Energy management system and energy management method

Abstract

To ensure smooth operation of the regional Energy Management System (EMS) when various players participating in the EMS share energy resources. [Solution] One aspect of the present disclosure is an energy management system for managing the energy of multiple facilities, comprising: a first notification destination setting unit that sets facility notification destination information for which notification destinations are set for each facility; a first acquisition unit that acquires the facility notification destination information when requesting cooperation in saving electricity; a first notification control unit that causes the system to send a facility cooperation notification indicating a request for cooperation in saving electricity to at least one of the multiple facilities that are the notification destinations, based on the facility notification destination information; and a first notification unit that notifies the facility manager when it receives the facility cooperation notification.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an energy management system and an energy management method.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, a regional EMS (Energy Management System) that manages energy from facility units such as buildings to area (region) units has been studied. For example, the power management system of Patent Document 1 manages and controls the power consumption of power users within a predetermined power usage area, and monitors the power consumption for each power usage area. In this power management system, the power consumption of power users is managed at predetermined regular intervals, it is determined whether the power consumption of the power users exceeds a predetermined threshold value, and when it is determined that the power consumption of the power users exceeds the threshold value, an alarm message is transmitted. Thereby, the power management system forcibly executes power saving measures on the power user side during power supply-demand tightness, avoids planned power outages as much as possible, and avoids sudden power outages.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The players participating in a regional Energy Management System (EMS) include various types of players, such as those involved with the entire region, those involved with specific facilities, and those involved with equipment within those facilities. By having these various players jointly utilize energy within the area of ​​the regional EMS, energy costs within the area can be reduced. However, the power management system described in Patent Document 1 above relies on power users to implement energy-saving measures when power supply and demand are tight. Therefore, if power users whose power usage is determined to exceed a threshold do not cooperate in saving energy, the system may not be able to operate smoothly.

[0005] This disclosure is made in light of these circumstances and aims to provide an energy management system and energy management method that enable the smooth operation of a regional EMS when various players participating in the regional EMS jointly utilize energy. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] This disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and one aspect of this disclosure is an energy management system for managing the energy of multiple facilities, comprising: a first notification destination setting unit that sets facility notification destination information for which notification destinations are set for each facility; a first acquisition unit that acquires the facility notification destination information when requesting cooperation in saving electricity; a first notification control unit that causes the system to send a facility cooperation notification indicating a request for cooperation in saving electricity to at least one of the multiple facilities that is a notification destination, based on the facility notification destination information; and a first notification unit that notifies the facility manager when it receives the facility cooperation notification.

[0007] Another aspect of this disclosure is an energy management system for managing the energy of multiple facilities, comprising: a second notification destination setting unit for setting equipment notification destination information for which multiple equipment operators have designated notification destinations for each facility; a second acquisition unit for acquiring equipment operator information and acquiring the equipment notification destination information for facilities managed by the facility manager indicated by the acquired equipment operator information when requesting cooperation in saving electricity; a second notification control unit for sending an equipment cooperation notification indicating a request for cooperation in saving electricity to at least one of the notification destinations of multiple equipment operators within the facility based on the equipment notification destination information; and a second notification unit for notifying the equipment operator when the equipment cooperation notification is received.

[0008] Another aspect of this disclosure is an energy management system for managing the energy of multiple facilities, comprising: an equipment setting unit that sets up setting change information for each facility, which includes multiple equipment operators, setting targets operated by each equipment operator, and setting change types for each setting target; a third acquisition unit that acquires equipment operator information indicating the equipment operators and acquires setting target information indicating the setting targets operated by the equipment operators indicated by the acquired equipment operator information based on the setting change information; and a display control unit that displays the setting targets in a selectable manner based on the setting target information and displays the selected setting targets according to the setting change type.

[0009] Another aspect of this disclosure is an energy management method for managing the energy of multiple facilities, wherein the energy management system performs the steps of: setting facility notification information for which notification recipients are set for each facility; acquiring the facility notification information when requesting cooperation in saving electricity; sending a facility cooperation notification indicating a request for cooperation in saving electricity to at least one of the multiple facilities that is a notification recipient, based on the facility notification information; and notifying the facility manager when the facility cooperation notification is received.

[0010] Another aspect of this disclosure is an energy management method for managing the energy of multiple facilities, wherein the energy management system performs the following steps: setting up equipment notification destination information for each facility, which includes notification destinations for multiple equipment operators; when requesting cooperation in saving electricity, acquiring equipment operator information and acquiring the equipment notification destination information for facilities managed by the facility manager indicated by the acquired equipment operator information; sending an equipment cooperation notification indicating a request for cooperation in saving electricity to at least one of the notification destinations of multiple equipment operators within the facility based on the equipment notification destination information; and notifying the equipment operator when the equipment cooperation notification is received.

