Home appliance information output device and home appliance information output program

Abstract

To provide a home electric appliance information output device capable of visualizing not only power consumption of a home electric appliance but also its fluctuation factor to a living person.SOLUTION: A home electric appliance information output device according to the present invention includes an information acquisition unit configured to acquire operation data of a home electric appliance, a verification unit configured to verify, when power consumption of the home electric appliance becomes equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold, a factor thereof, and a display control unit configured to cause a terminal to display the power consumption of the home electric appliance for each predetermined time zone and cause the terminal to display the factor verified by the verification unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a home appliance information output device and a home appliance information output program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, growing awareness of the SDGs and rising energy prices have led to a growing need to reduce power consumption in homes. To encourage people to take energy-saving actions at home, technology has been proposed that visualizes fluctuations in the power consumption of home appliances. For example, Patent Document 1 states, "In the yearly graph G1, identify a month (specific month) in which energy consumption is unusual, and click on the display area (S1) for the time series data for that month. This will display the monthly graph G2 for that month. In this monthly graph G2, identify a day (specific day) in which energy consumption is unusual, and click on the display area (S2) for the time series data for that month. This will display the daily graph G3 for that day." (Abstract) [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-49508 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The technology described in Patent Document 1 improves the operability of graphs, making it possible to easily check the details of "peculiar months" and "peculiar days" when energy consumption is high. However, because the causes of increased consumption are diverse, including increased usage time or frequency, the way home appliances are used (including misuse), and deterioration over time or malfunctions, it can be difficult for users without specialized knowledge to distinguish between the factors behind fluctuations.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to make it possible for consumers to visualize not only the power consumption of home appliances but also the factors that cause fluctuations in the power consumption. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the home appliance information output device of the present invention includes an information acquisition unit that acquires operation data of the home appliance, a verification unit that verifies the cause of the power consumption of the home appliance when the power consumption of the home appliance exceeds a predetermined threshold, and a display control unit that displays the power consumption of the home appliance for each predetermined time period on a terminal and also displays the cause verified by the verification unit on the terminal. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, not only the power consumption of home appliances but also the factors that cause fluctuations in the power consumption can be visualized for consumers. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become clear from the following description of the embodiment. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of a home appliance advisory system. [Figure 2] 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the home appliance advisory system. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a home appliance advisory system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the details of the configuration of a verification unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] 10 is an example of a screen of an external terminal owned by a user of the home appliance advisory system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] An example of the screen transition when the annotation (defrosting) part in Figure 5 is operated. [Figure 7] Another example of the screen transition when the annotation (door opening / closing) part in Figure 5 is operated. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a home appliance advisory system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the details of the configuration of a verification unit according to the second embodiment. [Figure 10]10 is an example of a screen of an external terminal owned by a user of the home appliance advisory system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 11] An example of the screen transition when the annotation (2 washes) part in Figure 10 is operated. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a home appliance advisory system according to a third embodiment. [Figure 13] 11 is an example of a screen of an external terminal owned by a user of the home appliance advisory system according to the third embodiment. [Figure 14] An example of the screen transition when the annotation (peak hours) part in Figure 13 is operated. [Figure 15] An example of the screen that appears when "Year" is set as the display period in Figure 13. [Figure 16] An example of the screen transition when the annotation (peak month) part in Figure 15 is operated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and various modifications and application examples within the technical concept of the present invention are also included within its scope.

[0010] 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of a home appliance advisory system. The home appliance advisory system includes a home appliance information output device 1, a storage unit 14, and a display unit 15.

[0011] The home appliance information output device 1 includes an information acquisition unit 11, a verification unit 12, and a display control unit 13. In Fig. 1, functions executed by a processor (not shown) of the home appliance information output device 1, which is a computer, are shown as the information acquisition unit 11, the verification unit 12, and the display control unit 13, and programs that realize these functions are stored in a memory (not shown) or the like.

[0012] The information acquisition unit 11 acquires operation data 22 of the home appliance and transmits it to the verification unit 12 and the storage unit 14. In this specification, operation data 22 refers to data generated in conjunction with the operation of the home appliance, such as sensor data on the presence of human presence, illuminance, temperature and humidity, atmospheric pressure, acceleration, door opening / closing, current, voltage, rotation speed, duty ratio, pressure, and water level, image data, audio data, and information such as the date, day of the week, and time at which these data were measured. In addition, if the power consumption of the home appliance can be acquired, the power consumption is also included in the operation data 22. The sensor that acquires this data may be pre-installed inside the home appliance if it is a smart home appliance (IoT home appliance) that is connected to a network and capable of communication. Alternatively, an external sensor may be installed in the home appliance.

