JP7321190B2 - Air conditioning system, operation control method and program - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an air conditioning system including a plurality of indoor units and one or more outdoor units, an operation control method, and a program for causing a computer to execute the operation control.

When one space (air-conditioning control area) such as an office is large, there are many cases where an air conditioning system having a plurality of indoor units is introduced. In such a system, an operation command is received for each indoor unit, and each indoor unit is operated.

In a system that operates by each indoor unit, even though there are other indoor units that affect the position specified by the user, it is not possible to select that indoor unit, so the air conditioning intended by the user is realized. I can't.

Therefore, in order to realize the air conditioning intended by the user, it is possible to select the indoor unit that affects the air conditioning environment (temperature, humidity, etc.) of the specified position in the air conditioning control area from among multiple indoor units. A configured device has been proposed (see Patent Document 1, for example).

Japanese Patent No. 5787998

In the device described in Patent Document 1, only indoor units that affect the air-conditioned environment at a specified position are selected. For example, if only one unit is selected, it takes a long time to reach the set temperature, and the selected indoor unit operates with a large amount of power, resulting in a problem of increased power consumption.

In view of the above problems, the present invention provides an air conditioning system including a plurality of indoor units and one or more outdoor units,
Acquisition means for acquiring information related to operation from an indoor unit and an outdoor unit that are operating in response to an operation instruction among a plurality of indoor units and one or more outdoor units;
and control means for instructing operation of at least one indoor unit that has not received an operation instruction according to the acquired information.

According to the present invention, the time required to reach the set temperature can be shortened, and power consumption can be reduced.

The figure which showed the structural example of an air conditioning system. The figure which illustrated the connection state of an indoor unit, an outdoor unit, and a centralized controller. The figure which illustrated the hardware constitutions of the centralized controller. The figure which showed the example which designated several indoor units to each group. The figure which illustrated the group information which a centralized controller manages. FIG. 2 is a block diagram exemplifying the functional configuration of a centralized controller; The flowchart which showed an example of the flow of the operation control by a centralized controller. The figure explaining the coordinated operation of an indoor unit. The figure which showed the example which cancel|releases the coordinated operation of some indoor units according to operation efficiency.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an air conditioning system. An air conditioning system includes a plurality of indoor units installed in the same space and one or more outdoor units installed outside the space. In addition, the air conditioning system includes a remote controller for the user to operate the air conditioner consisting of a set of indoor and outdoor units, and a centralized controller as a control device for controlling the air conditioning system.

The system exemplified in FIG. It consists of 16 remote controllers 12 and a centralized controller 13 .

The indoor unit 10 is a ceiling-mounted indoor unit, and includes a fan that draws in and blows out indoor air, a heat exchanger that warms or cools the drawn air, and a control board that controls the fan. The indoor unit 10 also includes a temperature sensor that measures the intake temperature (indoor temperature) and a temperature sensor that measures the blowout temperature.

The control board of the indoor unit 10 communicates with the remote controller 12 operated by the user, receives instructions from the remote controller 12, operates or stops the indoor unit 10, and sets or changes the operation mode, temperature, air volume, etc. conduct. In addition, the control board of the indoor unit 10 communicates with the centralized controller 13 to provide information related to operation such as set temperature, set air volume, and measured room temperature.

The outdoor unit 11 includes a fan that sucks in outside air and blows it out, a heat exchanger that warms or cools the sucked air, a compressor that circulates a refrigerant as a heat medium between the indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 11, It has a control board that controls the fan and compressor, and various sensors. The outdoor unit 11 shown in FIG. 1 is a multi-type outdoor unit to which a plurality of indoor units for sending refrigerant can be connected.

The control board of the outdoor unit 11 receives an instruction from the remote controller 12 via the indoor unit 10, operates or stops the outdoor unit 11 according to the instruction, and controls the fan and the compressor. Various sensors include a temperature sensor that measures the outside air temperature, a sensor that measures the current supplied to the compressor, a sensor that measures the flow rate of the refrigerant, a sensor that measures the pressure of the refrigerant, and the like.