[0011] Another aspect of this disclosure is an energy management method for managing the energy of multiple facilities, wherein the energy management system performs the following steps: setting setting change information for each facility, which includes setting multiple equipment operators, setting targets operated by each equipment operator, and setting change types for each setting target; acquiring equipment operator information indicating the equipment operators, and acquiring setting target information indicating the setting targets operated by the equipment operators indicated by the acquired equipment operator information, based on the setting change information; and displaying the setting targets in a selectable manner based on the setting target information, and displaying the selected setting targets according to the setting change type. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to one aspect of the present invention, when various players participating in a regional energy management system (EMS) share energy use, the regional EMS can be operated smoothly. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing an example of an energy management system 1 in the first embodiment. [Figure 2]This figure shows an example of the arrangement of energy supply facilities 600 and energy supply destination facilities 700 in the target area according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a block diagram showing an example of an energy management system 1 in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of a first request screen presented to the administrator of the energy management system 1 in the first embodiment. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of the operation flow of the energy management system 1 in the first embodiment. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of a request screen to be presented to the facility manager of the energy supply destination facility 700 in the second embodiment. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of a request screen presented to the equipment operator in the second embodiment. [Figure 8] This figure shows an example of the operation flow of the energy management system in the third embodiment. [Figure 9] This figure shows another example of the operation flow of the energy management system in the third embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] Hereinafter, an energy management system and an energy management method to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0015] (First Embodiment) Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the energy management system 1 in the first embodiment. The energy management system 1 is a regional EMS that manages the energy of an energy supply facility 600 and a plurality of energy supply destination facilities 700 in a region corresponding to a target area. The energy management system 1 includes an energy supply facility 600 arranged in the target area and a plurality of energy supply destination facilities 700 arranged in the target area where energy is supplied from the energy supply facility 600.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of the energy supply facility 600 and the energy supply destination facility 700 in the target area in the first embodiment. The target area is, for example, an area where the energy supply facility 600 and the energy supply destination facility 700 are arranged at various locations. The energy supply facility 600 and the energy supply destination facility 700 are arranged separately at various locations in the target area. The plurality of energy supply facilities 600-1, 600-2, 600-3, 600-4, and 600-5 and the plurality of energy supply destination facilities 700-1, 700-2, 700-3, 700-4, and 700-5 are connected by a pipe 900 through which a medium (steam, hot water, cold water) flows and a flow control device 902 such as an on-off valve, a regulating valve, and a pump. The energy in the embodiment includes, for example, fuel, electric power, and heat possessed by the medium. The medium is, for example, a medium circulated in the energy supply facility 600 such as steam, hot water, and cold water. The energy in the embodiment is not limited to electric power and fuel and may be other energy such as hydrogen and ammonia. This energy management system 1 is operated by various players in which a plurality of energy supply destination facilities 700 participate in the regional EMS, and the plurality of energy supply destination facilities 700 jointly utilize the energy supplied from the energy supply facility 600.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the energy management system 1 includes, for example, an area energy management device 100, an area notification server device 200, an EMS administrator terminal 210, a facility server device 300, a facility administrator terminal 400, a facility operator terminal 500, an energy supply facility 600, an energy supply destination facility 700, and a power system 800. The area energy management device 100, the area notification server device 200, the EMS administrator terminal 210, the facility server device 300, the facility administrator terminal 400, the facility operator terminal 500, the energy supply facility 600, the energy supply destination facility 700, and the power system 800 have a communication interface (not shown) such as a NIC (Network Interface Card) or a wireless communication module for connecting to a communication network such as the Internet. The network may include, for example, a general-purpose network such as the Internet, and a private network such as local 5G or WiFi (registered trademark).

[0018] The area energy management device 100 controls the operations of the energy supply facility 600 and the energy supply destination facility 700. The area notification server device 200 sends various notifications to at least one of the EMS administrator terminal 210, the facility server device 300, the facility administrator terminal 400, and the facility operator terminal 500.

[0019] The facility server device 300 is provided corresponding to each of the energy supply facility 600 and the energy supply destination facility 700. Based on the notifications obtained from the area notification server device 200, the facility server device 300 monitors and controls the energy supply facility 600 or the energy supply destination facility 700, and sends notifications to the facility administrator terminal 400 and the facility operator terminal 500. The facility server device 300 is, for example, a server device that performs various processes for realizing a building energy management system (BEMS). The facility server device 300, for example, acquires the energy information of the equipment included in the energy supply destination facility 700 and controls the equipment. Energy information includes information about energy such as power consumption, power supply or demand, power generation, gas usage, medium flow rate or pressure, and power buying and selling. Indicators of energy information may include, for example, energy consumption, energy reduction, total energy (energy generation - energy consumption), CO2 emissions or CO2 reduction, or a displayed score that scores these values.

[0020] The EMS administrator terminal 210 is an information processing device, such as a smartphone or personal computer, owned by the administrator of the energy management system 1. The facility manager terminal 400 is an information processing device such as a smartphone or personal computer owned by the facility manager of the energy supply facility 600 and the facility manager of the energy recipient facility 700. The equipment operator terminal 500 is an information processing device such as a smartphone or personal computer owned by an equipment operator included in the energy supply recipient facility 700. An equipment operator is the user, owner, or manager of the equipment.

[0021] The energy supply facility 600 is a facility for supplying energy to the energy recipient facility 700. The energy supply facility 600 includes, for example, various energy supply equipment such as CGS. Energy recipient facility 700 is a facility for consuming the energy supplied from energy supply facility 600. The energy supply destination facilities 700 are, for example, office buildings, factories, and commercial facilities, and include various equipment such as lighting equipment, air conditioning equipment, and elevator equipment. The energy management system 1 controls the energy supply facilities 600 located in the target area and operates the energy supply facilities 600 to supply energy from the energy supply facilities 600 to the energy supply destination facilities 700.

[0022] The power grid 800 includes, for example, a power generator system 810, a power market procurement system 820, a renewable energy system 830, and a power retailer system 840. The power generator system 810, the power market procurement system 820, the renewable energy system 830, and the power retailer system 840 are connected to the area energy management device 100 via a communication network.