[0013] Furthermore, the information acquisition unit 11 may acquire user information 31 (information about the consumer) and transmit it to the verification unit 12 and the storage unit 14. The user information 31 is information acquired with the user's consent, including attributes such as gender, residential area, age, family structure, and work status, as well as purchased home appliances. The user information 31 may be entered by a system administrator by referring to the documents filled out when purchasing the home appliance, or by the home appliance user themselves via a network. The user information 31 may be encoded to prevent identification of individuals. Here, encoding refers to the aggregation and verbalization of information such as numerical values ​​within a predetermined range. For example, for age, an age between 10 and 20 may be labeled as "teenagers," for family structure, a family of two to five people may be labeled as "nuclear family," and for place of residence, the name of a city, town, or village may be replaced with the name of a prefecture or region. Furthermore, with the user's consent, information such as height, weight, and lifestyle preferences may be included in the user information 31.

[0014] When the power consumption of a home appliance exceeds a predetermined threshold, the verification unit 12 verifies the cause based on the information transmitted from the information acquisition unit 11. Causes of an increase in power consumption include, for example, an increase in the duration or frequency of use of the appliance, or a change in the method of use. Therefore, the verification unit 12 may compare the time when the power consumption increased with the time when the duration or frequency of use increased, and if the two periods match, infer that the cause of the increase in power consumption is the increase in the duration or frequency of use. Alternatively, the verification unit 12 may compare the time when the power consumption increased with the time when the method of use changed, and if the two periods match, infer that the cause of the increase in power consumption is the change in the method of use. Finally, the verification unit 12 transmits the power consumption and the cause of the increase in power consumption exceeding the predetermined threshold to the display control unit 13 and the storage unit 14.

[0015] The display control unit 13 acquires the power consumption of the home appliances and the factors (variation factors) that caused the power consumption to exceed a predetermined threshold from the verification unit 12 and the storage unit 14, and controls the display unit 15 to display these. Here, the display control unit 13 may receive the power consumption of the home appliances and the factors of variation from the verification unit 12 at predetermined time intervals and sequentially display them on the display unit 15. Alternatively, the display control unit 13 may transmit the past power consumption of the home appliances and the factors of variation that have been accumulated in the storage unit 14 in a lump for each predetermined period, such as one week or one month, and display them on the display unit 15. The display unit 15 displays not only the fluctuations in the power consumption of the home appliances for each predetermined time period, but also the factors of the fluctuations, making it easier for the user to consider actions to reduce power consumption.

[0016] The storage unit 14 stores the operation data 22 of the home appliance and the user information 31 acquired by the information acquisition unit 11, the fluctuation factors verified by the verification unit 12, etc. Note that, although the home appliance information output device 1 and the storage unit 14 are configured separately in FIG. 1 , the home appliance information output device 1 itself may include the storage unit 14.

[0017] The display unit 15 is, for example, a display of an external terminal owned by a user of the home appliance advisory system, and displays information such as the power consumption of the home appliance. Although the home appliance information output device 1 and the display unit 15 are configured separately in FIG. 1, the home appliance information output device 1 itself may be provided with the display unit 15. In that case, the display unit 15 is, for example, a display of the home appliance information output device 1 operated by an operator of the home appliance advisory system.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the home appliance advisory system. The home appliance advisory system starts processing in response to an operation of the home appliance information output device 1 by a system operator or an operation of an external terminal by a system user (step S1). First, the information acquisition unit 11 acquires operation data 22 of the home appliance and user information 31 (step S2). Next, the information acquisition unit 11 transmits the operation data 22 and the user information 31 to the verification unit 12 and the storage unit 14 (step S3). When power consumption exceeds a predetermined threshold, the verification unit 12 verifies the cause and transmits the verified cause together with the power consumption to the display control unit 13 and the storage unit 14 (step S4). The display control unit 13 controls the display unit 15 so that the display unit 15 displays the power consumption and the fluctuation factors for each predetermined time period (step S5). After that, the home appliance advisory system may end (step S6) or execute a loop process returning to step S2. [Example]

[0019] A home appliance advisory system according to Example 1 will be described with reference to Figures 3 to 7. Example 1 is an example of an advisory system for smart home appliances that incorporate various sensors that acquire operation data and are also connected to a network for communication.

[0020] 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a home appliance advisory system according to Example 1. Here, a case will be described in which a user who uses the service of the home appliance advisory system and a user who actually uses the home appliance are the same, but the case may be different.