The remote controller 12 instructs the indoor unit 10 to operate or stop the indoor unit 10 . Further, the remote controller 12 instructs setting and changing of operation mode, temperature, air volume, and the like.

The centralized controller 13 controls the entire system, communicates with the control board of each indoor unit 10 and the control board of each outdoor unit 11, acquires information necessary for control, and gives necessary instructions.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a connection state between an indoor unit, an outdoor unit, and a centralized controller. The indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 11 are connected by a refrigerant pipe 14 . The indoor units 10 and 11 and the centralized controller 13 are connected by a communication network 15 .

In FIG. 2 , the air conditioning system includes four refrigerant systems each composed of four indoor units 10 and one outdoor unit 11 connected by one refrigerant pipe 14 . All indoor units 10 , outdoor units 11 and centralized controller 13 are connected by a communication network 15 .

The number of refrigerant systems shown in FIG. 2 and the number of indoor units 10 and outdoor units 11 constituting one refrigerant system are examples, and other numbers may be used. Also, the communication means of the communication network 15 may be any means as long as the devices can communicate with each other. Therefore, communication between devices may be wired communication using a communication cable or the like, or wireless communication using Wi-Fi or the like.

Each indoor unit 10 and each outdoor unit 11 is assigned identification information for identifying a communication partner on the communication network 15 . The identification information is an address, such as an ID number that does not overlap with other devices. The identification information can be manually set by the system administrator. In FIG. 2, ID numbers i11 to i44 are assigned to the 16 indoor units 10, respectively, and ID numbers o1 to o4 are assigned to the four outdoor units 11, respectively.

The refrigerant is adiabatically compressed by the compressor of the outdoor unit 11, heated to a high temperature, and discharged. When used for heating, high-temperature refrigerant from the compressor is supplied to the heat exchanger of the indoor unit 10 through the refrigerant pipe 14 . When used for cooling, high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor is supplied to the heat exchanger of the outdoor unit 11 and cooled by heat exchange with the outside air. After that, the refrigerant is adiabatically expanded by an expansion valve or the like, and the temperature is further lowered. The refrigerant having a low temperature in this way is supplied to the heat exchanger of the indoor unit 10 through the refrigerant pipe 14 .

The indoor unit 10 exchanges heat between the supplied refrigerant and the air sucked in by the fan using a heat exchanger, and blows out warm or cooled air indoors. The heat-exchanged refrigerant is returned to the outdoor unit 11 again through the refrigerant pipe 14 . The refrigerant used for heating is adiabatically expanded by an expansion valve or the like of the outdoor unit 11 to lower its temperature, exchanges heat with outside air in a heat exchanger, and is then supplied to the compressor. The refrigerant used for cooling is supplied to the compressor. The refrigerant circulates between the indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 11 connected by the refrigerant pipe 14 in this way.

FIG. 3 is a diagram exemplifying the hardware configuration of the centralized controller. The centralized controller 13 includes a CPU 20 , an input/output unit 21 , a communication unit 22 , a RAM 23 , a memory disk 24 and a power supply unit 25 . The CPU 20 and the like are connected to a bus 26 and exchange information with each other via the bus 26 .

The CPU 20 is a one-chip microcomputer and controls the operation of the system. The input/output unit 21 has a display panel and an input button, receives input for user's setting and instruction, and displays the current operating state of the indoor unit 10 and the like.

The memory disk 24 stores an OS (Operating System), a program for controlling operation, driver software, data obtained by data communication, and the like. RAM 23 provides a work area for CPU 20 . Therefore, the CPU 20 reads the above program from the memory disk 24, develops it in the RAM 23, and executes it to control the operation of the system.

The communication unit 22 performs data communication with each indoor unit 10 and each outdoor unit 11 connected by the communication network 15 . The power supply unit 25 receives power from an outlet or the like, converts an alternating current into a direct current used by the CPU 20 or the like, and supplies the DC current to the CPU 20 or the like.

