Energy service business method and system

• US 7,130,832 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2001
• Issued: 10/31/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Chiba, Junichi, Kuwabara, Kenichi, Bannai, Masaaki, Kamo, Sadakazu
• Primary Examiner(s): Borissov, Igor N.
• Application Number:
  US09/843,736
• Publication Number:
  US 20020007388A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,010 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/7, 705/8, 705/10, 705/11, 705/26, 705/400, 705/412, 705/29, 705/413, 705/63, 340/870.01, 340/870.02, 340/310.01, 340/870.05, 340/870.06, 340/870.03, 379/106.03, 379/111, 700/291, 700/286, 700/295, 702/61, 702/62
• US Class Current: 705/412
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06375 Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed change
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/008 involving trading of energy or energy transmission rights
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 40/70 Smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the energy generation sector
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 80/10 Efficient use of energy, e.g. using compressed air or pressurized fluid as energy carrier
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/80 Management or planning
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/50 Systems or methods supporting the power network operation or management, involving a certain degree of interaction with the load-side end user applications
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 50/10 Energy trading, including energy flowing from end-user application to grid
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 50/16 Energy services, e.g. dispersed generation or demand or load or energy savings aggregation

Abstract

If the energy service enterprise is responsible for paying costs for applying energy-saving measures to the object facilities, measures the energy consumption after taking the energy-saving measures, calculates the amount of curtailed energy cost by comparing the measured value with the energy consumption before taking the energy-saving measures previously stored in the database, and receives at least a part of the curtailed amount, the customer is not required to plan equipment investment in energy-saving measures and collection thereof. Introduction of the energy-saving measures is thus made easier.

Claims

1. An energy service business system comprising

a database which stores past data about an energy consumption of at least one of a production facility and a utility facility utilizing cold or warm heat energy before taking energy-saving measures by installing energy-saving equipment;

measuring means which measures present data of the energy consumption of the at least one of the production and utility facility after taking the energy-saving measures; and

calculating means which calculates energy curtailment quantities of the at least one of the production and utility facility before and after taking the energy-saving measures by installing the energy-saving equipment;

wherein said past data in said database are stored in a form correlated with data of temperature and humidity of atmosphere as a variable characteristic of the energy consumption of the at least one of the production and utility facility before taking the energy-saving measures;

wherein said measuring means measures said present data of the energy consumption of the at least one of the production and utility facility after taking the energy-saving measures together with temperature and humidity data; and

wherein said calculating means retrieves said past data having temperature and humidity data within a set allowable range corresponding to said measured present data having the temperature and humidity data for the at least one of the production and utility facility, and calculates the energy curtailment quantities by comparing said retrieved past data having temperature and humidity data and said measured present data having the temperature and humidity data.

2. An energy service business system according to claim 1, wherein said calculating means retrieves a plurality of said past data corresponding to a plurality of the temperature and humidity data approximating said measured temperature and humidity data;

performing calculation for estimating past data corresponding to said measured temperature and humidity data from said plurality of past data; and

calculates the energy curtailment quantities by comparing the thus calculated past estimated data and said measured present data.

3. An energy service business system according to claim 1, wherein said calculating means calculates the amount of curtailment of the energy costs on the basis of said energy curtailment quantity, and issues a bill demanding payment of an amount obtained by multiplying said amount of curtailment by a predetermined ratio.

4. An energy service business system according to claim 3, wherein said ratio is determined with reference to-the operating hours or the operating rate of the at least one of the production and utility facility.

5. An energy service business system according to claim 4, where:

when the total amount of the fixed costs such as depreciation and tax and tariffs for a single fiscal year for taking energy-saving measures and the variable costs such as maintenance cost of energy-saving equipment is Q, the annual amount of curtailment of energy costs is P, and α and

β

are positive coefficients (where α

>

β

), said energy service enterprise receives;

X1% of the curtailment amount of energy costs when P≧

α

Q;

X2% of the curtailment amount of energy costs when β

Q≦

P<

α

Q (where, X1<

X2); and

a predetermined amount when P<

β

Q.

6. An energy service business method comprising the steps of measuring and storing in a database energy consumption data of at least one of a production and utility facility utilizing cold or warm heat energy before installation of energy-saving equipment for supplying cold or warm heat energy, together with temperature and humidity data of atmosphere as a variable characteristic of the energy consumption of the at least one of the production and utility facility;

installing energy-saving equipment for supplying cold or warm heat energy to the at least one of the production and utility facility with an installation cost thereof paid by an energy service enterprise;

measuring data of an energy consumption of the at least one of the production and utility facility after installation of said energy-saving equipment in the at least one of the production and utility facility, together with temperature and humidity data;

determining a difference of a resultant measured value from the energy consumption data of the at least one of the production and utility facility before and after installation of said energy-saving equipment;

calculating an amount of curtailment of the energy costs on the basis of the thus determined difference by comparing said measured energy consumption data having the temperature and humidity data with the stored energy consumption data before installation of said energy-saving equipment with which said temperature and humidity data agree within a set allowable range; and

said energy service enterprise collecting said installation cost from said amount of curtailment.