[0021] 3, the storage unit 14 is stored in an external server 61 that is different from the server that stores the home appliance information output device 1. This makes it possible to isolate personal information and improve security, and also makes it easy to manage the data together with data collected by other services or systems and perform an integrated analysis of the data.

[0022] The display unit 15 is provided in an external terminal 51 owned by a user of the home appliance advisory system, and receives control content from the display control unit 13 via wired or wireless communication. This not only reduces the processing load of the server storing the home appliance information output device 1, but also makes it easy to protect personal information because the disclosure of the display content can be limited to the user.

[0023] In this embodiment, a business first provides a service related to home appliance advisory services to help reduce the power consumption of home appliances, and products associated with the service. The products provided by the business include smart home appliances with pre-installed sensors that can collect sensor measurements as operational data via a network. When a user applies for such services or products, the business delivers the smart home appliances and various sensors to the user's home as needed. Note that if the user has already purchased a smart home appliance with various sensors installed or if the user already owns various sensors that can be attached to the home appliance, delivery to the user's home is not required. Note that the various sensors include, for example, sensors that can measure human presence, illuminance, temperature and humidity, air pressure, acceleration, door opening and closing, current, voltage, rotation speed, duty ratio, pressure, water level, and the like, as well as radio wave sensors, image sensors, and audio sensors.

[0024] Body composition monitors, weighing scales, and wearable devices can also be treated as sensors, and operators can collect their measurements and information such as the date, day of the week, and time of measurement via a network. Smart home appliances include refrigerators, washing machines, microwave ovens, vacuum cleaners, robot vacuum cleaners, induction cooking heaters, and water heaters. Operators can collect operational data, such as the measurement values ​​of pre-installed sensors and operating mode information. After being installed in an appliance, external sensors begin measuring when power is secured through a household power source, batteries, or energy harvesting from sunlight or vibration.

[0025] The information acquisition unit 11 of the home appliance information output device 1 acquires operation data 22 of the home appliance and user information 31. Examples of methods for acquiring the user information 31 include (1) input from the smart appliance itself or a corresponding app, (2) filling out an application form for the aforementioned service or product, (3) additional input from a personal page on the provider's website, and (4) acquisition through collaboration with a third party such as another provider, a local government or a non-profit organization to which the user belongs. The information acquisition unit 11 transmits the acquired operation data 22 and user information 31 to the verification unit 12 and the storage unit 14. Note that the user information 31 may be edited, such as corrected or deleted, as needed, via the interface 52 of the external terminal 51. This not only allows errors in the user information 31 to be corrected, but also allows changes in the user's situation to be accurately reflected in the home appliance advisory system.

[0026] Furthermore, the information acquisition unit 11 may transmit the acquired operation data 22, etc. to the behavior recognition unit 16 provided in the external server 61 and convert it into a human behavior name. The behavior recognition unit 16 is a classifier configured using machine learning (logistic regression, decision tree, support vector machine, random forest, k-nearest neighbor method, etc.), deep learning (a combination of fully connected layers, CNN, RNN, etc.), etc., and is trained to associate the operation data 22 of the home appliance with the name of a human behavior by utilizing past data of the user 71 of the home appliance advisory system or other users. This enables inferences that are seemingly non-obvious and difficult for humans to make based on multiple pieces of information, such as "the kitchen motion sensor is responding, so the appliance is cooking," in addition to obvious inferences such as "a comprehensive judgment based on the living room motion sensor, kitchen motion sensor, and kitchen temperature and humidity sensor indicates a high possibility of cooking behavior."

[0027] Next, the verification unit 12 uses the operation data 22 and user information 31 received from the information acquisition unit 11 to verify the cause of power consumption of a home appliance owned by a user 71 of the home appliance advisory system when the power consumption exceeds a predetermined threshold. Here, the threshold may be set arbitrarily by the user 71 or the business operator. For example, by setting the total or average daily power consumption for the previous month as the threshold, the user can compare the current month's power consumption with the previous month and determine whether the current month's power consumption has been reduced. Alternatively, by setting the total or average daily power consumption for the same month of the previous year as the threshold, the user can compare the current year's power consumption with the previous year and determine whether the current year's power consumption has been reduced. Furthermore, by setting the threshold to a power consumption value determined in advance based on the user's household budget, the user can confirm whether the user is reducing power consumption as planned. Alternatively, the threshold may be set based on the maximum or minimum power consumption over a predetermined period in the past, or may be set for each time period, day of the week, or weather conditions.

[0028] Fig. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the verification unit according to the embodiment 1. As illustrated in Fig. 4, the verification unit 12 according to the embodiment 2 includes a power consumption estimation unit 12a and a factor estimation unit 12b.

