JP7555255B2 - Air conditioning system control device and control method - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a control device and control method for an air conditioning system.

Some air conditioning system control devices control the air conditioners based on schedule information of the users who will be using the room. Such an air conditioning system control device is disclosed, for example, in Patent Document 1. The air conditioning system control device disclosed in Patent Document 1 controls the air conditioners based on the number of users in the room at the time when use begins.

Some air conditioning systems are also equipped with an optimal start/stop control device. This optimal start/stop control device starts the air conditioner ahead of schedule so that the indoor temperature reaches a target indoor temperature at a preset scheduled start time. Such an optimal start/stop control device for an air conditioning system is disclosed, for example, in Patent Document 2.

JP 2013-89208 A JP 2004-85141 A

Here, when the air conditioning system control device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is combined with the optimal start/stop control device disclosed in Patent Document 2, the combined control device becomes able to start the air conditioner ahead of schedule based on the number of users in the room at the scheduled start time of the air conditioner. At this time, from the viewpoint of energy saving, it is required to stop the air conditioner ahead of schedule based on the number of users in the room even with respect to the scheduled stop time of the air conditioner.

This invention was made to solve the above problems, and aims to provide a control device for an air conditioning system that can stop an air conditioner early based on the number of occupants in the room at the scheduled stop time of the air conditioner.

The air conditioning system control device according to the present invention is an air conditioning system control device that stops an air conditioner early so that the indoor temperature of a room subject to air conditioning control reaches a target indoor temperature at a preset scheduled stop time, and includes a user number acquisition unit that acquires the number of users using the room subject to air conditioning control, an advanced stop time calculation unit that calculates an advanced stop time of the air conditioner required to make the indoor temperature reach the target indoor temperature based on a difference between the target indoor temperature and the indoor temperature, a holiday determination unit that determines whether the previous day is a holiday based on calendar information, and if the holiday determination unit determines that the previous day is not a holiday, a correction coefficient calculation unit that calculates a correction coefficient for cooling and a correction coefficient for heating based on the number of users of the previous day and the number of users of today acquired by the user number acquisition unit, and the optimal advanced stop time calculation unit calculates the optimal advanced stop time by subtracting the optimal advanced stop time calculated by the correction unit from the scheduled stop time; and a stop control unit stops the air conditioner when the current time reaches the optimal advanced stop time calculated by the optimal advanced stop time calculation unit, and the correction unit makes the optimal advanced stop time shorter than the advanced stop time during cooling if the number of users today is greater than the number of users on the previous day, makes the optimal advanced stop time longer than the advanced stop time during cooling if the number of users today is less than the number of users on the previous day, makes the optimal advanced stop time longer than the advanced stop time during heating if the number of users today is greater than the number of users on the previous day, and makes the optimal advanced stop time shorter than the advanced stop time during heating if the number of users today is less than the number of users on the previous day .

According to this invention, the air conditioner can be stopped ahead of schedule based on the number of occupants in the room at the scheduled stop time of the air conditioner.

1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an air conditioning system to which a control device according to a first embodiment is applied; 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control device of an air conditioning system according to a first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the relationship between the operation schedule of an air conditioner during cooling and the indoor temperature over time. 4 is a flowchart showing a control method for the air conditioning system according to the first embodiment.

The following describes in detail the embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1.
The control device 20 of the air conditioning system 10 according to the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 1 to 4 .

First, the air conditioning system 10 according to the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the air conditioning system 10 to which the control device 20 according to the first embodiment is applied.

The air conditioning system 10 is applied to a facility such as a building. This air conditioning system 10 performs air conditioning control (cooling or heating) for a number of air conditioning control target rooms 41 provided in the facility. A room temperature gauge 42 is provided in each air conditioning control target room 41. The room temperature gauge 42 measures the indoor temperature of the air conditioning control target room 41.

The air conditioning system 10 includes a monitoring device 11, a host controller 12, a subordinate controller 13, and an air conditioner 14. They are electrically connected via a communication line.

The monitoring device 11 monitors and controls the air conditioner 14 via the upper controller 12 and the lower controller 13. This monitoring device 11 collects, via the upper controller 12, operating status information regarding the operating status of the air conditioner 14 that the lower controller 13 has acquired from the air conditioner 14. Furthermore, based on the collected operating status information, the monitoring device 11 issues operational instructions (start, stop, adjust temperature, etc.) to the air conditioner 14 via the upper controller 12 and the lower controller 13.

