Power management device and power management method

Abstract

This invention provides a power management device and power management method that enable proper power management even when an EV is out of the vehicle. [Solution] A power management device according to one embodiment is a power management device that integrally manages multiple physically different storage batteries installed at multiple customers, and has a control unit that detects that a first storage battery corresponding to a first customer is located outside the facility of the customer, and allocates the amount of surplus power generated at the facility of the first customer to a second storage battery corresponding to a second customer which is physically different from the first storage battery.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a power management device and a power management method.

Background Art

[0002] Recently, due to the increasing environmental awareness, renewable energy generation such as solar power generation has become widespread. On the other hand, in an environment where electricity bills are rising, there is also a growing trend of self-consumption, mainly among consumers whose FIT (Feed-in Tariff: a fixed purchase system for renewable energy) has ended. Instead of flowing the electricity generated by renewable energy into the grid, they utilize the batteries installed on the consumer's premises or the built-in batteries of EVs (Electric Vehicles) to consume the electricity within the consumer's premises.

[0003] That is, the electricity generated by renewable energy installed on the consumer's premises and remaining after consumption is once charged into the batteries installed on the same premises or the built-in batteries of EVs, and then the charged electricity is discharged and consumed during the time period after the renewable energy generation stops.

[0004] As a power management system using a battery, for example, there is the following technology. That is, in a power management system that manages the power of a plurality of consumer facilities, there is a technology for obtaining the power to be back-fed using a battery management table in which the sharing ratio, which is the ratio of the maximum battery capacity to the shared power consumption amount within the power management area, and a flag indicating whether to provide the shared power consumption amount as shared are shown for each consumer facility.

[0005] According to this technology, it is said that even when a part of the power amount of its own battery is provided as a shared power consumption amount within the community as a distributed battery, the charge and discharge of its own battery can be controlled.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

[0007] However, in a power management system where a battery built into an EV is used, if the EV moves to a different location, it becomes impossible to store surplus electricity generated at the customer's facility in the EV's battery, nor to discharge and consume any stored surplus electricity. In this case, the customer's facility cannot use the electricity stored in the EV's battery for consumption, nor can it store electricity in the battery. Consequently, the power management system becomes unable to manage the power to the battery built into the EV while it is away from the customer's facility.

[0008] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a power management device and a power management method that enable proper power management even when an EV is out of the vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The power management device according to the first embodiment is a power management device that integrally manages a plurality of physically different storage batteries installed at a plurality of customers, and has a control unit that detects that a first storage battery corresponding to a first customer is located outside the facility of the first customer, and allocates the amount of surplus power generated at the facility of the first customer to a second storage battery corresponding to a second customer which is physically different from the first storage battery.

[0010] The power management method according to the second embodiment is a power management method in a power management device that integrally manages multiple physically different storage batteries installed at multiple customers, and includes detecting that a first storage battery corresponding to a first customer is located outside the customer's facility, and allocating the surplus power generated at the first customer's facility to a second storage battery corresponding to a second customer that is physically different from the first storage battery. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to this disclosure, it is possible to provide a power management device and a power management method that enable proper power management even when an EV is out of the vehicle. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example configuration of a power management system according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example configuration of a power management device according to one embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a customer facility according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the power flow when storing energy in a virtual battery according to one embodiment. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the power flow when discharging from a virtual battery according to one embodiment. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the power flow when discharging from a virtual battery according to one embodiment. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of a virtual battery according to one embodiment. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of a contract information screen for a customer communication terminal according to one embodiment. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is a diagram showing an example of a virtual battery power management table according to one embodiment. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is a diagram showing an example of an electricity account information management table according to one embodiment. [Figure 11] Figure 11 is a diagram showing an example of how electricity account information is displayed according to one embodiment. [Figure 12] Figure 12 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a customer information table according to one embodiment. [Figure 13] Figure 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an EV group information table according to one embodiment. [Figure 14] Figure 14 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a power supply and demand information management table according to one embodiment. [Figure 15]FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an EV home prediction information table according to an embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an EV connection information table according to an embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a charge / discharge plan example of a virtual storage battery according to an embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of the number of EVs according to an embodiment.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] A power management system according to the first embodiment will be described while referring to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals.

[0014] [First Embodiment]

[0015] (1) Power Management System First, a power management system according to an embodiment will be described.

[0016] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a power management system 1.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the power management system 1 includes a power management device 10, a power trading market server 14, and a customer facility 15. The power management device 10, the power trading market server 14, and the customer facility 15 are connected to each other via a network 12.

[0018] The power management device 10 is a device managed by a power company such as a power generation company, a power transmission and distribution company, or a retail company. The power management device 10 may be a device managed by an aggregator corresponding to a power transmission and distribution company or a retailer. An aggregator is a company that manages the power supply-demand balance of the customer facilities 15 that contract with the aggregator. The power supply-demand balance includes a balance related to the demand or supply of power, or a balance of grid stability, etc.

[0019] The power company will supply the generated electricity to each customer facility 15 via grid 2.

[0020] The power management device 10 manages power between customer facilities 15, each equipped with renewable energy equipment 5 and an electric vehicle (EV) 8 with a built-in battery, via the battery. To this end, the power management device 10 sends control messages to each customer facility 15 or receives information regarding charging and discharging from each customer facility 15. The power management device 10 may also send control messages based on a supply and demand plan or a power generation plan.

[0021] The power management device 10 may also be a power management server.

[0022] The electricity trading market server 14 is a server for buying and selling electricity in the electricity trading market. An example of an electricity trading market is JPEX (Japan Electric Power Exchange). JPEX is an exchange that mediates futures trading of electricity. JPEX has a market called the day-ahead market (or spot market) where electricity is delivered the following day. For example, the electricity trading market server 14 can purchase electricity for the following day from the spot market based on the electricity demand plan for the next day and supply the purchased electricity to the customer facility 15. In addition to the spot market, JPEX also has a same-day market where trading is possible up to one hour before delivery, and a forward market where electricity to be delivered over a certain period in the future can be traded. The electricity trading market server 14 may be managed by an aggregator.

[0023] The customer facility 15 includes renewable energy equipment 5 and an EV 8 with a built-in battery storage device.

[0024] Renewable energy equipment 5 refers to equipment capable of generating electricity using energy sources that are always present in nature and can be repeatedly used without being depleted, such as solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and biomass. In the first embodiment, solar power generation equipment is used as an example to describe renewable energy equipment 5, but it is not limited to this, and may also be wind power generation equipment, hydroelectric power generation equipment, geothermal power generation equipment, or biomass power generation equipment.

[0025] The EV8 is an automobile that drives its motor using electricity stored in a built-in battery storage device (or battery) as its power source. The battery storage device may be a mobile battery storage device. Therefore, the battery storage device may be mounted on a vehicle other than the EV8, or on a mobile device other than the EV8. The battery storage device can be connected to a customer facility 15. In this case, the battery storage device can store electricity supplied from the solar power generation equipment 5, and can also supply the stored electricity to the customer facility for use as power consumption. The EV8 can leave the customer facility 15 and go out (or move). Also, after moving, the EV8 can return to the customer facility 15 and connect to it again. The connection destination may be the customer facility 15 of the owner's home, or another person's customer facility 15.

