JP6037598B2 - Management proposal system for energy conversion equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention manages the operation of a plurality of energy conversion devices that can be introduced into a facility such as a commercial facility or a general house, and proposes energy conversion devices that newly introduce or replace energy conversion devices for such local facilities. The present invention relates to a device management proposal system.

  In buildings such as commercial facilities and ordinary houses, various energy conversion devices such as air conditioners, water heaters, and lighting are provided. These devices are usually marketed as models having various model numbers from a plurality of manufacturers, and the specifications of each model vary. In particular, in recent years, development of highly energy efficient models has been active, and new models have been proposed one after another.

  In many cases, these devices use electric power, gas, oil or the like as energy. Electricity is usually supplied from an electric power company, and gas, oil, and the like are supplied from a fuel supply company, but options for supplying energy such as solar power generation, fuel cells, and storage batteries are increasing. In addition, cogeneration technology that uses exhaust heat generated during fuel cell power generation as a thermal energy source to improve overall energy efficiency is also evolving.

In addition, international discussions are underway to limit CO ₂ emissions to combat global warming, and this measure is expected to accelerate rapidly in the future. Therefore, reduction of CO ₂ emissions is a national and international issue, and the government will implement preferential policies such as tax cuts and subsidies for companies or individuals who are working to reduce CO ₂ emissions. Sometimes.

  In addition, fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas are predicted to be depleted in the future, and these prices are unstable because they are strongly affected by the international situation. Furthermore, in resource-importing countries, fluctuations in exchange rates also affect fuel prices. Therefore, there are significant fluctuations in the price of energy derived from these resources.

  When introducing various types of energy conversion equipment in the newly established facility, in order to determine which model is advantageous from the cost-effective aspect, consider the various factors mentioned above in combination. There is a need. In addition, when a problem occurs in equipment in an existing facility, it is necessary to decide whether to repair or replace the equipment. In this case as well, it is necessary to consider the various factors described above in combination. is there.

  In addition, what is described in Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2007-287063 (patent document 1) and Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2009-281619 (patent document 2) as literature which discloses the invention regarding the optimization control system of use energy efficiency. is there.

JP 2007-287063 A JP 2009-281619 A

  Here, the user desires that a plurality of energy conversion devices are optimally operated. The optimal driving is, for example, driving that maximizes cost effectiveness, that is, driving that can achieve high customer satisfaction at low cost. This includes the determination of how to control the temperature setting and blower intensity of the air conditioning equipment, the illuminance of the lighting equipment and the like. In addition, for example, when a photovoltaic power generation panel is attached to the roof of the user's house and power can be supplied to the interior of the house from a storage battery of an electric vehicle parked in the garage, the photovoltaic power generation panel generates power. It is also necessary to determine whether the consumed power is consumed in a house, stored in an electric vehicle storage battery, or sold to an electric power company. In these judgments, it is necessary to consider various factors as described above in combination.

  It is difficult for the user to make such a complicated determination. In addition, when making any proposal to the user, it is also desired to feed back the result of the proposal and the degree of satisfaction of the user, and to make the next proposal with higher accuracy based on the fed back information. Until now, priority is often given to judgments based on the circumstances of the energy supply side, manufacturers and distributors of various devices, and there is almost no response with the user side. A system that efficiently performs such feedback response, considers both customers and suppliers, and uses it effectively has not been developed.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a management proposal for energy conversion equipment that can make proposals regarding the deployment and / or control of energy conversion equipment for real or virtual local facilities using feedback information from the user. It is a technical problem to provide a system and a management proposal method.

The energy conversion device management proposal system according to the present invention proposed to solve the technical problem as described above includes a plurality of local facilities in which a plurality of energy conversion devices for converting an energy state are arranged , A remote proposal center connected to a local facility and generating proposal information regarding the operation and / or exchange of the at least one energy conversion device for the plurality of local facilities. The local facility constituting this energy conversion device management proposal system inputs the target value of the consumption cost of the supplied energy including any of electric power, fuel, and water supplied to the energy conversion device deployed in the local facility. An input terminal for receiving, proposal information receiving means for receiving proposal information from the remote proposal center, proposal information from the remote proposal center, and a target value of the consumption cost of the supply energy input from the input terminal Based on a controller that controls the operation of at least one energy conversion device deployed in the local facility, operation information including supply energy and operation time supplied to the energy conversion device, and input from the input terminal generating feedback information based on the target value of the consumption cost of the energy supplied Comprising a feedback information generating unit that, a feedback information transmitting means for transmitting the feedback information to the feedback information generating unit has generated to the remote proposed Center.