The upper controller 12 monitors or controls the lower controller 13 based on the operational instructions output from the monitoring device 11. The upper controller 12 also includes a control device 20. Details of this control device 20 will be described later.

The lower controller 13 monitors or controls the air conditioner 14 based on the operation instructions output from the upper controller 12. The lower controller 13 also acquires the above-mentioned operating status information from the air conditioner 14 at a preset cycle, and outputs this acquired operating status information to the monitoring device 11 via the upper controller 12.

Next, the control device 20 of the air conditioning system 10 will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 2 and 3. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device 20 of the air conditioning system 10 according to the first embodiment. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the operation schedule of the air conditioner 14 during cooling and the indoor temperature over time.

The control device 20 shown in FIG. 2 stops the air conditioner 14 early so that the indoor temperature of the air conditioning control target room 41 reaches the target indoor temperature at the preset scheduled stop time t2. In this way, the control device 20 particularly aims to optimize the early stop control of the air conditioner 14.

The control device 20 can also perform early start control of the air conditioner 14, but details thereof will be omitted. The control device 20 can execute the early start control disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 2, for example. The optimal early start time t1' shown in FIG. 3 is calculated by the control device 20, and is the time at which the air conditioner 14 starts up when the control device 20 performs early start control. FIG. 3 shows an example in which the optimal early start time t1' is set to 7:00.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 20 includes an operation schedule setting unit 21, a target indoor temperature setting unit 22, an indoor temperature acquisition unit 23, a number of users acquisition unit 24, an advanced stop time calculation unit 25, a holiday determination unit 26, a correction coefficient calculation unit 27, a correction unit 28, an optimal advanced stop time calculation unit 29, and a stop control unit 30.

The operation schedule setting unit 21 sets the operation schedule of the air conditioner 14. In addition, the operation schedule setting unit 21 outputs the set operation schedule to the optimal advanced stop time calculation unit 29.

As shown in FIG. 3, the operation schedule of the air conditioner 14 is information including a schedule start time t1, a schedule stop time t2, and an operation time. The air conditioner 14 starts or stops according to the operation schedule. That is, the schedule start time t1 is the time when the use of the air conditioning controlled room 41 starts, and the schedule stop time t2 is the time when the use of the air conditioning controlled room 41 ends. Note that FIG. 3 shows an example where the schedule start time t1 is 8:00, the schedule stop time t2 is 18:00, and the operation time is 10 hours.

The target indoor temperature setting unit 22 sets a target indoor temperature in advance for each air-conditioning control target room 41. The target indoor temperatures set for each air-conditioning control target room 41 may all be the same temperature, or may be different temperatures. The target indoor temperature setting unit 22 also outputs the set target indoor temperature to the advanced stoppage time calculation unit 25. Note that FIG. 3 shows an example in which the target indoor temperature is 26°C.

The indoor temperature acquisition unit 23 acquires the indoor temperatures measured by each room temperature gauge 42. The indoor temperature acquisition unit 23 also outputs the acquired indoor temperatures to the advanced stoppage time calculation unit 25.

The user number acquisition unit 24 acquires the number of users (hereinafter referred to as the number of users) using each air-conditioning controlled room 41. The user number acquisition unit 24 also outputs the acquired number of users to the correction coefficient calculation unit 27.

The number of users is detected by a user number detection unit, such as a card reader installed at the entrance of the facility and a camera installed in each air-conditioning controlled room 41. This user number detection unit outputs the detected number of users to the user number acquisition unit 24.

The advanced stop time calculation unit 25 calculates the advanced stop time Δt of the air conditioner 14 required to bring the indoor temperature to the target indoor temperature based on the target indoor temperature set by the target indoor temperature setting unit 22 and the indoor temperature acquired by the indoor temperature acquisition unit 23. As shown in FIG. 3, the advanced stop time Δt is the period for which the scheduled stop time t2 is advanced. In addition, the advanced stop time calculation unit 25 outputs the calculated advanced stop time Δt to the correction unit 28.

Specifically, the advance stop time calculation unit 25 learns the gain (°C/h), which is the amount of change in indoor temperature per unit time, from the time or temperature difference until the indoor temperature reaches the target indoor temperature based on the performance up to the previous day, by exponential smoothing. Then, the advance stop time calculation unit 25 calculates the advance stop time Δt by dividing the difference between the current indoor temperature and the target indoor temperature by the learned gain.

