one indoor unit 100 are connected by piping.

The compressor 210 compresses and discharges the sucked refrigerant. Although not particularly limited, compressor 210 according to the first embodiment arbitrarily changes the operating frequency by, for example, an inverter circuit or the like, thereby changing the capacity of compressor 210 (the amount of refrigerant to be discharged per unit time). It can be changed. The four-way valve 220 is a valve that switches the flow of the refrigerant, for example, according to the cooling operation and the heating operation.

The outdoor heat exchanger 230 exchanges heat between the refrigerant and air (air outside the room). For example, in heating operation, it functions as an evaporator and evaporates and evaporates the refrigerant. Also, in the cooling operation, it functions as a condenser and condenses and liquefies the refrigerant.

The indoor heat exchanger 110 performs heat exchange, for example, between the indoor air to be air-conditioned and the refrigerant. During heating operation, the refrigerant functions as a condenser to condense and liquefy the refrigerant. In addition, during the cooling operation, the refrigerant functions as an evaporator to evaporate and evaporate the refrigerant.

On the other hand, the indoor unit 100 has an indoor heat exchanger 110, an expansion valve 120 and an indoor fan 130. In the expansion valve 120, an expansion valve 120 such as a throttling device (flow rate control means) decompresses and expands the refrigerant. For example, in the case of an electronic expansion valve or the like, the opening degree adjustment is performed based on an instruction from a control device (not shown) or the like. In addition, the indoor heat exchanger 110 exchanges heat between the indoor air, which is the space to be air-conditioned, and the refrigerant. For example, in heating operation, it functions as a condenser and condenses and liquefies the refrigerant. In addition, during the cooling operation, the refrigerant functions as an evaporator to evaporate and evaporate the refrigerant. The indoor fan 130 passes the indoor air to the indoor heat exchanger 110 and supplies the air passed through the indoor heat exchanger 110 to the room.

The indoor unit 100 according to the first embodiment further includes an indoor control device 140 and a temperature sensor 150. The temperature sensor 150 detects an indoor temperature which is the temperature of the air conditioning target space, and sends a signal relating to the detection to the indoor control device 140. The indoor control device 140 manages the control capability of the indoor unit 100, and controls the indoor unit 100 so that the space to be air-conditioned becomes the set temperature. In addition, the indoor control device 140 transmits a signal including operation data collected periodically, to the air conditioner management device 1 by detection of various sensors and the like. In particular, in the first embodiment, the air conditioner management apparatus 1 includes in the signal operation data including data relating to the control capability of the indoor unit 100, data on the indoor temperature detected by the temperature sensor 150, and data on the set temperature. Send to Here, the data relating to the control capability of the indoor unit 100 is data indicating the capability of the indoor unit 100 such as the opening degree of the expansion valve 120, the wind speed by the indoor fan 130, etc., being supplied to indoor air.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of the air conditioner management device 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The air conditioner management device 1 includes an air conditioning communication unit 11, an operation data storage unit 12, a table data creation unit 13, a table storage unit 14, a priority order determination unit 15, a control processing calculation unit 16, an external signal reception unit 17, and signal analysis. It has a portion 18.

The air conditioning communication unit 11 is an interface that performs communication between the air conditioner management device 1 and the plurality of air conditioners 2. In the first embodiment, a signal including operation data sent from a plurality of air conditioners 2 is received. In addition, the control processing calculation unit 16 sends a signal including an instruction generated by the processing to the plurality of air conditioners 2. The operation data storage unit 12 stores and stores the operation data sent from the air conditioner 2 side. At this time, the operation data is stored in association with the time data. The table data creation unit 13 creates table data to be managed in a table format based on the operation data stored in the operation data storage unit 12. The table storage unit 14 stores and stores the table data created by the table data creation unit 13 in a table format. Based on the table data stored in the table storage unit 14, the priority order determination unit 15 determines the order of the air conditioners 2 for which energy saving control is given priority. Here, in the first embodiment, a control unit to be managed and controlled by creation of table data, determination of priority, and the like will be described as being the air conditioner 2.

