Equipment load management system and equipment load management method

Abstract

To efficiently manage the equipment load of a building. [Solution] The equipment load management system 1 manages the equipment load of a building and acquires area-specific management data 20, which records identifiers of equipment loads installed in the building for each area that divides the building. Based on the area-specific management data 20 and the equipment capacity associated with the equipment loads, it displays integrated data that records the total equipment capacity of the entire building and the total equipment capacity of each area. Furthermore, when the equipment load management system 1 receives a change in the number of equipment loads, it displays a reduction rate for both the entire building and each area, expressed as a percentage of the ratio of the sum of the changes in equipment capacity before and after the change to the sum of equipment capacity before the change.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a facility load management system and a facility load management method. [Background Art]

[0002] For example, in buildings that consume large amounts of electric power such as hospitals and factories, substation equipment for stepping down high-voltage power drawn from transmission lines and distribution boards for supplying power to each area of the building are installed. When constructing such a building, a plan for the electrical equipment of the entire building is prepared. In conventional planning, approximate values obtained by summing the electric capacities of electrical equipment installed according to the plan are collected for each area. Then, the electric capacity of the entire building is calculated based on the sum of these approximate values.

[0003] Further, Patent Document 1 describes that the required electric equipment capacity for each facility is calculated from the unit consumption of electric capacity (electric equipment capacity) corresponding to the type of facility and the area of the facility of the building to be designed. [Prior Art Documents] [Patent Documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-239640 [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0005] Incidentally, when the planned electric capacity of the entire building is excessively larger than a target value, the electric capacity may be reduced by changing the number of electric devices used in each area of the building. Particularly in large-scale buildings, the types and number of electric devices to be arranged are enormous. Therefore, it has been difficult to immediately grasp the change in electric capacity caused by changing the number of electric devices arranged in the building and efficiently manage the electric capacity of the building. [Means for Solving the Problem]

[0006] This disclosure provides a load management system that solves the above problems. The load management system is a load management system for managing the load of equipment in a building, and acquires area-specific management data which records the identifier of the equipment load installed in the building, the number of equipment loads, and the equipment capacity associated with the equipment loads for each area that divides the building, and displays integrated data which records the total equipment capacity of the entire building and the total equipment capacity of the area based on the area-specific management data, and when a change in the number of equipment loads is accepted, it displays a reduction rate for the entire building and for each area, expressed as a percentage of the ratio of the sum of the changes in equipment capacity before and after the change to the sum of equipment capacity before the change.

[0007] This disclosure provides a load management method for equipment that solves the above problems. The load management method is a load management method for managing the load of equipment in a building using a control unit, wherein the control unit acquires area-specific management data which stores identifiers of equipment loads installed in the building, the number of equipment loads, and the equipment capacity associated with the equipment loads for each area that divides the building, and based on the area-specific management data, displays integrated data which records the total equipment capacity of the entire building and the total equipment capacity of the areas, and when a change in the number of equipment loads is accepted, a reduction rate expressed as a percentage of the ratio of the sum of the changes in equipment capacity before and after the change to the sum of equipment capacity before the change for each of the entire building and each of the areas, is displayed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to this disclosure, the equipment load of a building can be managed efficiently. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of an equipment load management system according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a schematic diagram showing the hardware configuration of the information processing device of the same embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a schematic diagram showing area-specific management data for the same embodiment. [Figure 4] This is a schematic diagram showing area-specific management data for the same embodiment. [Figure 5] The integrated data of the same embodiment is shown as follows: (a) is a schematic diagram of the data for the entire building, and (b) is a schematic diagram of the data for each area. [Figure 6] This is a schematic diagram of a table showing the electrical capacity of existing electrical equipment according to the same embodiment. [Figure 7] This is a schematic diagram of the table showing the electrical capacity of the newly installed electrical equipment in the same embodiment. [Figure 8] This is a schematic diagram of a table showing the electrical capacities of electrical equipment that are expected to be installed in the future in this embodiment. [Figure 9] This is a flowchart illustrating the procedure for the equipment load management method of the same embodiment. [Figure 10] This is a flowchart illustrating the procedure for the equipment load management method of the same embodiment. [Figure 11] This graph shows the current and target electrical capacity in the example of the change. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The following describes embodiments of the equipment load management system and equipment load management method of this disclosure. The equipment load management system manages the capacity of equipment loads installed in a building. The following describes the case where the equipment load is electrical equipment installed in the building. Electrical equipment is any equipment that consumes electricity. However, this disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0011] Figure 1 shows the equipment load management system 1. The equipment load management system 1 has multiple employee terminals 10, an administrator terminal 11, and a server 12. Terminal 10 is used by the area manager. The area manager is responsible for planning and managing the installation of electrical equipment in each area that divides the building.