[0026] Furthermore, the customer facilities 15 managed by the power management device 10 may be located within a designated area. In this case, the power management device 10 may be managed by a power company known as a regional new power company. Alternatively, depending on the size of the designated area, the power management device 10 may be managed by a major power company.

[0027] Network 12 is a communication line that connects the power management device 10, the power trading market server 14, and each customer facility 15 to each other. Network 12 may be a public line such as the internet, or a dedicated line such as a VPN (Virtual Private Network).

[0028] (2) Example of power management device configuration Next, we will describe an example configuration of the power management device 10.

[0029] Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example configuration of a power management device 10 according to one embodiment.

[0030] As shown in Figure 2, the power management device 10 includes a CPU 40, a first communication interface 41, a second communication interface 42, a memory 43, and a storage device 44.

[0031] The CPU (Central Processing Unit) 40 controls each part of the power management device 10. The CPU 40 may also be a control unit. The CPU 40 performs various processes in the power management device 10 by reading and executing the program 50 stored in the memory 43. The processes performed in the power management device 10 may also be performed by the CPU 40. The CPU 40 only needs to be able to control each part of the power management device 10, and may be a processor such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0032] The first communication IF41 is connected to the electricity trading market server 14 via the network 12. The first communication IF41 may communicate with the electricity trading market server 14 using TCP / IP messages.

[0033] The second communication IF42 is connected to the customer facility 15 via the network 12. The second communication IF42 may communicate with the customer facility 15 using messages according to a predetermined protocol. The predetermined protocol may be a protocol compliant with Open ADR, the ECHONET method, the ECHONET Lite method, or a proprietary dedicated protocol. Based on these messages, the power management device 10 may control the charging and discharging of the solar power generation equipment 5 and the battery storage device installed in the EV8 of the customer facility 15.

[0034] Memory 43 is composed of, for example, semiconductor memory. Memory 43 is used to store program 50 and to temporarily hold various other programs. Memory 43 may also function as the work memory of the CPU 40. The program 50 stored in memory 43 includes various modules 501 to 511. Details of the various modules 501 to 511 will be described later.

[0035] The storage device 44 is composed of a large-capacity non-volatile storage device, such as an SSD (Solid State Drive) or a hard disk drive. The storage device 44 is used to retain various programs and data for a long period of time. As shown in Figure 2, the storage device 44 stores various tables 441 to 447. Details of the various tables 441 to 447 will be described later.

[0036] (3) Example of customer facility configuration Next, we will describe an example of the configuration of customer facility 15.

[0037] Customer facilities 15 are facilities managed by the customer. The customer may be a consumer or user who receives and uses electricity. The customer may be an individual or a corporation. Alternatively, the customer may be a low-voltage customer (or household customer), a high-voltage customer (or business customer), or an extra-high-voltage customer (or large-scale customer).

[0038] Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example configuration of a customer facility 15. As shown in Figure 3, the customer facility 15 includes facility 3, customer communication terminal 4, solar power generation equipment 5, EV charging / discharging equipment 6, EV charging / discharging equipment control device 7, and EV 8.

[0039] Facility 3, as shown in Figure 3, includes a smart meter 31, a distribution board 32, a power supply and demand status measuring device 33, a load 34, and a PCS (Power Conditioning System) 35.

[0040] The smart meter 31 measures the amount of electricity flowing (power flowing) from grid 2 to facility 3, as well as the amount of electricity flowing (reverse power flow) from facility 3 to grid 2.

[0041] The distribution board 32 supplies power from grid 2 to load 34 and to EV8. It also supplies power from the solar power generation equipment 5 to load 34, to EV8, and to grid 2. Furthermore, it supplies power from EV8 to load 34 and to grid 2. The distribution board 32 may also measure the power flowing through it.

[0042] The power supply and demand status measuring device 33 measures the power flowing through the distribution board 32. Specifically, the power supply and demand status measuring device 33 measures the power consumption of the load 34, the amount of power generated by the solar power generation equipment 5, the amount of charge to the EV8, and the amount of discharge from the EV8. The power supply and demand status measuring device 33 transmits the measured amount of power to the power management device 10 via the network 12.

[0043] As shown in Figure 3, the power supply and demand status measuring device 33 includes a CPU 61, a memory 62, an input / output IF 63, and a communication IF 64.

[0044] The CPU 61 controls the entire power supply and demand status measuring device 33. The CPU 61 may also be a control unit. The CPU 61 performs various processes in the power supply and demand status measuring device 33 by reading and executing programs stored in the memory 62. The processes performed in the power supply and demand status measuring device 33 may also be performed by the CPU 61. The CPU 61 only needs to be able to control each part of the power supply and demand status measuring device 33, and may be a processor such as a DSP or FPGA.

[0045] Memory 62 stores programs executed by CPU 61 and also serves as working memory for CPU 61.

[0046] The input / output IF63 acquires the amount of power flowing through the distribution board 32. The input / output IF63 may also perform charge / discharge control of the load 34 and the solar power generation equipment 5 by sending and receiving control messages to the PCS35 according to a predetermined protocol. The predetermined protocol may be the ECHONET method, the ECHONET Lite method, or a proprietary dedicated protocol.

[0047] The communication IF64 communicates with the power management device 10 via the network 12. The communication IF64 may also send and receive control messages using a predetermined protocol such as TCP / IP.

[0048] Load 34 consumes power supplied via the distribution board 32. Load 34 includes lighting fixtures, refrigerators, televisions, air conditioners, etc. Load 34 may consist of a single device or multiple devices within facility 3.

[0049] The PCS (Power Conditioning System) 35 is a power conversion device. The PCS 35 converts the DC power supplied from the solar power generation equipment 5 into AC power. The PCS 35 may also be connected to the load 34 and the EV charging / discharging equipment 6. In this case, the PCS 35 may control charging and discharging to the load 34, the solar power generation equipment 5, and the EV charging / discharging equipment 6 based on control messages received from the power supply and demand status measuring device 33.

[0050] The EV charging and discharging equipment 6 functions as a PCS (Power Conditioning System) for the EV8. Specifically, the EV charging and discharging equipment 6 converts AC power supplied via the distribution board 32 into DC power and supplies it to the EV8, and converts DC power supplied from the EV8 into AC power and supplies it to the distribution board 32.

[0051] The EV charging and discharging equipment control device 7 controls the charging and discharging of the EV8. As shown in Figure 3, the EV charging and discharging equipment control device 7 includes a CPU 71, a memory 72, a first communication IF 73, and a second communication IF 74.

[0052] The CPU 71 controls the entire EV charging and discharging equipment control device 7. The CPU 71 may also be a control unit. The CPU 71 performs various processes in the EV charging and discharging equipment control device 7 by reading and executing programs stored in the memory 72. The processes performed in the EV charging and discharging equipment control device 7 may also be performed by the CPU 71. The CPU 71 only needs to be able to control each part of the EV charging and discharging equipment control device 7, and may be a processor such as a DSP or FPGA.

[0053] Memory 72 stores programs executed by CPU 71 and also serves as working memory for CPU 71.

