Control device for controlling facility equipment

• US 9,964,930 B2
• Filed: 04/26/2012
• Issued: 05/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daikin Industries Ltd
• Original Assignee: Daikin Industries Ltd
• Inventors: Kawai, Seiji, Kinugasa, Nanae
• Primary Examiner(s): Dunn, Darrin
• Application Number:
  US14/128,171
• Publication Number:
  US 20140114441A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,203 Days
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/46 Improving electric energy efficiency or saving
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/47 Responding to energy costs
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/523 for displaying temperature data
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/62 characterised by the type of control or by internal processing, e.g. using fuzzy logic, adaptive control or estimation of values
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/64 using pre-stored data
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/12 The local stationary network supplying a household or a building
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/14 The load or loads being home appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/64 The condition being economic, e.g. tariff based load management
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/14 by switching loads on to, or off from, network, e.g. progressively balanced loading
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/3225 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/222 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/242 Home appliances
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/244 the home appliances being or involving heating ventilating and air conditioning [HVAC] units
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 50/10 Energy trading, including energy flowing from end-user application to grid

Abstract

The control device controls facility equipment and includes a receiving unit, first and second decision units and an adjustment control unit. The receiving unit receives time-of-use unit price information of an energy supplied to the facility equipment. The first decision unit decides a first time slot in which an index that includes a factor of an energy unit price approaches a peak in a first period based on the time-of-use unit price information. The second decision unit decides a second time slot prior to the first time slot and a third time slot subsequent to the first time slot in the first period. The adjustment control unit executes an energy adjustment control to adjust an energy consumption of the facility equipment so that an amount of suppression of the energy consumption is higher in the first time slot than in the second and the third time slots.

Claims

1. A control device for controlling facility equipment comprising:

a receiving unit including a network interface, the receiving unit being configured to receive time-of-use unit price information of an energy to be supplied to the facility equipment during a predetermined period;

a controller including a processor and a memory, the controller being programmed to include

a first decision unit programmed to decide a first time slot in which an index that includes a factor of an energy unit price approaches a peak in the predetermined period based on the time-of-use unit price information;

a second decision unit programmed to decide a second time slot prior to the first time slot and a third time slot subsequent to the first time slot in the predetermined period; and

an adjustment control unit programmed to execute an energy adjustment control to adjust an energy consumption of the facility equipment so that

an amount of suppression of the energy consumption in the third time slot is equal to or lower than an amount of the suppression of the energy consumption in the first time slot, and

an amount of the suppression of the energy consumption in the second time slot is lower than the amount of the suppression of the energy consumption in the third time slot,

the first decision unit being further configured to delay a starting time of the first time slot by a predetermined interval when the first time slot as decided would start at a starting time of the predetermined period, thereby lowering the amount of the suppression of the energy consumption at the starting time of the predetermined period.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein

the controller further includes a prediction unit programmed to predict the energy consumption in the predetermined period,

the first decision unit calculating a product of the energy consumption predicted by the prediction unit and the energy unit price as the index.

3. The control device according to claim 1, wherein

the adjustment control unit does not suppress the energy consumption in the second time slot.

4. The control device according to claim 1, wherein

the controller further includes an energy calculation unit programmed to calculate a possible amount of energy consumption adjustment when the energy adjustment control is executed based on at least one condition,

the adjustment control unit executing the energy adjustment control corresponding to the condition.

5. The control device according to claim 4, further comprising

an input unit configured to receive input of a selection criterion by a user;

the energy calculation unit calculating the possible amount of energy consumption adjustment based on a plurality of conditions; and

the adjustment control unit deciding a single condition of the plurality of conditions based on the selection criterion and executing the energy adjustment control corresponding to the single condition decided.

6. The control device according to claim 2, wherein

the adjustment control unit does not suppress the energy consumption in the second time slot.

7. The control device according to claim 2, wherein

the controller further includes an energy calculation unit programmed to calculate a possible amount of energy consumption adjustment when the energy adjustment control is executed based on at least one condition,

the adjustment control unit executing the energy adjustment control corresponding to the condition.

8. The control device according to claim 2, wherein

the receiving unit receives a plurality of different items of the time-of-use unit price information for a period of time;

and

the first decision unit is programmed to determine a cheapest time-of-use energy unit price based on the plurality of items of the time-of-use unit price information for the period of time and decides the first time slot based on the index, and the index includes a factor of the cheapest time-of-use energy unit price.

9. The control device according to claim 3, wherein

the controller further includes an energy calculation unit programmed to calculate a possible amount of energy consumption adjustment when the energy adjustment control is executed based on at least one condition,

the adjustment control unit executing the energy adjustment control corresponding to the condition.

10. The control device according to claim 3, wherein

the receiving unit receives a plurality of different items of the time-of-use unit price information for a period of time;

and

the first decision unit is programmed to determine a cheapest time-of-use energy unit price based on the plurality of items of the time-of-use unit price information for the period of time and decides the first time slot based on the index, and the index includes a factor of the cheapest time-of-use energy unit price.

11. The control device according to claim 4, wherein

the receiving unit receives a plurality of different items of the time-of-use unit price information for a period of time;

and

the first decision unit is programmed to determine a cheapest time-of-use energy unit price based on the plurality of items of the time-of-use unit price information for the period of time and decides the first time slot based on the index, and the index includes a factor of the cheapest time-of-use energy unit price.

12. A control device for controlling facility equipment comprising:

a receiving unit including a network interface, the receiving unit being configured to receive a plurality of items of time-of-use unit price information regarding energy to be supplied to the facility equipment during a predetermined period, each of the items of time-of-use unit price information being received from a different power company;

a controller including a processor and a memory, the controller being programmed to include

a first decision unit programmed to determine a cheapest time-of-use energy unit price based on the plurality of items of time-of-use unit price information for the period of time and decide a first time slot in which an index approaches a peak in the predetermined, period, the index including a factor of the cheapest time-of-use energy unit price;

a second decision unit programmed to decide a second time slot prior to the first time slot and a third tune slot subsequent to the first tune slot in the predetermined period; and

an adjustment control unit programmed to execute an energy adjustment control to adjust an energy consumption of the facility equipment so that an amount of suppression of the energy consumption is higher in the first time slat than in the second and the third time slots,

the first decision unit being further configured to delay a starting time of the first time slot by a predetermined interval when the first time slot as decided would start at a starting time of the predetermined period, thereby lowering the amount of the suppression of the energy consumption at the starting time of the predetermined period.