[0012] An area manager shall enter the names and quantities of electrical devices and the electric capacity (installed capacity) of the electrical devices into the area-based management data 20. The area-based management data 20 is input data input to the manager terminal 10. The manager terminal 10 registers the area-based management data 20 in the server 12. Note that the electric capacity may be input by a facility manager who manages the electrical facilities of the entire building.

[0013] When accepting a change in the number of electrical devices (the number of electrical loads), the manager terminal 10 displays a reduction rate as the area-based management data 20. The reduction rate is expressed as a percentage of the ratio of the total change in electric capacity before and after the change to the total electric capacity before the change. Specifically, the reduction rate is expressed by the following formula (1). The manager terminal 10 accepts a change in the number of electrical devices, for example, based on an input from the area manager. Reduction rate (%) = {(total electric capacity before change - total electric capacity after change) / (total electric capacity before change)} × 100 … (1)

[0014] The manager terminal 11 is a terminal used by the facility manager. The manager terminal 11 includes a control unit 15 and a facility data storage unit 16. The control unit 15 functions as an acquisition unit 17 and a statistics unit 18 by executing a program. The acquisition unit 17 acquires the area-based management data 20 in response to an operation by the facility manager or automatically.

[0015] The statistics unit 18 displays integrated data 21 that records the total electric capacity of the entire building and the total electric capacity for each area of the building based on the area-based management data 20. In the present embodiment, the integrated data 21 is stored in the facility data storage unit 16, but the integrated data 21 may be registered in the server 12. Further, the manager terminal 11 may acquire the integrated data 21 from the server 12 according to an instruction from the facility manager or automatically.

[0016] When the number of electrical devices in the area-based management data 20 is changed, the statistics unit 18 calculates the reduction rate according to the above formula (1) and displays the calculated reduction rate.

[0017] The server 12 stores at least all of the area-specific management data 20. The server 12 may store integrated data 21. In addition, in response to a request from the person-in-charge terminal 10 or the administrator terminal 11, the server 12 transmits or updates the area-specific management data 20 or the integrated data 21 to each terminal.

[0018] A facility administrator checks the electric capacity of the entire building or the entire area of the building using the integrated data 21. The facility administrator can also view the aforementioned area-specific management data 20. The facility administrator determines specifications of substation facilities and the like to be installed in the building according to the electric capacity of the entire building. In addition, the facility administrator determines specifications of generators and UPS (uninterruptible power supplies) to be installed in the area according to the electric capacity of the entire area. Details of the integrated data 21 will be described later.

[0019] Next, the hardware configuration of the person-in-charge terminal 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. Note that descriptions are omitted here because the hardware configurations of the administrator terminal 11 and the server 12 are the same as the hardware configuration of the person-in-charge terminal 10. The hardware of the person-in-charge terminal 10 is constituted by the information processing apparatus H10.

[0020] The information processing apparatus H10 includes a processor H11, a communication device H12, and a storage device H13. These components are connected via a bus H14. The storage device H13 (computer-readable medium) includes any available recording media that can be accessed by general-purpose or dedicated computers, such as ROM, RAM, and hard disks. Examples of the processor H11 include CPU, MPU, NPU, ASIC, and the like. That is, the processor H11 is configured as any of circuits including one or more processors H11 that operate according to a computer program (software), one or more dedicated hardware circuits that execute at least part of various types of processing, or a combination thereof.

