Hybrid electricity price charging method and system based on prepayment electricity meter

Abstract

The invention discloses a mixed electricity price charging method and system based on a prepayment electricity meter, and aims to reduce frequent read-write operation on an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) by optimizing a data storage process in electricity fee calculation, thereby prolonging the service life of the electricity meter and improving the operation efficiency. Specifically, key data such as the step number, the step value, the mixed electricity price table, the accumulated deducted electricity quantity, the deducted electricity quantity in the current step settlement period, the balance and the like are stored in an RAM, and CRC verification is adopted to ensure the reliability of the data. The electric charge calculation is only carried out when the step settlement, the rate switching or the user modifies the electricity price parameter, and the calculation result is written into the EEPROM under the condition of the step settlement, the rate switching or the user modifies the electricity price parameter. According to the method, the unnecessary EEPROM operation frequency can be remarkably reduced, and the consistency and accuracy of the electric quantity and the electric charge data can be ensured, so that a more efficient and reliable electric charge management solution is provided for a user.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of smart grids, and in particular to a method and system for calculating electricity charges based on a prepaid electricity meter under mixed electricity price conditions. Background Art

[0002] At present, the electricity price modes of prepaid electricity meters are generally divided into four types: single electricity price, tiered electricity price, rate electricity price and mixed electricity price. Among them, the mixed electricity price is an electricity price mode that combines the characteristics of tiered electricity price and rate electricity price. In this mode, each tier has its own rate electricity price table, which can more finely control the electricity price in different time periods, thereby meeting more complex electricity price strategy requirements. For example, users can configure two tier values ​​of 500kWh and 1000kWh, respectively, so that three tiers are divided: 0-500kWh, 500-1000kWh and above 1000kWh. Each tier can be configured with 12 different rate electricity prices to determine the electricity price in different time periods of the day, achieving more accurate electricity price control.

[0003] In traditional prepaid meters, electricity fee calculation is usually based on real-time power detection and fee deduction. Whenever the meter detects a change in power, it immediately deducts the user's balance and stores the result in the external storage medium EEPROM. For example, under single-phase 220V 10A conditions, about 0.037kWh of electricity is used per minute. In order to ensure the synchronization of power and electricity fees, the electricity fee is usually deducted every 0.01kWh, which means that data reading and writing operations are required every 16.7 seconds. When the meter load reaches 80A or higher, the frequency of data reading and writing will increase further.

[0004] In order to reduce costs, most smart meters usually use EEPROM as an external storage medium. However, EEPROM has certain read and write life limits and response delays, and is not suitable for frequent read and write operations. Frequent reading and writing of EEPROM will not only shorten its service life, but also increase the energy consumption of the system and reduce the overall performance of the meter. In order to extend the service life of the meter, traditional implementation solutions usually use a larger EEPROM space in exchange for a longer storage life, but this will increase hardware costs, and frequent read and write operations will still affect the execution efficiency of the system. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to solve the problem of storing the billing data of prepaid electricity meters and propose a hybrid electricity price billing method and system based on prepaid electricity meters. The present invention optimizes the electricity fee calculation process and reduces the frequent read and write operations on the EEPROM, thereby extending the service life of the electricity meter, improving the operating efficiency, reducing the requirements for chip resources and storage resources, and thus reducing user costs.

[0006] The technical solution of the present invention is:

[0007] The present invention provides a hybrid electricity price billing method based on a prepaid electricity meter, the method comprising the following steps:

[0008] S1. Obtain the number of steps, step value, mixed electricity price list, accumulated deducted electricity, deducted electricity in the current step settlement cycle, and balance data and store them in RAM;

[0009] The CRC check is used to verify the reliability of the information stored in the RAM; if the check fails, the original parameter information is read from the EEPROM and the RAM data is restored;

[0010] S2. During tiered settlement, rate switching or when the user modifies the electricity price parameters, the electricity price is determined based on the current time, tiered value and newly added electricity, the electricity fee is calculated and the information in the EEPROM is updated.

[0011] Furthermore, it also includes: when the user inquires about the balance, the accumulated deducted electricity in the RAM, the deducted electricity in the current tiered settlement cycle and the real-time electricity are obtained, and the newly added electricity to be deducted is calculated;

[0012] Based on the newly added electricity to be deducted and the determined electricity price, the additional electricity fee is calculated and deducted from the balance.

[0013] Furthermore, S2 specifically obtains the current time and real-time power consumption, and determines whether it is in the situation of tiered settlement, rate switching, or user modification of electricity price parameters;

[0014] If so, determine the electricity price according to the step value and the mixed electricity price table;

[0015] Otherwise, the corresponding electricity price is determined according to the step value.

[0016] Furthermore, the method also includes: using the same CRC check on the accumulated deducted electricity, the deducted electricity in the current settlement cycle, and the balance data in the RAM, and saving two copies.