[0054] The first communication IF73 may perform charge and discharge control of the battery storage device built into the EV8 by sending and receiving control messages to and from the EV charge and discharge equipment 6 according to a predetermined protocol. The predetermined protocol may be the ECHONET method, the ECHONET Lite method, or a proprietary dedicated protocol.

[0055] The second communication IF74 communicates with the power management device 10 via the network 12. As described above, the second communication IF74 may send and receive control messages using a predetermined protocol such as Open ADR, in addition to TCP / IP.

[0056] Thus, the EV charging / discharging equipment control device 7 also plays a role as a local control device in the power management system 1. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3, the power management device 10 may separately perform charging / discharging control for the load 34 and the solar power generation equipment 5, and charging / discharging control for the battery storage device built into the EV 8.

[0057] The customer communication terminal 4 is a communication terminal device such as a personal computer, smartphone, or tablet owned by the customer. The customer communication terminal 4 is connected to the power management device 10 via the network 12 and can send and receive various information, thereby displaying various information on its screen.

[0058] The solar power generation equipment 5 is a power generation facility that generates electricity using sunlight as its power source. As mentioned above, the solar power generation equipment 5 can be any renewable energy facility that uses renewable energy as its power source, and instead of the solar power generation equipment 5, a wind power generation facility, a hydroelectric power generation facility, a geothermal power generation facility, or a biomass power generation facility may be installed. More than one solar power generation equipment 5 may be installed at the customer facility 15.

[0059] As described above, the EV8 is an automobile that drives its motor using electricity stored in its built-in battery system as its power source. The battery system, under the control of the EV charging and discharging equipment 6 (or EV charging and discharging equipment control device 7), stores electricity supplied from the distribution board 32 via the EV charging and discharging equipment 6, and supplies the stored electricity back to the distribution board 32 via the EV charging and discharging equipment 6.

[0060] In the following, "EV8" and "the battery storage device built into the EV8" may be used interchangeably. For example, "the electricity stored in the EV8" and "the electricity stored in the battery storage device built into the EV8" will be considered to have the same meaning.

[0061] (4) Virtual battery Next, a virtual battery according to one embodiment will be described. A virtual battery is, for example, a system where the battery storage devices built into the EV8 at each individual customer facility 15 are aggregated across all customer facilities 15 to create a single virtual battery storage device. Alternatively, a virtual battery may be a system where multiple physically existing battery storage devices are virtually combined into one.

[0062] The electricity stored in the physical battery is basically the surplus electricity generated by the solar power generation equipment 5 at each customer facility 15 that is not consumed by the load 34. Alternatively, the battery may store electricity supplied from grid 2 for electricity trading. Therefore, the electricity stored in the virtual battery will include surplus electricity at all customer facilities 15, or electricity supplied from grid 2 for electricity trading at all customer facilities 15.

[0063] The power management device 10 can distinguish whether the power being charged or discharged to the virtual battery is surplus power or power for electricity trading, and by controlling the charging and discharging of the virtual battery, it becomes possible to control the physically existing battery device. The virtual battery may also have a function to control (or manage) the charging and discharging of a battery device shared among the customer facilities 15.

[0064] (4.1) Example of a virtual battery Next, let's look at an example of a virtual battery. Figures 4 to 6 illustrate the flow of power to a virtual battery according to one embodiment.

[0065] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the power flow when storing energy in a virtual battery.

[0066] As shown in Figure 4, the virtual battery is managed by dividing it into two groups: battery devices belonging to the first group (EV8B) and battery devices belonging to the second group (EV8C).

[0067] The first group is responsible for storing surplus electricity from customer facilities 15 while the EV8 is away. There may be more than one battery storage device (EV8B) belonging to the first group. In other words, in the first group, the surplus electricity from each customer facility stored in the group of battery storage devices belonging to the first group is stored in a virtual battery. Note that surplus electricity generated at customer facilities 15 of the battery storage devices belonging to the second group, which will be described later, does not need to be stored.

[0068] Here, the first group of battery storage devices 8B is designed to store surplus electricity at customer facility 15A while EV8 is out. That is, surplus electricity from customer facility 15A, which has EV8 that has left the facility, is stored in the first group of battery storage devices 8B.

[0069] Thus, in the first embodiment, even when the EV8 is away from home, the surplus power generated at the customer facility 15A while the EV8 is away from home is included in the virtual battery as surplus power in the first group, making it possible to properly manage power even when the EV8 is away from home.

[0070] In the example shown in Figure 4, surplus power a1 (kWh) from customer facility 15A while the customer is out is added to surplus power b1 (kWh) generated at customer facility 15B, and (a1 + b1) (kWh) of power is stored in the first group of battery storage devices (EV8B).

[0071] On the other hand, the second group is a group that stores electricity for electricity trading. There may be more than one battery storage device (EV8C) belonging to the second group. In other words, in the second group, the electricity for electricity trading stored in the group of battery storage devices belonging to the second group is stored in a virtual battery. However, the battery storage devices (EV8C) belonging to the second group may also store surplus electricity generated at their own customer facilities 15C. In the example shown in Figure 4, the battery storage device (EV8C) stores electricity d1 (kWh) supplied from grid 2 for electricity trading and surplus electricity c1 (kWh) generated at the customer facility 15C.

[0072] The virtual battery stores power above a certain threshold from the power stored in the first and second groups, and the sum of the power stored in the first group and the power stored in the second group. In the example in Figure 4, the virtual battery will store (a1+b1+c1+d1)(kWh) of power.

[0073] Figure 5 shows the power flow when discharging from a virtual battery. As shown in Figure 5, the battery storage device (EV8B) of customer facility 15B supplies a1 (kWh) of power to customer facility 15A while EV8 is out. Customer facility 15A consumes the power a1 (kWh). In addition, the battery storage device (EV8B) of customer facility 15B consumes the power b1 (kWh) at its own customer facility 15B.

[0074] Meanwhile, the battery storage system (EV8C) at customer facility 15C supplies d1 (kWh) of electricity to grid 2 for electricity trading. In addition, the battery storage system (EV8C) consumes c1 (kWh) of electricity at its own customer facility 15C.

[0075] As shown in Figure 5, electricity stored as tradable electricity can be used for electricity trading regardless of which group each battery device EV8 belongs to. In addition, electricity stored as surplus electricity can be discharged (or consumed) as power for the self-consumption facility 15, regardless of which group each battery device EV8 belongs to, and can also be transmitted to other consumption facilities 15.

[0076] Figure 6 shows the power flow when the battery storage device EV8 is out during discharge. Specifically, it shows the power flow during discharge when EV8 at customer facility 15B is out and EV8C at customer facility 15C is also out. As shown in Figure 6, the battery storage device EV8X at customer facility 15X supplies (a1+b1+c1)(kWh) as power to customer facilities 15A, 15B, and 15C. During discharge, of the (a1+b1+c1+x1)(kWh) stored in EV8X, power a1 (kWh) is supplied to customer facility 15A, power b1 (kWh) is supplied to customer facility 15B, power c1 (kWh) is supplied to customer facility 15C, and power x1 (kWh) is consumed by customer facility 15X itself. This makes it possible, for example, to supply power stored at other customer facilities to customer facility 15 even when EV8 is out.