The input/output unit 21 performs operation settings for each indoor unit 10 (individually), and for each room (area) representing the installation space of a plurality of indoor units 10, and for each block by dividing an area into two or more spaces (blocks). can also be set. Further, the input/output unit 21 can also perform operation settings for each refrigerant system and each remote controller 12 .

The operation settings include cooling/heating selection, temperature, air volume, and air direction settings. The input/output unit 21 includes an Enter button, a Sel button, an Esc button, and direction buttons for setting those operation settings. The user uses these buttons to select and input items required for operation settings.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of grouping a plurality of indoor units and designating each group. The centralized controller 13 designates and registers the indoor units included in the area, further divides the area into blocks, designates and registers the indoor units included in each block, and operates in units of registered areas and blocks. has a function to control In this example, grouping can be set in two stages of area and block, but it is not limited to this.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, 16 indoor units i11 to i14, i21 to i24, i31 to i34, and i41 to i44 are designated in the area 40. FIG. Each outdoor unit is connected to four indoor units by refrigerant pipes 14 .

In the example shown in FIG. 4, an area 40 is divided into three blocks 41-43. Block 41 designates eight indoor units i11 to i14 and i21 to i24. Block 42 designates six indoor units i31 to i34, i41, and i43. Two indoor units i42 and i44 are specified in the block 43 .

The centralized controller 13 holds area/block management information in order to manage the indoor units designated as the area 40 and the indoor units designated as the blocks 41 to 43 . FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of area/block management information. The area/block management information holds area identification information for identifying an area allocated to each area and block identification information for identifying each block included in the area in association with each other. In FIG. 5 , the area identification information is “area 1 (first office)” for area 40 . The block identification information is "block 1 (north)" for block 41, "block 2 (east)" for block 42, and "block 3 (west)" for block 43. FIG.

The area/block management information holds an ID number for identifying an indoor unit in association with each block identification information. In the example shown in FIG. 5, indoor units i11 to i14 and i21 to i24 are associated with block 1 (north).

The centralized controller 13 may have a function of proportionally dividing and calculating the power consumption rate for each space when installed in a commercial facility or the like, in addition to the function of controlling the operation on an area/block basis.

By the way, when a user goes to work on a holiday or early in the morning, only some of the indoor units 10 and the outdoor units 11 are operated to perform air conditioning. In this case, it takes a long time for the indoor temperature to reach the set temperature, and the operated indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 11 are operated with large power consumption regardless of the operating efficiency.

Therefore, in order to shorten the time required to reach the set temperature and reduce power consumption, the centralized controller 13 is configured as follows.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the centralized controller 13. As shown in FIG. The centralized controller 13 reads and executes programs stored in the memory disk 24 into the RAM 23, thereby realizing various functions as functional means. For this reason, the centralized controller 13 includes acquisition means 30, setting means 31, calculation means 32, determination means 33, control means 34, and notification means 35 as functional means. At this time, the centralized controller 13 uses the RAM 23 and the memory disk 24 as storage means 36 .

Here, the centralized controller 13 is described as having these functional means, but it is not limited to this, and a server device or the like connected via a network to which the air conditioning system is connected has these functional means. may

Acquisition means 30 acquires operation-related information from indoor unit 10 and outdoor unit 11 that are operating in response to an operation instruction among a plurality of indoor units 10 and one or more outdoor units 11 . The information related to operation includes setting information set for the indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 11, output values of various sensors mounted on the indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 11, and the like.

The setting information includes the temperature, air volume, wind direction, and operation mode set for the indoor unit 10 by the remote controller 12, compressor setting values set for the outdoor unit 11, and the like. The output values of various sensors are room temperature, outlet temperature, outside air temperature, compressor current value, refrigerant flow rate, refrigerant pressure, and the like.

Acquisition means 30 acquires these pieces of information at regular time intervals, and stores the information for a certain period in storage means 36 together with the acquisition time.