[0017] A hybrid electricity price billing system based on a prepaid electricity meter for implementing the method, the system comprising:

[0018] RAM data management module, used to store information such as the number of tiers, tier values, mixed electricity price table, accumulated deducted electricity, deducted electricity and balance in the current tier settlement cycle;

[0019] EEPROM data storage module is used to call EEPROM to update information when tiered settlement, rate switching or user modification of electricity price parameters;

[0020] The electricity fee calculation module is used to calculate the additional electricity fee based on the real-time electricity consumption, the accumulated deducted electricity consumption and the deducted electricity consumption in the current settlement period.

[0021] Furthermore, it also includes a fault recovery module, which is used to restore the original parameter information from the EEPRAM when an abnormality occurs in the information in the RAM.

[0022] Furthermore, the system also has a user interface, allowing the user to view the balance, modify the electricity price parameters, and trigger the corresponding electricity fee calculation process.

[0023] Beneficial effects of the present invention:

[0024] The present invention stores key data in RAM and uses CRC check to ensure the reliability of the data, and only writes the calculation results to EEPROM under specific circumstances (such as step settlement, rate switching or user modification of electricity price parameters). In addition, when the user inquires about the balance, the system can calculate the additional electricity fee in real time based on the accumulated deducted electricity, the deducted electricity in the current settlement cycle and the real-time electricity, without the need to frequently read and write EEPROM. In this way, the present invention can not only significantly reduce the number of unnecessary EEPROM operations, but also ensure the consistency and accuracy of electricity and electricity fee data, providing users with a more efficient and reliable electricity fee management solution.

[0025] In the present invention, the calculation of electricity charges is concentrated in three scenarios: tiered settlement, rate switching, and user modification of electricity price parameters, avoiding the need for real-time detection of electricity quantity changes, thereby reducing the number of EEPROM read and write times, thereby extending the service life of the electricity meter, improving operating efficiency, and reducing the requirements for chip resources and storage resources.

[0026] In the present invention, the real-time calculation of the electricity fee is based on the difference between the accumulated deducted electricity, the deducted electricity in the current settlement cycle and the real-time electricity, and there is no need to store the calculation result in the EEPROM each time.

[0027] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be described in detail in the following detailed description. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the examples. Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown in the examples, it should be understood that the present invention can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

[0029] The present invention provides a hybrid electricity price billing method based on a prepaid electricity meter, the method comprising the following steps:

[0030] S1. Obtain the number of steps, step value, mixed electricity price list, accumulated deducted electricity, deducted electricity in the current step settlement cycle, and balance data and store them in RAM;

[0031] The CRC check is used to verify the reliability of the information stored in the RAM; if the check fails, the original parameter information is read from the EEPROM and the RAM data is restored;

[0032] S2. During tiered settlement, rate switching or when the user modifies the electricity price parameters, the electricity price is determined based on the current time, tiered value and newly added electricity, the electricity fee is calculated and the information in the EEPROM is updated.

[0033] When tiered settlement, rate switching, and manual adjustment of electricity price measurement are performed, billing calculations are performed and stored in EEPROM, while when only checking the balance, only calculations are performed and not stored in EEPROM; New fee calculation method:

[0034] (1) The cumulative amount of electricity deducted is the amount of electricity from the start of the meter operation to the last deduction and writing to the EEPROM;

[0035] (2) The amount of electricity deducted in the current settlement period is the amount of electricity written to the EEPROM from the start of the first step settlement to the last deduction;

[0036] (3) The newly added power to be deducted is the difference between the real-time power and the accumulated power that has been deducted, that is:

[0037] Newly added power to be deducted = real-time power - cumulative deducted power

[0038] To ensure the consistency of power consumption and balance, the storage structure uses the same CRC for the three information "cumulative deducted power consumption", "current settlement period deducted power consumption" and "balance", and saves two copies of the information to ensure data consistency and reliability.

[0039] Billing information 1 Billing information 2 The total amount of electricity deducted (4 bytes) The total amount of electricity deducted (4 bytes) The amount of electricity deducted in the current settlement period (4 bytes) The amount of electricity deducted in the current settlement period (4 bytes) Balance (4 bytes) Balance (4 bytes) CRC (2 bytes) CRC (2 bytes)

[0040] After using this method for billing, billing and EEPROM storage are only required when tiered settlement, rate switching, and electricity price parameters are modified.

[0041] 1. When the meter is operated for the first time at the user's site, the default "accumulated deducted electricity" and "current settlement period deducted electricity" are 0, and the "balance" is the preset amount (such as: 100.00 yuan)

[0042] 2. After the user starts using the device, when the tariff is switched, the user will be charged once and the "accumulated deducted electricity" and "current settlement period deducted electricity" will be stored using real-time electricity. The balance will be stored after deducting the additional fee.

