JP7604885B2 - Demand monitoring device - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a demand monitoring device that is installed at an electricity consumer and used to manage the amount of power consumed.

Managing the amount of electricity consumed is important to keep electricity bills down, and demand monitoring devices are used for this purpose. The larger the scale of power consumption management, the greater the effect of reducing electricity bills, so demand monitoring devices are mainly used by large consumers such as factories and buildings.

However, such demand monitoring devices are not designed for ordinary households, and so have the problem of being difficult to use in ordinary households. One solution to this problem is a demand monitoring device that obtains power usage data from a smart meter installed in the home multiple times within a demand cycle, predicts the amount of power usage in the demand cycle, and if it predicts that the amount of power usage will be greater than a reference amount, issues a specific sound effect or displays a specific display to alert the user (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2017-153330 A

However, conventional demand monitoring devices have the following problems. That is, conventional demand monitoring devices only alert the user by using a sound or a display when the predicted amount of power usage is expected to be greater than a preset reference amount of power, so the user of the demand monitoring device must decide for himself which electrical appliances to turn off. However, since it is common for many electrical appliances to be running at the same time, the user is unsure of which electrical appliances to turn off. In addition, electrical appliances are run because they are originally necessary, and it is difficult to determine when it is acceptable to run them.

The objective of this invention is to solve the above problems and provide a demand monitoring device that can make suggestions about which electrical appliances should be turned off and when they should be operated instead.

In order to solve the above problem, the invention of claim 1 is a demand monitoring device comprising: a communication unit that receives power usage data of a consumer using multiple electrical appliances from a watt-hour meter that measures the power supplied to the consumer multiple times within a demand cycle; a storage unit that prestores the multiple electrical appliances owned by the consumer and identification information related to the fluctuations in the power usage data of each electrical appliance during operation; an estimation unit that estimates the electrical appliances in operation based on the fluctuations in the power usage data received from the watt-hour meter and the identification information; a monitoring and judgment unit that predicts an average usage amount for each demand cycle based on the power usage data received from the watt-hour meter, monitors whether the predicted value exceeds a preset reference power amount, and, if it is determined that the predicted value exceeds the reference power amount, searches for another time period during which the predicted value will not exceed the reference power amount even if at least one of the electrical appliances estimated to be in operation by the estimation unit is in operation; and a display unit that displays the search results by the monitoring and judgment unit.

In the invention of claim 1, the electrical appliances in operation are estimated based on the power usage data received from the watt-hour meter, and the average usage per demand cycle is predicted and compared with a preset reference power amount. If it is determined that the predicted value of the average usage per demand cycle exceeds the reference power amount, a suggestion is displayed regarding which electrical appliances in operation should be turned off and when they should be operated instead. If the user of the demand monitoring device follows this suggestion, it is possible to prevent the average usage per demand cycle from exceeding the reference power amount, and to prevent an increase in the demand value (maximum demand power).

The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the demand monitoring device of claim 1, the storage unit stores a fluctuation pattern of the power usage data received from the watt-hour meter, and when the monitoring and determining unit determines that the predicted value exceeds the reference power amount, it searches for the other time period based on the fluctuation pattern of the power usage data.

The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that, in the demand monitoring device of claim 1, the memory unit stores a fluctuation pattern of average usage obtained by averaging the power usage data received from the watt-hour meter for each demand period, and when the monitoring and determining unit determines that the predicted value exceeds the reference power amount, it searches for the other time period based on the fluctuation pattern of the average usage.

The invention of claim 4 is characterized in that in the demand monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the watt-hour meter is a smart meter.

According to the invention of claim 1, when it is determined that the predicted value of the average usage per demand cycle exceeds the reference power amount, in other words, when an increase in the demand value (maximum demand power), which significantly affects the calculation of the electricity bill, is predicted, a proposal can be displayed as to which of the currently operating electrical appliances should be turned off and when to operate them instead. Therefore, the user of the demand monitoring device can easily decide which electrical appliance should be turned off and when to operate it instead. Then, by the user actually turning off the electrical appliance in accordance with the proposal, it is possible to prevent the demand value from increasing, and it is possible to prevent an increase in the contracted power and an increase in the electricity bill.