[0077] Meanwhile, in the battery storage system EV8Y at customer facility 15Y, d1 (kWh) is supplied to grid 2 as electricity for electricity trading. In addition, y1 (kWh) of electricity is consumed by the battery storage system EV8Y at its own customer facility 15Y.

[0078] Figure 7 shows an example of a virtual battery. In one embodiment, a threshold is set for the battery capacity of each EV8 in order to determine the battery capacity of the virtual battery. Specifically, the power management device 10 can store surplus power or power for electricity trading within a range of threshold % to SoC 100%. When discharging power stored in the virtual battery, the power management device 10 discharges the power in such a way that the SoC of each EV8 remains above the threshold. As a result, for example, surplus power from each customer facility 15 and power for electricity trading are secured in the virtual battery, and the power management device 10 can manage the power appropriately.

[0079] For example, if the threshold is 50%, the power available to the aggregator will be the power of the SoC at 50% or more. Therefore, if the SoC of each EV8 is below 50%, there is no power available for the aggregator, and the aggregator cannot discharge from that EV.

[0080] Furthermore, the threshold can also be set by the customer. Figure 8 shows an example of the contract information screen displayed on the customer communication terminal 4. As shown in Figure 8, the customer can change the threshold within this contract screen.

[0081] (4.2) Virtual Battery Power Management Table Figure 9 is a diagram showing an example of a virtual battery power management table 446 according to one embodiment. As described above, the virtual battery power management table 446 is a table stored in the storage device 44 of the power management device 10. The virtual battery power management table 446 is a table for managing the power charged (stored) or discharged from the virtual battery.

[0082] As shown in Figure 9, the virtual battery power management table 446 includes surplus energy and energy for electricity trading. Surplus energy may be the amount of energy stored in the battery device group belonging to the first group. Energy for electricity trading may be the amount of energy stored in the battery device group belonging to the second group. As shown in Figure 9, the virtual battery power management table 446 manages each energy quantity in hourly increments, including charge, discharge, and storage amounts. While the example in Figure 9 shows management in hourly increments, it can be managed at predetermined intervals, for example, every 5 minutes, 15 minutes, or 30 minutes.

[0083] Thus, in the power management device 10 according to one embodiment, the charging and discharging of the power of the first group and the power of the second group are managed as a virtual battery.

[0084] (5) Electricity account balance management Next, we will describe the electricity account balance management function according to one embodiment.

[0085] As mentioned above, any power exceeding a threshold from an individual EV8's SoC can be stored in a virtual battery and used by the aggregator for power trading, or as surplus power. On the other hand, the electricity stored in the virtual battery is physically stored in the battery storage device built into the customer's EV8. Therefore, situations may arise where the electricity used for electricity trading, which has been stored in the EV8's built-in battery storage device by the aggregator, is used by the customer for their own power consumption.

[0086] Therefore, in one embodiment, the power management device 10 manages the electricity account balance for each customer facility 15 using an electricity account balance management function. The electricity account balance for each customer facility 15 includes surplus power, a power balance indicating the amount of power consumption deficit, and interest on the amount of electricity corresponding to the connection time of the EV charging / discharging equipment 6.

[0087] The balance of a customer's electricity account is basically calculated as (electricity generated) - (electricity consumed) + (interest received on electricity). If (electricity generated) - (electricity consumed) is positive, it means that the customer's facility 15 is generating surplus electricity, and this surplus electricity is recorded in the account. On the other hand, if (electricity generated) - (electricity consumed) is negative, it means that the customer's facility 15 is experiencing an electricity shortage, and the shortage is recorded in the account as part of the electricity balance. The electricity interest received represents the amount of electricity that consumers can receive, depending on the connection time of the EV charging / discharging equipment 6. The shared virtual battery has a greater storage capacity and can operate more stably as the number of EVs 8 connected to the EV charging / discharging equipment 6 increases and the connection time increases. Therefore, as an incentive for consumers, methods such as providing a certain amount of electricity as interest (for example, 0.2 kWh per hour from 9 am to 9 pm, and 0.1 kWh per hour from 9 pm to 9 am) depending on the connection time can be considered. The interest rate may vary depending on the connection time (or connection duration). For example, the interest rate may be higher if the connection is made in the morning compared to the afternoon, and vice versa. Alternatively, the longer the connection time, the higher the interest rate may be. Note that the interest rate will be 0 when EV8 is not connected to the EV charging / discharging equipment 6. If the balance in your electricity account falls below zero, any electricity consumption from that point onward will be recorded as a negative amount in your electricity account. Customers can view this negative amount as their electricity credit balance. For example, the credit balance is reset when the customer pays the amount of their electricity credit balance (negative balance in their electricity account) at the end of the month.

[0088] Figure 10 shows an example of an electricity account information management table 447 that represents the balance of an electricity account. As mentioned above, the electricity account information management table 447 is also stored in the storage device 44 of the power management device 10.

[0089] As shown in Figure 10, the electricity account information management table 447 includes surplus electricity, electricity balance, electricity interest received, and account balance for each customer. Furthermore, the electricity account balance is managed for each customer facility 15. While Figure 10 shows an example where the electricity account balance is aggregated hourly, it can be aggregated at any predetermined interval; for example, every 30 minutes, every half day, every day, every week, or every month.

[0090] The electricity account balance can be displayed on the display screen of the customer communication terminal 4. Figure 11 is a diagram showing an example of electricity account information display according to one embodiment. As shown in Figure 11, the electricity management device 10 can display the electricity account balance for each customer as electricity account information. In the example shown in Figure 11, the amount of electricity obtained by adding the surplus electricity amount to the received electricity interest amount is greater than or equal to the amount of electricity consumed, so the account balance is 32kWh and the credit balance is 0kWh.

[0091] (6) Various Tables Next, we will describe the various tables stored in the storage device 44 of the power management device 10. Note that the virtual battery power management table 446 (Figure 9) and the electricity account information management table 447 (Figure 10) have already been described.

[0092] (6.1) Customer Information Table 441 The customer information table 441 is a table for storing information about customers. Figure 12 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the customer information table 441 according to one embodiment.

[0093] As shown in Figure 12, the customer information table 441 stores contract information (contract ID, customer name, electricity account number, contract threshold %), customer facility information (facility ID, address), solar power generation equipment information (maximum output, installation orientation, installation angle), electric vehicle information (electric vehicle ID, battery capacity), EV charging / discharging equipment information (charging output, discharging output), and EV charging / discharging equipment control information (communication device SIM number).

[0094] (6.2) EV Group Information Table 442 The EV group information table 442 stores information indicating whether the EV8 (or the battery storage device built into the EV8) belongs to the first group or the second group. Figure 13 is a diagram showing an example configuration of an EV group information table 442 according to one embodiment. As shown in Figure 13, the group to which EV8 belongs may change from day to day. The power management device 10 may determine which group it belongs to.

