Battery management device and battery management method

Abstract

To provide a storage battery management device and a storage battery management method, capable of actuating a load in the case of emergency and capable of effectively using storage power of a storage battery.SOLUTION: A storage battery management system includes a storage battery management device comprising: a power information acquisition section for acquiring power information of a plurality of power management objects (users) 10 comprising a power generator, a storage battery connected to a load, system power, and the power generator, and a management device for acquiring power information including a residual amount of the storage battery, power consumption of the load, and a power generation amount of the power generator; a weather information acquisition section for acquiring weather forecast information at locations of the power management objects 10; a power calculation section that calculates a battery power amount allowing the load to actuate without the system power at each fixed time in a predetermined period for each power management object 10 on the basis of a predicted power generation amount and a predicted power consumption amount based on the power information acquired by the power information acquisition section at each fixed time in the predetermined period; and a presentation section for presenting, to the outside, the available power amount calculated by the power calculation section.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery management device and a battery management method for managing a plurality of storage batteries that are subject to power management. [Background technology]

[0002] A virtual power plant (VPP) is known that manages multiple power facilities, such as solar power generation systems and storage batteries installed in detached houses, etc., collectively and controls and manages the local power generation, storage, and demand, making them function like a single power plant.

[0003] When electricity supply and demand becomes tight, VPPs respond by providing electricity from storage batteries on the consumer side to the grid side that supplies commercial electricity, such as electric power companies and grid operators, or by sharing electricity between consumers in response to requests to save electricity.

[0004] In addition, a system has been proposed in which electricity stored in a backup battery, which is used in preparation for emergencies such as power outages, is used to supply electricity to the grid (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-215290 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2018-191434 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, because the electricity is stored for business continuity planning (BCP) purposes, it is not assumed that it will be used to supply loads or other consumers outside of emergency situations. Therefore, although there is a demand to provide the electricity stored in storage batteries for business continuity planning (BCP) purposes to the grid so that the stored electricity can be effectively utilized outside of emergency situations, if electricity stored in storage batteries for business continuity planning (BCP) purposes is provided, and a situation arises in which grid power is not supplied during an emergency such as a power outage, the remaining storage capacity will be insufficient and the load will not be able to operate, despite the storage batteries being for business continuity planning (BCP) purposes, and this must be avoided.

[0007] For this reason, users who use storage batteries for business continuity planning (BCP) purposes are reluctant to charge and discharge their batteries on a daily basis in anticipation of emergencies, and are therefore unable to supply the electricity stored in the batteries to the power grid.

[0008] In addition, there is the problem that in order to prevent the loss of stored power, cumbersome mode change settings and operations are required to limit the operation of the load in the event of an emergency, but there is a demand to be able to operate the load using the storage battery in the same way as under normal circumstances, without restricting the operation of the load, even in the event of an emergency.

[0009] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention has an objective of providing a battery management device and a battery management method that can operate a load without restricting the operation of the load in the event of an emergency, and can effectively utilize stored electricity in a storage battery for business continuity planning (BCP) purposes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] According to an aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problem, there is provided a power generation device that generates power, a storage battery that is connected to the power generation device and can store power, and management means that is connected to the storage battery and acquires and outputs power information including a remaining charge of the storage battery, power consumption of the load, and an amount of power generated by the power generation device, the power information acquiring unit acquiring and storing the power information output from a plurality of subjects subject to power management, a weather information acquiring unit acquiring weather forecast information including a weather forecast for a location of each of the subjects subject to power management, and a forecasting unit that forecasts power consumption at fixed time intervals in a predetermined period for each of the subjects subject to power management based on the power information acquired by the power information acquiring unit, a power calculation unit that predicts the amount of power generated by the power generation equipment for each of the subjects of power management based on the weather forecast information acquired by a weather information acquisition unit, calculates an assured power including at least the power of the storage batteries capable of operating the load without the grid power for each of the fixed time periods within the specified period based on the predicted power consumption and the predicted amount of power generated for each of the subjects of power management, and calculates the amount of power available from the stored power of the storage batteries for each of the subjects of power management based on the calculated assured power, and a presentation unit that presents the amount of available power calculated by the power calculation unit to the outside as power that can be provided to the outside.

[0011] In this aspect, the power consumption of the load is predicted, the power generation amount of the power generation device is predicted from a weather forecast, and the storage battery is secured with enough power to operate the load without grid power based on the predicted power consumption and power generation amount, and the amount of power that can be used from the storage battery is presented to the outside.This makes it possible to operate the load without restricting its operation in times of emergency when grid power is not supplied, or during times such as daytime when demand for power is high due to peak shifting, and also makes it possible to supply the power of the storage battery to the outside and make effective use of it.

