JP7770451B2 - Adjustment device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an adjustment device.

Buildings such as buildings that use central heat source air conditioning systems are known. In these buildings, energy conservation measures are sometimes implemented to reduce the amount of energy consumed by the air conditioning system during intermediate periods. Intermediate periods refer to seasons of the year other than summer and winter, such as spring and autumn.

The intermediate season is a period when the air conditioning load is lower than other periods, and in the case of air conditioning, it is a period when there is little chance of a shortage of cooling capacity even if the temperature of the chilled water sent from the heat source unit is increased. Energy-saving measures are implemented by determining the period during the intermediate season when the chilled water temperature will be increased, based on the experience of the building's facilities manager.

Energy-saving measures in central heat source air conditioning systems are achieved by setting the chilled water temperature higher than the rated value when cooling, and by setting the hot water temperature lower than the rated value when heating. Changing the rated values of the chilled water temperature and hot water temperature in this way is also referred to as water supply temperature relaxation (see, for example, non-patent document 1).

When the water supply temperature is relaxed, air conditioners that use a supply of chilled or hot water to perform air conditioning will increase the pump flow rate and air volume to maintain their air conditioning capacity. In other words, the air conditioner will be controlled to increase the flow rate of chilled or hot water used for heat exchange, and the air flow rate that is drawn into the air conditioner and blown out after heat exchange will be increased.

As a result, the amount of energy consumed by air conditioners is likely to increase, resulting in increased energy consumption. On the other hand, the amount of energy consumed by heat source equipment that supplies cold and hot water will decrease, resulting in energy savings.

When comparing the amount of energy increase in air conditioners with the amount of energy savings in heat source equipment, the amount of energy savings in heat source equipment is likely to be greater. In other words, when considering the air conditioning system as a whole, there is a high possibility that energy savings will result in less energy consumption.

"Building Energy Conservation Guidebook 2019: Energy Conservation Promotion Methods and Energy Conservation Technologies" Energy Conservation Center, General Incorporated Foundation, Diagnostic Guidance Department/Diagnostic Technology Department, p. 14

On the other hand, in the case of air conditioning systems that supply thermal energy to multiple buildings from a district heating and cooling facility (hereinafter referred to as DHC), the operators of the DHC and the buildings may be different. When these operators are different, it is difficult to moderate the water supply temperature based on the decision of either party.

Water supply temperature relaxation is carried out when there is a low possibility of a problem occurring on the demand side, such as a lack of air conditioning capacity in a building. DHC operators often do not have the information to determine whether or not there is a possibility of a problem occurring on the demand side. As a result, DHC operators are often unable to determine whether or not to relax the water supply temperature.

In buildings that receive heat from a DHC that does not moderate the water supply temperature, it is common to reduce the amount of energy consumed in the following way. This section explains the case where the DHC receives chilled or hot water at the rated temperature (for example, chilled water at 7°C) all year round, and the air conditioning load in the building is low.

For example, the temperature difference between the water supply and return within a building can be increased to minimize the amount of water used for air conditioning. This reduces the amount of energy consumed when driving the pump, resulting in energy savings.

In some cases, the temperature difference between the intake and outlet air of an air conditioner is increased to minimize the amount of air blown. This reduces the amount of energy consumed when driving the fan used to blow air, resulting in energy savings.

If the water supply temperature is not moderated as described above, no energy-saving effect will be achieved in the DHC. On the other hand, energy-saving effects will be achieved in the building.

Reducing the water supply temperature will result in energy savings for the DHC. However, in buildings, the amount of energy consumed when running pumps and fans will increase. When considering the entire air conditioning system, including the DHC and building, there is a high possibility that energy savings will be achieved by reducing energy consumption.

If the water supply temperature is not properly moderated as described above, the amount of energy consumed by the DHC and the building will be optimized individually. However, the amount of reduction will be smaller than if the energy consumption reduction were optimized for the entire DHC and building (also referred to as the DHC block).

As buildings do not know the benefits of optimizing energy consumption reductions in the DHC block, it is easy to optimize the reduction of energy consumption in the DHC and the building separately, making it difficult to reduce energy consumption in the DHC block.

Furthermore, while the above explanation was given for heat supply businesses like DHC that supply thermal energy, there are also cases where companies operate electricity businesses that supply electrical energy. Similar problems exist even when operating electricity businesses.