The remote suggestion center includes feedback information receiving means for receiving feedback information from the local facility, operation specification data relating to operation specifications of two or more types of energy conversion devices that convert energy states, Introductory price data relating to the introductory price, fluctuation factor data including energy prices and / or preferential policies, facility specification data relating to the specifications of the local facility where the energy conversion device is deployed, and the two or more models The operation data related to the actual operation of the energy conversion device is registered, and the operation specification data, the introduction price data, the variable factor data, the facility specification data, and the operation data are updated as needed, and the feedback Information based on the database Update, based on the data registered in the updated database, and proposals engine for either generating and modifying or their the suggestion information, either one the proposed engine is generated and modified or their And proposal information transmitting means for transmitting the proposal information for performing to the local facility.

In the management proposal system for the energy conversion device, the proposal engine generates proposal information based on various data in the database, and the proposal information is transmitted from the proposal information transmission unit to the proposal information reception unit. And the operation of the energy conversion device is controlled based on the transmitted proposal information, and the feedback information generating means generates feedback information based on information related to the operation of the energy conversion device, and the feedback information is The feedback information transmitting means transmits the feedback information receiving means, and based on the transmitted feedback information, the operation specification data and / or operation data in the database are updated, and the proposed engine updates the update information. Is Data based on various data including the new proposal information is generated.

The local facility may be provided with display means for visualizing proposal information from the remote proposal center and displaying it to the user.

  The energy conversion device management proposal system according to the present invention uses the feedback information from the user's local facility to generate or modify the proposal information, thereby arranging and / or controlling the energy conversion device or any one of them. Can make an optimal suggestion about.

It is a figure which shows the outline of the energy conversion equipment management proposal system to which this invention was applied. It is a figure which shows 1st Embodiment of the energy conversion equipment management proposal system to which this invention was applied.

  Embodiments of an energy conversion device management proposal system to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  In the present invention, the energy conversion device means, for example, a photovoltaic power generation device that converts light energy into electric energy, a large-capacity storage battery that stores electric energy, and converts electric energy into heat energy and fluid motion that carries the energy. It is a general term for air conditioning equipment, lighting equipment that converts electrical energy into light energy, and equipment that converts energy forms into various forms of energy, such as electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV). In many cases, energy conversion devices are competitively marketed by a plurality of manufacturers, and each manufacturer manufactures and sells multiple models of energy conversion devices belonging to one category. There are many cases.

  These energy conversion devices are deployed in various facilities. Here, the facility is a general term for all forms of spaces where energy conversion devices are deployed, such as commercial facilities such as shopping malls, hospitals, schools, theaters, movie theaters, factories, and houses. In special cases, the facility may be outdoors, or the facility and the outdoors may be spatially continuous, and the degree of openness of the facility to the outdoors, such as a ball game stadium with an openable dome, will change. There is also a case.

  FIG. 1 shows an outline of an energy conversion device management proposal system 1 to which the present invention is applied. This energy conversion device management proposal system 1 includes a remote proposal center 2 and a plurality of local facilities 3. As will be described in detail later, the remote proposal center 2 and the plurality of local facilities 3 are connected to each other via a communication line such as the Internet 4 and can transmit and receive information to and from each other.

  Here, for example, a server including a database and a program is used for the remote proposal center 2, and the local facility 3 accesses the remote proposal center 2 via the Internet 4 and downloads and uses necessary information and programs. Make it possible. The local facility 3 can also upload useful information to the remote proposal center 2. Alternatively, the remote proposal center 2 may be converted into a cloud so that all necessary applications are executed and calculated on the remote proposal center 2 side, and only information input / output is performed on the local facility 3 side.