[0095] (6.3) Power supply and demand information management table 443 The power supply and demand information management table 443 is a table that stores information regarding the amount of electricity consumed, the amount of electricity generated, and the amount of electricity used to charge and discharge the EV8 at each customer facility 15. Figure 14 is a diagram showing an example configuration of a power supply and demand information management table 443 according to one embodiment. In the example shown in Figure 14, the power supply and demand information management table 443 consists of the amount of power consumed by the load 34 at the customer facility 15, the amount of power generated by the solar power generation equipment 5, and charge / discharge information of the EV8 (charge / discharge status, charge amount, discharge amount, stored energy, and SoC%). In Figure 14, the data is shown in 1-hour increments, but it can be shown at predetermined intervals, for example, every minute, every 5 minutes, every 10 minutes, or every 30 minutes.

[0096] (6.4) EV Home Prediction Information Table 444 The EV Home Prediction Information Table 444 is a table that stores information regarding the connection probability of EV8 being connected to the EV charging / discharging equipment 6. Figure 15 shows an example configuration of an EV occupancy prediction information table 444 according to one embodiment. As shown in Figure 15, the EV occupancy prediction information table 444 may include the connection probability for each EV8, and the connection probability may be expressed at predetermined time intervals.

[0097] (6.5) EV Connection Information Table 445 The EV connection information table 445 is a table that stores information related to the connection of EV8. Figure 16 is a diagram showing an example configuration of an EV connection information table 445 according to one embodiment. As shown in Figure 16, the EV connection information table 445 stores EV connection information (date and time, EV connection status, SoC, and stored energy amount) and EV charge / discharge information (date, status, start time, SoC at start, stored energy at start, stop time, SoC at stop, stored energy at stop, charge / discharge energy amount).

[0098] (7) Module As shown in Figure 2, the memory 43 of the power management device 10 stores various modules 501 to 511 as programs 50. The various modules 501 to 511 will be described below.

[0099] (7.1) Demand Planning Module 501 The demand planning module 501 refers to the power supply and demand information management table 443 and predicts the daily power consumption of each customer based on past power consumption data, thereby creating a demand plan.

[0100] (7.2) Power generation plan creation module 502 The power generation plan creation module 502 refers to the power supply and demand information management table 443 and, based on past power generation performance data and weather forecasts, predicts the amount of power generated by the solar power generation equipment 5 at each customer facility 15 for that day, and creates a power generation plan.

[0101] (7.3) Virtual Battery Charge / Discharge Plan Creation Module 503 The virtual battery charge / discharge planning module 503 predicts surplus and consumption amounts from demand and generation plans, and further predicts reverse power flow amounts by referring to the EV occupancy prediction information table 444, and creates a plan for storing and discharging surplus power to the virtual battery. It also creates a charge and discharge plan for electricity used for electricity trading and creates a virtual battery charge / discharge plan.

[0102] (7.4) EV Home Prediction Information Creation Module 504 The EV Home Prediction Information Creation Module 504 refers to the EV Connection Information Table 445 and predicts the probability of each EV8 being home for each time period based on past connection data, and creates the EV Home Prediction Information Table 444.

[0103] (7.5) Charging command creation module 505 The charging command creation module 505 refers to the capacity information and contract threshold of EV8 in the customer information table 441, and refers to the virtual battery charge / discharge plan and the EV occupancy prediction information table 444 to create the EV group information table 442. Then, the charging command creation module 505 creates a charging program start command and sends the command to the customer facility 15.

[0104] (7.6) EV connection status management module 506 The EV connection status management module 506 receives messages such as EV connection information, EV disconnection information, charging start information, and charging stop information from the customer facility 15 and stores them in the EV connection information table 445.

[0105] (7.7) Power supply and demand information creation module 507 The power supply and demand information creation module 507 receives power consumption information and power generation information from the customer facility 15, creates EV charging and discharging information by referring to the EV connection information table 445, and saves it in the power supply and demand information management table 443.

[0106] (7.8) Charge / Discharge execution determination module 508 The charge / discharge execution decision module 508 refers to the virtual battery charge / discharge plan and the power supply and demand information management table 443 to calculate the discrepancy between the amount of surplus power that can be stored and the expected amount of surplus power. It then refers to the EV connection information table 445, the EV group information table 442, and the EV occupancy prediction information table 444 to determine the EV8 necessary to resolve the discrepancy, creates a charging program start command, and transmits the command to the customer facility 15.

[0107] Furthermore, the charge / discharge execution decision module 508 refers to the virtual battery charge / discharge plan, and also refers to the EV connection information table 445 and the EV group information table 442 to determine the EV8 necessary to satisfy the power trading electricity charge plan, creates a charge program start command, and transmits the command to the customer facility 15. Furthermore, the charge / discharge execution decision module 508 refers to the virtual battery charge / discharge plan, and also refers to the EV connection information table 445 and the EV occupancy prediction information table 444 to determine which EV8 will discharge the surplus power stored in the virtual battery, creates a discharge program activation command, and transmits the command to the customer facility 15. Furthermore, the charge / discharge execution decision module 508, based on the discharge plan for power trading described later, refers to the EV connection information table 445 and the EV occupancy prediction information table 444 to determine which EV 8 will perform the discharge for power trading, creates a discharge program activation command, and transmits the command to the customer facility 15.

[0108] (7.9) Virtual Battery Power Management Module 509 The virtual battery power management module 509 refers to the power supply and demand information management table 443 to calculate the amount of surplus power to be charged and discharged to the virtual battery and the amount of power for power trading, and stores them in the virtual battery power management table 446.

[0109] (7.10) Electricity Trading Implementation Decision Module 510 The power trading decision module 510 receives power trading conditions from the power trading market server 14 by referring to the virtual battery charge / discharge plan and makes a decision on whether to proceed with power trading by referring to the virtual battery power management table 446. If the power trading decision module 510 decides to proceed with power trading, it creates a discharge plan for power trading.

[0110] (7.11) Electricity account information creation module 511 The electricity account information creation module 511 calculates the electricity balance of the customer by referring to the power supply and demand information management table 443, calculates the interest received and the balance of the customer's electricity account by referring to the EV connection information table 445, and stores these in the electricity account information management table 447.

[0111] (8) Charging and discharging processes in a virtual battery Next, the charging and discharging process in a virtual battery according to one embodiment will be explained using the virtual battery power management table shown in Figure 9.

[0112] As shown in item P1 of Figure 9, of the surplus electricity generated during the day, surplus electricity generated when the EV is out is stored in the virtual battery via the EV belonging to the first group for that day, and surplus electricity generated at a facility where the EV is present is stored via the EV at that facility.

[0113] When the surplus power becomes 0 kWh and the virtual battery has finished storing energy, as shown in item P2, the virtual battery begins discharging to meet the power consumption of each facility. For discharge, a sufficient number of EVs to cover the power consumption of each customer facility are selected from among EVs that are present at the customer facility and whose SoC% is above a threshold, and discharge is performed. Each EV will either discharge the power consumed by its own facility plus the power consumed by facilities where the EV is out and facilities where the EV is present and charging, or discharge only the power consumed by its own facility.

[0114] Item P3 shows the trend in the amount of surplus power stored in the virtual battery.

[0115] Simultaneously, as shown in item P4, electricity for power trading is stored in a virtual battery via EVs belonging to the second group for that day.