7. An energy service business method comprising the steps of applying energy-saving measures to at least one of a production facility and utility facility utilizing cold or warm heat energy by installing energy-saving equipment for supplying cold or warm heat energy with the cost thereof paid by an energy service enterprise;

measuring data of an energy consumption of the at least one of the production and utility facility before and after taking the energy-saving measures including storing said energy consumption data of the at least one of the production and utility facility before taking energy-saving measures in a database, together with temperature and humidity data of atmosphere as a variable characteristic of the energy consumption of the at least one of the production and utility facility, and measuring the energy consumption data after taking said energy-saving measures by installing the energy-saving equipment for supplying the cold or warm heat energy to the at least one of the production and utility facility, together with said temperature and humidity data;

calculating an amount of curtailment of energy costs by comparing the thus measured value with the energy consumption data before taking the energy-saving measures previously stored in said database by comparing said measured energy consumption data having the temperature and humidity data with the stored energy consumption data before taking said energy-saving measures with which the temperature and humidity data agree within a set allowable range; and

said energy service enterprise receiving at least a part of said amount of curtailment.

8. An energy service business method according to claim 7, wherein said amount received by the energy service enterprise is determined with reference to the operating hours or the operating rate of the at least one of the production and utility facility.

9. An energy service business method according to claim 7, wherein, when the quantity of energy curtailment is smaller than a predetermined reference value, said energy service enterprise performs maintenance or improvement without compensation of the equipment to which the energy-saving measures are applied so as to satisfy the reference value.

10. An energy service business method according to claim 7, wherein:

when the total amount of the fixed costs such as depreciation and tax and tariffs for a single fiscal year for taking energy-saving measures and the variable costs such as maintenance cost of energy-saving equipment is Q, the annual amount of curtailment of energy costs is P, and α and

β

are positive coefficients (where α

>

β

), said energy service enterprise receives;

X1% of the curtailment amount of energy costs when P≧

α

Q;

X2% of the curtailment amount of energy costs when β

Q≦

P<

α

Q (where, X1 <

X2); and

a predetermined amount when P<

β

Q.

11. An energy service business method according to claim 10, wherein said X2 is calculated by the following formula:

X2=X1+(α

−

P/Q)(100−

X1)/(α

−

β

).

12. An energy service business method comprising the steps of drafting energy-saving measures by an energy service enterprise or a related organization thereof;

assuring, under at least one set condition of at least one of a production facility and a utility facility utilizing cold or warm heat energy, a quantity of curtailment of energy consumption available when taking energy-saving measures in accordance with the thus drafted measures;

measuring data of an energy consumption of the at least one of the production and utility facility before and after taking the energy-saving measures by installing energy-saving equipment for supplying in the cold or warm heat energy in the at least one of the production and utility facility including storing said energy consumption data before taking the energy-saving measures in a database, together with temperature and humidity data of atmosphere as a variable characteristic of the energy consumption data of the at least one of the production and utility facility, and measuring the energy consumption data of the at least one of the production and utility facility after installing of the energy saving equipment, together with the temperature and humidity data;

calculating an amount of curtailment of energy costs by comparing the thus measured value with data of an energy consumption of the at the at least one of the production and utility facility before taking the energy-saving measures previously stored in said database by comparing said measured energy consumption of the at least one of the production and utility facility having the temperature and humidity data with the stored energy consumption data before taking said energy-saving measures with which the temperature and humidity data agree within a set allowable range, and periodically confirming the assured quantity of curtailment.

13. An energy service business method according to claim 12, wherein said at least one set condition includes conditions determined as to variable factors having an effect on curtailment of the energy consumption such as the operating rate or operating hours of the at least one of the production and utility facility.

14. An energy service business method according to claim 13, wherein said at least one set condition has an allowable range.

15. An energy service business method according to claim 12, wherein said energy service enterprise receives a compensation in an amount corresponding to the quantity of energy curtailment in excess of an assured value of at least one of a reward for assuring a quantity of energy curtailment and a cost to be appropriated for maintenance and improvement.

16. An energy service business method according to claim 15, wherein the amount received by said energy service enterprise is determined with reference to the operating hours or the operating rate of the at least one of the production and utility facility.

17. An energy service business method according to claim 15, wherein, when the quantity of energy curtailment is under a predetermined reference value, said energy service enterprise performs at least one of maintenance and improvement of an equipment subjected to energy-saving measures without compensation so as to satisfy the reference value.

18. An energy service business system, comprising a database which stores past data about an energy consumption of at least one of a production facility and a utility facility utilizing cold or warm heat energy before taking energy-saving measures;

measuring means which measures a present data of the energy-consumption of said at least one of said production and utility facility after taking energy-saving measures; and

calculating means which calculates an energy curtailment quantities of said at least one of said production and utility facility before and after taking the energy-saving measures;

wherein said past data in said database are stored in a form correlated with temperature and humidity of atmosphere and production quantity as a variable characteristic of the energy-consumption of said at least one of said production facility and said utility facility;

said measuring means measures said present data of said at least one of said production and utility facility after installation of an energy-saving equipment for supplying said cold or said warm heat energy thereto as said energy-saving measures, together with said temperature, said humidity and said production quantity; and

said calculating means retrieves said past data with which said temperature, said humidity and said production quantity agree within a set allowable range corresponding to said measured temperature, humidity and production quantity, and calculates the energy curtailment quantities by comparing said retrieved past data and said present data.

19. An energy service business system according to claim 18, wherein said calculating means retrieves a plurality of said past data corresponding to temperature, humidity and a production quantity approximating said measured temperature, humidity and production quantity;

performs calculation for estimating past data corresponding to said measured temperature, humidity and production quantity from said plurality of past data; and

calculates the energy curtailment quantities by comparing the thus calculated past estimated data and said present data.