[0023] The power generator system 810 includes, for example, a power plant, information processing equipment and terminal equipment for managing the power plant. The power generator system 810 supplies the electricity generated at the power plant to energy supply facilities 600 in the target area. The electricity market procurement system 820 includes server equipment to realize an electronic trading system for power generators to sell electricity and for retail electricity companies to buy electricity. The renewable energy system 830 is a system that generates renewable energy such as electricity and thermal energy from wind power generation systems and solar power generation systems, and supplies it to energy supply facilities 600 and energy supply destination facilities 700. The electricity retailer system 840 includes equipment operated by electricity retailers and supplies electricity purchased from power generators and renewable energy systems to consumers.

[0024] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the energy management system 1 in the first embodiment. The energy management system 1 includes, for example, an area energy management device 100, an operator terminal device 120, an area notification server device 200, an EMS administrator terminal 210, a facility server device 300, a facility administrator terminal 400, an equipment operator terminal 500, a power supply device 850, a fuel supply device 860, an energy supply facility 600, and a plurality of energy supply destination facilities 700A, 700B, ... The power supply device 850 includes equipment that supplies power to the energy supply facility 600 from the power grid 800 described above. The fuel supply device 860 includes equipment that supplies fuel to the energy supply facility 600.

[0025] The area energy management device 100 is an information processing device that acquires information via a communication network and performs various processing tasks. The area energy management device 100 includes, for example, a control processing unit 110. The control processing unit 110 is implemented, for example, by a computer such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program stored in program memory.

[0026] The control processing unit 110 calculates, for example, energy demand forecast information for the target area and calculates energy purchase plans, sales plans, and energy storage plans. Energy demand forecast information includes, for example, predicted values ​​of energy demand in one-minute increments for a day. Energy purchase plans include, for example, information showing the amount of energy to be purchased in 10-30 minute increments for a day. Energy sales plans include, for example, information showing the amount of energy to be sold in 10-30 minute increments for a day. Energy storage plans, such as thermal storage plans, include, for example, information showing the amount of energy stored in the energy supply facility 600 in 10-30 minute increments for a day.

[0027] The control processing unit 110 calculates start-up and stop-down plans for multiple pieces of equipment included in the energy supply facility 600 based on energy demand forecast information and energy purchase plans, sales plans, energy storage plans, equipment models, and equipment characteristic information. The start-up and stop-down plans include information such as the start-up and stop-down timings for each piece of equipment included in the energy supply facility 600, in one-minute increments. The control processing unit 110 calculates control target information according to the energy storage plan and the start-up and stop-down plans.

[0028] The control processing unit 110 may output the calculated control target information to the operator terminal device 120. The control processing unit 110 can output the calculated control target information to the equipment included in the energy supply facility 600 and control the equipment. The control processing unit 110 may change the control target information of each piece of equipment based on feedback information from the energy supply facility 600. If the control processing unit 110 changes the control target information, it may notify the operator terminal device 120 of the change in the control target information of each piece of equipment.

[0029] The operator terminal device 120 is an information processing device operated by an operator in the target area. The operator terminal device 120 receives various notifications from the control processing unit 110 and displays the status of each piece of equipment in the energy supply facility 600. Upon receiving an operation from the operator, the operator terminal device 120 transmits control instruction information for the equipment included in the energy supply facility 600 to the area energy management device 100. The control processing unit 110 controls the equipment included in the energy supply facility 600 according to the control instruction information.

[0030] The energy supply facility 600 supplies energy to the energy recipient facility 700. The equipment included in the energy supply facility 600 includes, for example, a boiler 602, a CGS (cogeneration system) 604, a cooling tower 606, an absorption chiller 608, a turbo chiller 610, a heat exchanger for heat dissipation 612, a thermal storage tank 614, and media transfer devices (not shown) such as pumps and valves associated with these devices. In this embodiment, the equipment included in the energy supply facility 600 generates energy using electricity supplied from the power supply facility 850 and / or fuel supplied from the fuel supply facility 860. For example, the boiler 602 and the CGS 604 are heating devices that heat the medium. For example, the cooling tower 606, absorption chiller 608, turbo chiller 610, and heat exchanger for heat dissipation 612 are cooling devices that cool the medium. The energy supply facility 600 has a control device (not shown) for controlling the output of each piece of equipment. The control device may include, for example, an output control device dedicated to the equipment, a centralized control device called a central monitoring system, a DCS (Distributed Control System), a PLC (Programmable Control System), and other control terminals. The area energy management device 100 transmits control target information to the control device of the energy supply facility 600 and modifies the operation of the equipment.

[0031] The energy supply destination facility 700 includes customer equipment that consumes energy supplied from the energy supply facility 600. Energy supply destination facility 700A includes, for example, customer equipment such as factories and residences located in the target area. Energy supply destination facility 700B includes, for example, building facilities located in the target area, tenant facilities included in building facilities, etc. Each of the energy supply destination facilities 700A and 700B is equipped with a measurement unit 710. The measurement unit 710 measures the energy information of each energy supply destination facility 700. Energy information is used to calculate indicators for 700 energy supply destination facilities, such as power consumption, power supply or demand, power generation, gas usage, medium flow rate or medium pressure, and power buying and selling. The indicators for 700 energy supply destination facilities are, for example, energy consumption, energy reduction, total energy (energy generation - energy consumption), CO2 emissions or CO2 reduction, and a displayed score that scores these values.