The setting means 31 accepts designation of areas and blocks, and designation of indoor units constituting each block, associates each identification information of the areas, blocks, and indoor units, and stores them in the storage means 36 as area/block management information. to register.

The calculation means 32 calculates the power consumption of the indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 11 in operation using the information acquired by the acquisition means 30 and stored in the storage means 36, and calculates the operating efficiency from the power consumption.

The judgment means 33 judges whether or not the operating indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 11 are operating inefficiently based on the operating efficiency calculated by the calculating means 32 . Whether or not the operation is inefficient can be determined by whether or not there is an indoor unit and an outdoor unit whose operating efficiency is below the threshold for a certain period of time or longer. When it is determined that the operation is inefficient, it indicates that the operation efficiency is low with only the indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 11 in operation.

When it is determined that the operation is inefficient, the control means 34 changes the current operation setting to an operation setting including at least one other indoor unit in order to increase the operation efficiency, and controls the other indoor unit instruct driving. Other indoor units for which operation instructions are issued are indoor units that have not received operation instructions. In this way, interlocking operation of other indoor units in addition to arbitrary indoor units is called interlocking operation.

When the operation setting is input to an arbitrary indoor unit 10 and a notification of operation setting change is received from the indoor unit 10, the control means 34 cancels the interlocked operation. At this time, the control unit 34 stops the interlocked operation indoor units 10 other than the indoor units 10 that have sent the notification.

Further, when any indoor unit 10 in operation receives an operation stop instruction, the indoor unit 10 notifies the control means 34 that the operation stop instruction has been received, and stops its own operation. . Upon receiving the notification, the control means 34 instructs to stop the operation of the indoor units 10 that are operating in conjunction with each other, and cancels the operation in conjunction with the indoor units 10 .

The notification means 35 notifies the user when inefficient operation continues even after a certain period of time has elapsed after all the indoor units 10 included in the area have been operated. The notification is made by displaying on the display screen of the input/output unit 21, for example, a warning message such as "The room is not cooling down", "The room is not warming up", or "Is the window open?" done. Note that the notification may be made by voice in addition to the display of the message.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an example of operation control processing by the centralized controller 13 . The centralized controller 13 is powered on in step S1, and when started, starts communicating with all the indoor units 10 and outdoor units 11 connected to the air conditioning network in step S2, and confirms the connection. The acquisition means 30 acquires basic information from all the indoor units 10 and the outdoor units 11 in this communication. The basic information is system configuration information such as the number of refrigerant systems existing on the air conditioning network, the configuration of indoor units and outdoor units of each refrigerant system, the ID number, capacity, and model of each device. Acquisition means 30 stores the acquired basic information in storage means 36 .

The centralized controller 13 constantly communicates with each indoor unit 10 and each outdoor unit 11 , and the acquisition means 30 acquires information related to the operation of each indoor unit 10 and each outdoor unit 11 . The control means 34 grasps the operation state of each device from the information acquired by the acquisition means 30, transmits an operation setting command to an arbitrary indoor unit 10, and enters a normal processing state for automatic control. When the normal processing state is entered, it becomes possible to perform group registration of the indoor units for designating the air-conditioned space.

The determination means 33 determines whether to register or change the air-conditioned space in step S3. The determination means 33 determines whether or not the user has selected the group registration function of the indoor unit 10 using the input/output unit 21 . If it is determined to implement, the process proceeds to step S4, the setting means 31 accepts the selection, and displays the indoor unit list or the current area and block registration status. The indoor unit list is displayed when group registration has not been set, and the current area and block registration status is displayed when group registration has been performed in the past. If it is determined not to implement, the process proceeds to step S6.

When newly registering a group, the user inputs a block name and selects an indoor unit that constitutes the block from the displayed list of indoor units. Next, the user enters an area name and selects blocks that make up the area. The storage unit 36 can store an area layout diagram (layout diagram) in advance, and the setting unit 31 superimposes each indoor unit on the layout diagram when displaying a list of indoor units, and determines which indoor unit is placed at which position. It is possible to easily grasp whether is installed.