[0021] The communication device H12 is an interface that establishes a communication path with other devices via a network. The information processing device H10 also includes input devices H15 such as a touch panel, mouse, and keyboard, and a display device H16.

[0022] Next, we will explain in detail the area-specific management data 20 mentioned above. Figures 3 and 4 schematically show a portion of the area-specific management data 20. The area-specific management data 20 is data related to electrical equipment installed in a building, and is used to manage existing electrical equipment in the building, new electrical equipment to be newly installed in the building, and electrical equipment to be installed in the building in the future.

[0023] As shown in Figure 3, the area-specific management data 20 includes basic data 200. The basic data 200 includes a record for each load identifier. The record includes data for the load identifier, area identifier, and load name. The load identifier is a number assigned to electrical equipment installed in a building area. The area identifier is data that identifies the area, such as the name of the building area. The load name is the name of the electrical equipment, such as "refrigerator," "centrifuge," "biological microscope," "thermal bath," or "PC." The basic data 200 may optionally also include the size, weight, and installation location of the electrical equipment.

[0024] Area-specific management data 20 is associated with basic data 200 and includes draft number of units 201 and proposed number of unit changes 202. Draft number of units 201 stores records containing the number of units for each type of electrical equipment for each load identifier. The number of units is stored for each classification (attribute): new (first classification), existing (second classification), and future (third classification).

[0025] The proposed change in the number of units 202 contains records for each load identifier, including the number of units for each type of electrical equipment. These numbers represent the number of units after the area manager has modified the number of units in the original proposed number of units 201. Changes to the number of units of electrical equipment from the original proposed number of units 201 are made, for example, to reduce the electrical capacity of a building, or in response to changes in the floor area of ​​a building's area, or changes in the budget. Like the original proposed number of units 201, the proposed change in the number of units 202 includes the number of units for each type of electrical equipment, and the numbers are stored separately for existing (Category 1), new (Category 2), and future (Category 3) classifications.

[0026] Furthermore, area-specific management data 20 includes corresponding data 206 and 207 associated with basic data 200. Corresponding data 206 and 207 store records for each load identifier, including the electrical capacity per unit of various electrical equipment and the type of power supply to which the various electrical equipment is connected and which supplies power to the equipment. In this embodiment, the types of power supplies include general power supplies, generator power supplies, and redundant power supplies. These power supplies are further distinguished into single-phase (1Φ) and three-phase (3Φ). Electrical equipment connected to general power supplies is equipment that can stop without problems during a power outage. Electrical equipment connected to generator power supplies is equipment that receives power from a generator during a power outage. Electrical equipment connected to redundant power supplies is equipment that has redundancy by duplicating the power supply source. Corresponding data 206 indicates the type of power supply based on the proposed number of units 201, and corresponding data 207 indicates the type of power supply based on the proposed number of units change 202. Data is entered into the proposed number of units 201 and corresponding data 206 by the area manager.

[0027] As shown in Figure 4, the area-specific management data 20 includes electrical capacity summaries 203 and 204, associated with the basic data 200. The electrical capacity summaries 203 store records containing data that aggregates the electrical capacity calculated for each load identifier based on the proposed number of units 201 and corresponding data 206. The electrical capacity summaries 204 store records containing data that aggregates the electrical capacity calculated for each load identifier based on the proposed change in the number of units 202 and corresponding data 207. The electrical capacity summaries 203 and 204 each store approximate values ​​of electrical capacity for each type of power source to which the electrical equipment is connected. When an area manager inputs the number of units into the proposed number of units 201 or the proposed change in the number of units 202, and inputs the electrical capacity per unit of various electrical equipment and the type of power source to which that electrical equipment is connected into the corresponding data 206 and 207, the manager's terminal 10 stores a value obtained by multiplying the electrical capacity per unit of electrical equipment by the number of electrical equipment units in the electrical capacity summaries 203 and 204.