[0116] When discharging electricity through electricity trading, as shown in item P5, the number of EVs that meet the required amount of electricity for electricity trading is selected from among EVs that are not currently discharging while the EV is at the customer's facility and whose SoC% is above the threshold, and then the EVs are discharged.

[0117] Item P6 shows the trend in the amount of electricity stored for electricity trading within the virtual battery.

[0118] (9) Virtual battery charging and discharging program

[0119] In order to perform the charge and discharge process described in (8), the EV charge and discharge equipment control device 7 is equipped with a charge program for the first group, a charge program for the second group, and a charge program and a discharge program for each use.

[0120] Furthermore, these programs can be updated or new programs can be added using the communication function installed in the EV charging / discharging equipment control device 7.

[0121] The first group of charging programs is activated when it receives a charging program activation command (EV group attribute information (e.g., "1"), charging start condition, charging condition, and charging stop condition) from the power management device 10 at a reference time based on the control license agreement. The first group of charging programs is a program that starts charging according to the received start condition and stops charging according to the charging stop condition.

[0122] Furthermore, the first group of charging programs transmits charging start information (EV identification ID, charging start time, SoC at charging start, and amount of stored energy in kWh at charging start) to the power management device 10 when charging starts. Also, the first group of charging programs transmits charging stop information (EV identification ID, charging stop time, SoC at charging stop, amount of stored energy in kWh at charging stop, and amount of charging energy in kWh) to the power management device 10 when charging stops.

[0123] Furthermore, if the charging program for the first group loses connection with the EV8 before the conditions for stopping charging are met, it transmits disconnection information (EV identification ID, disconnection time, SoC at the time of disconnection, and amount of stored energy in kWh at the time of disconnection) to the power management device 10.

[0124] Furthermore, if the EV8 is reconnected before the charging stop condition is met, the charging program as the first group transmits connection information (EV identification ID, connection time, SoC at connection time, and stored energy amount kWh at connection time) to the power management device 10, terminates the charging program as the first group, and restarts the charging program each time, waiting to receive a command to start the charging program from the power management device 10.

[0125] The second group of charging programs is activated when it receives a charging program activation command (EV group attribute information (e.g., "2"), charging start condition, charging condition, and charging stop condition) from the power management device 10 at a reference time based on the control license agreement. The second group of charging programs is a program that starts charging according to the received start condition and stops charging according to the charging stop condition.

[0126] Furthermore, the second group of charging programs transmits charging start information (EV identification ID, charging start time, charging start SoC, and amount of stored energy at charging start in kWh) to the power management device 10 when charging starts. Also, the second group of charging programs transmits charging stop information (EV identification ID, charging stop time, charging stop SoC, amount of stored energy at charging stop in kWh, and amount of charging energy in kWh) to the power management device 10 when charging stops.

[0127] Furthermore, if the connection with the EV8 is lost before the charging stop condition is met, the second group of charging programs transmits disconnection information (EV identification ID, disconnection time, SoC at the time of disconnection, and amount of stored energy in kWh at the time of disconnection) to the power management device 10. Furthermore, the second group of charging programs, when the EV8 is reconnected before the charging stop condition is met, transmits connection information (EV identification ID, connection time, SoC at connection time, and stored energy amount kWh at connection time) to the power management device 10, immediately starts charging, and stops charging according to the charging stop condition.

[0128] The on-demand charging program is activated when it receives a charging program activation command (EV group attribute information (e.g., "0"), charging start condition (e.g., "by any command"), charging condition (e.g., "by any command"), and charging stop condition (e.g., "by any command")) from the power management device 10 at a reference time based on the control rights license agreement. The on-demand charging program is a program that starts and stops charging at any time according to the charging command (charging start condition, charging condition, and charging stop condition) received from the power management device 10.

[0129] Furthermore, the on-demand charging program transmits charging start information (EV identification ID, charging start time, SoC at charging start, and amount of stored energy in kWh at charging start) to the power management device 10 when charging starts, and transmits charging stop information (EV identification ID, charging stop time, SoC at charging stop, amount of stored energy in kWh at charging stop, and amount of charging energy in kWh) to the power management device 10 when charging stops.

[0130] Furthermore, if the connection with the EV8 is lost before the charging stop condition is met, the on-demand charging program transmits disconnection information (EV identification ID, disconnection time, SoC at the time of disconnection, and amount of stored energy in kWh at the time of disconnection) to the power management device 10.

[0131] Furthermore, if the EV8 is reconnected before the charging stop condition is met, the on-demand charging program transmits connection information (EV identification ID, connection time, SoC at connection time, and stored energy amount in kWh at connection time) to the power management device 10 and waits for a charging command to be received from the power management device 10.

[0132] The discharge program is activated when it receives a discharge program activation command (discharge start condition, discharge condition, and discharge stop condition) from the power management device 10. The discharge program also starts discharging according to the discharge start condition and discharge condition received from the power management device 10, and stops discharging according to the discharge stop condition.

[0133] Furthermore, the discharge program transmits discharge start information (EV identification ID, discharge start time, SoC at discharge start, and stored energy amount kWh at discharge start) to the power management device 10 when discharge starts, and transmits discharge stop information (EV identification ID, discharge stop time, SoC at discharge stop, stored energy amount kWh at discharge stop, and discharged energy amount kWh) to the power management device 10 when discharge stops.

[0134] Furthermore, if the connection with EV8 is lost during discharge, the discharge program sends disconnection information (EV identification ID, disconnection time, SoC at the time of disconnection, and amount of stored energy in kWh at the time of disconnection) to the power management device 10 and terminates the discharge program.

[0135] (10) Operation of virtual battery Next, we will explain the actual operation of charging and discharging the virtual battery. Power management system 1 aggregates individual EV8s on a scale of thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands to build a virtual battery. The following explains how to operate a virtual battery for charging and discharging, using a case where a control rights licensing agreement has been concluded with 100,000 customers as an example.

[0136] Figure 17 is a diagram showing an example of a charge / discharge plan for a virtual battery according to one embodiment. In Figure 17, column P1 shows the amount of surplus power stored in the virtual battery every hour. Column P2 shows the amount of surplus power flowing back from the customer facility 15 while EV8 is out, every hour. Column P3 shows the amount of surplus power discharged from the virtual battery every hour. Column Q indicates whether it is time for storing or discharging electricity for electricity trading. Although Figure 17 shows the progress every hour, it can be at predetermined intervals, for example, every minute, every 5 minutes, every 10 minutes, or every 30 minutes.

[0137] First, we will explain the control of the first group, which stores surplus electricity.

[0138] As shown in item P1 of Figure 17, the surplus power for this day is expected to start at 9:00 and end at 16:00. Therefore, this surplus power will be stored in the virtual battery, and the total stored amount will be 481.8 MWh (= 8.0 + 23.5 + 108.5 + 115 + 101 + 77.6 + 48.2 (MWh)).

[0139] Furthermore, after 5 PM, when the amount of electricity generated and consumed by consumer facilities reverses and consumption becomes greater, surplus electricity stored in the virtual battery is discharged to meet the electricity consumption of the consumer facilities.

[0140] As shown in item P3 of Figure 17, the discharge of surplus power from the virtual battery continues until 1:00, when all of the 481.8 MWh of surplus power stored on this day is consumed.