[0032] The area notification server device 200 includes, for example, a first notification destination setting unit 202 and a first selection unit 204. The first notification destination setting unit 202 and the first selection unit 204 are implemented, for example, by a computer such as a CPU executing a program stored in program memory. The first notification destination setting unit 202 sets facility notification destination information, which is set for each energy supply destination facility 700. The facility notification destination information is, for example, a table data that associates information identifying the energy supply destination facility 700 with notification destination information.

[0033] The first selection unit 204 selects the facilities that will cooperate in saving electricity. The first selection unit 204 may select facilities that will cooperate in saving electricity in accordance with predetermined rules. The first selection unit 204 may select a target facility based on area energy information for the entire target area calculated from multiple energy information obtained from multiple energy supply destination facilities 700 included in the target area. The first selection unit 204 selects, for example, energy supply facilities 700 with high electricity consumption and energy supply facilities 700 with rapidly increasing electricity consumption as facilities to cooperate in saving electricity. The first selection unit 204 may register the amount of electricity that can be saved for each energy supply facility 700 and select the energy supply facilities 700 with the largest amount of electricity that can be saved as facilities to cooperate in saving electricity, prioritizing their selection. The first selection unit 204 may also select energy supply facilities 700 that have registered in advance that they will cooperate in saving electricity.

[0034] The EMS administrator terminal 210 includes, for example, a first acquisition unit 212, a first notification control unit 214, a first target acquisition unit 216, a notification unit 218, and a first output control unit 220. The first acquisition unit 212, the first notification control unit 214, the first target acquisition unit 216, the notification unit 218, and the first output control unit 220 are implemented, for example, by a computer such as a communication circuit or CPU executing a program stored in program memory. The first acquisition unit 212 acquires facility notification destination information from the area notification server device 200 when requesting cooperation in saving electricity. Based on the facility notification destination information acquired by the first acquisition unit 212, the first notification control unit 214 causes at least one of the multiple energy supply destination facilities 700 to send a facility cooperation notification indicating a request for cooperation in saving electricity. The first notification control unit 214 may select at least one of a plurality of energy supply destination facilities 700 based on facility notification destination information and send a facility cooperation notification to the notification destination of the selected energy supply destination facility 700. Based on the required amount of energy saving, which is the amount of electricity to be reduced by energy saving, and the amount of energy saving possible for each energy supply destination facility 700, the first notification control unit 214 may send one or more facility cooperation notifications to energy supply destination facilities 700 to satisfy the required amount of energy saving.

[0035] The first target acquisition unit 216 may acquire information indicating the target facility selected by the first selection unit 204. The first notification control unit 214 causes the first target acquisition unit 216 to send a facility cooperation notification to the notification destination set in the facility notification destination information for the target facility whose information has been acquired.

[0036] The notification unit 218 may notify the administrator of the energy management system 1 based on area energy information for the entire target area. The notification unit 218 may notify the administrator of the energy management system 1, for example, via a display device or speaker. The first output control unit 220 outputs a first request screen to request cooperation in saving electricity, based on a notification to the administrator of the energy management system 1. Based on the operation entered on the first request screen, the first output control unit 220 prompts the user to select at least one of the multiple energy supply destination facilities 700.

[0037] Figure 4 shows an example of a first request screen presented to the administrator of the energy management system 1 in the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 4(a), the EMS administrator terminal 210 displays, for example, regional supply and demand forecast information, external procurement forecast information, regional target value information, and a button for requesting cooperation from the region. When the button for requesting cooperation from the region is selected, the EMS administrator terminal 210 automatically sends a facility cooperation notification to the target facility selected by the first selection unit 204.

[0038] When the cooperation request button for the region is selected, the EMS administrator terminal 210 may display the cooperation partner selection screen as the first request screen, as shown in Figure 4(b). The cooperation partner selection screen includes information showing a list of target facilities selected by the first selection unit 204, and a cooperation request notification button. When the cooperation request notification button is selected, the EMS administrator terminal 210 sends a facility cooperation notification to one or more energy supply destination facilities 700 selected in the list of target facilities.

[0039] The facility administrator terminal 400 includes, for example, a first notification unit 402, a second acquisition unit 404, a second notification control unit 406, a second target acquisition unit 408, and a second output control unit 410. The first notification unit 402, the second acquisition unit 404, the second notification control unit 406, the second target acquisition unit 408, and the second output control unit 410 are implemented, for example, by a computer such as a communication circuit and CPU executing a program stored in program memory.

[0040] The first notification unit 402 notifies the facility manager when it receives a facility cooperation notification from the area notification server device 200. The first notification unit 402 outputs, for example, that it has received a facility cooperation notification via a display device or speaker.

[0041] The facility server device 300 includes, for example, a second notification destination setting unit 302, a second selection unit 304, and an equipment setting unit 306. The second notification destination setting unit 302, the second selection unit 304, and the equipment setting unit 306 are implemented, for example, by a computer such as a communication circuit and CPU executing a program stored in program memory.

[0042] The equipment operator terminal 500 is, for example, a smartphone device owned by the equipment operator. The equipment operator terminal 500 includes, for example, a second notification unit 502, a third acquisition unit 504, a display control unit 506, a setting change unit 508, a setting information acquisition unit 510, and a reporting unit 512. The second notification unit 502, the third acquisition unit 504, the display control unit 506, the setting change unit 508, the setting information acquisition unit 510, and the reporting unit 512 are implemented, for example, by a computer such as a communication circuit and CPU executing a program stored in program memory.