According to the invention of claim 2, it is possible to search for the best time to operate an electrical device based on the fluctuation pattern of the power usage data received from the watt-hour meter.

According to the invention of claim 3, it is possible to search for the best time to operate electrical equipment based on the fluctuation pattern of the average usage (demanded power) obtained by averaging the power usage data received from the watt-hour meter for each demand period.

According to the invention of claim 4, it is possible to estimate which electrical devices are in operation based on the power usage data acquired and supplied by the smart meter, and then to search for the best time to operate the electrical devices.

1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a demand monitoring device according to the present invention; 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a customer facility in which a demand monitoring device according to the present invention is installed. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the concept of identification information D. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a concept of searching for an alternative time slot. 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of demand monitoring.

(Embodiment 1)
Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The basic configuration of a demand monitoring device according to this embodiment is shown in Fig. 1. Also, a schematic configuration of a customer facility in which the demand monitoring device is installed is shown in Fig. 2.

The power meter 2 is connected to the demand monitoring device 1. The power meter 2 is, for example, a smart meter that measures the power supplied to the consumer 5 through the service line 6, and has a built-in demand meter (not shown). The power meter 2 also has a wireless communication unit (not shown) that returns power usage data by Wi-sun in response to a request from the demand monitoring device 1. However, the wireless communication unit is not limited to a configuration that performs wireless communication using Wi-sun, and may be a configuration that performs wireless communication by PLC communication, wireless LAN, etc. In either case, data is obtained by route B communication. The power meter 2 supplies power usage data to the demand monitoring device 1 at a predetermined time period that is shorter than the demand period.

The demand meter is a device for calculating the basic electricity charge for the consumer 5. It calculates the demand power (30-minute demand value), which is the average power usage per demand cycle (e.g., 30 minutes), and determines the maximum value (demand value) of the calculated value over one month. The maximum value (maximum demand value) of the demand value over the most recent 12 months, including the current month, becomes the reference data for calculating the basic charge.

The consumer 5 has a plurality of electrical appliances 51. Examples of the electrical appliances 51 include home appliances, air conditioners, lighting equipment, office equipment, communication equipment, factory manufacturing facilities, etc. These electrical appliances 51 are operated appropriately according to the lifestyle and activity rhythms of the consumer 5. The lifestyle and activity rhythms of the consumer 5 are patterned to some extent by day of the week, month, and season, and the operation timing of the electrical appliances 51 is also patterned to some extent by day of the week, month, and season.

The demand monitoring device 1 includes a communication unit 11 that wirelessly communicates with the electricity meter 2, a storage unit 12 that prestores a plurality of electrical appliances 51 owned by the consumer 5 and identification information D related to fluctuations in the power usage data for each of the electrical appliances 51 during operation, an estimation unit 13 that estimates the electrical appliances 51 in operation based on the fluctuations in the power usage data received from the electricity meter 2 and the identification information D, a monitoring and judgment unit 14 that predicts the average usage A for each demand cycle based on the power usage data received from the electricity meter 2, monitors whether the predicted value P exceeds a preset reference power amount S, and, if it is determined that the predicted value P exceeds the reference power amount S, searches for another time period during which the predicted value P does not exceed the reference power amount S even if the electrical appliance is in operation for at least one of the electrical appliances 51 estimated to be in operation by the estimation unit 13, and a display unit 15 that displays the search results by the monitoring and judgment unit 14.

The storage unit 12 stores a first database 3 in which a plurality of electrical appliances 51 owned by the consumer 5 and identification information D for each electrical appliance 51 are linked and registered. The operation of the electrical appliances 51 consumes power, but the amount of power consumption, the way in which the power consumption rises (power consumption rises suddenly when the appliance is switched on, rises gradually, etc.), and the way in which the power consumption fluctuates (power consumption increases and decreases at a predetermined cycle during operation, power consumption is maintained constant during operation, etc.) differ for each electrical appliance 51 depending on the characteristics of the electrical appliance 51. Therefore, the fluctuation pattern of the power consumption during operation differs for each electrical appliance 51, and the fluctuation pattern of the power usage data received from the power meter 2 also differs accordingly (see FIG. 3). In this embodiment, the fluctuation pattern of the power usage data is used as identification information D related to the fluctuation of the power usage data during operation. This identification information D is determined by the characteristics of the electrical appliance 51, and by linking the electrical appliance 51 with the identification information D, the electrical appliance 51 in operation can be estimated based on the identification information D.