[0029] The power consumption estimation unit 12a estimates the power consumption of the home appliance based on the operation data 22 received from the information acquisition unit 11. As a result, even for a home appliance whose power consumption is difficult to measure directly, the power consumption can be estimated from the operation data 22 of the home appliance, and the factors of fluctuation in power consumption can be verified. Furthermore, by sharing the estimation formula with the factor estimation unit 12b, it becomes possible to verify the factors of fluctuation in more detail.

[0030] An example of an estimation formula for power consumption provided in the power consumption estimation unit 12a is shown in (Formula 1).

[0031] Power consumption = sensor measurement value A × coefficient A + sensor measurement value B × coefficient B + ... + constant a + constant b + ... (Equation 1) In this way, the estimation formula (Equation 1) includes a term for the sensor measurement value corrected by a predetermined coefficient and a predetermined constant term. These coefficients and constants may be determined by regression by comparing the power consumption of the home appliance measured using a wattmeter with the sensor measurement value. By using (Equation 1), when power consumption fluctuates, it is possible to estimate which sensor's measurement value is responsible for the fluctuation.

[0032] Another example of the power consumption estimation formula provided in the power consumption estimation unit 12a (in the case of a refrigerator) is shown in (Formula 2).

[0033] Power consumption = Compressor power consumption + Heater power consumption + Fan power consumption...(Equation 2) Here, the compressor power consumption, heater power consumption, and fan power consumption may be estimated from the measurements of sensors that measure current, voltage, duty ratio, etc. By using (Equation 2), the factors that cause fluctuations in power consumption can be separated into each device that makes up the refrigerator, and actions that the user should take to reduce power consumption can be clarified.

[0034] Furthermore, a regression model that estimates the power consumption of a home appliance from the sensor measurements may be constructed by using the sensor measurements as input to a machine learning model composed of a fully connected layer, RNN, etc., and learning using the least squares error between the output value and the power consumption of the home appliance as the loss coefficient.When using a machine learning model to estimate power consumption, the influence of each input sensor measurement value may be determined from the SHAP value, and actions to reduce power consumption may be considered.

[0035] The power consumption estimation unit 12a may estimate the amount of power consumption in addition to the power consumption. The amount of power consumption can be estimated by multiplying it by the time during which the power consumption was performed. For example, if the estimated power consumption is in units of [kW], the amount of power consumption [kWh] can be estimated by multiplying it by the time during which the power consumption was performed [h]. Since electricity charges are defined as the amount per [kWh], estimating the amount of power consumption makes it easier to estimate and display the electricity charges.

[0036] When the power consumption exceeds a predetermined threshold, the factor estimation unit 12b verifies the factor. When the information acquisition unit 11 acquires power consumption data, the factor estimation unit 12b may compare the increase in power consumption with the increase in usage time and usage frequency, and if the trends of the two match, may estimate that the increase in usage time and usage frequency is the factor behind the increase in power consumption. Alternatively, the factor estimation unit 12b may compare the increase in power consumption with a change in usage method, and if the change points of the two match, may estimate that the change in usage method is the factor behind the increase in power consumption.

[0037] Furthermore, if the information acquisition unit 11 does not acquire power consumption data and the power consumption estimation unit 12a estimates power consumption using the home appliance operation data 22, the factor estimation unit 12b may share a power consumption estimation formula with the power consumption estimation unit 12a and verify the factors that cause fluctuations in power consumption. For example, if the power consumption estimation unit 12a estimates power consumption using (Formula 1), the factor estimation unit 12b may estimate the magnitude of the influence of factors that cause fluctuations in power consumption by comparing the measured values ​​of each sensor and the products of the measured values ​​and coefficients when the estimated power consumption value exceeds a threshold. This makes it possible to prioritize factors with a large influence and efficiently reduce power consumption.

[0038] Furthermore, the factor estimation unit 12b transmits the power consumption and its fluctuation factors to the display control unit 13 and the storage unit 14. The storage unit 14 may associate the information received from the factor estimation unit 12b with the operational data 22 and user information 31 received from the information acquisition unit 11 and manage and store the information for each user. This allows past and current information for each user to be compared and analyzed chronologically, as well as compared with information from other users. For example, by referencing information from other users with similar user information 31, statistical values ​​such as maximum, minimum, and average power consumption over a predetermined period in the past may be displayed side by side with the user's values. In this way, by comparing with other users with similar attributes and lifestyles, the user can objectively understand the appropriateness of their home appliance usage.

