Electric power selling system

• US 8,823,213 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2010
• Issued: 09/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsuda, Takehiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Amrany, Adi
• Application Number:
  US12/908,441
• Publication Number:
  US 20110095616A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,413 Days
• Field of Search: 307/84, 307/87
• US Class Current: 307/87
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00002 characterised by monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00007 using the power network as support for the transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2300/24 of photovoltaic origin
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/008 involving trading of energy or energy transmission rights
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/38 Arrangements for parallely feeding a single network by two or more generators, converters or transformers
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/381 Dispersed generators
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 10/10 Photovoltaic [PV]
• 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: Y02E 10/56 Power conversion systems, e.g. maximum power point trackers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 40/70 Smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the energy generation sector
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/123 the energy generation units being or involving renewable energy sources
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/30 State monitoring, e.g. fault, temperature monitoring, insulator monitoring, corona discharge
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/121 using the power network as support for the transmission
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 50/10 Energy trading, including energy flowing from end-user application to grid

Abstract

It is an object of the present invention to suppress such a situation that electric power selling becomes impossible while the deterioration of supply power is prevented. The electric power selling system of the present invention comprises a solar battery 3 as a power generator, and a control unit 7 which is connected with the solar battery 3 and a distribution line and configured to convert output voltage of the solar battery 3 into variable voltage for electric power selling. The electric power selling system further comprises a transmitter 60 connected with the distribution line, said transmitter 60 being configured to measure voltage of the distribution line and to supply the control unit 7 with an instruction value obtained based on the measured voltage value. The control unit 7 is configured to convert the output voltage of the solar battery 3 into the voltage for electric power selling based on the instruction value.

Claims

1. An electric power selling system comprising:

a plurality of power generators respectively provided for a plurality of houses, each of plurality of power generators generates electric power; and

a plurality of voltage conversion devices each of which is connected with a corresponding one of the power generators and a distribution line provided between the houses and which is configured to convert output voltage of the corresponding one of the power generators into variable voltage for electric power selling, the plurality of voltage conversion devices respectively provided for the plurality of houses,

wherein the electric power selling system further comprises a transmitter connected with the distribution line, the transmitter being configured to measure voltage of the distribution line and to supply the plurality of voltage conversion devices with an instruction value obtained based on the measured voltage value, and

wherein each of the voltage conversion devices has a set of candidate voltage values that respectively correspond to voltage steps of equal voltage amount from a lowest one of the candidate target voltage values, each of the voltage conversion devices selects, when receiving the instruction value, a target voltage value which is higher than and closest to the instruction value and converts the output voltage of the corresponding one of the power generators into the voltage for electric power selling based on the selected target voltage value.

2. The electric power selling system as set forth in claim 1,

wherein the distribution line is a low-tension distribution line connected with the plurality of voltage conversion devices, and

wherein the instruction value is the measured voltage value of the distribution line measured by the transmitter.

3. The electric power selling system as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of electric energy measurement devices for measuring electric energy to be sold,

wherein the transmitter supplies the voltage conversion devices with the instruction value via the plurality of electric energy measurement devices, respectively.

4. The electric power selling system as set forth in claim 3,

wherein the transmitter and the electric energy measurement devices are connected by the distribution line,

wherein the transmitter supplies the electric energy measurement devices with the instruction value through the distribution line.

5. The electric power selling system as set forth in claim 4,

wherein the electric energy measurement devices and the voltage conversion devices are connected by the distribution line,

wherein the electric energy measurement devices transmit the instruction value to the voltage conversion devices through the distribution line.

6. The electric power selling system as set forth in claim 3,

wherein the electric energy measurement devices and the voltage conversion devices are connected by the distribution line,

wherein the electric energy measurement devices transmit the instruction value to the voltage conversion devices through the distribution line.

7. The electric power selling system as set forth in claim 1, comprising a plurality of electric power supplying systems,

wherein each of the electric power supplying systems comprises one of the power generators

and one of the voltage conversion devices

wherein each of the voltage conversion devices converts the output voltage of the corresponding one of the power generators into identical voltage for electric power selling based on the instruction value supplied from the transmitter.

8. The electric power selling system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the distribution line is a single distribution line that connects the single transmitter to the plurality of voltage conversion devices, and wherein the single transmitter is disposed remotely from the plurality of different houses.