The holiday determination unit 26 determines whether the previous day is a holiday or not based on the calendar information. This holiday determination unit 26 has the calendar information in advance. The calendar information is, for example, information that associates dates, days of the week, and holidays. The holiday determination unit 26 also outputs the determination result to the correction coefficient calculation unit 27.

When the holiday determination unit 26 determines that the previous day is not a holiday, the correction coefficient calculation unit 27 calculates a correction coefficient based on the number of users of the previous day acquired by the user number acquisition unit 24 and the number of users of today acquired by the user number acquisition unit 24. In addition, the correction coefficient calculation unit 27 outputs the calculated correction coefficient to the correction unit 28.

For example, the correction coefficient calculation unit 27 calculates the correction coefficient during cooling and the correction coefficient during heating using the following formulas (1-1) and (1-2). Note that "X" is a correction ratio, which is appropriately set in advance by a system administrator or the like.
・Correction coefficient for cooling = (number of users on the previous day / number of users today) x X ... (1-1)
・Correction coefficient for heating = (number of users today / number of users yesterday) x X ... (1-2)

The correction unit 28 corrects the forward stop time Δt calculated by the forward stop time calculation unit 25 using the correction coefficient calculated by the correction coefficient calculation unit 27 to calculate the optimal forward stop time Δt'. FIG. 3 shows an example in which the optimal forward stop time Δt' is set to 1 hour. The correction unit 28 outputs the calculated optimal forward stop time Δt' to the optimal forward stop time calculation unit 29.

For example, the correction unit 28 calculates the optimal advanced stop time Δt′ using the following equations (2-1) and (2-2).
Optimal advanced stop time during cooling Δt' = advanced stop time Δt × correction coefficient during cooling ... (2-1)
Optimal early stop time during heating Δt' = early stop time Δt × correction coefficient during heating ... (2-2)

Specifically, when cooling is in progress, if the number of users today is greater than the number of users yesterday, the room 41 that is the target of air conditioning control today is more likely to heat up than the room 41 that is the target of air conditioning control yesterday. For this reason, the correction unit 28 sets the optimal advanced stop time Δt' to be shorter than the advanced stop time Δt.

In addition, when cooling, if the number of users today is smaller than the number of users yesterday, the room 41 that is the target of air conditioning control today is more difficult to heat than the room 41 that is the target of air conditioning control yesterday. The correction unit 28 makes the optimal advanced stop time Δt' longer than the advanced stop time Δt.

On the other hand, during heating, if the number of users today is greater than the number of users yesterday, the room 41 subject to air conditioning control today is less likely to be cooled than the room 41 subject to air conditioning control yesterday. For this reason, the correction unit 28 sets the optimal advanced stop time Δt' to be longer than the advanced stop time Δt.

In addition, during heating, if the number of users today is smaller than the number of users yesterday, the room 41 subject to air conditioning control today is more likely to become cold than the room 41 subject to air conditioning control yesterday. For this reason, the correction unit 28 sets the optimal advanced stop time Δt' to be shorter than the advanced stop time Δt.

When the holiday determination unit 26 determines that the previous day is not a holiday, the optimal advance stop time calculation unit 29 subtracts the optimal advance stop time Δt' calculated by the correction unit 28 from the schedule stop time t2 to calculate the optimal advance stop time t2'. FIG. 3 shows an example in which the optimal advance stop time t2' is set to 17:00. The optimal advance stop time calculation unit 29 also outputs the calculated optimal advance stop time t2' to the stop control unit 30.

In contrast, when the holiday determination unit 26 determines that the previous day is a holiday, the optimal advance stop time calculation unit 29 subtracts the advance stop time Δt calculated by the advance stop time calculation unit 25 from the schedule stop time t2 to calculate the advance stop time t3. FIG. 3 shows an example in which the advance stop time t3 is set to 16:00. The optimal advance stop time calculation unit 29 also outputs the calculated advance stop time t3 to the stop control unit 30.

The stop control unit 30 stops the air conditioner 14 when the current time becomes the optimal advanced stop time t2' calculated by the optimal advanced stop time calculation unit 29. Specifically, when the current time becomes the optimal advanced stop time t2', the stop control unit 30 issues a stop instruction to the air conditioner 14 via the lower controller 13.