[0039] The display control unit 13 receives the power consumption of the home appliances and the factors that cause its fluctuation from the verification unit 12 or the memory unit 14, and causes the display unit 15 to display the trends in power consumption for each specified time period and the factors that cause fluctuations in power consumption.

[0040] The following is a specific description of the screen displayed on the display unit 15. Fig. 5 shows an example of a screen of an external terminal owned by a user of the home appliance advisory system according to Example 1. Here, it is assumed that the target home appliance is a refrigerator.

[0041] The display control unit 13 controls the display unit 15 to display power consumption for a predetermined period in the past for each predetermined time period, and to display an annotation and the cause when power consumption exceeds a predetermined threshold. Here, the user may select the period to be displayed from among periods such as hours, days, weeks, months, and years via the interface 52 of the display unit 15. Furthermore, the time interval on the horizontal axis of the graph may be displayed every hour, week, month, or year, or may be displayed in any time period, such as every two hours, six hours, or twelve hours. This allows the user to grasp power consumption for each time period desired, such as morning or afternoon.

[0042] The annotation and the cause are displayed near the power consumption that exceeds the threshold. The annotation format is not limited to the triangle shown in FIG. 5, and an arrow shape, an exclamation mark, or the like may also be used. The cause may also be displayed in a comment field at the bottom of the display unit 15. Furthermore, the display unit 15 may display the amount of power consumption, the electricity charge, etc. in addition to the power consumption.

[0043] FIG. 6 is an example of a screen transition when an annotation portion in FIG. 5 is operated, and shows the content that the display unit 15 pops up when, for example, an annotation related to defrosting is tapped. In this way, the user can know detailed information about the cause of an increase in power consumption (e.g., defrosting) as needed. In addition to an explanation of the cause of the increase, this detailed information may also include a countermeasure (advice on how to use the home appliance) for suppressing the occurrence of the cause of the increase and reducing power consumption. If an explanation of the countermeasure is described in the manual for the home appliance, the display unit 15 may display a link to the description.

[0044] FIG. 7 shows another example of a screen transition when an annotation portion in FIG. 5 is operated. For example, it shows the content that the display unit 15 pops up when an annotation related to door opening and closing is tapped. The user's actions over a predetermined period are displayed as a pop-up, and actions during time periods when power consumption was equal to or greater than a threshold (e.g., breakfast and dinner) are visually emphasized. This allows the user to understand the relationship between their own actions and power consumption in more detail and consider actions to reduce power consumption. Here, the user's actions are recognized by the action recognition unit 16 and transmitted from the action recognition unit 16 to the external terminal 51 owned by the user directly or via the storage unit 14. [Example]

[0045] A home appliance advisory system according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 8 to 11. Below, the same content as in the first embodiment will be omitted, and only the differences will be described.

[0046] Fig. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a home appliance advisory system according to Example 2. As shown in Fig. 8, an information acquisition unit 11 in Example 2 acquires weather information for a region where a user 71 of the home appliance advisory system resides from a weather information server 61a of an organization that manages weather information, and transmits the information to a storage unit 14. This makes it possible to provide information to the user, including the relationship between the power consumption of home appliances and weather information.

[0047] The operation of the verification unit 12 in the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the verification unit according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the verification unit 12 according to the second embodiment includes a power consumption estimation unit 12a, a factor estimation unit 12b, and a similar information search unit 12c. The similar information search unit 12c searches the storage unit 14 to extract other users whose user attributes and home appliance usage environments are similar to those of the user 71 of the home appliance advisory system, and extracts data related to the other users. Here, the data related to the other users may include operation data 22 including, in addition to power consumption, the number of times the door of the home appliance (refrigerator) is opened and closed, the average value of the open time, the total value, the number of operation modes, and the like. The number of similar other users may be one or more.

[0048] The search method for similar users may be changed depending on the feature used. Here, a feature in this specification is defined as a scalar value or vector value that characterizes information. For example, attributes such as gender, residential area, age group, family structure, and work status, as well as purchased home appliances, included in the user information 31, can be converted into numerical values ​​and arranged to create a vector value. Specifically, gender is converted to male = 1 and female = 2, age group is converted to teens = 1, twenties = 2, thirties = 3, forties = 4, fifties = 5, sixties = 6, seventies = 7, eighties = 8, and nineties = 9, family structure is converted to single = 1, married couple only = 2, married couple with one child = 3, married couple with two or more children = 4, married couple with parents = 5, married couple with children and parents = 6, and place of residence is converted to Hokkaido = 1, Tohoku region = 2, Kanto region = 3, etc. = 3, Chubu region = 4, Kinki region = 5, Chugoku region = 6, Shikoku region = 7, Kyushu region = 8, employment status = company employee = 1, self-employed = 2, unemployed = 3, purchased home appliances = refrigerator = 1, washing machine = 2, vacuum cleaner = 3, microwave = 4, and a six-dimensional vector such as [gender, residential area, age, family composition, employment status, purchased home appliance] = [2, 4, 3, 6, 1, 2] may be created and treated as a feature. Alternatively, the probability of home appliance use in each time period over a specified period may be estimated based on, for example, the number of times a switch is operated or the number of times a door is opened and closed in each time period and the proportion of these to the total, and a distribution of the home appliance use probability in each time period may be created and treated as a feature.