[0043] 3. In theory, only the billing process of step 2 exists in one tiered settlement cycle. When the tiered settlement day is reached (usually a fixed time point to the hour), one billing is also performed and the "accumulated deducted electricity" and "current settlement cycle deducted electricity" are stored using real-time electricity. The balance is stored after deducting the additional fee.

[0044] 4. When the power supply company adjusts its electricity price strategy, customers will actively modify the parameters related to the electricity price. When the meter receives such a modification command, it will actively perform one billing and store the "accumulated deducted electricity" and "current settlement period deducted electricity" using real-time electricity. The balance will be stored after deducting the additional fee.

[0045] 5. The above 2 to 4 points require running the billing process and storing the "accumulated deducted electricity" and "current settlement period deducted electricity" using real-time electricity, and the balance is stored after deducting the additional fees.

[0046] In actual application, a day can be divided into 14 time periods at most, which means a maximum of 14 rate switches occur, and the shortest tiered settlement cycle is 1 month;

[0047] In a month when the power supply company does not adjust its electricity price strategy, this method only needs to access the EEPROM 30*14+1=421 times at most. In contrast, the traditional solution requires accessing the EEPROM 500 times when the user uses 5 kWh in a month, and 5000 times when the user uses 50 kWh. The more electricity is used, the more frequent the EEPROM access frequency is, and the access frequency is proportional to the electricity consumption.

[0048] When operating at the maximum current (100A), within the service life of the meter (16 years), this method requires a maximum of 421*12 months*16 years=80832 EEPROM writes, which is far less than the theoretical life of 1 million times. Therefore, only 12 bytes of effective area are needed for data storage. The traditional solution requires 220V*10A / 1000[1]*24 hours*365 days*16 years*100[2]=30835200 EEPROM writes, which is far more than the theoretical life of 1 million times. Therefore, at least 30.8 times the normal storage space is required to meet the operating life of the meter. Among them, 1000 represents the conversion from watts to kilowatts; 100 means that 100 EEPROM writes are required for every kilowatt-hour.

[0049] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, and the above description is exemplary, not exhaustive, and is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and changes will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments.

Claims

1. A hybrid electricity price billing method based on prepaid electricity meters, characterized in that: The method comprises the following steps: S1. Obtain the number of steps, step value, mixed electricity price list, accumulated deducted electricity, deducted electricity in the current step settlement cycle, and balance data and store them in RAM; The CRC check is used to verify the reliability of the information stored in the RAM; if the check fails, the original parameter information is read from the EEPROM and the RAM data is restored; S2. During tiered settlement, rate switching or when the user modifies the electricity price parameters, the electricity price is determined based on the current time, tiered value and newly added electricity, the electricity fee is calculated and the information in the EEPROM is updated.

2. The hybrid electricity price billing method based on prepaid electricity meter according to claim 1 is characterized in that It also includes: when the user inquires about the balance, the accumulated deducted electricity in the RAM, the deducted electricity in the current tiered settlement cycle, and the real-time electricity are obtained, and the newly added electricity to be deducted is calculated; Based on the newly added electricity to be deducted and the determined electricity price, the additional electricity fee is calculated and deducted from the balance.

3. The hybrid electricity price billing method based on prepaid electricity meter according to claim 1 is characterized in that S2 is specifically: Get the current time and real-time electricity consumption to determine whether it is in the process of tiered settlement, rate switching, or user modification of electricity price parameters; If so, determine the electricity price according to the step value and the mixed electricity price table; Otherwise, the corresponding electricity price is determined according to the step value.

4. The hybrid electricity price billing method based on prepaid electricity meter according to claim 1 is characterized in that The method also includes: using the same CRC check on the accumulated deducted electricity, the deducted electricity in the current settlement cycle, and the balance data in the RAM, and saving two copies.

5. A hybrid electricity price billing system based on a prepaid electricity meter for implementing any of the methods described in claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The system comprises: RAM data management module, used to store information such as the number of tiers, tier values, mixed electricity price table, accumulated deducted electricity, deducted electricity and balance in the current tier settlement cycle; EEPROM data storage module is used to call EEPROM to update information when tiered settlement, rate switching or user modification of electricity price parameters; The electricity fee calculation module is used to calculate the additional electricity fee based on the real-time electricity consumption, the accumulated deducted electricity consumption and the deducted electricity consumption in the current settlement period.

6. The hybrid electricity price billing system based on prepaid electricity meters according to claim 5 is characterized in that: It also includes a fault recovery module, which is used to restore the original parameter information from the EEPRAM when the information in the RAM is abnormal.

7. The hybrid electricity price billing system based on prepaid electricity meters according to claim 5 is characterized in that: The system also has a user interface that allows the user to view the balance, modify the electricity price parameters, and trigger the corresponding electricity fee calculation process.