In response to this, the stop control unit 30 stops the air conditioner 14 when the current time becomes the advanced stop time t3 calculated by the optimal advanced stop time calculation unit 29. Specifically, when the current time becomes the advanced stop time t3, the stop control unit 30 issues a stop instruction to the air conditioner 14 via the lower controller 13.

Next, the control method of the air conditioning system 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control method of the air conditioning system 10 according to the first embodiment.

In step ST11, the operation schedule setting unit 21 sets the operation schedule for the air conditioner 14.

In step ST12, the target indoor temperature setting unit 22 sets the target indoor temperature for each air conditioning control target room 41.

In step ST13, the indoor temperature acquisition unit 23 acquires the indoor temperatures measured by each room temperature gauge 42.

In step ST14, the user count acquisition unit 24 acquires the number of users in each air conditioning controlled room 41.

In step ST15, the early stop time calculation unit 25 calculates the early stop time Δt of the air conditioner 14 required to set the indoor temperature to the target indoor temperature based on the target indoor temperature set by the target indoor temperature setting unit 22 and the indoor temperature acquired by the indoor temperature acquisition unit 23.

In step ST16, the holiday determination unit 26 determines whether or not the previous day is a holiday based on the calendar information. If the holiday determination unit 26 determines that the previous day is a holiday (YES), the control method for the air conditioning system 10 proceeds to step ST21. On the other hand, if the holiday determination unit 26 determines that the previous day is not a holiday (NO), the control method for the air conditioning system 10 proceeds to step ST17.

In step ST17, the correction coefficient calculation unit 27 calculates a correction coefficient based on the number of users on the previous day acquired by the number of users acquisition unit 24 and the number of users on the current day acquired by the number of users acquisition unit 24.

In step ST18, the correction unit 28 corrects the advanced stop time Δt calculated by the advanced stop time calculation unit 25 using the correction coefficient calculated by the correction coefficient calculation unit 27 to calculate the optimal advanced stop time Δt'.

In step ST19, the optimal advance stop time calculation unit 29 subtracts the optimal advance stop time Δt' calculated by the correction unit 28 from the schedule stop time t2 to calculate the optimal advance stop time t2'.

In step ST20, the stop control unit 30 stops the air conditioner 14 when the current time becomes the optimal advanced stop time t2' calculated by the optimal advanced stop time calculation unit 29. Then, the control method for the air conditioning system 10 ends.

In addition, in step ST21, the optimal advance stop time calculation unit 29 subtracts the advance stop time Δt calculated by the advance stop time calculation unit 25 from the schedule stop time t2 to calculate the advance stop time t3.

In step ST22, the stop control unit 30 stops the air conditioner 14 when the current time becomes the advanced stop time t3 calculated by the optimal advanced stop time calculation unit 29. Then, the control method for the air conditioning system 10 ends.

As described above, the control device 20 of the air conditioning system 10 according to the first embodiment stops the air conditioner 14 early so that the indoor temperature of the air conditioning controlled room 41 reaches the target indoor temperature at the preset schedule stop time t2. The control device 20 of the air conditioning system 10 includes a user number acquisition unit 24 that acquires the number of users using the air conditioning controlled room 41, an advanced stop time calculation unit 25 that calculates an advanced stop time Δt of the air conditioner 14 required to make the indoor temperature the target indoor temperature based on the difference between the target indoor temperature and the indoor temperature, a holiday determination unit 26 that determines whether the previous day is a holiday based on calendar information, and, if the holiday determination unit 26 determines that the previous day is not a holiday, calculates a correction coefficient based on the number of users of the previous day and the number of users of the day acquired by the user number acquisition unit 24. The air conditioning system 10 includes a correction coefficient calculation unit 27, a correction unit 28 that corrects the advanced stop time Δt calculated by the advanced stop time calculation unit 25 using the correction coefficient calculated by the correction coefficient calculation unit 27 to calculate an optimal advanced stop time Δt', an optimal advanced stop time calculation unit 29 that subtracts the optimal advanced stop time Δt' calculated by the correction unit 28 from the scheduled stop time t2 to calculate an optimal advanced stop time t2', and a stop control unit 30 that stops the air conditioner 14 when the current time becomes the optimal advanced stop time t2' calculated by the optimal advanced stop time calculation unit 29. Therefore, the control device 20 of the air conditioning system 10 can advance and stop the air conditioner 14 based on the number of users in the room at the scheduled stop time t2 of the air conditioner 14. Therefore, the control device 20 of the air conditioning system 10 can achieve energy saving in air conditioning control.