The identification information D is registered in a second database 4 that is prepared in advance, for example, in the memory unit 12. In other words, the identification information D of electrical appliances 51 distributed in the market is prepared in a database. By selecting an item that is preregistered in the second database 4, the user of the demand monitoring device 1 can obtain the necessary identification information D for the electrical appliance 51 owned by the consumer 5.

The memory unit 12 also stores a preset reference power amount S. The reference power amount S is a reference value for determining concentrated power consumption by the consumer 5, and is input by the consumer 5, for example, by operating the setting unit 16. The setting unit 16 is, for example, a touch panel, and input operations can be performed while viewing the display.

Furthermore, the memory unit 12 sequentially stores the electricity usage data supplied from the electricity meter 2 via the communication unit 11 together with time information.

The estimation unit 13 monitors the power usage data supplied from the watt-hour meter 2 via the communication unit 11 and stored in the memory unit 12, and estimates the electrical appliances 51 in operation based on the fluctuations in the power usage data and the first database 3 stored in the memory unit 12. The estimation unit 13 communicates the names of the estimated electrical appliances 51 in operation to the monitoring and determination unit 14.

The monitoring and judging unit 14 collects the power usage data sequentially stored in the memory unit 12 together with time information, and creates a fluctuation pattern of the power usage data. For example, the power usage data is collected by day of the week, month, and season, and a fluctuation pattern of the power usage data for each day of the week, each month, and each season is created. These fluctuation patterns are stored in the memory unit 12. The monitoring and judging unit 14 also updates each fluctuation pattern stored in the memory unit 12 using the power usage data newly stored in the memory unit 12. The update is performed at regular intervals, such as once a month or once a year. In the initial state before the operation of the demand monitoring device 1 is started, a representative pattern is stored in advance as each fluctuation pattern. These representative patterns are gradually modified to reflect the life rhythm and activity rhythm of the consumer 5 by updating through the operation of the demand monitoring device 1.

The monitoring and judging unit 14 also monitors the power usage data supplied from the power meter 2 and stored in the memory unit 12, predicts the average usage (30-minute demand value) A for each demand cycle based on the trends, and monitors whether the predicted value P exceeds the reference power amount S stored in the memory unit 12. That is, the monitoring and judging unit 14 predicts the trends in the power usage data in the current demand cycle based on the trends in the power usage data to calculate a predicted value P of the average usage A, and compares the predicted value P with the reference power amount S. If the predicted value P is equal to or less than the reference power amount S, it is judged that the average usage A will not exceed the reference power amount S even if the power usage data continues to change. On the other hand, if the calculated predicted value P is greater than the reference power amount S, it is judged that the average usage A will exceed the reference power amount S if the power usage data continues to change.

Furthermore, if the monitoring and determining unit 14 determines that the average usage amount A will exceed the reference power amount S if the power usage data continues as is, the monitoring and determining unit 14 searches for another time period (hereinafter referred to as an alternative time period) for the electrical appliances 51 whose operation is estimated by the estimating unit 13, in which the predicted value P will not exceed the reference power amount S even if the electrical appliances 51 are operated. If there are multiple electrical appliances 51 whose operation is estimated by the estimating unit 13, all of the electrical appliances 51 may be selected to search for an alternative time period, or some of the electrical appliances 51 may be selected to search for an alternative time period. Alternatively, the electrical appliances 51 owned by the consumer 5 may be prioritized in advance, and one or more electrical appliances 51 may be selected in order of priority to search for an alternative time period.