[0141] As can be seen in item P1 of Figure 17, generally, the amount of surplus electricity increases from morning to daytime and decreases towards evening. Also, as shown in item P2, the amount of electricity flowing back into the grid changes depending on whether EV8 is out or not. To balance the amount of surplus power flowing back into grid 2, which varies depending on the EV8's activities such as going out, it is necessary to control the number of EV8s being stored in response to changes in the amount of surplus power flowing back. Therefore, the power management system 1 calculates the number of EVs required for each time period and creates a charging program activation command in order to store electricity in response to the changing amount of surplus power flowing in the reverse direction.

[0142] Next, the method for determining the number of EVs per time period by the power management system 1 and the content of the charging program activation command will be explained using Figure 18. Figure 18 is a diagram showing an example of the number of EVs according to one embodiment.

[0143] According to the virtual battery charge / discharge plan (Figure 17), 2.4 MWh of surplus power will be generated in the reverse power flow to the grid between 9:00 and 10:00. Since EV8 charging is done at rated output, for example, 400 EVs (= 2.4 MWh / 6 kWh) would be needed to store 2.4 MWh of energy at an output of 6 kWh.

[0144] The surplus power flowing back into the grid between 10:00 and 11:00 will be 9.4 MWh. If the 400 EV8s selected earlier have high storage capacity (for example, if the current SoC value is equivalent to the contract threshold of 50%, they have a storage capacity of 40 kWh), they can continue charging for more than 6 hours until fully charged. As a result, 2.4 MWh of the 9.4 MWh will continue to be stored by the 400 EV8s. The number of EVs needed to store the remaining 7 MWh of surplus power will be 1167 (= 7 MWh / 6 kWh).

[0145] The surplus power flowing back into the grid between 11:00 and 12:00 will be 65.1 MWh. As mentioned earlier, 9.4 MWh of this will continue to be stored by the 1567 EV8s selected previously, so 9284 EVs (= 55.7 MWh / 6 kWh) will be needed to store the remaining 55.7 MWh of surplus power.

[0146] The surplus power flowing back into the grid between 12:00 and 13:00 will be 69 MWh. As mentioned earlier, 65.1 MWh of this will continue to be stored by the 10,851 EV8s selected previously, so 650 EVs (= 3.9 MWh / 6 kWh) will be needed to store the remaining 3.9 MWh of surplus power.

[0147] The surplus power flowing back into the grid between 13:00 and 14:00 will be 60.6 MWh. Since the storage capacity of the 11,501 EV8s selected so far is 69 MWh, an overflow of 8.4 MWh of storage capacity will occur. To resolve this overflow, a charging termination command may be sent to 1,400 (= 8.4 MWh / 6 kWh) EV8s. Alternatively, the overflowing 8.4 MWh may be stored as electricity for electricity trading. Here, we will choose to store it as electricity for electricity trading.

[0148] The surplus power flowing back into the grid between 2 PM and 3 PM will be 31 MWh, so the overflow storage capacity will be 38 MWh, and 38 MWh will be stored as electricity for electricity trading.

[0149] The surplus power flowing back into the grid between 3 PM and 4 PM will be 14.5 MWh. During this time, charging will be stopped as the 400 EVs that started charging at 9 AM will be near full charge. Therefore, the overflow storage capacity will be 52.1 MWh, and the amount of stored power available for electricity trading will be 52.1 MWh.

[0150] As described above, when using the overflow storage capacity to store electricity for electricity trading, the charging program activation command is as follows for 400 EV8s: "Charging start time 9:00, charging end time 15:00". For 1167 EV8s, it is "Charging start time 10:00, charging end time 18:00 (because the electricity trading plan is to discharge from 18:00)". Furthermore, for 9284 EV8s, it is "Charging start time 11:00, charging end time 18:00". And for 650 EV8s, it is "Charging start time 12:00, charging end time 18:00".

[0151] Furthermore, considering that EV8s that are storing surplus power may go out, a reserve margin (e.g., 10%) may be added, resulting in a group of approximately 1150 EV8s designated for on-demand charging. When an EV8 belonging to the first group that is charging is disconnected from the EV charging / discharging equipment 6, the power management system 1 selects the same number of EV8s from the on-demand charging group as the disconnected EV8 and sends an immediate charging command.

[0152] Based on the above, the total number of EVs belonging to Group 1 and EV8s belonging to the on-demand charging group is 12,651 units. At the standard time, the power management system 1 transmits the aforementioned charging program activation command to the customer facilities 15 to which these 12,651 EV8s belong.

[0153] Regarding the method for determining which EV8s belong to the first group and which belong to the on-demand charging group, one possible method is to select the necessary number of EV8s from among those for which the probability of an EV being present at home during the planned charging time is expected to be above a certain value (for example, 90%), taking into account the SoC at the reference time (for example, prioritizing those close to the contract threshold), but this is not the only method.

[0154] Next, we will explain the control of the second group (for example, the period from 9:00 to 18:00 in item Q of Figure 17) which stores electricity for electricity trading.

[0155] Since the power management system 1 has already assigned 12,651 EV8s to either the first group or the on-demand charging group, it assigns the remaining 87,349 EV8s to the second group.

[0156] In electricity trading plans, storage and discharge times are planned, but there are no planned values ​​for the amount of electricity, such as planned storage amount or planned discharge amount. Trading is conducted within the range of the amount of electricity stored in a virtual battery as electricity for trading. Therefore, the command to activate the charging program for the second group will be a command to charge within the range of the planned energy storage time. For example, if the market price in the electricity trading market is expected to be low between 9:00 and 15:00, the command could be something like "start charging at 9:00 and stop charging at 100% SoC or 18:00," or "start charging at 15:00 when the SoC will reach 100%."

[0157] The power management system 1 transmits the aforementioned charging program activation command to the customer facility 15 to which these 87,349 EV8s belong, at the standard time based on the control rights license agreement.

[0158] Next, we will explain the control of the period after 17:00 when the power consumed by each facility 15 is discharged from the surplus power stored in the virtual battery. Discharge is executed upon receiving a discharge program activation command transmitted from the power management system 1.

[0159] According to the virtual battery charge / discharge plan (Figure 17), after 17:00, it is necessary to discharge 28 MWh, 105 MWh, 130 MWh, 105 MWh, (and so on) per hour.

[0160] The power management system 1 refers to the EV connection information table and extracts 4,667 EVs from among the EV8 capable of discharging an amount of power equal to or greater than the threshold + 6 kWh (rated output of the EV charging / discharging equipment 6) based on the current SoC value. It then sends a discharge command to these EV8s at 17:00 with a discharge start time of 17:00 and a discharge end time of 18:00. Similarly, it is possible to send a discharge command to 17,500 EV8s at 18:00 with a discharge start time of 18:00 and a discharge end time of 19:00, to 21,667 EV8s at 19:00, and to 17,500 EV8s at 20:00 with a discharge start time of 20:00 and a discharge end time of 21:00 (similar processing after 20:00), but the optimization method is not limited to this.