  That is, the processing of various data will be described below, but all operations related to the processing of these data may be performed at the remote proposal center 2 or may be performed entirely at the local facility 3, and the remote proposal center. 2 and the local facility 3 may share each other. Therefore, in the following description, for example, the calculation described as being executed in the local facility 3 may actually be performed on the remote proposal center 2 side. The processing or calculation described in the present embodiment may be performed in any part in the energy conversion device management proposal system 1, and all these possibilities are included in the present invention.

  As a first embodiment of the present invention, detailed configurations of the remote proposal center 2 and the local facility 3 are shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, only one local facility 3 is representatively shown. However, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of local facilities 3 are normally connected to the remote proposal center 2.

  The remote proposal center 2 receives a proposal engine 6 that generates proposal information to be provided to each local facility 3, a proposal information transmission unit 5 that transmits this proposal information to the local facility 3, and feedback information from each local facility 3. And a feedback information receiving unit 7. Further, the remote proposal center 2 includes a database 8 in which operation specification data 81, introduction price data 82, variation factor data 83, facility specification data 84, operation data 85, and the like are stored. Details of these data will be described later.

  The local facility 3 includes a plurality of energy conversion devices 13. Further, the local facility 3 is based on the proposal information receiving unit 14 that receives the proposal information from the remote proposal center 2, the controller 15 that controls the energy conversion device 13 based on the proposal information, and the operation of the energy conversion device 13. A feedback information generation unit 16 that generates feedback information and a feedback information transmission unit 17 that transmits this feedback information to the remote proposal center 2 are provided.

In addition, the local facility 3 includes a display 18 that serves as a display unit that visualizes and displays proposal information and the like, and an operation panel that constitutes an input terminal for the user to input a target value and the like regarding the operation of the energy conversion device 13 19 may be provided. The local facility 3 is provided with various sensors 20 that sense how the environment has changed due to the operation of the energy conversion device 13. For example, the sensor 20 may be a sensor that senses changes in temperature and brightness. In many cases, a sensor function is also provided in the energy conversion device 13, and the description regarding the sensor 20 applies to the internal sensor of the energy conversion device 13 in the same manner.

  The remote proposal center 2 and the local facility 3 are connected via a communication line such as the Internet 4 as described above. In addition to these, various external contractors such as a manufacturer 9, a distributor 10, a maintenance / repair contractor 11, and a safety management contractor 12 are connected to the Internet 4. Various levels of authority are given to these outside contractors, and outside contractors access various parts of this energy conversion equipment management proposal system 1 within the scope of the authority given to them to obtain information. And control the equipment and update the data.

  Next, operation | movement of the energy conversion equipment management proposal system 1 based on this invention is demonstrated.

  First, the proposal engine 6 of the remote proposal center 2 proposes based on data such as operation specification data 81, introduction price data 82, variation factor data 83, facility specification data 84, operation data 85, etc. stored in the database 8. Generate information.

  The operation specification data 81 includes various data such as the rated output, power consumption, and service life of the energy conversion device 13. The operation specification data 81 also includes necessary maintenance frequency and necessary maintenance cost. These data may be obtained from the manufacturer 9 of each device.

  In the operation specification data 81, for example, when the energy conversion device is an air conditioner, how the power consumption, the fuel consumption, the amount of water, etc. changes depending on the external temperature, the set temperature, the volume of the installation space, the amount of water, etc. Such detailed data is also included. Such data can also be obtained through a feedback mechanism described later by actual driving or simulation. Data from manufacturer 9 may be augmented with data obtained from actual driving or simulation, and data from manufacturer 9 may be updated.

  The introduction price data 82 is data indicating the introduction price of the energy conversion device 13. The introductory price is the amount necessary for the introduction of each model of energy conversion equipment, and includes the construction cost for installation in addition to the actual selling price. Since the introduction price of each model changes depending on the introduction time and the introduction area, the introduction price needs to be updated as needed.

The variation factor data 83 is data obtained by quantifying all information that may affect the cost of equipment introduction, replacement, repair, running cost, and the like. For example, the government may assist in the introduction of energy conversion devices that are effective in reducing energy consumption or CO ₂ emissions. There are various types of subsidies, including subsidies and tax benefits when depreciating. The variable factor data includes data that quantifies such subsidies. In addition, there are various external factors that may affect the running cost of energy conversion equipment in the fluctuation factor data, which may fluctuate electricity charges, gas charges, and oil and water charges. included.