9. A transmitter for use in an electric power selling system, the electric power selling system including:

a plurality of power generators respectively provided for a plurality of houses, each of plurality of power generators generates electric power; and

a plurality of voltage conversion devices each of which is connected with a corresponding one of the power generators and a distribution line provided between the houses and which is configured to convert output voltage of the corresponding one of the power generators into variable voltage for electric power selling, the plurality of voltage conversion devices respectively provided for the plurality of houses, the transmitter being connected with the distribution line, the transmitter comprising;

a measuring unit that measures voltage of the distribution line; and

a supplying unit that supplies the plurality of voltage conversion devices with an instruction value obtained based on the measured voltage value,

wherein the transmitter has a set of candidate voltage values that respectively correspond to voltage steps of equal voltage amount from a lowest one of the candidate target voltage values, the transmitter selects, from the set of candidate voltage values, a target voltage value which is higher than and closest to the measured voltage value and supplies the voltage conversion device with the selected target voltage value as the instruction value,

wherein each of the voltage conversion devices converts the output voltage of the corresponding one of the power generators into the voltage for electric power selling based on the instruction value.

10. An electric power selling system comprising:

a plurality of power generators respectively provided for a plurality of houses, each of the power generators generates electric power; and

a plurality of voltage conversion devices each of which is connected with a corresponding one of the power generators and a distribution line provided between the houses and which is configured to convert output voltage of the corresponding one of the power generators into variable voltage for electric power selling, the plurality of voltage conversion devices respectively provided for the plurality of houses,

wherein the electric power selling system further comprises a transmitter connected with the distribution line, the transmitter being configured to measure voltage of the distribution line and to supply the plurality of voltage conversion devices with an instruction value obtained based on the measured voltage value,

wherein the transmitter has a set of candidate target voltage values that respectively correspond to voltage steps of equal voltage amount from a lowest one of the candidate target voltage values, the transmitter selects, from the set of candidate target voltage values, a target voltage value which is higher than and closest to the measured voltage value and supplies the voltage conversion device with the selected target voltage value as the instruction value, and

wherein each of the voltage conversion devices converts the output voltage of the corresponding one of the power generators into the voltage for electric power selling based on the instruction value.

11. The electric power selling system as set forth in claim 10,

wherein the transmitter selects, when the measured voltage value is less than a predetermined maximum target voltage value, and when the measured voltage value reaches the preset target voltage value, another target voltage value which is

higher than and closest to the measured voltage value and supplies the voltage conversion device with the another target voltage value, and

wherein the voltage conversion device converts the output voltage of the power generator into another voltage for electric power selling based on the another target voltage value.

12. The electric power selling system as set forth in claim 10,

wherein the transmitter selects, when the measured voltage value becomes smaller than the preset target voltage value by a predetermined value, another target voltage value which is higher than and closest to the measured voltage value and supplies the voltage conversion device with the another target voltage value, and

wherein the voltage conversion device converts the output voltage of the power generator into another voltage for electric power selling based on the another target voltage value.

13. The electric power selling system as set forth in claim 10,

wherein the transmitter selects, when the measured voltage value becomes larger than the preset target voltage value by a predetermined value, another target voltage value which is higher than and closest to the measured voltage value and supplies the voltage conversion device with the another target voltage value, and

wherein the voltage conversion device converts the output voltage of the power generator into another voltage for electric power selling based on the another target voltage value.

14. The electric power selling system as set forth in claim 10,

wherein the distribution line is a low-tension distribution line connected with the plurality of voltage conversion devices, and

wherein the instruction value is the measured voltage value of the distribution line measured by the transmitter.

15. The electric power selling system as set forth in claim 10, further comprising a plurality of electric energy measurement devices for measuring electric energy to be sold,

wherein the transmitter supplies the voltage conversion devices with the instruction value via the plurality of electric energy measurement devices, respectively.

16. The electric power selling system as set forth in claim 15,

wherein the transmitter and the electric energy measurement devices are connected by the distribution line, and

wherein the transmitter supplies the electric energy measurement devices with the instruction value through the distribution line.

17. The electric power selling system as set forth in claim 15,

wherein the electric energy measurement devices and the voltage conversion devices are connected by the distribution line, and

wherein the electric energy measurement devices transmit the instruction value to the voltage conversion devices through the distribution line.

18. The electric power selling system as set forth in claim 10, comprising a plurality of electric power supplying systems,

wherein each of the electric power supplying systems comprises one of the power generators and one of the voltage conversion devices, and

wherein each of the voltage conversion devices converts the output voltage of the corresponding one of the power generators into identical voltage for electric power selling based on the instruction value supplied from the transmitter.

19. The electric power selling system as set forth in claim 16,

wherein the electric energy measurement devices and the voltage conversion devices are connected by the distribution line, and

wherein the electric energy measurement devices transmit the instruction value to the voltage conversion devices through the distribution line.

20. The electric power selling system as set forth in claim 10, wherein the distribution line is a single distribution line that connects the single transmitter to the plurality of voltage conversion devices, and wherein the single transmitter is disposed remotely from the plurality of different houses.