The storage unit 12 stores, as identification information D, a fluctuation pattern of the power usage data for each electrical device 51 when it is in operation, and the monitoring and judging unit 14 refers to this identification information D to calculate the increase value δ (see FIG. 3) of the power usage data when the electrical device 51 is in operation, and searches for an alternative time slot. That is, the monitoring and judging unit 14 predicts the future trend of the power usage data based on the fluctuation pattern of the power usage data stored in the storage unit 12 (the two-dot chain line portion of the fluctuation pattern shown in FIG. 4), and calculates a corrected predicted value Pa by adding the increase value δ of the power usage data of the selected electrical device 51 to the predicted value P. Then, the corrected predicted value Pa is compared with the reference power amount S, and a time slot (alternative time slot) in which the corrected predicted value Pa is equal to or less than the reference power amount S is searched for. The search for an alternative time slot is performed, for example, sequentially from the present to the future. Therefore, it is possible to search for a time slot as close to the future as possible.

For example, in FIG. 4, the value of the power usage data (power consumption) has progressed as shown by the solid line up to the current time T1, and is predicted to continue to progress as shown by the two-dot chain line. In this prediction, the predicted value P will exceed the reference power amount S at time T2. The monitoring and judgment unit 14 determines the increase value δ by referring to the identification information D shown in FIG. 3, and searches for an alternative time period in which the corrected predicted value Pa calculated by adding the increase value δ to the predicted value P is equal to or less than the reference power amount S. In FIG. 4, the alternative time period is the time period from time T3 onwards.

The search for an alternative time slot may end when one alternative time slot has been found, or may continue until multiple alternative time slots have been found. In addition, if multiple electrical devices 51 are selected, a search for an alternative time slot is performed for each electrical device 51.

The alternative time period searched for by the monitoring and judging unit 14 is supplied to the display unit 15 together with the name of the electrical device 51. The display unit 15 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and displays the name of the electrical device 51 and the alternative time period supplied from the monitoring and judging unit 14 in a predetermined format.

The monitoring and judging unit 14 is provided in the control unit 17 of the demand monitoring device 1. The control unit 17 controls the communication unit 11, the memory unit 12, the estimation unit 13, the monitoring and judging unit 14, the display unit 15, and the setting unit 16.

Next, the operation of the demand monitoring device 1 will be described. Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the monitoring operation of the demand monitoring device 1. First, initial settings are performed by the user of the demand monitoring device 1 (step S1).

In the initial setting of step S1, the reference power amount S is set. For example, the user sets the maximum demand value calculated based on past power usage data (data for the most recent 12 months including the current month) as the reference power amount S. If it is desired to reduce the power bill, the reference power amount S can be set to a value smaller than the maximum demand value. If it is acceptable for the power bill to be higher, the reference power amount S can be set to a value larger than the maximum demand value. The user operates the setting unit 16 to input the reference power amount S. The reference power amount S input by the user is stored in the memory unit 12.

In addition, in the initial setting of step S1, multiple electrical appliances 51 owned by the consumer 5 are linked and registered with the identification information D for each electrical appliance 51. The registered information is stored in the memory unit 12 as the first database 3. The user operates the setting unit 16 to register this information. The memory unit 12 has prepared a second database 4 in which electrical appliances 51 distributed in the market are linked and registered with the identification information D for the electrical appliances 51, and the name of the electrical appliance 51 and the identification information D for the electrical appliance 51 are displayed on the touch panel of the setting unit 16 by the user's operation. The user can set the electrical appliance 51 and its identification information D by operating the touch panel to find and select the target electrical appliance 51 from the second database 4.

When the initial settings in step S1 are complete, monitoring of power usage data begins. First, under the control of the control unit 17, the communication unit 11 communicates with the watt-hour meter 2 at intervals of, for example, 120 seconds to obtain power usage data (step S2). Under the control of the control unit 17, the estimation unit 13 monitors the power usage data, estimates whether or not there is an electrical device 51 in operation, and, if there is an electrical device 51 in operation, notifies the monitoring and determination unit 14 of its name (step S3). Further, under the control of the control unit 17, the monitoring and determination unit 14 also monitors the power usage data, and predicts the average usage amount A for each demand cycle based on the progress of the data (step S4).