[0049] When the feature values ​​are vector values, the cosine similarity between the feature values ​​may be used as an index, and similar users may be searched for if the value is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, such as 0.7. Alternatively, when the feature values ​​are probability distributions, similar users may be searched for if the KL divergence or JS divergence between the feature values ​​is used as an index, and similar users may be searched for if the value is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, such as 0.3. Furthermore, when the feature values ​​can be treated as scalar values, such as one-dimensional vectors, similar users may be searched for if the difference between the feature values ​​is equal to or less than a predetermined percentage, such as 10% of the original feature value. Furthermore, a search may be performed using multiple feature values, and other users that are commonly extracted using multiple feature values ​​may ultimately be extracted as similar users.

[0050] Next, the similar information search unit 12c transmits the extracted one or more other users and data related to the other users to the power consumption estimation unit 12a.

[0051] Yet another example of the power consumption estimation formula provided in the power consumption estimation unit 12a (in the case of a washing machine) is shown in (Formula 3).

[0052] Power consumption = Power consumption of washing machine tub drive motor + Power consumption of heat pump + Power consumption of fan... (Equation 3) By using (Equation 3), we can separate the factors that cause fluctuations in power consumption into each component of the washing machine and clarify the actions that users should take to reduce power consumption.

[0053] The power consumption estimation unit 12a may also estimate power consumption, power consumption amount, and electricity charges for data related to similar users by performing the same processing as on the operation data 22 of home appliances owned by the user 71. Alternatively, the power consumption estimation unit 12a may calculate statistical values ​​such as the average, variance, standard deviation, maximum, and minimum for a predetermined period for estimated values ​​related to similar users. These estimated values ​​and statistical values ​​are transmitted to the factor estimation unit 12b and the display control unit 13.

[0054] The factor estimation unit 12b may verify the cause not only when the power consumption of the user 71 exceeds a predetermined threshold, but also when the power consumption exceeds the average power consumption of other similar users. This allows the criteria for verifying the cause to be determined more objectively. Furthermore, the factor may be verified in the same way when the fluctuation in power consumption over a predetermined period exceeds a predetermined threshold, or when the fluctuation in power consumption is larger than the fluctuation in power consumption of other similar users over the same period. This allows verification to focus on recent changes in the usage of home appliances, eliminating macro factors such as seasons and years. The verified factor is transmitted to the display control unit 13.

[0055] The display control unit 13 receives the power consumption of the user 71 and other similar users, factors that affect the fluctuation of the user 71's power consumption, and weather information for the area where the user 71 resides from the verification unit 12 and the memory unit 14, and causes the display unit 15 to display information such as power consumption.

[0056] The following specifically describes the screen displayed on the display unit 15. Fig. 10 shows an example of a screen of an external terminal owned by a user of the home appliance advisory system according to Example 2. Here, it is assumed that the target home appliance is a washing machine.

[0057] In the example shown in Fig. 10, a display format that displays power consumption for each day of the week of the week is selected via interface 52. In addition to the current power consumption, the power consumption for the same day of the week last year and the average power consumption of similar users may also be displayed on the same screen. This allows user 71 to understand not only the change in his or her own power consumption for the same day of the week in the past, but also the difference between the average power consumption of similar users, thereby enabling an objective analysis of the current usage of home appliances.

[0058] Furthermore, an annotation may be displayed when the power consumption and its fluctuations exceed a predetermined threshold or the values ​​of other users. Here, annotations may be classified into those caused by user behavior (those fluctuations that can be resolved by changing the user's usage) and those caused by natural deterioration or malfunction of the device, and only those caused by user behavior may be displayed. This allows the user to understand when the power consumption of the home appliance is fluctuating and is caused by their own behavior (including misuse) and consider actions to reduce power consumption. Alternatively, annotations caused by user behavior may be visually emphasized and displayed separately from those caused by natural deterioration or malfunction of the device. This allows the user to understand when the power consumption of the home appliance is fluctuating and when their own actions can address the issue, allowing them to consider actions to reduce power consumption. Furthermore, the user may also understand when their own actions cannot address the issue but when they can, such as by requesting repairs.

