JP7601748B2 - Air conditioning control device, air conditioning control system, and air conditioning control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an air conditioning control device, an air conditioning control system, and an air conditioning control method that adjust power consumption by controlling multiple air conditioners.

Small and medium-sized buildings often use heat pump air conditioners known as building multi-air conditioners or packaged air conditioners, which connect the outdoor unit to multiple indoor units with piping and use a compressor to compress and circulate the refrigerant.

Based on the set temperature, air conditioners set a control temperature (thermo-off temperature) inside the unit that stops the compressor and switches the unit to thermo-off mode, and a control temperature (thermo-on temperature) that starts the compressor and switches the unit to thermo-on mode, and adjust the room temperature to match the set temperature using a combination of compressor rotation speed and airflow.

If the air conditioner continues to be in the thermo-off state, the room temperature will rise if it is in cooling operation, and will drop if it is in heating operation. If the air conditioner then exceeds the thermo-on temperature, it will start up the compressor and control the temperature to the thermo-on state. When this compressor is restarted, a larger startup power than normal is required.

In building multi-air conditioners and packaged air conditioners that have multiple indoor units installed on one refrigerant piping, each indoor unit measures the indoor temperature, and if it exceeds the set temperature, it closes the valve on the refrigerant piping to that unit. This is called indoor unit thermo-off. When the valves of all indoor units are closed, the outdoor unit performs outdoor unit thermo-off control to stop the compressor. If the indoor unit remains in the thermo-off state and the thermo-on temperature is exceeded, the indoor unit valve is opened. At this time, the outdoor unit will be restarted if it is stopped.

Patent Document 1 shows a technology for an air conditioner in which multiple indoor units are connected to a single refrigerant pipe, in which the technology detects situations in which the compressor is frequently stopped and restarted, and staggers the timing of thermo-off for each indoor unit by changing the set temperature for each indoor unit, in order to prevent an increase in power consumption due to stopping and restarting the compressor.

Patent Document 2 also shows a technology that monitors the indoor temperature, detects when all indoor units are about to turn off the thermostat, and changes the thermostat-off temperature and thermostat-on temperature in advance.

In recent years, in order to balance the supply and demand of electricity, a demand response (DR) system has been put into practical use, which adjusts the power consumption of equipment installed on the consumer side at the instruction of the power system manager or electricity retailer. When DR is performed using air conditioning equipment such as a building multi-air conditioner or packaged air conditioner, a method is known in which multiple air conditioning equipment are digitally connected and the required power is adjusted by issuing individual control instructions to each equipment from an air conditioning control device in the form of a cloud or server, since the power consumption of each equipment is small. Specific means for adjusting the power consumption of a building multi-air conditioner or packaged air conditioner include changing the temperature setting, setting an upper limit on the output of the outdoor unit, and intentionally turning off the thermostat.

When issuing instructions from the air conditioning control device to individual air conditioners, the air conditioning control device may issue instructions directly to each air conditioner, or the air conditioning control device may issue instructions to a control terminal installed in each building or on each floor, and the control terminal may create new instructions for each air conditioner based on the instructions it receives and issue them to each air conditioner.

JP 2012-154600 A Patent No. 6033416

In an air conditioning control system that issues temperature setting instructions to multiple air conditioners in response to power consumption adjustment requests from DRs and the like to adjust overall power consumption, there is a problem in that when the temperature setting is changed to reduce power consumption, if the thermo-off temperature corresponding to the temperature setting is higher than the current room temperature in cooling operation or lower in heating operation, the system will transition to the thermo-off state and the compressor will stop, causing a discontinuous change in power consumption (see Figure 4).

The object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioning control device, an air conditioning control system, and an air conditioning control method that prevent discontinuous changes in the power consumption of each air conditioner when adjusting the power consumption by DR or the like in air conditioning equipment such as a building multi-air conditioner or packaged air conditioner.

In order to solve the above problem, the air conditioning control device of the present invention is an air conditioning control device that controls the power consumption of an air conditioner having at least one outdoor unit and multiple indoor units, and is provided with a target power acquisition unit that acquires a target value for the power consumption of the air conditioner, a power consumption acquisition unit that acquires the current power consumption value of the air conditioner, a temperature information acquisition unit that acquires the current room temperature and set temperature of each of the indoor units, a control instruction creation unit that, when the target value is less than the current power consumption value, changes the set temperature of the air conditioner so that the power consumption value becomes the target value by calculating a change in the set temperature for indoor units whose current room temperature is higher than the thermo-off temperature corresponding to the change in the set temperature when the air conditioner is in cooling operation, and a control instruction transmission unit that sets the change in the set temperature to the indoor units when the air conditioner is in heating operation.