To change the current area and block registration status, the user should delete the existing group registration and register again. The setting unit 31 stores the input area name, block name, and identification information of the indoor unit selected for each block in association with each other and registers them in the storage unit 36 .

After performing group registration, the user selects or inputs interlocking operation conditions. The interlocking operation condition is a condition set as a priority item regarding the operation of the system. Examples of interlocking operation conditions include a condition "power consumption priority" that prioritizes power consumption, and a condition "speed priority" that prioritizes the time required to reach a set condition such as a set temperature. In step S5, the setting means 31 stores the user-selected interlocking operation condition in the storage means 36 to set the interlocking operation condition.

In step S6, the elapsed time is measured by a timer as time measuring means, and it is determined whether or not the communication time for periodic communication has been reached. If it has reached, the process proceeds to step S7, and if it has not reached, the process proceeds to step S11. In step S<b>7 , the acquisition means 30 acquires information related to operation from each indoor unit 10 and each outdoor unit 11 . At this time, the acquisition means 30 acquires operation ON/OFF, operation mode, set temperature, set air volume, compressor ON/OFF, compressor set value, output values of various sensors, etc. as information related to operation. do. Information related to driving is not limited to the above, and may be other information that can be used to calculate driving efficiency. Acquisition means 30 stores the acquired information in storage means 36 for a certain period of time. At that time, the acquisition means 30 stores the information together with the information of the measured time.

In step S8, the calculation means 32 uses the stored information to calculate the power consumption of the indoor unit 10 and the outdoor unit 11 in operation, and calculates the operating efficiency from the power consumption. The calculation means 32 uses the total current value _As (A) of all the compressors in the outdoor unit 11 in operation, the power supply voltage V (V), and the power factor φ among the stored information, Power consumption W _s (kW) is calculated by the following equation 1. The power factor φ is the ratio of the power that is actually consumed (active power) to the apparent power that includes the power that is not actually consumed (reactive power) and is represented by the product of the AC voltage and current.

Further, when the amount of heat produced by each outdoor unit 11 in operation is Q (kW), Q is the total value G (kg/s) of the refrigerant flow rate of all the compressors in the outdoor unit 11 in operation, and the outdoor unit Using the specific enthalpy H _o (kJ/kg) of the refrigerant at the outlet of the outdoor unit 11 and the specific enthalpy H _i (kJ/kg) of the refrigerant at the inlet of the outdoor unit 11, the following formula 2 is used.

In Equation 2, H _o is the specific enthalpy converted from the liquid pipe temperature and pressure at the outlet of the outdoor unit 11, and H _i is the specific enthalpy converted from the gas pipe end and pressure at the inlet of the outdoor unit 11. The current operating efficiency C is calculated by the following Equation 3 using _Ws calculated by Equation 1 above and Q calculated by Equation 2 above.

The calculation means 32 also approximates the current air conditioning load D (kW). D has a cooling load D _c and a heating load D _h , and D _c and D _h are the output value T _i (° C.) of the intake temperature sensor of the indoor unit 10 and the output value of the blowout temperature sensor of the indoor unit 10 Assuming that T _b (° C.), the air volume of the indoor unit 10 is B (kg/s), and the specific heat of the air is 1 (kJ/kg° C.), it is calculated by the following equation 4.

Each calculated value is stored in the storage means 36 together with the acquired information.

In step S<b>9 , the determination means 33 determines whether or not the operation is inefficient based on the operating efficiency calculated by the calculation means 32 . Whether or not the operation is inefficient is determined by whether or not there is an outdoor unit 11 in which the value of C is less than (or equal to or less than) a preset threshold value for a certain period of time (X hours) or longer. X differs depending on the interlocking operation conditions, and can be set to 2 minutes for "speed priority" and 5 minutes for "power consumption priority", for example. It should be noted that these times are examples and are not limited to these values.