The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an adjustment device that makes it easier to reduce the amount of energy consumed in a local energy system that supplies energy to multiple buildings.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following means.
The adjustment device of the present invention is an adjustment device that adjusts the amount of energy consumed in a plurality of buildings that are equipped with equipment that receives energy supply and performs at least air conditioning, and in a supply facility that supplies the energy to the equipment in the plurality of buildings, and is provided with an apparatus communication unit that inputs and outputs information between the buildings and the supply facility, an calculation unit that acquires information regarding the capacity of the equipment and, based on the acquired information, calculates a reduction parameter, which is an energy-related parameter that reduces the total amount of energy consumed in the supply facility and the equipment, an information generation unit that generates information on the reduction parameter and effect information including the effect based on changing the parameter of the supplied energy to the reduction parameter and outputs this to the buildings, an instruction unit that instructs the supply facility to supply the reduced amount of energy, and an extraction unit that extracts target equipment, which is the equipment whose capacity will decrease when energy based on the reduction parameter is supplied, and the information generation unit generates provision information including at least one of content explaining the capacity deficiency to the target building in which the target equipment is installed and content encouraging improvement of the target equipment, and outputs this to the target building.

The adjustment device of the present invention outputs effect information for a building, including the effects resulting from changing the energy parameters to reduction parameters. The building can learn the effect information and the effect of reducing the amount of energy consumed by the entire building, including the energy supply facilities.

By outputting information to the target equipment, it becomes easier to obtain consent from buildings equipped with equipment with reduced capacity to change the energy supply parameters to reduced parameters, compared to when information is not output. This makes it easier to reduce the amount of energy consumed.

In the above invention, an approval confirmation unit is further provided that confirms whether or not the buildings have approval information indicating that they will accept the supply of energy based on the reduction parameters, and the instruction unit preferably instructs the supply facility to supply energy based on the reduction parameters when it is confirmed that the approval information has been received from all of the buildings.

By checking the approval information and changing the energy supply parameters to reduction parameters in this way, it becomes less likely that the building will experience an unexpected decline in equipment capacity. This reduces resistance to reducing the amount of energy supplied on the building side, making it easier to reduce the amount of energy consumed.

The adjustment device of the present invention outputs effect information including the effects of changing the amount of energy reduction for a building, thereby making it easier to reduce the amount of energy consumed.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a local energy system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the adjustment device of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the building of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of the building and supply facility of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of the building in FIG. 1 and explaining the location where the building OS is installed. 1. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of the building in FIG. 1 and explaining another implementation location of the building OS. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the supply facility of FIG. 1. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating control for reducing the amount of energy consumed by the adjusting device.

The adjustment device 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 8. The adjustment device 10 has the function of optimizing the entire city block from an energy perspective.

A city block is a section of a city that includes the target building 30 that is to be optimized by the adjustment device 10. A city block may be a section bounded by streets, or a section bounded by arbitrarily defined boundaries other than streets.

Evaluation indicators for optimization include energy consumption (e.g., primary energy equivalent (primary energy is energy found in nature such as oil, natural gas, and coal)), the cost of energy procured by the block, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the block, and the power demand for the entire block.

The adjustment device 10 of this embodiment is a system that aims to reduce the amount of energy consumed in the buildings 30 and supply facilities 70 included in the block, and is a system that aims to reduce the amount of energy consumed in the entire central heat source air conditioning system that conditions the building 30. This system aims to reduce the amount of energy consumed by the entire air conditioning system, especially during intermediate periods.

The adjustment device 10 is included in the local energy system 1. As shown in Figure 1, the local energy system 1 includes the adjustment device 10, a building 30, and a supply facility 70. The supply facility 70 is also called an energy center or DHC.

In a city block where a heat transfer medium (corresponding to energy in the claims) is supplied to each building 30 from a supply facility 70, the adjustment device 10 is configured to control the equipment 31 of each building 30 so that it does not become insufficient in capacity when reducing the amount of energy consumed by each building 30 from the supply facility 70.

The adjustment device 10 is an information processing device such as a server or personal computer that is configured to adjust the amount of energy consumed in the building 30 and the supply facility 70. The adjustment device 10 is also configured to be able to communicate electronic information with the building 30 and the supply facility 70.

The coordination device 10 may be installed as an information processing device independent of information processing devices or systems established for other purposes. Furthermore, the coordination device 10 may be installed as the same information processing device as the information processing device that functions as the City OS. In other words, the functions implemented in the coordination device 10 may be implemented as one function of an information processing infrastructure called the City OS, or may be implemented as a function that runs on the information processing infrastructure.

City OS is the information processing platform that supports a city's infrastructure; in other words, an operating system (software). City OS is an information processing platform that runs software used in the operation of government, logistics, transportation, and other areas.

The adjustment device 10 may be installed inside a building located within the block covered by the local energy system 1, or inside a building located outside that block. If the adjustment device 10 is installed outside the block, it may be connected to the building 30 and the supply facility 70 via a communication network 5 to enable information communication. The communication network 5 may be a network constructed using either wired communication or wireless communication, or a network constructed using both.