[0059] FIG. 11 is an example of a screen transition when the annotation portion in FIG. 10 is operated. For example, it shows the content that the display unit 15 pops up when the annotation about washing twice is tapped. As shown in FIG. 11, the display unit 15 displays the washing machine usage history, countermeasures for reducing power consumption, and a predicted value of the power consumption reduction effect when the countermeasures are implemented. Here, the countermeasures can be selected from multiple pre-prepared sentences based on the sensing results of the number of times the washing machine is used and the amount of clothes when used. In addition, the predicted value of the power consumption reduction effect is calculated using information on the power consumption of similar users under approximately the same conditions, such as the time of day, day of the week, weather conditions, and amount of clothes. For example, it may be calculated based on the difference between the average power consumption when similar users implement the countermeasures under approximately the same conditions and the average power consumption when similar users do not implement the countermeasures under approximately the same conditions. [Example]

[0060] A home appliance advisory system according to a third embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 12 to 16. In the following, the same content as in the first and second embodiments will be omitted, and only the differences will be described.

[0061] Fig. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a home appliance advisory system according to a third embodiment. As shown in Fig. 12, an information acquisition unit 11 in the third embodiment acquires aggregated data on electricity charges and power consumption for each predetermined time period from an electricity charge server 61b of an organization that manages electricity charges, and transmits the data to a verification unit 12 and a storage unit 14. Furthermore, when a user 71 of the home appliance advisory system owns multiple home appliances, two or more of which are smart home appliances or have various sensors built in, the information acquisition unit 11 acquires operation data 22 from the two or more home appliances and transmits the data to the verification unit 12 and the storage unit 14.

[0062] The verification unit 12 estimates the power consumption, the amount of power consumption, and the electricity charge of the two or more home appliances based on the aggregated data and the operation data 22. Furthermore, if the total electricity charge is equal to or greater than the total electricity charge under the same weather conditions, at the same time, and on the same day in the past, the verification unit 12 verifies the cause and transmits the verification result to the storage unit 14 and the display control unit 13.

[0063] The following is a specific description of the screen displayed on the display unit 15. Fig. 13 shows an example of a screen of an external terminal owned by a user of the home appliance advisory system according to Example 3. Here, it is assumed that the target home appliances are a washing machine, a refrigerator, and an air conditioner.

[0064] In the example shown in Fig. 13, the display control unit 13 controls the display unit 15 to display the electricity rate trends for three home appliances for which estimated electricity rates have been obtained, for each home appliance and for the total value over a predetermined period (a specific day). Here, the predetermined period can be set arbitrarily, such as one day, one week, one month, or one year. In addition, the time period when the total value of the electricity rate is the highest during the predetermined period is clearly indicated as the peak by an annotation.

[0065] Fig. 14 is an example of a screen transitioned to when the annotation portion in Fig. 13 is operated, and shows the content that the display unit 15 pops up when, for example, the annotation related to a peak time period is tapped. As shown in Fig. 14, the display unit 15 displays a countermeasure for peak shifting of the total electricity charge and a predicted value of the electricity charge reduction effect when the countermeasure is implemented. Here, the predicted value of the electricity charge reduction effect may be calculated by estimating the electricity charge for the time period when the usage time of the home appliance is virtually shifted as the electricity charge when the user implements the countermeasure, and calculating the difference between the estimated value and the actual electricity charge.

[0066] FIG. 15 is an example of a screen transition when "Year" is set as the display target period in FIG. 13. In the example shown in FIG. 15, the display control unit 13 controls the display unit 15 to display the trend in electricity charges (daily average) for a specific year for three home appliances for which estimated electricity charges have been obtained, both for each home appliance and as a total value. In addition, the month in a year when the average total value of electricity charges is the highest is clearly indicated as a peak by an annotation. In this way, by estimating the average daily electricity charge for each home appliance and comparing monthly electricity charges, the impact of fluctuations in electricity charges due to daily life can be suppressed, and it becomes easier to evaluate the impact of macro factors such as the seasons on electricity charges.

[0067] 16 is an example of a screen transition when the annotation portion in FIG. 15 is operated, and shows the content that the display unit 15 pops up when, for example, the annotation related to the peak month is tapped. As shown in FIG. 16, the display unit 15 may display an explanation of macro factors such as the season, as well as measures to reduce the average electricity bill for home appliances and links to information necessary for implementing those measures. This allows the user 71 to understand the factors that cause fluctuations in electricity bills from a macro perspective, not just in their daily lives, and to consider actions to reduce electricity bills.