The monitoring and determination unit 14 compares the predicted value P of the average usage A with the reference power amount S stored in the memory unit 12 (step S5), and if the predicted value P is greater than the reference power amount S (YES), searches for an alternative time period for the electrical appliance 51 estimated to be in operation by the estimation unit 13 (step S6) and supplies the search result to the display unit 15. The display unit 15 then displays the electrical appliance 51 estimated to be in operation and its alternative time period in a specified format (step S7). After that, the process returns to step S2, and monitoring of the power usage data continues.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S5 that the predicted value P is equal to or less than the reference power amount S (NO), the monitoring and judgment unit 14 updates the fluctuation pattern of the power usage data stored in the memory unit 12 as necessary (step S8). For example, updating is performed monthly or annually. After that, the process returns to step S2, and monitoring of the power usage data continues.

Thus, according to this embodiment, the electrical appliances 51 in operation are estimated based on the power usage data received from the power meter 2, and the average usage A per demand cycle is predicted and compared with the preset reference power amount S. If it is determined that the predicted value P of the average usage A per demand cycle exceeds the reference power amount S, a proposal is displayed regarding which electrical appliances 51 in operation should be turned off and when to operate them instead (alternative time period). If the consumer 5 follows this proposal, it is possible to prevent the average usage A per demand cycle from exceeding the reference power amount S, and to prevent an increase in the demand value (maximum demand power).

The consumer 5 only needs to follow the proposals of the demand monitoring device 1, and can easily decide which electrical appliances 51 to turn off and when to operate them instead. Moreover, the selection of the electrical appliances 51 to turn off is no longer made based on the consumer 5's intuition, and it becomes possible to select the appropriate electrical appliances 51 and turn them off.

If the setting unit 16 is a touch panel, the touch panel may also serve as the display unit 15.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the fluctuation pattern of the power usage data is stored in the memory unit 12, and the monitoring and determination unit 14 is configured to search for an alternative time slot for the selected electric appliance 51 based on the fluctuation pattern of the power usage data when it is determined that the predicted value P exceeds the reference power amount S, but in this second embodiment, the fluctuation pattern of the average usage amount A is stored in the memory unit 12, and the monitoring and determination unit 14 is configured to search for an alternative time slot for the selected electric appliance 51 based on the fluctuation pattern of the average usage amount A when it is determined that the predicted value P exceeds the reference power amount S. In this case as well, it is possible to search for an alternative time slot for the selected electric appliance 51.

Reference Signs List 1 Demand monitoring device 11 Communication unit 12 Memory unit 13 Estimation unit 14 Monitoring and determination unit 15 Display unit 16 Setting unit 17 Control unit 2 Power meter 3 First database 4 Second database 5 Customer 51 Electrical equipment 6 Lead-in line

Claims (4)

A communication unit that receives power usage data of a consumer using a plurality of electrical devices from a power meter that measures power supplied to the consumer a plurality of times within a demand period;
A storage unit that prestores identification information regarding the plurality of electrical appliances owned by the consumer and fluctuations in power usage data during operation of each of the electrical appliances;
an estimation unit that estimates an electric appliance in operation based on a fluctuation in the power usage data received from the watthour meter and the identification information;
a monitoring and determining unit that predicts an average usage amount for each demand cycle based on the power usage data received from the watt-hour meter, monitors whether the predicted value exceeds a preset reference power amount, and when it is determined that the predicted value exceeds the reference power amount, searches for another time period during which the predicted value will not exceed the reference power amount even if at least one of the electrical appliances whose operation is estimated by the estimating unit is in operation;
A display unit that displays a search result by the monitoring and determining unit.
A demand monitoring device comprising: The storage unit accumulates a fluctuation pattern of the power usage data received from the watthour meter,
When the monitoring and determining unit determines that the predicted value exceeds the reference power amount, the monitoring and determining unit searches for the other time period based on a fluctuation pattern of the power usage data.
2. The demand monitoring device according to claim 1, The storage unit stores a fluctuation pattern of an average power usage amount obtained by averaging the power usage data received from the watthour meter for each demand period,
when it is determined that the predicted value exceeds the reference power amount, the monitoring and determining unit searches for the other time period based on a fluctuation pattern of the average usage amount.
2. The demand monitoring device according to claim 1, The electricity meter is a smart meter.
4. The demand monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the demand monitoring device is a power supply device.