The adjustment device 10 may be an information processing device owned by the business operator that operates the local energy system 1, or it may be an information processing device owned by another business operator different from the business operator that operates the local energy system 1. If the adjustment device 10 is owned by another business operator, the functions realized by the adjustment device 10 may be provided as a service to the business operator that operates the local energy system 1. In other words, it may be realized as cloud computing.

The adjustment device 10 is an information processing device configured to adjust the amount of energy consumed in the building 30 and the supply facility 70, and is an information processing device such as a personal computer or server that has a CPU (central processing unit), ROM, RAM, input/output interface, etc.

As shown in Figure 2, the program stored in the storage device such as the ROM mentioned above causes the CPU, ROM, RAM, and input/output interface to function in cooperation as a device communication unit 11, calculation unit 12, approval confirmation unit 13, feasibility confirmation unit 14, extraction unit 15, information generation unit 16, and instruction unit 17.

The device communication unit 11 is configured to input and output information between the building 30 and the supply facility 70.

The calculation unit 12 is configured to acquire information related to the capacity of the equipment 31. The calculation unit 12 is also configured to calculate a reduction parameter based on the information related to the capacity. The reduction parameter is a parameter related to the cold water or hot water (hereinafter also referred to as heat medium) supplied by the supply facility 70, and is a parameter that reduces the load, which is the energy consumed by the supply facility 70 when supplying the heat medium. The reduction parameter may also be a parameter indicating the temperature of the cold water or hot water.

The calculation unit 12 in this embodiment may be configured to implement a policy decision expert program, or may be a prediction engine that makes predictions using a trained model that has undergone machine learning.

The information regarding capacity is a margin parameter M relating to the margin of the air conditioning capacity of the equipment 31. The margin parameter M may be calculated, for example, based on the following formula (1):

The margin parameter M is a value that indicates whether the equipment 31 has room to further increase its air conditioning capacity at the temperature of the heat medium being supplied (for example, cold water during cooling and hot water during heating). If the equipment 31 has no room to increase its air conditioning capacity, the value of the margin parameter M is 0. If the equipment 31 is not exerting its air conditioning capacity, the value of the margin parameter M is 1.

When the value of the margin parameter M is 0, it is considered that the air conditioning capacity of the equipment 31 exactly meets demand, or that the air conditioning capacity does not meet demand (also referred to as insufficient). Therefore, when the value of the margin parameter M is 0, it is determined that there is a possibility of insufficient air conditioning capacity.

Here, Rp is the value obtained by dividing the inverter frequency of the equipment-side pump unit 34 (described below) by the maximum inverter frequency. Rv is the value obtained by dividing the opening of the equipment-side valve unit 35 by the maximum opening.

Furthermore, Rp is the value obtained by dividing the inverter frequency of the heat source side pump unit 73 (described below) by the maximum inverter frequency. Rv may also be the value obtained by dividing the opening degree of the heat source side valve unit 74 by the maximum opening degree.

The margin parameter M may be calculated based on the following equation (2) instead of the above equation (1).

Here, Qp is the air conditioning capacity of equipment 31, and Qmax is the maximum air conditioning capacity of equipment 31 for the heat medium being supplied. Qp may be calculated using the following formula (3) based on the inlet/outlet temperature difference of the heat medium circulating within equipment 31 and the flow rate of the heat medium circulating within equipment 31.

Here, Cw is the specific heat of the heat medium circulating within equipment 31, Vw is the flow rate of the heat medium circulating within equipment 31, Two is the outlet temperature of the heat medium circulating within equipment 31, and Twi is the inlet temperature of the heat medium circulating within equipment 31.

Qp may also be calculated using the following formula (4) based on the air inlet/outlet enthalpy difference and air volume. The air volume may also be estimated from the fan inverter frequency value based on the characteristic data of the AHU 33, which will be described later.

Here, Va is the volumetric airflow, h is the specific volume of air, Hao is the blown air enthalpy, and Hai is the suction air enthalpy.

Furthermore, if the AHU 33 of the equipment 31 is a dry coil, or if it is assumed to be a pseudo-dry coil, Qp may be calculated based on the following equation (5).

Here, Ca is the specific heat of the air, Tao is the outlet air temperature, and Tai is the intake air temperature.

The reduction parameter calculated by the calculation unit 12 may be calculated based on the margin parameter M described above. For example, the smallest margin parameter M (hereinafter also referred to as Mb) may be used among the margin parameters M calculated for all equipment 31, and the reduction parameter may be calculated so that Mb does not fall below a lower limit value Mmin. The lower limit value Mmin has a predetermined value. By calculating the reduction parameter in this manner, it becomes less likely that a shortage of air conditioning capacity will occur in the equipment 31.

The calculation unit 12 may determine the reduction parameter based on the margin parameter M, or may determine the reduction parameter based on flow rate information indicating an excess or deficiency in the flow rate of the heat medium flowing through the equipment 31. The flow rate information is information regarding the capacity of the equipment 31, and indicates whether the flow rate of the heat medium flowing through the equipment 31 is insufficient, appropriate, or excessive relative to the air conditioning load of the equipment 31.