[0043] Figure 5 shows an example of the operation flow of the energy management system 1 in the first embodiment. First, multiple energy supply facilities 600 and energy supply destination facilities 700 measure energy information using the measurement unit 710 (steps S102 and S104) and transmit it to the area energy management device 100. The area energy management device 100 predicts the balance between the energy supplied from the energy supply facility 600 to the energy recipient facility 700 and the energy demanded by the energy recipient facility 700 (step S106). If the energy demand does not exceed the energy supply (step S108: NO), the area energy management device 100 returns to step S106. For example, if the energy demand exceeds the energy supply, the area energy management device 100 determines whether to request a power saving (step S108: YES) and sends the power saving cooperation request to the EMS administrator terminal 210.

[0044] The EMS administrator terminal 210 obtains facility notification destination information from the area notification server device 200 (step S110) and performs notification control (step S112), thereby sending a facility cooperation notification to the area notification server device 200. Upon receiving the facility cooperation notification, the area notification server device 200 sends the facility cooperation notification to the facility administrator terminal 400. The facility administrator terminal 400 notifies the facility administrator of the request for cooperation in saving electricity based on the facility cooperation notification (step S110).

[0045] As described above, according to the energy management system 1 of the first embodiment, facility notification information is set for each energy supply facility 700, and when requesting cooperation in saving electricity, a facility cooperation notification indicating the request for cooperation in saving electricity is sent to at least one of the energy supply facilities 700 that are the notification recipients, based on the facility notification information, thereby notifying the facility manager. As a result, according to the energy management system 1, when multiple energy supply facilities 700 are operated by various players and energy is jointly used by multiple energy supply facilities 700, a request for cooperation in saving electricity can be made to the facility manager, enabling the smooth operation of the regional EMS. Furthermore, according to the energy management system 1, by having each energy supply facility 700 save electricity in response to the request for cooperation in saving electricity, energy costs in the target area can be reduced.

[0046] (Second Embodiment) The following describes how, in the energy management system 1 described above, facility managers of each energy supply destination facility 700 request cooperation in saving electricity from equipment operators within the energy supply destination facility 700. Equipment operators within the energy supply destination facility 700 are, for example, managers of common areas within the facility and tenant managers. Note that among the configurations shown in Figure 1, the configuration described in the second embodiment does not need to be provided in the energy management system 1 of the first embodiment.

[0047] The second notification destination setting unit 302 of the facility server device 300 sets equipment notification destination information for each energy supply destination facility 700, which contains notification destinations for multiple equipment operators. The equipment notification destination information is, for example, a table data that associates information identifying the energy supply destination facility 700, information identifying the equipment in the energy supply destination facility 700, and information indicating the notification destinations of the equipment operators. The second selection unit 304 of the facility server device 300 may select equipment to cooperate in energy conservation in accordance with predetermined rules. For example, the second selection unit 304 may select equipment with high power consumption or equipment with a sudden increase in power consumption as equipment to cooperate in energy conservation. The second selection unit 304 may register the amount of energy that can be saved for each piece of equipment and select equipment with a large amount of energy that can be saved as equipment to cooperate in energy conservation, prioritizing those with a large amount of energy that can be saved. The second selection unit 304 may select equipment that has registered in advance that it will cooperate in energy conservation. The second selection unit 304 of the facility server device 300 may select the target equipment based on the facility energy information calculated by the energy supply destination facility 700. This allows the facility server device 300 to automatically select the target equipment from the facility energy information.

[0048] The second acquisition unit 404 of the facility manager terminal 400 acquires equipment operator information when requesting cooperation in saving electricity, and acquires equipment notification destination information for the energy supply destination facility 700 managed by the facility manager, as indicated by the acquired equipment operator information. The equipment operator information is table data that associates information identifying the equipment included in the energy supply destination facility 700 with information identifying the equipment operator. Based on the equipment notification destination information, the second notification control unit 406 causes an equipment cooperation notification indicating a request for cooperation in saving electricity to be sent to at least one notification destination of multiple equipment operators within the energy supply destination facility 700. The second notification unit 502 of the equipment operator terminal 500 notifies the equipment operator when it receives an equipment cooperation notification.

[0049] The second notification control unit 406 of the facility administrator terminal 400 may instruct the terminal to select at least one of several pieces of equipment based on the equipment notification destination information, and send an equipment cooperation notification to the notification destination of the equipment operator of the selected piece of equipment.

[0050] The second output control unit 410 of the facility manager terminal 400 may output a second request screen that prompts the user to select at least one of several pieces of equipment based on the facility energy information calculated by the energy supply destination facility 700. The second output control unit 410 can prompt the user to select at least one of several pieces of equipment based on the input on the second request screen.

[0051] When the area energy management device 100 sends a power saving cooperation request to the EMS administrator terminal 210, and the EMS administrator terminal 210 sends a facility cooperation notification to the area notification server device 200, the second notification control unit 406 of the facility administrator terminal 400 generates an equipment cooperation notification, which is a cooperation notification to the equipment operator, based on the facility cooperation notification, and has the equipment cooperation notification sent.

[0052] The second target acquisition unit 408 of the facility administrator terminal 400 acquires information indicating the selected target equipment. The second notification control unit 406 sends an equipment cooperation notification for the target equipment to the notification destination of the equipment operator set in the equipment notification destination information.