  The facility specification data 84 is data relating to the design of the newly established or existing local facility 3. This data may include data related to building materials in addition to data related to dimensions and volume of the local facility 3. In addition, various items such as the estimated number of personnel accommodated in the space, the presence or absence of heat-generating devices deployed in the space, and the frequency with which the space is opened and closed can be included depending on the use of the facility.

  The operation data 85 stores information indicating the result of actual operation of the energy conversion device 13 deployed in the local facility 3. The operation data 85 is generated and updated based on feedback information supplied from the local facility 3 to the remote proposal center 2. The feedback information includes, for example, a drive source such as power supplied to the energy conversion device 13, fuel consumption, water, and the operation time and result of the operation, such as a value obtained by quantifying the changed temperature and brightness. It is. The feedback information is based on data from the energy conversion device 13 and the sensor 20.

  The proposal engine 6 generates proposal information based on various data stored in the database 8 as described above. Here, the proposal information includes the following information.

  First, the proposal information includes information related to optimal control of the actual operation of each energy conversion device 13. For example, the proposed engine 6 proposes a control that minimizes the power supplied to the energy conversion device 13, the consumption of fuel and water, or the energy cost. At this time, the target value input by the user via the operation panel 19 of the local facility 3 may be taken into consideration. Charges for supply energy such as electricity, gas, and even oil and water vary depending on various factors. Further, depending on the contents of the contract between the local facility 3 and the electric power company, it may change depending on the time zone, and further, the price of fossil fuel such as gas and oil may change depending on the international situation. Here, if generalized and demonstrated, the proposal engine 6 can also be regarded as an arithmetic program for deriving an optimal solution using these complexly related factors as variables.

  Secondly, the proposal information includes information related to the optimal selection of the power source and the power supply destination. As described above, the energy conversion device 13 may be a solar power generation panel or a battery in an electric vehicle. That is, in the local facility 3, in addition to the commercial power source supplied from the power company, some energy conversion devices 13 can be selected as the power source. In such an environment, in order to select the most advantageous power source for the user, it is necessary to consider various factors, and it is impractical to make such a determination at any time on the user side. The proposal engine 6 can appropriately determine such selection of the power source and the power supply destination based on various data stored in the database 8.

  Thirdly, the proposal information includes information regarding the necessity of maintenance and repair of the existing energy conversion device 13. For example, when an abnormality is detected in the operation of the energy conversion device 13 by comparing the feedback information from the local facility 3 and the operation specification data 81 in the database 8, the proposed engine 6 causes the energy conversion device 13 to perform maintenance or Judge that repair is necessary. Such a proposal is visualized and displayed on the display 18 of the local facility 3. Of course, the notification of the proposal to the user may be performed by voice or by both voice and image. Further, the detection of the abnormal value may be notified to the maintenance / repair contractor 11 or the safety management contractor 12, and the user may be contacted from these.

  Fourth, the proposal information includes information related to the determination of replacement with a new device. For example, when an efficient energy conversion device is released and the running cost of the existing energy conversion device 13 in the local facility 3 is taken into consideration, it may be more advantageous for the user to perform replacement. The manufacturer 9 registers information on a new model in the database 8 in the format of the operation specification data 81 as needed. The proposal engine 6 can also consider replacement of the energy conversion device 13 to the user as necessary, taking these information into consideration. Such a proposal is visualized and displayed on the display 18 of the local facility 3. The information proposed here is preferably a proposal for optimizing the cost for the user, but may serve as an advertisement for introducing the functions of a new model.

  The proposal information generated by the proposal engine 6 as described above is supplied to the proposal information transmission unit 5. The proposal information transmission unit 5 converts the proposal information into data suitable for transmission via a communication line such as the Internet 4 and transmits the proposal information to the local facility 3. The conversion performed here includes packetization of data, serialization, addition of a destination IP address, and the like. Since these processes are apparent to those skilled in the art, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  The proposal information receiving unit 14 of the local facility 3 receives the proposal information transmitted from the proposal information transmitting unit 5, performs necessary processing such as data unpacking, and then supplies it to the controller 15.