If the operation is determined to be inefficient in step S9, the process proceeds to step S10, and if the operation is determined to be efficient, the process proceeds to step S11. In step S10, the control means 34 changes the operation setting and selects the indoor unit 10 to perform the interlocked operation. The control means 34 instructs the selected indoor unit 10 to operate.

FIG. 8 is a diagram explaining the interlocking operation. The user uses the remote controller 12 to instruct the operation of the indoor unit i14 near the user's location. At that time, the user sets the desired temperature. The operation instruction is also sent to the outdoor unit o1 of the same refrigerant system as the indoor unit i14, and the operation of the outdoor unit o1 is started together with the indoor unit i14.

The indoor unit i14 and the outdoor unit o1 are operated under high load in order to bring the temperature in the wide area 40 close to the preset temperature set by the user. Therefore, the determination means 33 determines that the operation is inefficient. Then, the control means 34 changes the operation setting and instructs the operation of at least one indoor unit that is stopped.

When the layout chart is stored in the storage means 36, the control means 34 refers to the layout chart and, when instructing the indoor units i11 to i13, i21 to i24 and the outdoor unit o2 to operate, The wind direction is instructed to blow air toward the indoor unit i14. As a result, the set temperature set by the user can be reached quickly.

The judgment means 33 periodically judges whether or not the operation is inefficient. Even if the indoor units i11 to i14, i21 to i24 and the outdoor units o1, o2 in the block 41 are operated, if it is still determined that the operation is inefficient, the control means 34 changes the operation setting so that the block 41 It instructs the operation of the stopped indoor units in the included area 40 . All the indoor units and outdoor units in the area 40 are thereby operated.

In this way, when the set interlocking operation condition is "power consumption priority", the control means 34 selects groups in the order of the number of indoor units and selects groups in order to reduce power consumption as much as possible. It is possible to instruct the operation of the stopped indoor units in the group. If the group is grouped by refrigerant system, the operation of the indoor unit while the refrigerant system is stopped is instructed, and if it is still judged to be inefficient operation, the operation of the indoor unit that is stopped within the block is instructed. be able to.

On the other hand, when the set interlocking operation condition is "speed priority", the control means 34 increases the number of indoor units that are stopped in the area 40 so as to bring the room temperature closer to the set temperature quickly. and instruct the operation of the outdoor unit. The control means 34 operates all the indoor units and outdoor units in the area, and can reduce the number of indoor units and outdoor units to be operated when the operation is not inefficient. Therefore, the control means 34 can select groups in descending order of the number of indoor units, and can instruct the indoor units in the selected group that are stopped to operate.

Before the control means 34 selects the indoor unit 10 to perform interlocking operation, the determination means 33 determines from the load D of the indoor unit 10 currently in operation whether the cause of the inefficient operation is wasteful operation or insufficient capacity. to judge. This is because, in the case of wasteful operation, even if the indoor unit 10 is additionally operated, the time required to reach the set temperature is not shortened, and extra power is consumed.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example in which some of the indoor units that are in operation are determined to be operating in vain, and some of the indoor units are stopped. The determination means 33 determines whether the load D of some of the indoor units in operation, which is calculated by the calculation means 32, continues to be 0 or less for X hours or more, and determines whether the operation is wasteful or the capacity is insufficient. . When the load D of the indoor unit continues to be 0 or less for X hours or longer, it can be determined as wasteful operation because it does not contribute to the air conditioning of the block at all.

When all the indoor units i31 to i34, i41, i43 and the outdoor units o3, o4 in the block 42 are operating, when the room temperature reaches the set temperature, the compressor of the outdoor unit o4, for example, frequently stops operating. The thermostat is turned off, and the load on the indoor units i41 and i43 connected to the outdoor unit o4 becomes almost zero.

When the determining means 33 detects that the load on the indoor units i41 and i43 is almost 0 for X hours (shutdown state), it determines that the indoor units i41 and i43 and the outdoor unit o4 are running wastefully. In response to this, the control means 34 instructs to stop the operation of the indoor units i41 and i43 and the outdoor unit o4 which are running wastefully. The indoor units i41 and i43 and the outdoor unit o4 receive instructions from the control means 34 and stop operating.