In addition, any of the components of the embodiments of the present invention may be modified or omitted within the scope of the invention.

10 Air conditioning system 11 Monitoring device 12 Upper controller 13 Lower controller 14 Air conditioner 20 Control device 21 Operation schedule setting unit 22 Target indoor temperature setting unit 23 Indoor temperature acquisition unit 24 Number of users acquisition unit 25 Advance stop time calculation unit 26 Holiday determination unit 27 Correction coefficient calculation unit 28 Correction unit 29 Optimal advance stop time calculation unit 30 Stop control unit 41 Air conditioning control target room 42 Room temperature t1 Schedule start time t1' Optimal advance start time t2 Schedule stop time t2' Optimal advance stop time t3 Advance stop time Δt Advance stop time Δt' Optimal advance stop time

Claims (2)

A control device for an air conditioning system that stops an air conditioner ahead of schedule so that the indoor temperature of an air conditioning controlled room reaches a target indoor temperature at a preset scheduled stop time,
A user number acquisition unit that acquires the number of users using the air conditioning controlled room;
an advanced stop time calculation unit that calculates an advanced stop time of the air conditioner required to set the indoor temperature to the target indoor temperature based on a difference between the target indoor temperature and the indoor temperature;
a holiday determination unit that determines whether the previous day is a holiday based on calendar information;
a correction coefficient calculation unit that calculates a correction coefficient for cooling and a correction coefficient for heating based on the number of users of the previous day and the number of users of the current day acquired by the user number acquisition unit when the holiday determination unit determines that the previous day is not a holiday ;
a correction unit that corrects the advanced stop time calculated by the advanced stop time calculation unit using a correction coefficient for cooling and a correction coefficient for heating calculated by the correction coefficient calculation unit to calculate an optimal advanced stop time;
an optimal brought-forward stop time calculation unit that calculates an optimal brought-forward stop time by subtracting the optimal brought-forward stop time calculated by the correction unit from a scheduled stop time;
a stop control unit that stops the air conditioner when a current time reaches the optimal advanced stop time calculated by the optimal advanced stop time calculation unit ,
The correction unit is
During cooling, if the number of users today is greater than the number of users yesterday, the optimal advanced stop time is set shorter than the advanced stop time;
During cooling, if the number of users today is less than the number of users yesterday, the optimal advanced stop time is made longer than the advanced stop time;
During heating, if the number of users today is greater than the number of users yesterday, the optimal advanced stop time is made longer than the advanced stop time;
During heating, if the number of users today is less than the number of users yesterday, the optimal advanced stop time is set shorter than the advanced stop time.
13. A control device for an air conditioning system comprising: A method for controlling an air conditioning system in which an air conditioner is stopped ahead of schedule so that an indoor temperature of an air conditioning control target room reaches a target indoor temperature at a preset scheduled stop time,
A user number acquisition unit acquires the number of users using the air conditioning controlled room,
an advanced stop time calculation unit calculates an advanced stop time of the air conditioner required to set the indoor temperature to the target indoor temperature based on a difference between the target indoor temperature and the indoor temperature;
A holiday determination unit determines whether the previous day is a holiday based on the calendar information,
a correction coefficient calculation unit, when the holiday determination unit determines that the previous day is not a holiday, calculates a correction coefficient for cooling and a correction coefficient for heating based on the number of users of the previous day and the number of users of the current day acquired by the number-of-users acquisition unit;
a correction unit corrects the advanced stop time calculated by the advanced stop time calculation unit using the correction coefficient for cooling and the correction coefficient for heating calculated by the correction coefficient calculation unit to calculate an optimal advanced stop time;
an optimal advance stop time calculation unit calculates an optimal advance stop time by subtracting the optimal advance stop time calculated by the correction unit from the scheduled stop time;
a stop control unit that stops the air conditioner when a current time reaches the optimal advanced stop time calculated by the optimal advanced stop time calculation unit;
The correction unit is
During cooling, if the number of users today is greater than the number of users yesterday, the optimal advanced stop time is set shorter than the advanced stop time;
During cooling, if the number of users today is less than the number of users yesterday, the optimal advanced stop time is made longer than the advanced stop time;
During heating, if the number of users today is greater than the number of users yesterday, the optimal advanced stop time is made longer than the advanced stop time;
During heating, if the number of users today is less than the number of users yesterday, the optimal advanced stop time is set shorter than the advanced stop time.
A method for controlling an air conditioning system.

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