According to the present invention, when adjusting power consumption by DR or the like in air conditioners such as building multi-air conditioners and packaged air conditioners, it is possible to prevent discontinuous changes in the power consumption of each air conditioner, making it easy to adjust the power consumption to the target level.

FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of the air conditioning control system according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an air conditioning control device. 4 is a flowchart for controlling the operation of an air conditioner performing cooling operation by the air conditioning control device. 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating the occurrence of discontinuous changes in power consumption when changing a temperature setting. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a situation in which no discontinuous change in power consumption occurs when changing the temperature setting. FIG. 4 is a functional configuration diagram of another air conditioning control system according to the embodiment.

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

FIG. 1 is a functional configuration diagram of an air conditioning control system according to an embodiment.
The air conditioning control system is composed of an aggregation coordinator system 2 that performs power trading, an air conditioning control device 1, air conditioners (outdoor units, indoor units) of air conditioning systems 31 and 32 included in a building 5, a control terminal 12 that controls the air conditioning systems, and a smart meter 11. In addition to the building 5, the air conditioning control device 1 controls multiple buildings in a building 6 that includes a control terminal, an air conditioning system, and a smart meter (not shown).

The air conditioning control device 1 is composed of a target power acquisition unit 51 that acquires information about the target power from a higher-level aggregation coordinator system 2 via a network 102, a power consumption acquisition unit 53 that acquires power consumption information of the air conditioners in building 5 from a smart meter 11 installed in building 5 via a control terminal 12, a temperature information acquisition unit 54 that acquires information about room temperature and set temperature from indoor units in buildings 5 and 6, a control instruction creation unit 52 that creates set temperatures to be instructed to each indoor unit from the information acquired by the temperature information acquisition unit 54, and a control instruction transmission unit 55 that transmits the control instructions created by the control instruction creation unit 52 to the control terminals 12 in buildings 5 and 6 via the network 103.

The control terminal 12 provided in each of buildings 5 and 6 is connected to a smart meter 11 that acquires power consumption information for the air conditioners in the buildings via a network 107. The control terminal 12 is also connected via a network 106 to an air conditioning system 31 of the outdoor unit 13 and indoor units 14-16 connected to an information line 31a, and to an air conditioning system 32 of the outdoor unit 17 and indoor unit 18 connected to an information line 32a, to transmit information on room temperature and set temperature, which will be described later.

Compressors 41, 45 that compress the refrigerant are incorporated in the outdoor units 13, 17, respectively. Generally, most of the power consumption of an air conditioner is due to the compressor.
The indoor units 14 to 16 are connected to the outdoor unit 13 by refrigerant piping 33, and the indoor units 14 to 16 are provided with valves 42 to 44 for controlling the inflow of refrigerant, respectively. Similarly, the outdoor unit 17 is connected to the indoor unit 18 by refrigerant piping 34, but the indoor unit 18 is not provided with a valve.

Next, the operation of the indoor units 14 to 16, 18 will be described, taking the indoor unit 14 as a representative example.
A remote control (not shown) is installed in the indoor unit 14, and the resident can set the room temperature. The set temperature means the room temperature that the indoor unit 14 should aim for, and the indoor unit 14 adjusts the air volume and the inflow of refrigerant so that the measured room temperature becomes the set temperature.

The amount of refrigerant flowing into the indoor unit 14 is adjusted using a valve 42 or by a request from the indoor unit 14 to the outdoor unit 13 .
The outdoor unit 13 collects requests from each indoor unit and determines the number of revolutions (rotation speed) of the compressor 41 .

When the indoor heating/cooling load is small compared to the capacity of the air conditioner, it is easy for the room to become too cold when cooling and too warm when heating. In such cases, a thermo-off temperature is set to stop the inflow of refrigerant to the indoor unit 14, and when the room temperature reaches the thermo-off temperature, the valve 42 is closed to stop the inflow of refrigerant. In the indoor unit 14 with the inflow of refrigerant stopped, the room temperature rises when cooling and drops when heating, but when the thermo-on temperature is reached, the valve 42 is opened and the inflow of refrigerant resumes. The state in which the valve is open is generally called the thermo-on state of the indoor unit, and the state in which the valve is closed is called the thermo-off state of the indoor unit.