  The controller 15 controls each energy conversion device 13 based on the proposal information. In addition to the specific operation of each energy conversion device 13, this control includes selection of supply energy such as a power source and fuel as described above. In addition, when the proposal information is information regarding the necessity of maintenance or repair of the energy conversion device 13 or information regarding determination of replacement with a new device, the controller 15 visualizes this information and supplies it to the display 18. Then, the content of the proposal information is notified to the user by being displayed on the display 18.

  The feedback information generation unit 16 generates information to be fed back from the local facility 3 to the remote proposal center 2. For this purpose, the feedback information generation unit 16 collects various information. For example, the feedback information generation unit 16 is supplied with information related to the operation of the energy conversion device 13. This information is information relating to the actual power consumption of the energy conversion device 13, the amount of energy consumed, such as fuel and water. In recent years, smart meters, which are power meters having a communication function, have been developed, and such information on power consumption can be sufficiently collected. In addition to this, various operation data can be supplied to the feedback information generation unit 16 as long as the energy conversion device has a function of accumulating information about its own operation or communicating with the outside.

  Further, the data sensed by the sensor 20 is also supplied to the feedback information generating unit 16. Here, for example, each sensor such as a temperature sensor is used as the sensor 20. Based on data from these sensors, the temperature, humidity, light quantity, air volume, water quantity, rotation quantity, etc. are determined at a certain position in the local facility 3. Information about how it has changed.

  Further, the user can input various information via the operation panel 19. For example, the user can set various operation targets for the energy conversion device 13. This may be, for example, a target monthly electricity bill. Further, the user may input information indicating whether or not the user is satisfied with the control by the energy conversion device management proposal system 1 from the viewpoint of cost and comfort from the viewpoint of comfort. In many cases, the operation panel 19 and the display 18 are arranged close to each other and may be integrally formed. In addition, it is not always necessary to provide the dedicated operation panel 19 and the display 18, and similar functions can be realized as a software application on a device having a display function such as a mobile phone, a computer device, or a portable information terminal. Good. As described above, information input by the user via the operation panel 19 or a similar terminal device is also supplied to the feedback information generation unit 16 and constitutes part of the feedback information.

  The feedback information is supplied to the feedback information transmission unit 17 and is transmitted to the remote proposal center 2 through appropriate processing such as data packing. In the remote suggestion center 2, the feedback information receiving unit 7 receives this feedback information. The proposal engine 6 reinforces, updates, or corrects each data registered in the database 8 based on this feedback information.

  For example, the feedback information is accumulated as operation data 85. As a result, information on how the actual energy conversion device 13 is operated and, as a result, how the environment has changed is accumulated. In addition, information relating to a target value set by the user and an error in actual driving with respect to the target value is also accumulated. The more such information is accumulated, the higher the validity of the proposal information generated by the proposal engine 6.

  Further, for example, the operation specification data 81 can be updated by the feedback information. If there is already operation specification data 81 provided by the manufacturer, this feedback information may supplement the missing data or modify the existing data. Such feedback information can also be fed back to the manufacturer. Based on such feedback information, manufacturers can verify and further reinforce their own operating specification data.

  Thus, the database 8 is continuously updated with the feedback information. The updated database 8 can also be used for proposals to other users, and the database 8 is updated again by feedback from the system proposed to other users. Through such repetition, the database 8 is constantly evolving, enriching the content, and increasing its utility value.

  The database 8 can be updated not only by feedback information but also by various operators, contractors and institutions. For example, as described above, various levels of authority are given to various external contractors such as the manufacturer 9, the distributor 10, the maintenance / repair contractor 11, and the safety management contractor 12. Within the range, the database 8 can be accessed to obtain or update information. In addition, a dedicated operator of the remote proposal center 2, a government / local government organization, etc. can also access the database 8 to acquire or update information. That is, the database 8 is a knowledge database in which various knowledge related to energy is widely shared, and is a learning type database in which knowledge is accumulated and enriched every time it is used.

  This database 8 provides significant benefits to the user. That is, the energy conversion device management proposal system 1 of the present invention includes an operation specification of a plurality of energy conversion devices 13, an introduction price of each model, an energy price of a supply energy including one of supply power, fuel, and water, a preferential policy, Furthermore, from the huge amount of information related to the complex, such as the specifications of the facility where the energy conversion device is introduced, the initial cost and the running cost calculated from these, the optimum energy conversion device model and model combination, Furthermore, control of these operations can be proposed to the user. Thereby, the user can significantly reduce the cost required for the establishment or maintenance of the facility.