[0028] Furthermore, the area-specific management data 20 includes reduction rate data 205 associated with the basic data 200. The reduction rate data 205 stores reduction rates for general power sources, generator power sources, redundant power sources, and the entire area. For example, the reduction rate for general power sources can be calculated using equation (1) for the electrical capacity of the general power source, in the same way as the reduction rate described above. The reduction rates for generator power sources, redundant power sources, and the entire area are calculated in the same manner.

[0029] Next, the integrated data 21 described above will be explained. Figure 5 shows the integrated data 21 displayed by the administrator terminal 11. The integrated data 21 includes the building-wide electrical capacity table 210 shown in Figure 5(a), the area-specific electrical capacity table 211 shown in Figure 5(b), and the classification-specific electrical capacity table, which will be described in more detail later.

[0030] The building-wide electrical capacity table 210 stores records for the entire building that include the total electrical capacity before the change in the number of electrical devices, the total electrical capacity after the change, and the reduction rate.

[0031] The total electrical capacity of the entire building before the changes is based on the original plan 201. The total electrical capacity after the changes is based on the revised plan 202.

[0032] The area-specific electrical capacity table 211 stores records for each area of ​​the building, including the total electrical capacity before the change, the total electrical capacity after the change, and the reduction rate, based on the number of electrical devices in that area.

[0033] Next, the classification-based electrical capacity tables described above will be explained. Figures 6 to 8 show the classification-based electrical capacity tables 220 displayed by the administrator terminal 11. The classification-based electrical capacity tables 220 include an existing table 221, a new table 222, and a future table 223. The existing table 221 stores records corresponding to existing electrical equipment for each area. The new table 222 stores records corresponding to new electrical equipment for each area. The future table 223 stores records corresponding to electrical equipment expected to be installed in the future. Each table 221 to 223 shows the electrical capacity for each area, and for each general power supply, generator power supply, existing and new UPS, and redundant power supply, separately for single-phase (1Φ) and three-phase (3Φ). In addition, each table 221 to 223 shows the total value for each area, which is the sum of the electrical capacity of the general power supply and the electrical capacity of the generator power supply, which is the emergency power supply.

[0034] [Terminal Processing Procedure] Referring to Figures 9 and 10, the processing procedures for the employee terminal 10 and the administrator terminal 11 in this embodiment will be described. First, referring to Figure 9, the processing procedure for the employee terminal 10 will be described.

[0035] The employee terminal 10 executes a program stored in the storage device H13 to obtain area-specific management data 20 for the area corresponding to the area employee based on the operations of the area employee (step S10). For example, the employee terminal 10 obtains area-specific management data 20 from the server 12.

[0036] The staff terminal 10 receives input from the area staff regarding the number of electrical devices after the change. Here, the staff terminal 10 accepts input of the changed number of devices categorized as "new," "existing," and "future." The staff terminal 10 also receives input from the area staff regarding the electrical capacity per unit of each type of electrical device and the type of power supply used by the electrical device (step S11). In other words, the staff terminal 10 receives data from the corresponding data 206 and 207.

[0037] The operator terminal 10 calculates the total electrical capacity based on the input number of devices and the electrical capacity per device (step S12). Specifically, the operator terminal 10 calculates the electrical capacity separately for single-phase and three-phase power based on the power source used by the electrical equipment (either general power supply, generator power supply, or redundant power supply). For example, if the operator terminal 10 receives input for the number of "personal computers (PCs)" and the electrical capacity per personal computer, it multiplies the electrical capacity corresponding to the personal computer by the number of computers and changes the electrical capacity of the "general power supply" used by the personal computers. Changes in the number of electrical devices and the resulting changes in electrical capacity are reflected in the proposed change in the number of devices 202 and the electrical capacity summary 204.

[0038] The operator terminal 10 calculates the reduction rate (step S13). The operator terminal 10 calculates the reduction rate for each general power supply, generator power supply, and redundant power supply using the formula (1) described above.