If only one of the indoor units 14-16 connected to the same outdoor unit 13 is in the thermo-on state, the outdoor unit 13 will stop the compressor 41 when the room temperature reaches the thermo-off temperature. After that, when any of the indoor units 14-16 reaches the thermo-on temperature, the outdoor unit 13 will restart the compressor 41.

When there is only one indoor unit connected to the outdoor unit, as in air conditioning system 32, a valve for controlling the inflow of refrigerant, as in indoor unit 18, may not be installed. In this case, when the room temperature reaches the thermo-off temperature, outdoor unit 17 stops compressor 45, and then restarts the compressor when the room temperature reaches the thermo-on temperature.

The indoor unit's thermo-on temperature and thermo-off temperature are calculated and determined internally by the indoor unit based on the set temperature Ts. The difference ΔTsoff between the thermo-off temperature and the set temperature Ts, and the difference ΔTson between the thermo-on temperature and the set temperature Ts, are preset as design values for the indoor unit and generally cannot be changed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the air conditioning control device 1.
The air conditioning control device 1 includes a non-volatile storage medium 91, a CPU 92 that performs arithmetic processing, a memory 93, and a communication unit 94. The communication unit 94 is connected to networks 102 and 103.
The CPU 92 executes the program stored in the non-volatile storage medium 91 to realize the functions of the target power acquisition unit 51, the control instruction creation unit 52, the power consumption acquisition unit 53, the temperature information acquisition unit 54, and the control instruction transmission unit 55.

FIG. 3 is a control flowchart when the air conditioning control device 1 increases or decreases the power consumption of an air conditioner in cooling operation.
In step S1, the target power acquisition unit 51 of the air conditioning control device 1 acquires the DR start date/time, end date/time, and power reduction command for each time zone as the DR schedule from the aggregation coordinator system 2. The duration of each time zone differs depending on the country, region, and DR product type, but in this embodiment, it is determined in 30-minute intervals.

In step S2, the target power acquisition unit 51 determines whether the current time has reached the start time of the power reduction command (DR start time), and if it has (yes in S2), the process proceeds to S3. If it has not reached the start time (no in S2), the process waits.

In step S3, the target power acquisition unit 51 checks whether any correction information for the power reduction command has been received from the aggregation coordinator system 2, and sets the target power P_target for the air conditioner for the next 30 minutes based on the difference between the power reduction command value and the baseline power predicted before the reduction.

In step S4, the power consumption acquisition unit 53 acquires the current power consumption P_present. In detail, the power consumption acquisition unit 53 acquires power consumption information of the air conditioners from the smart meters 11 of each building (Buildings 5 and 6) in which the air conditioners to be controlled are installed via the control terminals 12, and adds up the information to obtain the power consumption P_present.

In step S5, the temperature information acquisition unit 54 acquires the set temperature information of the current set temperature Ts, thermo-on temperature Ts_on, and thermo-off temperature Ts_off of each indoor unit (indoor units 14, 15, 16, 18), as well as room temperature information, which is the current room temperature T_present.

The temperature information acquisition unit 54 may acquire only the set temperature Ts as the set temperature information, and add or subtract a predetermined value internally to calculate the thermo-on temperature Ts_on and the thermo-off temperature Ts_off. The air conditioning control device 1 may store a correlation list between the indoor unit model numbers and the predetermined values in the non-volatile storage medium 91 in advance, or may learn the set temperature, room temperature, and thermo-on/thermo-off switching behavior of each indoor unit during normal operation when power consumption is not adjusted, to determine the predetermined values and store them in the non-volatile storage medium 91.

In step S6, the control instruction creation unit 52 compares the target power P_target set in step S3 with the current power consumption P_present acquired in step S4. If the current power consumption P_present is greater than the target power P_target (yes in S6), the process proceeds to S7, which is a process for reducing power. If the target power P_target is equal to or greater than the current power consumption P_present (no in S6), the process branches to the processes of S18 to S23, which are a process for increasing power.

In step S7, the control instruction creation unit 52 assigns the current power consumption P_present to the power variable P_temp, which is a temporary power value for calculation.