[0012] Here, it is preferable that the weather forecast information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit is stored in association with the power information, and the power calculation unit predicts the power generation amount of the power generation device based on the accumulated weather forecast information and the power information.

[0013] According to this, by accumulating the power generation results of the power generation device and predicting the amount of power generation based on the accumulated power generation results, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the prediction. Therefore, in a situation where grid power is not supplied or is not used, it is possible to prevent the reserved power of the storage battery from becoming insufficient, thereby improving reliability.

[0014] In addition, it is preferable that the presentation of the available energy by the presentation unit to the outside includes transmitting information on the available energy to the outside, whereby the available energy can be sent to a device having a communication function, such as another battery management device.

[0015] In addition, it is preferable that the guaranteed power is the sum of the power of the storage battery that can operate for each of the subjects of power management without the grid power at a power consumption predicted for the load, and an arbitrary power set for each of the subjects of power management.

[0016] According to this, by including the optional power set for each subject of power management in the reserved power, it is possible to ensure reserved power according to the needs of the subject of power management.

[0017] It is also preferable that the power information acquisition unit accumulates the power information in association with at least a day of the week, and the power calculation unit predicts the power consumption of the load based on the accumulated power information that coincides with the day of the week to be predicted.

[0018] This makes it possible to improve the accuracy of predicting the power consumption of the load based on the power consumption of the load, which differs depending on the day of the week.

[0019] In addition, it is preferable that the power calculation unit predicts the power consumption of the load based on the power information and the weather forecast information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit. Since the power consumption of the load varies depending on the weather forecast, the prediction accuracy can be improved by predicting the power consumption of the load based on the weather forecast.

[0020] In addition, it is preferable that the power calculation unit determines a priority order for providing power to the outside for the multiple subjects of power management based on a weighting arbitrarily set for each subject of power management and the amount of available power calculated for each subject of power management, and the presentation unit presents the amount of available power and the priority order to the outside.

[0021] This makes it possible to provide an available amount of power by assigning priorities in accordance with the needs of the subjects subject to power management.

[0022] In addition, it is preferable that the presentation unit presents a message to the effect that the remaining charge of the storage battery is insufficient to operate the load without grid power based on the calculation of the reserved power by the power calculation unit, and after the presentation, controls the supply of power from a storage battery under power management that is capable of providing the available power amount to another storage battery under power management that has insufficient remaining charge to operate the load without grid power.

[0023] With this, even if a storage battery that is subject to power management does not have enough remaining power to operate a load without grid power, the load can be operated normally without being restricted, thereby improving convenience.

[0024] and a management means for managing the power information output from a plurality of subjects under power management, the management means comprising: a power generation device that generates power, a load, a grid power, and a storage battery connected to the power generation device and capable of storing power; and a management means for acquiring and outputting power information including a remaining capacity of the storage battery, a power consumption of the load, and an amount of power generated by the power generation device, the management means comprising: acquiring power information output from a plurality of subjects under power management, acquiring weather forecast information including a weather forecast for a location of each of the subjects under power management, predicting power consumption for each of the subjects under power management for each fixed time period in a predetermined period based on the acquired power information, predicting an amount of power generated by the power generation device for each subject under power management based on the acquired weather forecast information, calculating a secured power including at least power of the storage battery capable of operating the load without the grid power for each of the subjects under power management for each of the fixed time periods in the predetermined period based on the predicted power consumption and the predicted amount of power generated for each of the subjects under power management, calculating an amount of power available from the stored power of the storage battery of each of the subjects under power management based on the calculated secured power, and presenting the calculated amount of available power to an outside source as power that can be provided to an outside source.

[0025] In this aspect, the power consumption of the load is predicted, the power generation amount of the power generation device is predicted from a weather forecast, and the storage battery is secured with enough power to operate the load without grid power based on the predicted power consumption and power generation amount, and the amount of power that can be used from the storage battery is presented to the outside.This makes it possible to operate the load without restricting its operation in times of emergency when grid power is not supplied, or during times such as daytime when demand for power is high due to peak shifting, and also makes it possible to supply the power of the storage battery to the outside and make effective use of it. Effect of the Invention

[0026] According to the present invention, the power consumption of the load is predicted, the power generation amount of the power generation device is predicted from a weather forecast, and based on the predicted power consumption and power generation amount, a reserve power required to operate the load without grid power is secured in the storage battery, and the power that can be supplied to the outside is calculated. This makes it possible to supply usable power from the stored power in the storage battery to the outside without restricting the operation of the load in the event of an emergency. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0027] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a battery management system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a power supply device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 1 is a block diagram illustrating functions of a battery management device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 4 is a graph showing the amount of power generated by a solar power generation device and the power consumption of a load over time according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 4 is a graph showing the charging rate of the storage battery over time according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 2 is a flowchart illustrating a storage battery management method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0028] The present invention will be described in detail below based on embodiments.