The external signal reception unit 17 receives an external signal sent from the external device 3 and converts it into external data which is data of a format that can be processed by the signal analysis unit 18. In addition, the signal analysis unit 18 analyzes external data, and sends data related to an instruction from the external device 3 to the control processing calculation unit 16.

The control processing calculation unit 16 controls the air conditioner 2. It is assumed that energy saving control is performed to determine the control content of the air conditioner 2 according to the priority determined by the priority determining unit 15. Then, the control processing calculation unit 16 instructs the corresponding air conditioner 2 via the air conditioning communication unit 11 according to the determined control content.

Here, although each part is comprised based on a function about the air conditioner management apparatus 1 mentioned above, it has a control apparatus, a memory | storage device, a time-measurement apparatus, a communication apparatus etc. as a structure of a hardware. The control device has, for example, a central processing unit (CPU). Also, the storage device stores, for example, operation data, table data, and the like. The storage device is a volatile storage device (not shown) such as random access memory (RAM) capable of temporarily storing data, and a non-volatile auxiliary storage device (not shown) such as flash memory capable of storing data for a long period of time )have. Moreover, a memory | storage device memorize | stores a program and a control apparatus performs a process based on a program, and implement | achieves the process which each part of the air conditioner management apparatus 1 performs. Then, the clocking device has a timer and the like, and the control device clocks the time used for calculation and the like. The communication device is a device that transmits and receives signals to and from the air conditioner 2 and the external device 3.

FIG. 4: is a figure which shows the flow of the process regarding the table data creation which the air conditioner management apparatus 1 in Embodiment 1 of this invention performs. The air conditioning communication unit 11 causes the operation data storage unit 12 to store and store the operation data included in the signal periodically transmitted from each air conditioner 2 (step S1).

The table data creation unit 13 detects, from the operation data storage unit 12, data relating to the control capability of the indoor unit 100 in each air conditioner 2 among the operation data, detection of the indoor temperature in the air conditioning target space, and the temperature sensor 150. Search the room temperature according to (step S2). Then, the table data creation unit 13 creates table data based on the retrieved operation data (step S3). The table data creation unit 13 stores the created table data in the table storage unit 14 (step S4). Here, in the first embodiment, the items created as table data are the control capability of the indoor unit 100, the average time from the thermo-off to the thermo-on, and the transition until the indoor temperature reaches the set temperature.

The table data creation unit 13 determines whether table data creation processing has been performed for all the indoor units 100 (step S5). Then, the processing of steps S2 to S5 is performed until the table data of all the indoor units 100 are stored in the table storage unit 14. A process is performed until table data of all the indoor units 100 are created.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining creation of table data in the first embodiment of the present invention. Here, table data regarding the four air conditioners 2A to 2D will be described. As described above, the table data creation unit 13 creates table data for the control capability of the indoor unit 100, the average time from thermo-off to thermo-on, and three items of transition until the indoor temperature reaches the set temperature. .

The control capability of the indoor unit 100 creates data based on the control data of the device in the indoor unit 100 included in the operation data and calculating the percentage of the capability currently being supplied with respect to the capability that can be supplied by percentage. . In FIG. 5A, the control capabilities of the indoor unit 100 of each of the air conditioners 2A to 2D are 100%, 50%, 20%, and 10%. .