In step S8, the control instruction creation unit 52 performs the loop process of steps S9 to S13 for each system number i from 1 to the maximum system number, using the system number i corresponding to the outdoor units 13 and 17 as a parameter. System numbers are assigned in order across buildings. In other words, the control instruction creation unit 52 performs the loop process of steps S9 to S13 for each outdoor unit.

In step S9, the control instruction creation unit 52 performs the loop process of steps S10 to S13 for each system number i, using the indoor unit number j corresponding to indoor units 14, 15, 16 and indoor unit 18 as a parameter. In other words, the control instruction creation unit 52 performs the loop process of steps S10 to S13 for each indoor unit.

In step S10, the control instruction creation unit 52 compares the thermo-off temperature Ts_off(i,j)+1 when the indoor unit set temperature Ts(i,j) is raised by 1°C with the current room temperature T_present(i,j). This means judging whether a transition to the thermo-off state will occur when the set temperature is changed, and does not change the set temperature Ts of the air conditioner in question so as to avoid a discontinuous change in power consumption when a transition does occur. Specifically, it judges whether the room temperature T_present(i,j) is greater than the thermo-off temperature Ts_off(i,j)+1, and if it is not greater (no in S10), the processing of steps S11 to S13 is omitted.

In step S11, the control instruction creation unit 52 calculates the change amount ΔP(Ts(i,j)+1), which is the amount of reduction in power consumption when the indoor unit's set temperature Ts(i,j) is increased by 1°C.

In step S12, the control instruction creation unit 52 updates the indoor unit's set temperature Ts(i,j) by adding 1°C, and subtracts the change ΔP (Ts(i,j) + 1) from the power variable P_temp.

In step S13, the control instruction creation unit 52 compares the power variable P_temp calculated in step S12 with the target power P_target. That is, it is determined whether the reduction in power consumption due to the change in the set temperature Ts(i,j) reaches the target power P_target. If the power variable P_temp is smaller than the target power P_target (yes in S13), the calculation process of the change value of the set temperature Ts(i,j) due to the power reduction command from the aggregation coordinator system 2 is terminated, and the process proceeds to step S14. If the power variable P_temp is equal to or greater than the target power P_target (no in S13), the process from step S10 to S12 is repeated.
When the loop process of steps S9 to S13 in step S8 is completed, or when step S13 is "yes" during the loop process, the process proceeds to step S14.

In step S14, the control instruction transmission unit 55 transmits the set temperature Ts(i,j) calculated in the processing of steps S10 to S12 to the control terminals 12 of buildings 5 and 6 via the network 103. At this time, the thermo-off temperature Ts_off(i,j) and thermo-on temperature Ts_on(i,j) corresponding to the set temperature Ts(i,j) may be transmitted together. The control terminal 12 transmits the notified set temperature Ts(i,j) to each indoor unit as set temperature information.

In step S15, the control instruction creation unit 52 measures a one-minute pause (one-minute wait), and when one minute has elapsed, proceeds to step S16.

In step S16, the control instruction creation unit 52 measures the time elapsed since the start of processing in step S4, and if 30 minutes have not elapsed (no in S16), the process returns to step S4. If 30 minutes have elapsed (yes in S16), the process proceeds to step S17.

In steps S15 and S16, the control instruction creation unit 52 performs the calculation process of the change value of the set temperature Ts(i,j) in steps S10 to S12 every minute for 30 minutes. As a result, the set temperature Ts(i,j) is increased by 1°C, gradually bringing the current power consumption P_present closer to the target power P_target.

In step S17, the control instruction creation unit 52 determines whether it is the end time of the DR. If it is not the end time (no in S17), the process returns to step S3 and repeats the calculation process of the change value of the set temperature Ts(i,j) due to the power reduction command. If it is the end time (yes in S17), the process ends.

Next, a description will be given of the process to be performed when the target power P_target determined in step S6 is equal to or greater than the current power consumption P_present and is in the direction of increasing power.
In step S18, the control instruction generating unit 52 assigns the current power consumption P_present to a power variable P_temp, which is a temporary power value for calculation.

In step S19, the control instruction creation unit 52 performs the loop process of steps S20 to S23 with the line number i corresponding to the outdoor units 13 and 17 as a parameter, from 1 to the maximum line number. Line numbers are assigned in order across buildings. In other words, the control instruction creation unit 52 performs the loop process of steps S20 to S23 for each outdoor unit.