If the load D of some operating indoor units continues to be equal to or greater than the threshold for X hours or more, the load is too large and the operation is inefficient, so the determination means 33 can determine that the capacity is insufficient. .
When the judgment means 33 judges that the capacity is insufficient, the control means 34 executes the following control.

When the interlocking operation condition is "power consumption priority", the control means 34 confirms whether or not there is an indoor unit whose refrigerant system is stopped in the block to which the operating indoor unit belongs. do. If there is, the control means 34 sets the set temperature of the stopped indoor unit to the average set temperature of the operating indoor units, and instructs the stopped indoor unit to operate.

Only when there is no indoor unit whose refrigerant system is stopped in the same block, the control means 34 checks whether there is another indoor unit whose refrigerant system is stopped in the same block. If there is, the control means 34 sets the set temperature of the stopped indoor unit of another refrigerant system to the average set temperature of the operating indoor units, and instructs the stopped indoor unit to operate.

If it is determined that the capacity is still insufficient even after all the indoor units in the block are operated, the control means 34 instructs the operation of the stopped indoor units in the area to which the block belongs. Also in this case, the control means 34 sets the set temperature of the stopped indoor unit to the average set temperature of the operating indoor units. Thereby, all the indoor units in the area are operated.

When the interlocking operation condition is "speed priority", the control means 34 confirms whether or not there is a stopped indoor unit in the area. If there is, the control means 34 instructs the stopped indoor units in the area to operate. Thereby, all the indoor units in the area are operated.

When the determination means 33 determines that the operation is not inefficient, the control means 34 operates the indoor units and the outdoor units belonging to a block other than the block to which the indoor unit receiving the operation instruction belongs, in which the number of indoor units is smaller than the area. Instruct to stop. This reduces the number of indoor units to be operated.

Even if the indoor units belonging to the block are operated, if the judgment means 33 judges that the operation is not inefficient, the control means 34 operates only the indoor units that have received the operation instruction, and stops the operation of the other indoor units. to direct. At this time, if there is an outdoor unit in operation other than the outdoor unit connected to the indoor unit that received the operation instruction, the control means 34 also instructs to stop the operation of the outdoor unit in operation.

When the interlocking operation condition is "priority on power consumption", the number of indoor units may be increased one by one, rather than being greatly increased from one indoor unit activated by the user to all indoor units of the same refrigerant system. The same applies when increasing all indoor units in a block or all indoor units in an area. The number may be increased one by one.

A determination as to whether the operation is inefficient or not is made every X hours, and even when the interlocking operation condition is "power consumption priority", when the inefficient operation ceases, the number of indoor units to be interlocked can be reduced. The control to reduce the number of interlocked indoor units is the opposite of the above control to increase the number of indoor units. Decrease in the order of all indoor units that have the same refrigerant system as the unit and the indoor unit that the user started.

The centralized controller 13 can hold the information of the layout diagram of the area, and can display each indoor unit superimposed on the layout diagram. In this case, since the control means 34 knows the installation position of each indoor unit, the set temperature of the stopped indoor unit during interlocked operation is not the average set temperature of the operating indoor units, but the nearest operating one. It can be set to the set temperature of the indoor unit.

If the state of inefficient operation due to insufficient capacity continues even after a certain period of time has elapsed after all the indoor units in the area have been operated, the notification means 35 notifies the user of the need to pay attention. The fixed time in this case can be set to a time interval longer than the time interval for judging whether or not the operation is inefficient, such as 5×X hours. Note that 5×X hours is an example, and is not limited to this.

Referring to FIG. 7 again, in step S11, the determination means 33 determines whether or not the user has operated the remote controller 12 during the interlocked operation. The determination means 33 can determine whether or not there is an operation based on whether or not there is a notification that the operation has been received from the indoor unit that has received the operation. If there is no operation, the process returns to step S3, and the determination of whether or not the operation is inefficient is performed again. If there is an operation, in step S12, the judgment means 33 judges whether or not the indoor unit that has received the operation is performing interlocking operation.