[0039] The employee terminal 10 calculates the reduction rate and updates the reduction rate data 205. The employee terminal 10 then displays the reduction rate on the display device H16 (step S14). The employee terminal 10 also sends the updated area-specific management data 20 to the server 12. The server 12 stores the received area-specific management data 20 in the storage device H13.

[0040] Next, referring to Figure 10, the processing procedure for the administrator terminal 11 will be explained. The administrator terminal 11 obtains area-specific management data 20 for all areas of the building from the server 12 (step S20).

[0041] The administrator terminal 11 calculates the total electrical capacity of the entire building and the reduction rate (step S21). At this time, the administrator terminal 11 calculates the reduction rate for the total electrical capacity of the building using the above formula (1).

[0042] The administrator terminal 11 also displays the calculated electrical capacity and reduction rate as integrated data 21 (step S22).

[0043] Furthermore, the administrator terminal 11 creates a classification-based electrical capacity table 220 for each of the following classifications: "existing," "new," and "future" (step S23). Specifically, the administrator terminal 11 obtains the proposed number of units 202 for each area's management data 20. The administrator terminal 11 also obtains the number of "existing" units for each type of electrical equipment from the proposed number of units 202. Furthermore, the administrator terminal 11 categorizes the electrical equipment by power source type, such as "general power," "generator power," and "redundant power." Then, for each power source type and phase, the administrator terminal 11 calculates the electrical capacity by multiplying the number of electrical equipment units by the electrical capacity per unit of electrical equipment. In this way, the electrical capacity corresponding to the number of electrical equipment units belonging to the "existing" classification is calculated for each power source type and phase. At this time, the electrical capacity of electrical equipment connected to the UPS may be calculated separately for those using the existing UPS and those using the newly installed UPS. The administrator terminal 11 also creates similar tables for the electrical capacity of "new" and "future" equipment.

[0044] Then, the administrator terminal 11 displays the total electrical capacity of each area for each category: "existing," "new," and "future" (step S24).

[0045] [effect] As described above, the following effects can be obtained according to the above embodiment. (1) According to the above embodiment, the electrical capacity for each area before and after changing the number of electrical devices is aggregated based on the number of electrical devices and the electrical capacity per electrical device. Furthermore, the total electrical capacity of the entire building and the reduction rate for the entire building, as well as the total electrical capacity for each area of ​​the building and the reduction rate for each area of ​​the building are calculated. Therefore, by referring to the reduction rate in the building's total electrical capacity table 210, the facility manager can easily confirm whether the target value for the building's total electrical capacity has been reached by changing the number of electrical devices. In addition, by referring to the electrical capacity for each area, the facility manager can easily understand which area has a large electrical capacity. Furthermore, by referring to the reduction rate for each area, it is possible to easily verify which areas have a low reduction rate and which areas have a high reduction rate.

[0046] Furthermore, facility managers can consider whether the electrical capacity of electrical equipment belonging to the "existing," "new," or "future" categories can be reduced. In this way, facility managers can examine the electrical capacity of the building's electrical equipment from multiple perspectives, enabling them to efficiently reduce electrical capacity during the planning stage. Therefore, the building's electrical load can be managed efficiently.

[0047] (2) According to the above embodiment, the integrated data 21 displays the total electrical capacity of electrical equipment divided into three categories: "existing," "new," and "future." Therefore, facility managers can easily check the total electrical capacity of electrical equipment for each category.

[0048] [Example of changes] The above embodiment can be implemented with the following modifications. The embodiment and the following modifications can be combined with each other to the extent that they do not contradict each other technically.

[0049] In the above embodiment, the area-specific management data 20 includes corresponding data 206 and 207, which include the electrical capacity per electrical device. However, the electrical capacity per electrical device may be stored separately from the area-specific management data 20. For example, the server 12 may store the identifier of the electrical device and the electrical capacity per electrical device. The server 12 calculates the electrical capacity of each area by referring to the number of electrical devices stored in the area-specific management data 20 and the electrical capacity per electrical device.