In step S20, the control instruction creation unit 52 performs the loop process of steps S21 to S23 for each system number i, using the indoor unit number j corresponding to indoor units 14, 15, 16 and indoor unit 18 as a parameter. In other words, the control instruction creation unit 52 performs the loop process of steps S21 to S23 for each indoor unit.

In step S21, the control instruction creation unit 52 calculates the amount of change ΔP(Ts(i,j)-1), which is the increase in power consumption when the indoor unit's set temperature Ts(i,j) is lowered by 1°C.

In step S22, the control instruction creation unit 52 updates the indoor unit's set temperature Ts(i,j) by subtracting 1°C, and adds the change ΔP(Ts(i,j)-1) to the power variable P_temp.

In step S23, the control instruction creation unit 52 compares the power variable P_temp calculated in step S22 with the target power P_target. That is, it determines whether the increase in power consumption due to the change in the set temperature Ts(i,j) has reached the target power P_target. If the power variable P_temp is equal to or greater than the target power P_target (yes in S23), the process of calculating the change value of the set temperature Ts(i,j) due to the power reduction command from the aggregation coordinator system 2 ends, and the process proceeds to step S14. If the power variable P_temp is not equal to or greater than the target power P_target (yes in S13), the process repeats steps S21 to S23.

In the flowchart of FIG. 3, the process of changing the temperature setting Ts(i,j) has been described in the order of the line number i and the indoor unit number j, but the order of the indoor units is not limited to this, and may be random.
Furthermore, the increment or decrement of the temperature setting Ts(i,j) is not limited to 1°C.
Furthermore, the lapse of one minute in step S15 and the lapse of 30 minutes in step S16 are not limited to these.

Next, a change in power consumption when the temperature setting is changed in response to a power reduction command from the aggregation coordinator system 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.
4 and 5 are diagrams showing the time variations in the indoor unit set temperature, thermo-on temperature, thermo-off temperature, and room temperature during cooling operation, and the time variations in the power consumption of the corresponding air conditioner (outdoor unit).

First, FIG. 4 illustrates a case in which discontinuous changes in power consumption occur when changing the temperature setting, using the control of the air conditioning control device 1 of the embodiment described in the flowchart of FIG. 3. FIG. 4 illustrates the occurrence of discontinuous changes in power consumption when changing the temperature setting.

During cooling operation, the indoor unit is set to a set temperature (dashed line), and the room temperature (thick solid line) is controlled to fall within the range of the thermo-on temperature and thermo-off temperature. When the set temperature is changed to a higher temperature by a power reduction command from the aggregation coordinator system 2, the room temperature may become lower than the thermo-off temperature at the changed set temperature, and the indoor unit may switch to the thermo-off state. In this case, as shown in Figure 4, if the outdoor unit also switches to the thermo-off state, the compressor may stop, causing discontinuous power fluctuations and increasing power consumption.

As shown in FIG. 3, in step S10 of the air conditioning control device 1 of the embodiment, the control instruction creation unit 52 determines whether the room temperature T_present(i,j) is greater than the thermo-off temperature Ts_off(i,j) + 1, and if it is not greater (no in S10), the processing of steps S11 to S13 is omitted. In other words, if the room temperature is lower than the thermo-off temperature, the processing of steps S11 to S13 is omitted. This excludes changes to the indoor unit set temperature Ts(i,j), thereby suppressing discontinuous power fluctuations and increases in power consumption of the compressor shown in FIG. 4.

Therefore, in the air conditioning control device 1 of the embodiment, when the temperature setting is changed to a higher value in response to a power reduction command from the aggregation coordinator system 2, indoor units that will be in the thermo-off state are excluded, and the settings of indoor units that do not transition to the thermo-off state are changed, so that, as shown in FIG. 5, the indoor units do not transition to the thermo-off state, and discontinuous power fluctuations in the power consumption of the outdoor units are prevented. Here, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a situation in which discontinuous changes in power consumption do not occur when changing the temperature setting.

Fluctuations in the power consumption of the outdoor unit due to changes in the set temperature Ts(i,j) of the indoor unit during cooling operation can also occur when the temperature setting is changed to a lower value due to an increase power command from the aggregation coordinator system 2. In more detail, by setting the set temperature lower, the room temperature exceeds the thermo-on temperature, causing the indoor unit to transition from the thermo-off state to the thermo-on state, and the outdoor unit also transitions to the thermo-on state, resulting in discontinuous power fluctuations in the outdoor unit.