[0068] In the above-described embodiments, the home appliance information output device 1 executes the process of acquiring operation data of the home appliance and the process of verifying the factors that cause fluctuations in power consumption, but these processes may be executed by the external terminal 51 owned by the user 71. In this case, an application program for executing the function of outputting home appliance information is installed in the external terminal 51, which is a computer. [Explanation of symbols]

[0069] 1... Home appliance information output device, 11... Information acquisition unit, 12... Verification unit, 12a... Power consumption estimation unit, 12b... Factor estimation unit, 13... Display control unit, 14... Memory unit, 15... Display unit, 16... Behavior recognition unit, 22... Operation data, 31... User information, 51... External terminal, 52... Interface, 61... External server, 61a... Weather information server, 61b... Electricity bill server, 71... User

Claims

1. an information acquisition unit that acquires operation data of the home appliance; a verification unit that, when the power consumption of the home appliance becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, verifies the cause of the power consumption; a display control unit that causes a terminal to display the power consumption of the home appliance for each predetermined time period and also causes the terminal to display factors verified by the verification unit.

2. 2. The home appliance information output device according to claim 1, The home appliance information output device, wherein the threshold value is determined based on the power consumption in the past.

3. 3. The home appliance information output device according to claim 2, The home appliance information output device is characterized in that the threshold value is determined based on a maximum or minimum value of the power consumption during a predetermined period in the past.

4. 3. The home appliance information output device according to claim 2, The home appliance information output device is characterized in that the threshold value is determined for each time period or each day of the week.

5. 3. The home appliance information output device according to claim 2, The home appliance information output device is characterized in that the threshold value is determined for each weather condition.

6. 2. The home appliance information output device according to claim 1, The home appliance information output device is characterized in that the verification unit estimates power consumption of the home appliance based on the operation data acquired by the information acquisition unit.

7. 7. The home appliance information output device according to claim 6, The home appliance information output device, wherein the operation data includes measurement values ​​of a plurality of sensors included in the home appliance.

8. 8. The home appliance information output device according to claim 7, The home appliance information output device, wherein the verification unit estimates the cause by comparing measurement values ​​of a plurality of the sensors.

9. 2. The home appliance information output device according to claim 1, The home appliance information output device is characterized in that the display control unit also displays, on the terminal, the power consumption of other users who have attributes similar to those of the user of the home appliance.

10. 2. The home appliance information output device according to claim 1, The home appliance information output device is characterized in that the display control unit also displays, on the terminal, countermeasures for suppressing the occurrence of the cause and reducing the power consumption.

11. The home appliance information output device according to claim 10, The home appliance information output device is characterized in that the display control unit also displays, on the terminal, a predicted value of a power consumption reduction effect when the countermeasure method is implemented.

12. The home appliance information output device according to claim 10, The home appliance information output device is characterized in that the response method is a change in how the user of the home appliance uses the home appliance.

13. The home appliance information output device according to claim 10, The home appliance information output device, wherein the response method is to shift the usage time of the home appliance.

14. 2. The home appliance information output device according to claim 1, the information acquisition unit acquires the operation data from a plurality of the home appliances used by the same user, The home appliance information output device is characterized in that the display control unit causes the terminal to display a transition of power consumption or electricity charges for each of the plurality of home appliances.

15. The home appliance information output device according to claim 14, the information acquisition unit acquires aggregated data relating to power consumption or electricity charges for each user from a server; The home appliance information output device is characterized in that the verification unit estimates the power consumption or electricity charge for each home appliance based on the operation data and the aggregated data.

16. 2. The home appliance information output device according to claim 1, The home appliance information output device is characterized in that, when the period when the power consumption increased coincides with the period when the usage time or frequency of the home appliance increased, the verification unit estimates that the cause is an increase in the usage time or frequency of the home appliance.

17. 2. The home appliance information output device according to claim 1, The home appliance information output device is characterized in that, when the period when the power consumption increased coincides with the period when the method of using the home appliance changed, the verification unit estimates that the cause is a change in the method of using the home appliance.

18. Computer, an information acquisition unit that acquires operation data of the home appliance; a verification unit that, when the power consumption of the home appliance becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, verifies the cause of the power consumption; A home appliance information output program that functions as a display control unit that displays the power consumption of the home appliance for each specified time period on a terminal and also displays the factors verified by the verification unit on the terminal.

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