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the average time from thermo-off to thermo-on of the air conditioning apparatus 2A according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention and the transition until the room temperature reaches the set temperature. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the average time from thermo-off to thermo-on of the air conditioner 2B according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention and the transition until the room temperature reaches the set temperature. In FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the time change of indoor temperature in case the air conditioning apparatus 2A and the air conditioning apparatus 2B are performing heating operation is shown as an example. For example, the rising or falling speed until the room temperature reaches the set temperature is a transition until the room temperature reaches the set temperature. In the case of heating operation, the transition until the indoor temperature reaches the set temperature is an index of the warmth of the room which is the space to be air conditioned. On the other hand, after the room temperature reaches the set temperature, the air conditioner 2 is not completely stopped in order to maintain the room temperature at the set temperature, and the indoor fan 130 is stopped and the heat is not supplied to the room. The thermal off and the thermal on for driving the indoor fan 130 are repeated. Here, in the case of heating operation, the average time from thermo-off to thermo-on is an index of the coolness of the room which is the space to be air conditioned.

For the transition until the room temperature reaches the set temperature, the table data creation unit 13 reaches the set temperature based on the time when (the room temperature at the start of operation-set temperature) / the set temperature is reached. Create data related to the transition to The transition is the temperature rise or fall per unit time until the room temperature reaches the set temperature. In FIG. 5A, the transition of each of the air conditioners 2A to 2D is 5 [° C./min], 1 [° C./min], 5 [° C./min], 10 [° C./min] It has become.

Further, the table data creation unit 13 creates data in which the average time from the thermo-off to the thermo-on repeatedly performed in the indoor unit 100 is calculated. In FIG. 5A, the average times of the air conditioners 2A to 2D are 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 4 minutes, and 20 minutes.

Here, in the numerical values of the data of each item, the influence of the temperature change is low when the numerical value is small, and the influence of the temperature change is high when the numerical value is large. Among the items to be the table data, regarding the average time from thermo-off to thermo-on, if the temperature change is small and the influence of the temperature change is low, the average time becomes longer and the numerical value becomes larger. For this reason, it is necessary to reverse the relationship so that the smaller the value, the lower the influence of the temperature change. Therefore, data is generated by calculating the reciprocal of the average time. As shown in FIG. 5B, the average time of each of the air conditioners 2A to 2D is 0.2, 0.1, 0.25, and 0.05. Here, the reciprocal is calculated so that the smaller the numerical value is, the lower the influence of the temperature change is, but it is not limited to this.

Furthermore, the table data creation unit 13 normalizes the numerical value of each item. Specifically, conversion is performed such that the maximum value in each item is 1 and the numerical value of each item is in the range of 0 or more and 1 or less. Therefore, each numerical value is divided by the maximum value to create table data. As shown in FIG. 5C, the table data relating to the control capability of the indoor unit 100 in each of the air conditioners 2A to 2D is 1, 0.5, 0.2, and 0.1. Further, table data relating to the transition of each of the air conditioners 2A to 2D is 0.8, 0.4, 1, 0.2. The table data relating to the average time of each of the air conditioners 2A to 2D is 0.5, 0.1, 0.5, 1 respectively. The table data creation unit 13 stores the created table data in the table storage unit 14 in a table format.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the procedure for determining the priority in the first embodiment of the present invention. In order to save energy, the priority determining unit 15 determines the priority of reducing the heat supply to the room which is the air conditioning target space. Therefore, the priority determining unit 15 calculates the degree of influence for each of the air conditioners 2A to 2D based on the table data. The degree of influence is calculated as an absolute distance from the origin in a coordinate system having three items of table data as respective dimensions. The influence degrees of the air conditioners 2A to 2D are 1.37, 0.65, 1.14 and 1.04, respectively. Here, the maximum value of the distance is (12 + 12 + 12) 1/2 = 1.732. FIG. 8A shows the relationship between the degree of influence and the distance as an image. Then, the priority determining unit 15 determines the priority in ascending order of the degree of influence obtained by the calculation. As shown in FIG. 8B, the order of priority is in the order of the air conditioner 2B, the air conditioner 2D, the air conditioner 2C, and the air conditioner 2A. Here, in the first embodiment, since the transition and the average time in the room are represented with respect to the control ability representing the state of the indoor unit 100, for example, the coordinates of a certain dimension are weighted in the calculation of the influence degree , Do not give weight between matters, shall be treated equally. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and weighting may be performed depending on the item to be selected.