For example, the calculation unit 12 may create reduction parameters so that the flow rate information obtained for each of all pieces of equipment 31 does not result in flow rate information indicating an insufficient flow rate of the heat medium.

The flow rate information may be obtained by a local controller, which is a controller provided in the facility 31 and controls the devices that make up the facility 31 and the devices linked to the facility 31. The obtained flow rate information is output from the local controller to the adjustment device 10. The devices that make up the facility 31 include sensors, electric dampers, inverters, and the like provided in the facility 31. The devices linked to the facility 31 include electric valves, sensors, electric dampers (also referred to as VAVs), and the like.

The local controller calculates the air conditioning load of facility 31 based on information output from sensors included in the equipment that makes up facility 31 and sensors linked to facility 31. It also calculates the heat medium flow rate based on information about the opening of a valve that controls the flow rate of the heat medium flowing through facility 31. The flow rate information may be calculated based on the calculated air conditioning load, the heat medium flow rate, and pre-stored information indicating the relationship between the air conditioning load and the appropriate heat medium flow rate for that air conditioning load.

The approval confirmation unit 13 is configured to confirm the presence or absence of approval information. Approval information is information output from the building 30, and indicates that the building 30 accepts the supply of heat medium based on the reduction parameters.

The feasibility confirmation unit 14 is configured to confirm the presence or absence of feasibility information. Feasibility information is information output from the supply facility 70, and indicates that the supply facility 70 is capable of supplying heat medium based on the reduction parameters.

The extraction unit 15 is configured to extract target equipment 31T. Target equipment 31T is equipment 31 whose capacity will decrease when a heat medium based on the reduction parameters is supplied, or equipment 31 whose capacity is predicted to decrease.

The extraction unit 15 may, for example, accumulate past measurement data linking the level of reduction parameters with the capacity of equipment 31, and perform processing to extract target equipment 31T based on the accumulated measurement data. The extraction unit 15 may also perform processing to extract target equipment 31T using a learning model that has undergone machine learning of the level of reduction parameters and the capacity of equipment 31. The extraction unit 15 may also perform processing to extract target equipment 31T based on catalog data linking the heat medium supplied to equipment 31 with the capacity of equipment 31.

The capacity of the equipment 31 is, for example, the air conditioning capacity. The capacity of the equipment 31 may be determined based on information measured by the sensor unit 41 of the building 30, or may be determined based on information measured by a measuring device other than the sensor unit 41.

The information generation unit 16 is configured to generate effect information and output it to the building 30. Note that the effect information may be output to the building 30, or may be output to the building 30 and the supply facility 70.

Effect information includes information on reduction parameters and the effects based on changing the parameters of the heat medium supplied to reduction parameters. Effect information includes, for example, information that visualizes the amount of reduction in energy consumed by building 30, the amount of reduction in energy charges, and the amount of reduction in carbon dioxide emissions due to changing the parameters of the heat medium supplied to reduction parameters.

The adjustment device 10 may have a function to distribute the profits obtained by changing the parameters of the supplied heat medium to reduction parameters. For example, it may have a function to convert the amount into energy costs and settle the heat charges to each building 30, or a function to convert the amount into carbon dioxide emissions and calculate and notify the carbon dioxide emissions of the building 30 and its tenants.

The effectiveness information may include information to be provided. The information to be provided includes at least one of information explaining the capacity deficiency of the target building 30T in which the target equipment 31T is installed, and information encouraging improvements to the target equipment 31T.

The provided information may be included in the effect information if it is expected that allowing a shortage of air conditioning capacity in the target equipment 31T will result in a greater reduction in energy consumption throughout the block compared to not allowing it.

The content explaining the capacity shortage may include, for example, a description of the situation identified as a building 30 or facility 31 that is an obstacle (in other words, a bottleneck) when changing the heat transfer medium parameters to reduction parameters.

Examples of requests for improvements to the target equipment 31T include requests to accept a lack of air conditioning capacity in equipment 31 by changing the heat medium parameters to reduction parameters.

When approval information and feasibility information are available, the instruction unit 17 is configured to instruct the supply facility 70 to supply heat medium based on the reduction parameters. In other words, it is configured to instruct the implementation of a reduction in the water supply temperature.

The instruction unit 17 may calculate the difference between the change (e.g., decrease) in the amount of energy consumed at the supply facility 70 when a heat medium based on reduction parameters calculated based on specification information including the performance curve of the heat source unit 72 described below is supplied, and the change (e.g., increase) in the amount of energy consumed at the equipment-side pump unit 34 and equipment 31 of the building 30, and may instruct the supply of a heat medium based on the reduction parameters only if the overall amount of energy consumed decreases. If the overall amount of energy consumed does not decrease, it is not necessary to instruct the supply of a heat medium based on the reduction parameters.