For this reason, in the flowchart of FIG. 3, a step may be added between steps S20 and S21 to determine whether the room temperature T_present(i,j) is greater than the thermo-on temperature Ts_on(i,j)-1, and if so, to omit the processing of steps S21 to S23.

In addition, when the power is reduced during heating operation, in step S10 of FIG. 3, it is possible to determine whether the room temperature T_present(i,j) is greater than the thermo-off temperature Ts_off(i,j)-1, and if it is greater, to omit the processing of steps S11 to S13.

Furthermore, when the heating operation is in the direction of increasing power, a step may be added between steps S20 and S21 in FIG. 3 to determine whether the room temperature T_present(i,j) is greater than the thermo-on temperature Ts_on(i,j)+1, and if not, to omit the processing of steps S21 to S23.

As described above, when changing the temperature settings of the indoor units, the air conditioning control device 1 of the embodiment compares the current room temperature with the thermo-off temperature or thermo-on temperature corresponding to the changed set temperature, and changes the set temperature of the indoor units while excluding indoor units that are transitioning to the thermo-off state or thermo-on state.

In other words, when the air conditioner is in cooling operation and power is reduced, the air conditioning control device 1 of the embodiment changes the set temperature of the indoor unit for indoor units where the current room temperature is higher than the thermo-off temperature corresponding to the set temperature to be changed.

In addition, when the air conditioner is in heating operation and power is reduced, the air conditioning control device 1 of the embodiment changes the set temperature of the indoor unit for indoor units where the current room temperature is lower than the thermo-off temperature corresponding to the set temperature to be changed.

In addition, the air conditioning control device 1 of the embodiment can be said to change the set temperature of indoor units for which the current room temperature is lower than the thermo-on temperature corresponding to the set temperature to be changed when the power increases during cooling operation of the air conditioner.

Furthermore, in the embodiment, the air conditioning control device 1 can be said to change the set temperature of indoor units for which the current room temperature is higher than the thermo-on temperature corresponding to the set temperature to be changed when the air conditioner is in heating operation and the power increases.

In the air conditioning control system of the above embodiment, when DR is performed using air conditioning equipment such as a building multi-air conditioner or a packaged air conditioner, discontinuous changes in the power consumption of each air conditioner are prevented, making it easy to adjust the power consumption to the target level.
Next, an air conditioning control system according to another embodiment will be described.

FIG. 6 is a functional configuration diagram of an air conditioning control system according to another embodiment of the present invention.
1 in that the above-mentioned air conditioning control device 1 is provided instead of the control terminal 12 in Fig. 1, and that a resource aggregator system 3 is provided that breaks down power reduction instructions from the aggregation coordinator system 2 into power reduction instructions for each building and transmits them to the air conditioning control device 1. Also, the function of the air conditioning control device 1 differs in that a control instruction transmission unit 55 transmits the determined set temperature Ts(i,j) to each indoor unit, and other functions are the same as those in the first embodiment, so description thereof will be omitted.

The air conditioning control device 1 controls the air conditioners in the building 5, so when DR is performed, discontinuous changes in the power consumption of each air conditioner are prevented, making it easier to adjust to the target power consumption, and since the network distance to each indoor unit is shortened, response delays to DR can be prevented.

The temperature information acquisition unit 54 of the air conditioning control device 1 acquires only the set temperature Ts as the set temperature information, and adds or subtracts a predetermined value internally to calculate the thermo-on temperature Ts_on and the thermo-off temperature Ts_off, the control instruction creation unit 52 calculates the change value of the set temperature Ts(i,j) due to a power reduction command from the aggregation coordinator system 2 using the calculated thermo-on temperature Ts_on and thermo-off temperature Ts_off, and the control instruction transmission unit 55 transmits only the calculated set temperature Ts(i,j) to each indoor unit.
In this case, each indoor unit calculates the thermo-on temperature and thermo-off temperature based on the transmitted set temperature Ts and performs air conditioning control.

The air conditioning control device 1 may store a correlation list between the model numbers of the indoor units and the above-mentioned predetermined values in the non-volatile storage medium 91 in advance, or may learn the set temperature, room temperature, and thermo-on/thermo-off switching behavior of each indoor unit during normal operation when power consumption is not being adjusted, to determine the above-mentioned predetermined values and store them in the non-volatile storage medium 91.