The control process calculation unit 16 performs a process related to energy saving control based on the priority order determined by the priority order determination unit 15. There are three main types of energy saving control: stop control, forced thermo-off control, and capability control. The stop control is control for stopping the air conditioner 2. Forced thermo-off control is control to forcibly thermo-off the indoor unit 100. As the air conditioning device 2 is not stopped, the energy reduction effect is reduced. And capacity control is control of the ability of the indoor unit 100 of the air conditioning apparatus 2 to supply heat to the air in the room which is the air conditioning target space. Therefore, the energy reduction effect increases in the order of stop control> forced thermo-off control> capacity control.

As described above, the high priority air conditioner 2 has little influence on the temperature change in the room even if energy is reduced. Therefore, the stop control is positively instructed. On the other hand, the air conditioner 2 with a low priority has a large influence on the temperature change in the room due to the reduction of energy. Therefore, capacity control is instructed not to reduce energy excessively. The forced thermo-off control is control between stop control and capability control. Here, as for the capability control, different from the stop control and the forced thermo-off control, the capability can be set. For example, when the current capacity in the normal control before energy saving control is 100%, the capacity control of 50% and 80% is set to be performed. Then, stop control, forced thermo-off control, 50% capacity control, and 80% capacity control are performed in descending order of priority.

However, if the priority and the control content in the energy saving control are fixed, the control to be performed may not be optimal for the air conditioner 2. Therefore, for example, when performing energy saving control, the air conditioner management device 1 performs the following process.

During the energy saving control, the priority determining unit 15 performs the process again to determine the priority based on the table data obtained by each air conditioner 2. Then, the control processing calculation unit 16 determines whether there is the air conditioner 2 whose priority has been raised or the air conditioner 2 whose priority is lowered. By determining the priority, it is confirmed whether the control under the energy saving control affects the priority. For example, when the priority of the air conditioner 2 is increased, the control achieves a high energy saving effect, but the control deviates from the operation in the normal control. Moreover, when the priority of the air conditioning apparatus 2 falls, the energy saving effect by control is low. Therefore, for example, the control processing calculation unit 16 lowers the energy saving reduction effect control by one step (for example, when the stop control is performed, the control processing calculation unit 16 is forced Perform processing such as thermo-off control. As a result, energy saving control is performed within a range that does not deviate significantly from the normal control.

As described above, according to the air conditioner management apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, the table data creation unit 13 creates table data based on operation data from the plurality of air conditioners 2 that perform management. did. Then, the priority determining unit 15 calculates the degree of influence which quantified the influence of the power reduction on the indoor temperature change, and determines the priority of the air conditioner 2 performing energy saving control, so that the temperature change is performed. The power of the air conditioner 2 with low influence can be reduced preferentially. Therefore, energy saving control can be performed without losing the comfort.

Second Embodiment
In the first embodiment described above, the conditions for performing the energy saving control performed by the control processing calculation unit 16 are not particularly limited. In the air conditioner management device 1 according to the second embodiment, the control processing calculation unit 16 normally controls the air conditioner 2 unless otherwise instructed. Then, when an energy saving operation is instructed based on an external signal sent from the external device 3, the energy saving control described in the first embodiment is performed.

Further, when an emergency stop signal is sent as an external signal from the external device 3, the control processing calculation unit 16 performs control to stop all the air conditioners 2. The emergency stop signal may be, for example, an emergency stop signal for preventing forgetting to stop at a unit of a building, an area, or the like, an emergency stop signal for fire notification, or an emergency stop signal due to energy saving. Here, when an emergency stop signal with energy saving is sent, the control processing calculation unit 16 may perform energy saving control as in the case of the above-described energy saving operation instruction.

As described above, since the air conditioner management device 1 performs energy saving control based on an instruction from the outside, the installation environment of the air conditioner 2 can be flexibly supported without changing the purpose of the instruction. Energy saving control can be performed without losing comfort.