[0050] (Display of target value for reduction of electrical capacity) • When a target for reducing the electrical capacity of the entire building is specified, the progress of the reduction targets for each area may be displayed. The reduction target may first be set for the entire building, for example, "10% reduction." Furthermore, the administrator terminal 11 or server 12 may allocate the electrical capacity reduction target to the areas. The reduction target may be allocated equally to each area, or in other ways. In other words, the reduction target may be set higher for areas with large power capacity, such as "11% reduction," and lower for areas with small power capacity, such as "9% reduction."

[0051] As shown in Figure 11, the employee terminal 10 or administrator terminal 11 may display a screen including a graph showing the degree of achievement against the reduction target. The graph is generated by the employee terminal 10, administrator terminal 11, or server 12 using area-specific management data 20 and integrated data 21. For example, for "Area A," the current electrical capacity of the entire area and the target electrical capacity may be displayed side by side. In addition to displaying the current electrical capacity and target value for each area, the current electrical capacity and the target electrical capacity of the entire building may also be displayed side by side. This configuration makes it easier for area managers or facility managers to understand how much electrical capacity needs to be reduced.

[0052] • If load redundancy is specified, the system may calculate the electrical capacity of the specified load. For example, the administrator terminal 10 may accept a change from a general power supply to a redundant power supply for the power supply to which the load is connected. When the administrator terminal 10 accepts the change operation, it updates the electrical capacity for each power supply in the electrical capacity summaries 203 and 204.

[0053] In the above embodiment, the administrator terminal 11 calculates the total electrical capacity and reduction rate of the entire building by executing a program. Alternatively, or in addition to this, the server 12 may calculate the total electrical capacity and reduction rate of the entire building by executing a program. Or, the staff terminal 10 may calculate the total electrical capacity and reduction rate of the entire building by executing a program. The program may be stored in the storage device H13 in advance by the staff terminal 10, the administrator terminal 11, and the server 12, or it may be included in the data received from the server 12 and temporarily stored by the staff terminal 10 and the administrator terminal 11. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0054] 1... Equipment load management system, 10... Personnel terminal, 11... Administrator terminal, 12... Server, 15... Control unit, 20... Area-specific management data, 21... Integrated data.

Claims

1. A load management system for managing the equipment load of a building, Area-specific management data is obtained, which records the identifier of the equipment load installed in the building, the number of equipment loads, and the equipment capacity associated with the equipment loads for each area that divides the building. Based on the aforementioned area-specific management data, integrated data is displayed that records the total equipment capacity of the entire building and the total equipment capacity of the area. A load management system that, upon receiving a change in the number of equipment loads, displays a reduction rate for the entire building and for each of the areas, expressed as a percentage of the ratio of the sum of the changes in equipment capacity before and after the change to the sum of the equipment capacity before the change.

2. The equipment load management system according to claim 1, wherein the area-specific management data is input data entered into the employee terminal, and the employee terminal accepts changes to the number of equipment loads.

3. The area-specific management data is divided into categories to which the equipment load belongs, and the identifier and capacity of the equipment load are recorded. The equipment load management system according to claim 1, wherein the integrated data displays the total equipment capacity divided into the classifications.

4. The equipment load management system according to claim 3, wherein the classification includes a first classification to which new equipment loads to be installed in the building belong, a second classification to which existing equipment loads in the building belong, and a third classification to which equipment loads to be installed in the building in the future belong.

5. A load management method for managing the load on a building's equipment using a control unit, The control unit, Area-specific management data is obtained, which stores the identifier of the equipment load installed in the building, the number of equipment loads, and the equipment capacity associated with the equipment loads for each area that divides the building. Based on the aforementioned area-specific management data, integrated data is displayed that records the total equipment capacity of the entire building and the total equipment capacity of the area. A method for managing equipment loads, in which, upon acceptance of a change in the number of equipment loads, a reduction rate is displayed for the entire building and for each of the areas, expressed as a percentage of the ratio of the sum of the changes in equipment capacity before and after the change to the sum of the equipment capacity before the change.

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