In other words, a command to moderate the water supply temperature may be issued only when the decrease in the amount of energy consumed by the supply facility 70 is greater than the increase in the amount of energy consumed by the equipment-side pump unit 34 and equipment 31 of the building 30. If the decrease in the amount of energy consumed by the supply facility 70 is equal to or less than the increase in the amount of energy consumed by the equipment-side pump unit 34 and equipment 31 of the building 30, a command to moderate the water supply temperature may not be issued.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the building 30 is equipped with one or more pieces of equipment 31, one or more sensor units 41, and a building information processing unit 51.

The equipment 31 is configured to receive a heat medium supply from the supply facility 70 and air-condition the building 30. In this embodiment, the equipment 31 is provided with a heat exchanger 32, an air handling unit 33 (hereinafter also referred to as an AHU 33), an equipment-side pump 34, and an equipment-side valve 35.

The heat exchange unit 32 is configured to exchange heat between the heat medium, which is cold water or hot water supplied from the supply facility 70, and the heat medium circulating within the equipment 31. The heat exchange unit 32 includes a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the heat medium supplied from the supply facility 70 and the heat medium circulating within the equipment 31.

AHU 33 is configured to exchange heat between the circulating heat medium and the indoor air of building 30. AHU 33 includes a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the heat medium and the indoor air. AHU 33 also includes a fan that draws air from the room and blows the air out into the room after heat exchange.

The facility 31 may be provided with an AHU 33, or alternatively, other equipment such as a fan coil unit (hereinafter also referred to as an FCU) that exchanges heat between the circulating heat medium and the indoor air of the building 30 may be provided instead of the AHU 33.

The equipment-side pump unit 34 is configured to circulate the heat medium between the heat exchange unit 32 and the AHU 33, and is configured to be able to change the amount of heat medium delivered per unit time. In this embodiment, the equipment-side pump unit 34 is configured to change the amount of heat medium delivered by changing the rotational frequency of the electric motor that drives the equipment-side pump unit 34. The rotational frequency of the electric motor may be changed, for example, by inverter control.

The equipment-side valve unit 35 is configured to control the flow rate of the heat medium passing through the AHU 33. In this embodiment, the equipment-side valve unit 35 is configured to control the flow rate of the heat medium by changing the cross-sectional area of the flow path through which the heat medium flows.

The sensor unit 41 is configured to measure and output information related to the capacity of the equipment 31.

The sensor unit 41 may include electronic components that measure the inverter frequency, which is the rotational frequency of the electric motor in the equipment-side pump unit 34, and electronic components that measure the opening degree of the equipment-side valve unit 35.

The sensor unit 41 may also include electronic components that measure the inverter frequency in the heat source side pump unit 73 and electronic components that measure the opening degree in the heat source side valve unit 74.

The sensor unit 41 may include electronic components that measure the inlet temperature, which is the temperature of the heat medium flowing into the AHU 33, and electronic components that measure the outlet temperature, which is the temperature of the heat medium flowing out of the AHU 33.

The sensor unit 41 may include electronic components that measure the temperature of the indoor air drawn into the AHU 33 and electronic components that measure the temperature of the air blown out from the AHU 33.

The sensor unit 41 may include electronic components that measure the temperature in the room, electronic components that measure the humidity in the room, and electronic components that measure the number of people in the room.

The building information processing unit 51 is an information processing device configured to process information related to the building 30, such as a personal computer or server that has a CPU (central processing unit), ROM, RAM, input/output interface, etc. The building information processing unit 51 is also configured to control the AHU 33, equipment-side pump unit 34, and equipment-side valve unit 35 of the equipment 31 based on output from the sensor unit 41.

The building information processing unit 51 may be incorporated into a building energy management system (hereinafter also referred to as BEMS) or into a building automation system (hereinafter also referred to as BAS).

A building operating system (hereinafter also referred to as building OS) may also be provided between the BAS and the adjustment device 10. The building OS is a system that can efficiently and securely handle the large amount of information obtained from the various devices and equipment 31 installed in the building 30 and the sensor unit 41, and is a system that continuously provides high-value-added building services.

Furthermore, the building OS may be implemented in an information processing device installed on the communication network 5 side of the adjustment device 10 within the target building 30, as shown in Figure 5, or may be implemented in an information processing device installed outside the target building 30 and connected to enable information communication, as shown in Figure 6.

The building OS may also be implemented on a cloud that is capable of communicating with the adjustment device 10 and the building 30. If the information output from the sensor unit 41 is uploaded to the cloud using wireless communication such as LTE, having the building OS implemented on the cloud will make it easier to aggregate the information.