If the indoor unit is not in the interlocked operation, the process returns to step S3, and it is determined again whether the operation is inefficient. If the indoor unit is in interlocking operation, the process proceeds to step S13. Whether or not the indoor unit is in interlocking operation can be determined by determining whether the operated indoor unit belongs to any of the area, block, and refrigerant system in which interlocking operation is being performed.

In step S13, the control means 34 changes the operation setting according to the content of the received operation, and cancels all related interlocking controls. Specifically, the control means 34 instructs all the indoor units that have been instructed to operate for the interlocked operation to stop operating, except for the indoor unit that has received the operation. When the user's operation is to stop the indoor units, the user instructs to stop the operation of all the indoor units that have been instructed to operate for the interlocked operation, including the indoor unit that received the operation.

If the indoor unit, which has been determined to be running in vain and has stopped running, is operated by the user, the control means 34 will stop the operation if it is determined to be running in vain. do not control.

After the interlocked operation is canceled in step S13, the process returns to step S3 to determine whether the operation is inefficient or not, and the interlocked operation can be performed.

As described above, not only the indoor unit instructed to operate by the user but also the other indoor units are interlocked to operate, shortening the time required to reach the set temperature, improving operating efficiency, and reducing power consumption. can be reduced. Moreover, since the operating efficiency can be increased and control according to the interlocking operating conditions can be realized, it is possible to perform power demand operating control that is efficient and satisfies the air conditioning demand conditions.

Although the air conditioning system, method, and program of the present invention have been described in detail with the above-described embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and other embodiments, additions, and modifications are possible. , deletion, etc., can be changed within the range that a person skilled in the art can conceive, and as long as the action and effect of the present invention are exhibited in any aspect, it is included in the scope of the present invention. Therefore, program products such as recording media on which the above programs are recorded are also included in the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Indoor unit 11... Outdoor unit 12... Remote controller 13... Centralized controller 14... Refrigerant piping 15... Communication network 20... CPU
21 input/output unit 22 communication unit 23 RAM
24 Memory disk 25 Power supply unit 26 Bus 30 Acquisition means 31 Setting means 32 Calculation means 33 Judgment means 34 Control means 35 Notification means 36 Storage means 40 Areas 41 to 43 Blocks

Claims (2)

An air conditioning system comprising a plurality of indoor units and one or more outdoor units,
Acquisition means for acquiring information related to operation from an indoor unit and an outdoor unit that are operating in response to an operation instruction among the plurality of indoor units and the one or more outdoor units;
a control means for instructing operation of at least one indoor unit that has not received an operation instruction according to the acquired information;
The plurality of indoor units are grouped for each remote controller that gives operation instructions, for each installation area obtained by dividing an installation space into a plurality of areas, or for each installation space,
The acquisition means acquires the information at regular time intervals,
The control means selects groups in descending order of the number of indoor units when the condition set as a matter to be prioritized regarding the operation of the air conditioning system is power consumption priority, and issues operation instructions in the selected group. An air conditioning system that instructs the operation of indoor units that are not receiving air conditioning. An air conditioning system comprising a plurality of indoor units and one or more outdoor units,
Acquisition means for acquiring information related to operation from an indoor unit and an outdoor unit that are operating in response to an operation instruction among the plurality of indoor units and the one or more outdoor units;
a control means for instructing operation of at least one indoor unit that has not received an operation instruction according to the acquired information;
The plurality of indoor units are grouped for each remote controller that gives operation instructions, for each installation area obtained by dividing an installation space into a plurality of areas, or for each installation space,
The acquisition means acquires the information at regular time intervals,
The control means selects a group in descending order of the number of indoor units when the condition set as a matter to be prioritized regarding the operation of the air conditioning system is speed priority, and the group with the largest number of indoor units is selected. is selected, it instructs the indoor units within the selected group that have not received operation instructions to operate. An air conditioning system that instructs the machine to stop operating.

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