[0053] Figure 6 shows an example of a request screen presented to the facility manager of the energy supply destination facility 700 in the second embodiment. As shown in Figure 6(a), the facility manager terminal 400 displays, for example, a facility cooperation notification and a cooperation request button within the facility. The facility cooperation notification includes, for example, information such as forecast information on electricity demand in the target area and information on energy saving measures. When the cooperation request button within the facility is selected, the facility administrator terminal 400 automatically sends an equipment cooperation notification requesting cooperation in saving electricity to at least one of the multiple equipment operators within the energy supply recipient facility 700. The facility administrator terminal 400 may display a cooperation selection screen as shown in Figure 6(b) when the cooperation request button within the facility is selected. The cooperation selection screen includes information showing a list of equipment and a cooperation request notification button. When the cooperation request notification button is selected, the facility administrator terminal 400 sends equipment cooperation notifications to one or more equipment selected in the list of target equipment.

[0054] Figure 7 shows an example of a request screen presented to the equipment operator in the second embodiment. The equipment operator terminal 500 receives equipment cooperation notifications regarding the target equipment from the second notification control unit 406, issues notifications based on the equipment cooperation notifications, and can display information to encourage equipment operators to cooperate in saving electricity based on the equipment cooperation notifications. As shown in Figure 7(a), the equipment operator terminal 500 displays, for example, equipment cooperation notifications and buttons for configuring the equipment. The equipment cooperation notifications include, for example, forecast information on electricity demand in the target area and information on energy saving measures.

[0055] As described above, according to the energy management system 1 of the second embodiment, for each energy supply facility 700, equipment notification information is set with multiple equipment operators designated as notification recipients. When requesting cooperation in saving electricity, the system retrieves the equipment notification information for the energy supply facility 700 managed by the facility manager indicated by the equipment operator information, and based on the equipment notification information, sends an equipment cooperation notification indicating a request for cooperation in saving electricity to at least one of the multiple equipment operators, thereby notifying the equipment operators. With such an energy management system 1, when various players participating in the regional EMS jointly use energy, they can request cooperation in saving electricity from equipment operators using the energy supply facility 700, and the regional EMS can be operated smoothly.

[0056] (Third embodiment) The following describes how the energy management system 1 described above displays the list of configurable target equipment candidates to the equipment operator who manages the equipment installed at the energy supply destination facility 700. Note that among the configurations shown in Figure 1, the configuration described in the third embodiment does not need to be provided in the energy management system 1 of the first or second embodiment.

[0057] The equipment setting unit 306 of the facility server device 300 may set setting change information for each energy supply destination facility 700, which includes multiple equipment operators, the settings target operated by each equipment operator, and the type of setting change for each setting target. The settings target operated by each equipment operator is, for example, air conditioning equipment, and the type of setting change for each setting target is, for example, the operating mode of the air conditioning equipment, the target temperature, etc. The third acquisition unit 504 of the equipment operator terminal 500 acquires equipment operator information indicating the equipment operator, and based on the setting change information, acquires setting target information indicating the setting targets operated by the equipment operator indicated by the acquired equipment operator information. As shown in Figure 7, the display control unit 506 can display the setting targets in a selectable manner based on the setting target information, and can display the selected setting targets according to the setting change type. The equipment operator terminal 500 may display an equipment operator screen as shown in Figure 7(b) when a button for configuring equipment is selected. The equipment operator screen includes information showing a list of equipment, equipment setting information such as a decrease in the set temperature, and a button for changing settings. When a button for changing settings is selected, the equipment operator terminal 500 sends a request to the equipment to change the settings of one or more equipment selected in the list of target equipment.

[0058] The setting change unit 508 of the equipment operator terminal 500 may instruct the setting target to change, as shown in Figure 7(b). The display control unit 506 displays an input field for entering the setting value after the setting change, and the setting change unit 508 can instruct the setting target to change based on the setting value entered in the input field.

[0059] Furthermore, the display control unit 506 may display multiple selectable settings as shown in Figure 7(b). The setting change unit 508 can instruct the selected multiple settings to change settings based on predetermined setting values ​​or setting values ​​entered in the input fields. As a result, when the equipment operator terminal 500 receives a request for cooperation in saving electricity, it can select multiple settings, set setting values ​​for the selected multiple settings, and instruct the setting change. Consequently, the energy management system 1 enables the equipment operator to respond to requests for cooperation in saving electricity.

[0060] Furthermore, when a setting change is made, the setting information acquisition unit 510 may acquire the setting value information after the setting change for the setting target operated by the equipment operator indicated in the equipment operator information, based on the setting change information. The reporting unit 512 reports the acquired setting value information after the setting change to the facility manager predetermined for each equipment operator indicated in the equipment operator information. As a result, the equipment operator terminal 500 can notify the facility manager of the details of the setting change when the equipment operator changes the settings of the equipment. Consequently, according to the energy management system 1, the facility manager can check the status of the equipment operator's response to the request for cooperation in saving electricity.

[0061] Figure 8 shows another example of the operation flow of the energy management system in the third embodiment. The area notification server device 200 sets the facility notification destination information (step S100), and the facility server device 300 sets the equipment notification destination information (step S200). The area energy management device 100 predicts the balance between the energy supplied from the energy supply facility 600 to the energy recipient facility 700 and the energy demanded by the energy recipient facility 700 (step S102). If the energy demand does not exceed the energy supply (step S104: NO), the area energy management device 100 returns to step S102. For example, if the energy demand exceeds the energy supply, the area energy management device 100 determines whether to request a power saving (step S104: YES) and sends the power saving cooperation request to the EMS administrator terminal 210.