The information output from the sensor unit 41 may be input to the BAS and collected, or may be collected by a building information processing unit 51 (e.g., a personal computer) related to the building 30 via an information network different from the BAS (e.g., an Ethernet LAN).

In this case, the BAS and building information processing unit 51 may send information separately to the adjustment device 10, or the information output from the BAS and building information processing unit 51 may be aggregated in the building OS and sent to the adjustment device 10.

The program stored in the storage device, such as the ROM, mentioned above, causes the CPU, ROM, RAM, and input/output interface to work together to function as a building communication unit 52 and a building output unit 53, as shown in Figure 3.

The building communication unit 52 is configured to be connected to a communication network so that it can communicate information, and is configured to input and output information between it and the adjustment device 10.

The building output unit 53 is configured to output approval information to the adjustment device 10. The approval information is information indicating that the supply of heat medium based on the reduction parameters will be accepted. The building output unit 53 may be configured to output approval information based on input from the manager of the building 30, who decides whether to accept. The building output unit 53 may also be configured to make a decision based on predetermined conditions for determining whether to accept, and output the decision result.

The supply facility 70 is configured to supply heat medium used for air conditioning to the equipment 31 of the buildings 30 included in the block. As shown in Figures 4 and 7, the supply facility 70 is equipped with a heat source system 71 and a facility information processing unit 81.

The heat source system 71 includes a heat source unit 72, a heat source-side pump unit 73, and a heat source-side valve unit 74.

The heat source machine 72 is a device that generates a heat medium such as chilled water or hot water used for air conditioning the equipment 31. The heat source machine 72 has at least one of the functions of changing the temperature of the chilled water it generates and changing the temperature of the hot water it generates. The heat source machine 72 may be a heat pump or a refrigerator, and any known type of heat source machine can be used.

The heat source-side pump unit 73 is configured to circulate the heat medium between the heat source unit 72 and the heat exchange unit 32, and is configured to be able to change the amount of heat medium delivered per unit time. In this embodiment, the heat source-side pump unit 73 is configured to change the amount of heat medium delivered by changing the rotational frequency of the electric motor that drives the heat source-side pump unit 73. The rotational frequency of the electric motor may be changed, for example, by inverter control.

The heat source side valve unit 74 is configured to control the flow rate of the heat medium passing through the heat exchange unit 32. In this embodiment, the heat source side valve unit 74 is configured to control the flow rate of the heat medium by changing the cross-sectional area of the flow path through which the heat medium flows.

The facility information processing unit 81 is an information processing device configured to process information about the supply facility 70, and is an information processing device such as a personal computer or server that has a CPU (central processing unit), ROM, RAM, input/output interface, etc.

The facility information processing unit 81 is also configured to control the heat source unit 72, heat source-side pump unit 73, and heat source-side valve unit 74 of the supply facility 70.

The facility information processing unit 81 may be incorporated into a building automation system (hereinafter also referred to as BAS).

The programs stored in the storage devices, such as the ROM, mentioned above, cause the CPU, ROM, RAM, and input/output interface to work together to function as a facility communication unit 82 and a facility output unit 83, as shown in Figure 5.

The facility communication unit 82 is configured to be connected to a communication network so that it can communicate information, and is configured to input and output information between it and the adjustment device 10.

The facility output unit 83 is configured to output feasibility information to the adjustment device 10. The feasibility information is information indicating that it is possible to supply heat medium based on the reduction parameters. The facility output unit 83 may be configured to output feasibility information based on input from the manager of the supply facility 70, who decides whether to accept. The facility output unit 83 may also be configured to make a decision based on predetermined conditions for determining whether to accept, and output the decision result.

Next, with reference to Figure 8, we will explain the control that aims to reduce the amount of energy consumed in the building 30 and supply facility 70 in the local energy system 1 that includes the adjustment device 10 configured as described above.

The adjustment device 10 repeatedly performs the calculation process described below at predetermined intervals. The predetermined intervals are at regular intervals, for example, every 30 minutes.

At a predetermined timing, the adjustment device 10 performs a process of acquiring information from the building information processing unit 51 (S10). Specifically, it performs a process of outputting a control signal to the building information processing unit 51 to cause the information processing unit 51 to output information. The buildings 30 from which information is acquired are all buildings 30 that receive a supply of heat medium from the supply facility 70.

The information is information about the capacity of the equipment 31, and is information used when calculating the reduction parameters. The information may be raw measured data, or may be information that has undergone some kind of aggregation processing. It is preferable that the type of information is one that has been agreed upon with the adjustment device 10. It is also preferable that agreement has been reached with the adjustment device 10 regarding the type of calculation processing, such as aggregation processing, to be performed on the information, and whether or not calculation processing will be performed.

The building information processing unit 51 performs processing to output information based on the input control signal (S20).

