METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR POWER CONTROL

• US 20120065800A1
• Filed: 07/18/2011
• Published: 03/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: BABA, Kenji, Enohara, Takaaki, Nishimura, Nobutaka, Noda, Shuhei, Nagata, Kazumi
• Granted Patent: US 8,744,639 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/295
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00006 characterised by information or instructions transport means between the monitoring, controlling or managing units and monitored, controlled or operated power network element or electrical equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 4/00 Circuit arrangements for mains or distribution networks not specified as ac or dc
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/3225 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/222 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/12 characterised by data transport means between the monitoring, controlling or managing units and monitored, controlled or operated electrical equipment

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a power control apparatus includes a receiving unit, an environment-data acquiring unit, and a calculation unit. The receiving unit receives, from a power supplying side, a power-consumption reduction request for reducing power consumption at a power demanding side. The environmental data acquiring unit acquires, from the power demanding side, environmental data representing environmental state of the power demanding side. The calculating unit calculates a power-reduction value based on the environmental data, in response to the power-consumption reduction request.

Claims

1. A power control apparatus comprising:

a receiving unit configured to receive, from a power supplying side, a power-consumption reduction request for reducing power consumption at a power demanding side;

an environmental data acquiring unit configured to acquire, from the power demanding side, environmental data representing environmental state of the power demanding side; and

a calculating unit configured to calculate a power-reduction value based on the environmental data, in response to the power-consumption reduction request.

2. The power control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the environmental data acquiring unit is configured to acquire environmental data containing number-of-person data representing the number of persons in each area of the power-demanding side.

3. The power control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the calculating unit is configured to calculate the target power-reduction value from the environmental data about each area of the power-demanding side, in response to the power-consumption reduction request.

4. The power control apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a power controller configured to control the power consumption and to reduce the power consumption by the target power-reduction value allocated to each area of the power-demanding side, based on the power-reduction value calculated by the calculating unit.

5. The power control apparatus of claim 4, wherein the power controller is configured to invalidate power consumption control performed in accordance with the target power-reduction value, in any area of the power-demanding side, other than the areas in which power consumption should be reduced.

6. The power control apparatus of claim 4, further comprising an information presenting unit configured to display, on a display provide at the power-demanding side, information representing the target power-reduction values allocated from the power-supplying side to the respective areas of the power-demanding side and also the power-reduction values attained in the respective areas in accordance with the target power-reduction values allocated thereto.

7. A power control system comprising:

a data communication unit configured to perform data communication with the power-supplying side that supplies power to the power-demanding side; and

a power controller configured to perform a power demand control at the power-demanding side,

wherein the power controller comprises;

a receiving unit configured to receive a power-consumption reduction request from the power-supplying side via the data communication unit;

an environmental data acquiring unit configured to acquire, from the power demanding side, environmental data representing environmental states of respective areas of the power demanding side;

a calculating unit configured to calculate target power-reduction values to reduce the power consumption in the respective areas of the power-demanding side, based on the environmental data about the respective areas; and

a power consumption controller configured to control the power consumption in the respective areas of the power-demanding side, based on the target power-reduction values calculated by the calculating unit.

8. The power control system of claim 7, wherein the environmental data contains number-of-person data representing the number of persons in each area of the power-demanding side;

and the environmental data acquiring unit is configured to acquire the number-of-person data, by using sensor units installed in the respective areas of the power-demanding side.

9. The power control system of claim 8, wherein each of the sensor units includes an image recognizing unit configured to detect the number of the persons in each area, by processing an image photographed by a camera.

10. The power control system of claim 7, wherein the power controller is configured to generate data for use in performing a power control on objects provided in each area, based on the target power-reduction values allocated to the respective areas of the power-demanding side.

11. The power control system of claim 10, wherein the power controller is configured to perform a power control on illumination devices and air conditioners for the power demand control and to adjust the target power-reduction values for the illumination devices and air conditioners in accordance with the environmental states of the respective areas, including the number of the persons, temperature and in each area and illuminance of each area.

12. A method for performing a power control in a power control apparatus designed to perform a power demand control at a power demanding side, the method comprising:

receiving, from a power supplying side, a power-consumption reduction request for reducing power consumption at a power demanding side;

acquiring, from the power demanding side, environmental data representing environmental state of the power demanding side; and

calculating a power-reduction value based on the environmental data, in response to the power-consumption reduction request.