[0161] Furthermore, if an EV8 that is discharging is disconnected from the EV charging / discharging equipment 6, the power management system 1 will send an immediate discharge command to the same number of EV8s as the disconnected EV8 (specifically, the EV charging / discharging equipment control devices 7 to which the EV8 belongs), and the EV8s that receive the command will immediately start charging.

[0162] Next, we will explain the discharge for electricity trading that takes place from 18:00 to 21:00 using Figure 9. The amount of electricity traded will be within the range of (the number of EVs that are discharging surplus electricity divided by the number of EVs expected to be at home during the trading period) × rated output kWh.

[0163] In Figure 9, at 6 PM, the amount of electricity stored in the virtual battery for electricity trading is 1071 MWh. During this time, if all 100,000 EV8s are at home, the number of EV8s available for discharge for electricity trading will be 82,500 from 6 PM to 7 PM, 78,333 from 7 PM to 8 PM, and 82,500 from 8 PM to 9 PM, respectively. The maximum discharge capacity at this time will be 495 MWh, 470 MWh, and 495 MWh, totaling 1460 kWh, which is significantly more than the 1071 kWh of electricity stored for electricity trading. Therefore, it is possible to discharge the entire amount of stored electricity for electricity trading. Figure 9 shows the case where an agreement is made to discharge 330 MWh every three hours.

[0164] To discharge 330 MWh per hour, the power management system 1 refers to the EV connection information table 445 (Figure 16) to extract EVs 8 capable of discharging an amount of power equal to or greater than the threshold + 18 kWh in SoC current value. Furthermore, it refers to the EV occupancy prediction information table 444 (Figure 15) to extract 55,000 EVs with a high probability of being occupied between 18:00 and 21:00, and sends a discharge command at 18:00 with "discharge start time 18:00, discharge end time 21:00". In this example, EVs capable of discharging continuously for 3 hours were extracted, but this is not the only method for extracting EVs necessary for discharge.

[0165] Furthermore, if an EV8 that is discharging is disconnected from the EV charging / discharging equipment 6, the power management system 1 will send a discharge command to the same number of EV8s as the disconnected EV8, instructing them to "start charging immediately, discharge end time 21:00," and the EV8s that receive the command will immediately begin charging.

[0166] Next, according to the virtual battery charge / discharge plan (Figure 17), the period from 9 PM to midnight is the time for storing energy for the next power transaction. The power management system 1 creates and sends a charge program activation command for each EV8 whose SoC current value is above the threshold among the EV8s that are at home. As shown in item P4 of Figure 9, for example, 386 MWh, 420 MWh, and 438 MWh of power were stored per hour as power for the power transaction. Furthermore, since electricity trading is conducted within the limits of the amount of electricity stored in the virtual battery for electricity trading, if, for example, the market price of electricity in the electricity trading market is high during this time period, and arbitrage trading profits are not expected, the amount of electricity stored in the virtual battery can be reduced.

[0167] Regarding the discharge of electricity for trading purposes after midnight, the same reasoning as described above applies, so I will omit the explanation.

[0168] (11) Effects of the embodiment Thus, in a power management system 1 that manages electricity via a battery storage device between a customer facility 15 equipped with renewable energy facilities and an electric vehicle (EV) 8 with a built-in battery storage device, the power management device 10 is included.

[0169] The power management device 10 manages the charging and discharging of surplus power from each customer facility 15 stored in the battery storage device group belonging to the first group, and power for electricity trading stored in the battery storage device group belonging to the second group, which is different from the first group, as a virtual battery.

[0170] The power management device 10 then stores the surplus power of the customer facility 15, which manages the EV8 that has left the customer facility, in one of the battery storage devices belonging to the first group.

[0171] In this way, even when the EV8 is out, the power management device 10 can store the surplus power of the customer facility that manages the out-of-service EV8 in the battery storage device of the first group of EV8s, thereby managing the surplus power as power stored in a virtual battery.

[0172] Furthermore, the power management device 10 discharges electricity from the EV8 in the customer facility 15 where the EV8 is located, in order to cover the power consumption of the customer facility 15 with the electricity stored in the virtual battery as surplus power of the customer facility.

[0173] In this way, even when the EV8 is away from home, the power management device 10 can manage the power consumption of the customer facility that manages the EV8 that is away from home by discharging power from the EV8 at the customer facility 15 where the EV8 is present, and treating it as power consumed from a virtual battery.

[0174] Therefore, in the power management device 10 according to one embodiment, power management can be performed appropriately even when the EV8 is out.

[0175] (12) Other embodiments In the embodiments described above, the case of aggregating multiple customer facilities 15 equipped with solar power generation equipment 5 and EV8 was described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, customer facilities 15 that have solar power generation equipment 5 but do not own EV8, or customer facilities 15 that own EV8 but do not own solar power generation equipment 5 may also be included in the power management system 1.

[0176] Furthermore, by identifying the EVID, it becomes possible to link it with the customer's electricity account ID. Therefore, the EV charging and discharging equipment 6 to which EV8 is connected is not limited to the customer's facility 15, but may also be connected to EV charging and discharging equipment 6 installed at other facilities. Other facilities may include, for example, parking lots, gas stations, public facilities such as city halls or libraries that have EV charging and discharging equipment 6.

[0177] Although the embodiments have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to those described above, and various design changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. Furthermore, combinations can be made as long as they do not contradict each other. [Explanation of symbols]

[0178] 1: Power Management System 2: Lineage 4: Customer communication terminals 5: Solar power generation equipment 6:EV charging and discharging equipment 7: EV charging / discharging equipment control system 8: EV (Electric Vehicle) 10: Power management device 14: Electricity Trading Market Server 15: Customer facilities 40:CPU 44:Storage device

Claims

1. A power management device that integrates and manages multiple physically different storage batteries installed at multiple customers, The system includes a control unit that detects that a first battery corresponding to a first customer is located outside the customer's facility, and allocates the surplus power generated at the first customer's facility to a second battery corresponding to a second customer that is physically different from the first battery. The control unit collectively manages the power information of the plurality of batteries and treats the plurality of batteries as a single virtual battery for control and management purposes. The control unit performs the allocation by allocating the surplus power stored in the virtual battery to the second battery. A power management device characterized by the following features.

2. The aforementioned battery is an on-board battery installed in an electric vehicle. The power management device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is a power management device.

3. The control unit detects that the battery is outside the facility based on connection status information indicating whether or not it is connected to the charging equipment. The power management device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is a power management device.

4. The control unit selects the battery to be assigned based on the group formed by classifying the plurality of batteries. The power management device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is a power management device.

5. The control unit performs the allocation within a range where the remaining capacity of each storage battery is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. The power management device according to feature 1.

6. The control unit allocates the power based on a management table that manages power amount information for the plurality of storage batteries. The power management device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is a power management device.

7. A power management method in a power management device that integrates and manages multiple physically different storage batteries installed at multiple customers, To detect that the first battery corresponding to the first customer is located outside the customer's premises, The surplus electricity generated at the facility of the first customer is allocated to a second battery corresponding to a second customer, which is physically different from the first battery. This includes collectively managing the power consumption information of the multiple batteries and treating the multiple batteries as a single virtual battery for control and management purposes. The aforementioned allocation includes making the allocation by allocating the surplus power stored in the virtual battery to the second battery. Power management methods.

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