After acquiring the information, the adjustment device 10 performs a calculation process in the calculation unit 12 to predict the degree of reduction parameters (S30). Specifically, the calculation unit 12 performs a calculation process to organize and analyze the acquired information. Next, the calculation unit 12 performs a calculation process to predict the degree of reduction parameters based on a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages.

The prediction calculation process may be based on the current values of the information obtained from the building information processing unit 51. It may also be based on historical data, which is information based on past information obtained up until the calculation process is performed, and the current values of the information. The historical data may be information obtained by performing calculations on past information, such as an average value calculated from past information.

The prediction calculation process may be based solely on information acquired from the building information processing unit 51, or may include information acquired from sources other than the building information processing unit 51. For example, the process may include weather information and weather forecast information for the block containing the building 30 acquired from an external database 20 (hereinafter also referred to as external DB 20) that stores weather information. The process may also include event information acquired from an external DB 20 that stores event information for the block, etc. Furthermore, the process may include information acquired through measurements by the adjustment device 10.

The prediction calculation process may be a process in which information obtained from the building information processing unit 51 is input into a learning model that has undergone machine learning to predict the degree of reduction parameters. Prediction calculation process using a learning model is preferably used when the types of information used for prediction are diverse or the amount of information is large.

The degree of reduction parameter is the degree to which the supply temperature of cold water or hot water can be relaxed. Relaxing the supply temperature means, for example, how much the temperature of cold water can be increased or how much the temperature of hot water can be increased or decreased.

The benefit is the reduction in energy consumption when supplying heat transfer medium according to the reduction parameters (also referred to as the energy saving effect), and the disadvantage is the degree of deterioration in the indoor environment of building 30 (also referred to as the impact on the indoor environment).

The extraction unit 15 also performs processing to extract target equipment 31T. The extraction processing may be processing based on accumulated measurement data, processing using a learning model, or processing based on catalog data.

Furthermore, the information generating unit 16 performs a process of generating effect information. The effect information may be information to be output to the building 30 including the target facility 31T, or may be information to be output to the building 30 including the target facility 31T and the supply facility 70.
The effect information is information including information on the reduction parameters and the effect based on changing the parameters of the heat medium to be supplied to the reduction parameters. The effect information may include the provision information.

Once the degree of the reduction parameters is predicted, the adjustment device 10 performs a process of outputting the predicted reduction parameters to all building information processing units 51 and a process of outputting effect information to the target building 30T that includes the target equipment 31T (S40). In other words, the adjustment device 10 notifies all buildings 30 of the predicted relaxed supply temperature. The adjustment device 10 also outputs information to the target building 30T, including the effect and significance of supplying heat medium according to the reduction parameters.

Once the reduction parameters have been input, the building information processing unit 51 performs processing related to accepting the supply of heat medium according to the reduction parameters (S50). This processing may involve the building output unit 53 receiving input from the manager of the building 30 who decides whether to accept, or the building output unit 53 determining whether to accept based on predetermined conditions.

The building output unit 53 performs processing to output a response indicating whether or not to accept to the adjustment device 10 (S60). For example, if the supply of heat medium using the reduced parameters is accepted, a response of approval information is output, and if the supply of heat medium using the reduced parameters is not accepted and is not approved, a response of rejection information is output.

In this embodiment, an approval response is set as the default, and a rejection response is output if there is a reason.

Specifically, a refusal response is output when a malfunction occurs in equipment 31 and only a small number of pieces of equipment 31 are in operation, or when maintenance work is being performed on equipment 31 and only a small number of pieces of equipment 31 are in operation. In these cases, the equipment 31 has little room to adjust the room temperature, and it is difficult to control the room temperature to the desired temperature by supplying heat medium using the reduction parameters.

When outputting a response containing refusal information, the response may include the reason for the refusal, or may include the reduction parameters desired by the building 30.

When the responses are input, the adjustment device 10 aggregates the responses in the approval confirmation unit 13 and outputs the aggregated information to the supply facility 70 (S70).

When approval information responses are received from all buildings 30, the approval confirmation unit 13 outputs the aggregated information and reduction parameters to the supply facility 70. When rejection information responses are received from some buildings 30, including reduction parameters desired by the buildings 30, the approval confirmation unit 13 outputs the reduction parameters desired by the buildings 30 to the supply facility 70.

The supply facility 70, to which the aggregated information and reduction parameters have been input, performs processing related to the supply of heat medium using the reduction parameters, etc. in the facility output unit 83 (S80). This processing may involve the facility output unit 83 accepting input from the manager of the supply facility 70, who determines whether or not the supply of heat medium using the reduction parameters, etc. is possible, or the facility output unit 83 may determine whether or not supply is possible based on predetermined conditions.