[0062] The EMS administrator terminal 210 obtains facility notification destination information from the area notification server device 200 (step S106) and performs notification control (step S108), thereby sending a facility cooperation notification to the area notification server device 200. Upon receiving the facility cooperation notification, the area notification server device 200 sends the facility cooperation notification to the facility administrator terminal 400.

[0063] The facility administrator terminal 400 notifies the facility administrator of the request for power saving cooperation based on the facility cooperation notification (step S110). The facility administrator terminal 400 obtains equipment operator information and equipment notification destination information (step S112). Based on the obtained equipment operator information and equipment notification destination information, the facility administrator terminal 400 sends the equipment cooperation notification to the facility server device 300.

[0064] Upon receiving the facility cooperation notification, the facility server device 300 sends the facility cooperation notification to the facility operator terminal 500 (step S114). As a result, the facility operator terminal 500 notifies the facility operator of the power saving cooperation based on the facility cooperation notification.

[0065] Figure 9 shows another example of the operation flow of the energy management system in the third embodiment. The area notification server device 200 sets the facility notification destination information (step S100), and the facility server device 300 sets the equipment notification destination information (step S200) and sets the setting change information (step S300). The area energy management device 100 predicts the balance between the energy supplied from the energy supply facility 600 to the energy recipient facility 700 and the energy demanded by the energy recipient facility 700 (step S102). If the energy demand does not exceed the energy supply (step S104: NO), the area energy management device 100 returns to step S102. For example, if the energy demand exceeds the energy supply, the area energy management device 100 determines whether to request a power saving (step S104: YES) and sends the power saving cooperation request to the EMS administrator terminal 210.

[0066] The EMS administrator terminal 210 obtains facility notification destination information from the area notification server device 200 (step S106) and performs notification control (step S108), thereby sending a facility cooperation notification to the area notification server device 200. Upon receiving the facility cooperation notification, the area notification server device 200 sends the facility cooperation notification to the facility administrator terminal 400.

[0067] The facility administrator terminal 400 notifies the facility administrator of the request for power saving cooperation based on the facility cooperation notification (step S110). The facility administrator terminal 400 obtains equipment operator information and equipment notification destination information (step S112). Based on the obtained equipment operator information and equipment notification destination information, the facility administrator terminal 400 sends the equipment cooperation notification to the facility server device 300.

[0068] Upon receiving the facility cooperation notification, the facility server device 300 sends the facility cooperation notification to the facility operator terminal 500 (step S114). As a result, the facility operator terminal 500 notifies the facility operator of the power saving cooperation based on the facility cooperation notification. Furthermore, the facility operator terminal 500 obtains facility operator information and information to be configured (step S302). As a result, the facility operator terminal 500 displays the equipment to be configured (step S304). The facility operator terminal 500 also displays information according to the type of configuration change (step S306).

[0069] Although various embodiments and modifications have been described, these are merely examples and are not limited to these. For example, one embodiment or modification, or a part of one embodiment or modification, may be combined with one or more other embodiments or modifications to realize one aspect of the present invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0070] 1...Energy management system, 100...Area energy management device, 110...Control processing unit, 120...Operator terminal device, 200...Area notification server device, 202...First notification destination setting unit, 204...First selection unit, 210...EMS administrator terminal, 212...First acquisition unit, 214...First notification control unit, 216...First target acquisition unit, 218...Notification unit, 220...First output control unit, 300...Facility server device, 302...Second notification destination setting unit, 304...Second selection unit, 306...Equipment setting unit, 400...Facility administrator terminal, 402...First notification unit, 404...Second acquisition unit, 406...Second notification control unit, 4 08...Second Target Acquisition Unit, 410...Second Output Control Unit, 500...Equipment Operator Terminal, 502...Second Notification Unit, 504...Third Acquisition Unit, 506...Display Control Unit, 508...Setting Change Unit, 510...Setting Information Acquisition Unit, 512...Reporting Unit, 602...Boiler, 604...CGS, 606...Cooling Tower, 608...Absorption Chiller, 610...Turbo Chiller, 612...Heat Exchanger for Heat Dissipation, 614...Thermal Storage Tank, 710...Measurement Unit, 800...Power System, 810...Power Generator System, 820...Electricity Market Procurement System, 830...Renewable Energy System, 840...Electricity Retailer System, 900...Piping, 902...Flow Control Device

Claims

1. In an energy management system that manages the energy of multiple facilities, A first notification destination setting unit sets facility notification destination information for which notification destinations are set for each facility, When requesting cooperation in saving electricity, the first acquisition unit acquires the facility notification recipient information, A first notification control unit causes the facility to send a facility cooperation notification indicating a request for cooperation in saving electricity to at least one of the multiple facilities, based on the facility notification recipient information, Upon receiving the aforementioned facility cooperation notification, the first notification unit notifies the facility manager, An energy management system equipped with the following features.

2. The energy management system according to claim 1, wherein the first notification control unit causes the first notification control unit to select at least one of the plurality of facilities based on the facility notification destination information, and sends the facility cooperation notification to the notification destination of the selected facility.

3. The first selection unit selects facilities that will cooperate in saving electricity according to predetermined rules, The system further comprises a first target acquisition unit that acquires information indicating the target facility, The first notification control unit causes the target facility to send the facility cooperation notification to the notification recipient set in the facility notification recipient information. The energy management system according to claim 1.