Third Embodiment
In the air conditioner management apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment described above, table data is created for each air conditioner 2 with each air conditioner 2 as a control unit, the priority order is determined, and energy saving control is performed. But it is not limited to this. For example, when managing the air conditioning apparatus 2 having a plurality of indoor units 100, the priority is determined by creating table data for each indoor unit 100, etc., with each indoor unit 100 as a control unit. Energy saving control may be performed. Also, in a plurality of indoor and other air conditioning target spaces, a group of indoor units 100 in the same area is used as a control unit, table data is created for each group by area, priority order is determined, and energy saving control is performed You may

Moreover, in Embodiment 1 mentioned above, table data was created about three items of control capability of indoor unit 100, average time from thermo-off to thermo-on, and transition until indoor temperature reaches setting temperature. However, the number of items and item contents are not limited to these. For example, it is possible to create table data in which the wind speed or the air volume is expressed numerically by using the wind speed or the air volume of the air sent from the indoor unit 100 into the room as the air conditioning target space as an item.

1 Air Conditioner Management Device, 2, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D Air Conditioning Device, 3 External Equipment, 11 Air Conditioning Communication Unit, 12 Operation Data Storage Unit, 13 Table Data Creation Unit, 14 Table Storage Unit, 15 Priority Determination 16 control processing calculation unit 17 external signal reception unit 18 signal analysis unit 100 indoor unit 110 indoor heat exchanger 120 expansion valve 130 indoor fan 140 indoor control device 150 temperature sensor 200 outdoor unit 210 compressor, 220 four-way valve, 230 outdoor heat exchanger, 300 gas refrigerant piping, 400 liquid refrigerant piping.

Claims

An air conditioner management device that manages and controls a plurality of air conditioners, comprising:
A table data creation unit that creates data for each unit to be controlled for a plurality of items set in advance based on operation data obtained by the operation of the plurality of air conditioners;
Based on the data created by the table data creation unit, the impact degree which quantified the influence on the temperature change of the air conditioning target space due to the power reduction of the air conditioner is calculated and calculated for each unit to be controlled An air conditioner management apparatus comprising: a priority determination unit that determines a priority for performing power reduction based on a degree.
The air conditioner management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a control processing calculation unit that performs energy saving control that instructs the air conditioning apparatus to reduce the power in the order of the priorities determined by the priority determination unit. .
The air conditioner management device according to claim 2, wherein the control process calculation unit performs the energy saving control based on an external signal.
3. The energy saving control according to claim 2, wherein the control processing calculation unit stops the operation of the air conditioner having the high priority, and performs the energy control on the air conditioner having the low priority. The air conditioner management device according to Item 3.
The table data creation unit
The data is created using the control capability of the indoor unit of the air conditioner, the average time from the thermo-off to the thermo-on in the indoor unit, and the transition until the temperature of the air-conditioned space reaches the set temperature as the items. The air conditioner management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein
The priority determining unit determines the priority based on the data created by the table data creating unit from the operation data when the energy saving control is performed.
The control process calculation unit changes the instruction to the air conditioning apparatus when it is determined that the priority order determined by the priority order determination unit has changed, according to any one of claims 2 to 5. An air conditioner management device according to claim 1.
The air conditioner management apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the control process calculation unit stops the plurality of air conditioners when it determines that an emergency stop signal has been sent from the outside.
The table data creation unit creates, for each of the items, the data represented by a numerical value of 0 or more and 1 or less, where the value which is the largest among the operation data of the plurality of air conditioners is 1.
The air conditioner management device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the priority determining unit calculates the degree of influence as a distance of a coordinate system having the item as a dimension.
The air conditioner management device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the air conditioner is a unit to be controlled.
The air conditioner management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein an indoor unit included in the air conditioner is a unit to be controlled.
The air conditioner management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein an indoor unit in the air conditioning apparatus in the same air conditioning target space is a unit to be controlled.