By transmitting only the set temperature Ts as set temperature information between the air conditioning control device 1 and each indoor unit, the amount of information transmitted by the air conditioning control system is reduced, preventing response delays to the DR.

In the above, it has been described that the air conditioning control device 1 of the embodiment changes the temperature settings of the indoor units in response to a power reduction command from the aggregation coordinator system 2, but the present invention can also be applied to a demand control system in which the air conditioning control device 1 determines a target value for the amount of power reduction and changes the temperature settings of the indoor units.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned examples, but includes various modified examples. The above examples have been described in detail to provide an easy-to-understand explanation of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all of the configurations described. It is also possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Air conditioning control device 2 Aggregation coordinator system 11 Smart meter 12 Control terminal 51 Target power acquisition unit 52 Control instruction creation unit 53 Power consumption acquisition unit 54 Temperature information acquisition unit 55 Control instruction transmission unit 13, 17 Outdoor unit (air conditioner)
14, 15, 16, 18 Indoor unit (air conditioner)

Claims (4)

An air conditioning control device that controls power consumption of an air conditioner having at least one outdoor unit and a plurality of indoor units,
a target power acquisition unit that acquires a target value of power consumption of the air conditioner;
a power consumption acquisition unit that acquires a current power consumption value of the air conditioner;
A temperature information acquisition unit that acquires the current room temperature and the set temperature of each of the indoor units;
a control instruction creation unit that, when the target value is less than the current power consumption value, changes the set temperature of the air conditioner so that the power consumption value becomes the target value, and when the air conditioner is in cooling operation, calculates a change value for the set temperature for indoor units whose current room temperature is higher than a thermo-off temperature corresponding to the change value of the set temperature, and when the air conditioner is in heating operation, calculates a change value for the set temperature for indoor units whose current room temperature is lower than a thermo-off temperature corresponding to the change value of the set temperature;
A control instruction transmission unit that sets the change value of the set temperature in the indoor unit;
An air conditioning control device comprising: An air conditioning control system including an air conditioner having at least one outdoor unit and a plurality of indoor units, and an air conditioning control device that adjusts the power consumption of the air conditioner,
The air conditioning control device is
When a target value for adjusting power consumption is less than the current power consumption value of the air conditioner, the set temperature of the air conditioner is changed so that the power consumption value becomes the target value, and when the air conditioner is in cooling operation, a change value for the set temperature is calculated for indoor units whose current room temperature is higher than a thermo-off temperature corresponding to the change value of the set temperature, and when the air conditioner is in heating operation, a change value for the set temperature is calculated for indoor units whose current room temperature is lower than a thermo-off temperature corresponding to the change value of the set temperature,
The indoor unit includes:
An air conditioning control system which notifies the air conditioning control device of a set temperature, a thermo-off temperature, and a thermo-on temperature, and operates in accordance with a change value of the set temperature. The air conditioning control system according to claim 2,
The indoor unit includes:
A set temperature is communicated between the air conditioning control device and the air conditioning control device;
The air conditioning control device is
An air conditioning control system characterized by calculating a thermo-off temperature and a thermo-on temperature based on the set temperature notified from the indoor unit, determining a change value for the set temperature, and notifying the indoor unit of the determined set temperature. An air conditioning control method for an air conditioning control device that controls power consumption during cooling operation of an air conditioner having at least one outdoor unit and a plurality of indoor units to be reduced to a target value,
Obtaining a target value for power consumption of the air conditioner;
Obtaining a current power consumption value of the air conditioner;
Obtaining the current room temperature and the set temperature of the indoor unit;
comparing the current power consumption value with the target value to determine whether or not power reduction is required;
determining whether the current room temperature of each indoor unit is higher than a thermo-off temperature corresponding to the set temperature when the set temperature is changed, and excluding the indoor unit from the indoor units whose set temperature is to be changed if the current room temperature of the indoor unit is higher;
a step of subtracting an amount of power change when the set temperature is changed from the current power consumption value of the air conditioner for each of the indoor units that is not excluded, and updating the set temperature;
A step of determining whether a power consumption value obtained by subtracting an amount of power change when the set temperature is changed from the current power consumption value of the air conditioner has reached the target value; and a step of transmitting an updated set temperature to the indoor unit.
An air conditioning control method comprising:

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