4. The energy management system according to claim 3, wherein the first selection unit selects the target facility based on area energy information for the entire target area, which is based on energy information obtained from multiple facilities.

5. A notification unit that notifies the energy management system administrator based on area energy information for the entire target area, The system further comprises a first output control unit that outputs a first request screen for requesting cooperation in saving electricity based on a notification to the administrator of the energy management system, The first output control unit prompts the user to select at least one of the multiple facilities based on the operation entered on the first request screen. The energy management system according to claim 1.

6. In an energy management system that manages the energy of multiple facilities, For each of the aforementioned facilities, a second notification destination setting unit sets equipment notification destination information for which notification destinations for multiple equipment operators are set, When requesting cooperation in saving electricity, a second acquisition unit acquires information on equipment operators and the equipment notification recipients for facilities managed by the facility manager indicated by the acquired equipment operator information. A second notification control unit causes the facility to send an equipment cooperation notification requesting cooperation in saving electricity to at least one of the multiple equipment operators within the facility, based on the equipment notification recipient information. Upon receiving the aforementioned equipment cooperation notification, the second notification unit notifies the equipment operator, An energy management system equipped with the following features.

7. The energy management system according to claim 6, wherein the second notification control unit causes the equipment notification destination information to select at least one of a plurality of equipment, and sends the equipment cooperation notification to the notification destination of the equipment operator of the selected equipment.

8. A second selection unit selects equipment to cooperate in saving electricity according to predetermined rules, The system further comprises a second target acquisition unit that acquires information indicating the target equipment, The second notification control unit causes the equipment cooperation notification to be sent to the notification destination of the equipment operator set in the equipment notification destination information for the target equipment. The energy management system according to claim 6.

9. The energy management system according to claim 8, wherein the second selection unit selects the target equipment based on facility energy information calculated by the facility.

10. If you receive a facility cooperation notice requesting cooperation in saving electricity at the facility, The energy management system according to claim 6, wherein the second notification control unit generates an equipment cooperation notification, which is a cooperation notification to the equipment operator, based on the facility cooperation notification, and transmits the equipment cooperation notification.

11. The system further includes a second output control unit that outputs a second request screen that prompts the user to select at least one of several pieces of equipment based on facility energy information calculated by the facility. Based on the input on the second request screen, the user is prompted to select at least one of the multiple pieces of equipment. The energy management system according to claim 6.

12. In an energy management system that manages the energy of multiple facilities, Each of the aforementioned facilities has a setting unit that sets setting change information, which includes multiple equipment operators, the settings target operated by each equipment operator, and the type of setting change for each setting target. A third acquisition unit acquires equipment operator information indicating the equipment operator, and based on the setting change information, acquires setting target information indicating the setting target operated by the equipment operator indicated by the acquired equipment operator information. A display control unit that displays the target to be set based on the aforementioned target information, and displays the selected target according to the type of setting change, An energy management system equipped with the following features.

13. The system further includes a setting change unit that instructs the setting target to change its settings, The display control unit displays an input field for entering the setting value after the setting change. The setting change unit instructs the setting target to change its settings based on the setting value entered in the input field. The energy management system according to claim 12.

14. The display control unit displays a selection of the multiple settings targets, The setting change unit instructs a setting change to a plurality of selected setting targets based on predetermined setting values ​​or setting values ​​entered in the input field. The energy management system according to claim 13.

15. When a setting change is made, a setting information acquisition unit acquires the setting value information after the setting change for the setting target operated by the equipment operator indicated by the equipment operator information, based on the setting change information. A reporting unit reports the setting value information after the setting change to the facility manager predetermined for each equipment operator indicated in the equipment operator information. The energy management system according to claim 13 or claim 14, further comprising:

16. In an energy management method for managing the energy of multiple facilities, The energy management system The steps include setting facility notification information for each of the aforementioned facilities, and When requesting cooperation in saving electricity, the steps include obtaining the facility notification recipient information, The steps include: sending a facility cooperation notification indicating a request for cooperation in saving electricity to at least one of the multiple facilities that are designated as recipients of the notification, based on the facility notification recipient information; Upon receiving the aforementioned facility cooperation notification, the following steps are taken: An energy management method that implements this.

17. In an energy management method for managing the energy of multiple facilities, The energy management system For each of the aforementioned facilities, the step is to set up equipment notification information in which notification destinations for multiple equipment operators are set, When requesting cooperation in saving electricity, the process involves obtaining information on equipment operators and then obtaining information on the recipients of equipment notifications for facilities managed by the facility managers indicated by the obtained equipment operator information. The steps include: sending an equipment cooperation notification requesting cooperation in saving electricity to at least one of the multiple equipment operators within the facility, based on the equipment notification recipient information; Upon receiving the aforementioned equipment cooperation notification, the following steps are taken: An energy management method that implements this.

18. In an energy management method for managing the energy of multiple facilities, The energy management system For each of the aforementioned facilities, the steps include setting up setting change information which includes multiple equipment operators, the settings target operated by each equipment operator, and the type of setting change for each setting target, The steps include: obtaining equipment operator information indicating the equipment operator; and obtaining setting target information indicating the setting target operated by the equipment operator indicated by the obtained equipment operator information, based on the setting change information; The steps include: displaying the target to be set based on the aforementioned target information so that it can be selected, and displaying the selected target according to the type of setting change; An energy management method that implements this.

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