If it is possible to supply heat medium according to the reduced parameters, the facility output unit 83 performs a decision-making process to supply heat medium according to the reduced parameters (S90). Note that if it is not possible to supply heat medium according to the reduced parameters, the decision-making process is not performed.

Once the decision-making process is complete, the facility output unit 83 performs a process of outputting the decision to the adjustment device 10 (S100). In other words, the intention to supply heat medium according to the reduction parameters is output to the adjustment device 10.

When the intention to supply heat medium according to the reduced parameters is input, the adjustment device 10 performs a process of outputting instruction information for supplying heat medium according to the reduced parameters from the instruction unit 17 to the facility information processing unit 81 (S110). The facility information processing unit 81, to which the instruction information has been input, performs a process of supplying heat medium according to the reduced parameters. Specifically, it controls the heat source machine 72 to supply cold water or hot water at a relaxed supply temperature.

The adjustment device 10 configured as described above outputs effect information to the building 30, including the effect of changing the heat medium parameters to reduction parameters. The building 30 can learn the effect information and the effect of reducing the amount of energy consumed overall, including the building 30 and the supply facility 70.

By outputting the provided information to the target equipment 31T, it becomes easier to obtain consent from the building 30 in which the equipment with reduced capacity is installed to change the parameters of the heat medium it supplies to reduced parameters, compared to when the provided information is not output. This makes it easier to reduce the amount of energy consumed.

By checking the approval information and changing the parameters of the heat medium to be supplied to reduction parameters, unexpected declines in equipment capacity on the building 30 side are less likely to occur. This reduces resistance on the building 30 side to reducing the amount of energy supplied, making it easier to reduce the amount of energy consumed.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, the function performed by the adjusting device 10 may be the function of moderating the water supply temperature described in this embodiment, or the function of providing information for demand response (hereinafter, referred to as DR) control, demand leveling control, etc. Furthermore, the adjusting device 10 may also have the function of providing demand forecast information used for the thermal storage plan of the supply facility 70, or the function of providing information on the predicted effect amount of various energy saving controls.

The lower limit value Mmin of the margin parameter M may also be set based on a predicted value that predicts the future load on the equipment 31. For example, if the predicted value will increase compared to the current load, the lower limit value Mmin may be set to a value greater than the value based on the current load. Alternatively, if the predicted value will decrease compared to the current load, the lower limit value Mmin may be set to a value smaller than the value based on the current load, or to zero. The predicted value is information collected by the adjustment device 10, and may be determined by analyzing various information used to determine the margin parameter M.

By doing this, the capacity of equipment 31 is less likely to become insufficient even if the load on equipment 31 increases due to changes in weather conditions or the usage of building 30.

The adjustment device 10 may also set the margin parameter M based on information about past operating records of the equipment 31. For example, the adjustment device 10 may analyze the correlation between the rate of increase or decrease in the load of the equipment 31 and the result of the margin parameter M for each control step in which it performs control to reduce the amount of energy consumed, and set the margin parameter M based on the rate of increase or decrease in the load predicted using this correlation.

10...Adjustment device, 11...Device communication unit, 12...Calculation unit, 13...Approval confirmation unit, 15...Extraction unit, 16...Information generation unit, 17...Instruction unit, 31T...Target equipment, 30T...Target building

Claims (2)

An adjusting device for adjusting the amount of energy consumed in a plurality of buildings in which equipment that receives energy and performs at least air conditioning is installed, and in a supply facility that supplies the energy to the equipment in the plurality of buildings,
a device communication unit for inputting and outputting information between the building and the supply facility;
a calculation unit that acquires a margin parameter related to the margin of the air conditioning capacity as information related to the capacity of the equipment, and calculates the degree of a reduction parameter, which is an energy-related parameter that reduces the total amount of energy consumed in the supply facility and the equipment, based on the acquired margin parameter ;
an information generating unit that generates effect information including information on the degree of the reduction parameter and an effect based on changing the parameter of the supplied energy to energy based on the degree of the reduction parameter, and outputs the information to the building;
an instruction unit that instructs the supply facility to supply energy based on the degree of the reduction parameter ;
an extraction unit that extracts target equipment, which is the equipment whose capacity decreases when energy based on the degree of the reduction parameter is supplied;
The information generation unit generates provision information including at least one of content explaining the capacity deficiency of the target building in which the target equipment is installed and content encouraging improvement of the target equipment, and outputs the provision information to the target building;
An adjusting device that allocates the benefits included in the effect information between the building and the supply facility . An approval confirmation unit is further provided to confirm whether or not approval information indicating that the building accepts the supply of energy based on the degree of the reduction parameter is present;
The adjusting device according to claim 1 , wherein the instruction unit instructs the supply facility to supply energy based on the degree of the reduction parameter when it is confirmed that the approval information has been received from all of the buildings.