The database 8 according to the present invention is also useful for the manufacturer 9 of the energy conversion device 13. As described above, since the information acquired by actual driving is fed back to the database 8, the data stored in the database 8 is also interesting for the manufacturer. The manufacturer 9 can verify and augment the nominal value of the operation data of their products with operation data based on operation in various operating environments, or use such operation data for subsequent product development. It can be used for.

As described above, the energy conversion device management proposed system according to the present invention, based on the variety and vast amount of information, and select the best energy conversion devices, it is possible to optimally control these energy conversion devices, consumer Energy optimization can be achieved, which is beneficial for users of energy conversion equipment . In addition, the energy conversion device management proposal system according to the present invention feeds back information obtained from the actual operation of the energy conversion device to the database, which is also beneficial to manufacturers and maintenance companies of energy conversion devices.

  1 Energy Conversion Equipment Management Proposal System, 2 Remote Proposal Center, 3 Local Facility, 4 Internet, 5 Proposal Information Transmitter, 6 Proposal Engine, 7 Feedback Information Receiver, 8 Database, 9 Manufacturer, 10 Distributor, 11 Maintenance Repair Contractor, 12 Safety management contractor, 14 Proposal information receiver, 15 Controller, 16 Feedback information generator, 17 Feedback information transmitter

Claims (2)

A plurality of local facilities where a plurality of energy conversion devices for converting the state of energy are deployed;
Information related to optimal control of actual operation of energy conversion equipment connected to the plurality of local facilities and for the plurality of local facilities, supply energy supplied to the energy conversion equipment A remote proposal center that generates proposal information including information relating to selection, information relating to maintenance or repair of the energy conversion equipment, and information relating to a decision to replace the energy conversion equipment deployed in the local facility with a new equipment. A conversion device management proposal system,
The local facility is
An input terminal for inputting a target value of a consumption cost of supplied energy including any of electric power, fuel, and water supplied to an energy conversion device deployed in the local facility;
Proposal information receiving means for receiving proposal information from the remote proposal center;
A controller for controlling the operation of at least one energy conversion device deployed in the local facility based on proposal information from the remote proposal center and a target value of the consumption energy consumption cost input from the input terminal; ,
Feedback information generating means for generating feedback information based on operation information including supply energy and operation time supplied to the energy conversion device, and a target value of consumption cost of the supply energy input from the input terminal;
Feedback information transmitting means for transmitting feedback information generated by the feedback information generating means to the remote proposal center;
The remote suggestion center is
Feedback information receiving means for receiving feedback information from the local facility;
Operational specification data relating to the operational specifications of two or more energy conversion devices that convert the energy state, introduction price data relating to the introduction price of each of the above models, and variable factor data including either energy prices and preferential policies or any one of them. And facility specification data relating to the specifications of the local facility where the energy conversion device is deployed and operation data relating to actual operation of the two or more types of energy conversion devices are registered, and the operation specification data, the introduction price Data, variable factor data, facility specification data, and operation data are updated as needed, and the database is updated based on the feedback information, based on data registered in the updated database , Generate and / or modify the proposal information One and a suggestion engine to perform or,
Proposal information transmitting means for transmitting the proposal information generated and / or modified by the proposal engine to the local facility .
In the proposal engine, proposal information is generated based on various data in the database,
The proposal information is transmitted from the proposal information transmitting means to the proposal information receiving means,
The operation of the energy conversion device is controlled based on the transmitted proposal information,
In the feedback information generating means, feedback information is generated based on information on the operation of the energy conversion device,
The feedback information is transmitted from the feedback information transmitting means to the feedback information receiving means,
Based on the transmitted feedback information, the operation specification data and operation data in the database or any one of them is updated,
In the above proposed engine, the updated various energy conversion device management proposed system you characterized in that a new proposal information is generated based on the data, including data.   The management proposal system for energy conversion equipment according to claim 1, wherein the local facility includes display means for visualizing proposal information from the remote proposal center and displaying it to a user.

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