[0029] (Embodiment 1) Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a battery management system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a power supply device and a solar power generation device of a user that are subject to power management. Fig. 3 is a functional block diagram of a battery management device.

[0030] As shown in the figure, the battery management system 1 of this embodiment includes a VPP server 2, a weather information server 3, a system power 4 such as an electric utility or a system operator that supplies commercial power, and a plurality of users 10 who are consumers as subjects of power management having a power supply device 11 including a storage battery 12, and a battery management device 20. The VPP server 2, the weather information server 3, the power supply device 11 of the user 10, and the battery management device 20 are connected to each other via a network N such as the Internet network or a public telephone line network.

[0031] The VPP server 2 is an integrated server that receives power adjustment requests from business partners and performs power adjustment. Power adjustment by the VPP server 2 is performed by receiving a request from a business partner in advance for a future power adjustment schedule, such as for the next day. This VPP server 2 is connected to the power supply device 11 and the battery management device 20 of the user 10 via a network N.

[0032] Specifically, upon receiving a power adjustment request from a business partner, the VPP server 2 transmits a command to the power supply device 11 to supply the calculated available power from the storage battery 12 of the power supply device 11 of a specific user 10 to the grid power 4. In addition, the VPP server 2 selects users 10 that can provide power from their storage batteries 12 to the grid power 4 and power that can be provided from the storage batteries 12 to the grid power 4, based on information presented to a storage battery management device 20, which will be described in detail later.

[0033] Such a VPP server 2 can be realized by a central processing unit (CPU: Central Processing Unit), a readable and writable memory (RAM: Random Access Memory) which is an example of a storage means, and a read-only memory (ROM: Read Only Memory) for storing various programs, etc., although not specifically shown.

[0034] The weather information server 3 is a weather forecast supplying means that provides weather forecasts for location information such as for each address or each region as weather forecast information. Although not shown in the figure, such weather information server 3 can be realized by a central processing unit (CPU: Central Processing Unit), a readable and writable memory (RAM: Random Access Memory) which is an example of a storage means, and a read only memory (ROM: Read Only Memory) for storing various programs and the like. Furthermore, the weather forecast information provided by the weather information server 3 may include a weather forecast and a temperature forecast.

[0035] Each of the users 10, who are consumers, includes a power supply device 11, a power generation device 16, and a load 17, as shown in Fig. 2. The power generation device may be any device that generates electric power, such as a fuel cell, a hydroelectric power generation device, a solar power generation device, or a wind power generation device, but in this embodiment, the power generation device will be described as a solar power generation device 16.

[0036] The solar power generation device 16 is installed on the roof or a rooftop of a house and converts sunlight into electricity, that is, generates electricity by receiving sunlight.

[0037] The power supply device 11 is connected to a solar power generation device 16, a grid power 4, and a load 17. The power supply device 11 includes a storage battery 12, a monitoring device 13, a management device 14, and a charging / discharging device 15.

[0038] The storage battery 12 is configured to be capable of charging and discharging power, and is configured of a single or multiple chargeable and dischargeable battery cells 12A. As the battery cells 12A constituting such storage battery 12, for example, lithium ion batteries, nickel metal hydride batteries, nickel cadmium batteries, lead batteries, etc. can be used.

[0039] A monitoring device (CMU: Cell Monitor Unit) 13 monitors the voltage, current, temperature, and other conditions of each battery cell 12A of the storage battery 12 or each battery cell group consisting of multiple battery cells 12A. The monitoring device 13 also detects abnormalities in the voltage, current, temperature, and other conditions of the battery cells 12A, and notifies the management device 14 of the occurrence of the abnormality.

[0040] The charge / discharge device 15 controls the connection between the solar power generation device 16, the grid power 4, the storage battery 12, and the load 17, and controls the charging and discharging of the storage battery 12.

[0041] The management device (BMU: Battery Management Unit) 14 corresponds to a management means for controlling the entire power supply device 11. The management device 14 detects the charge / discharge state of the storage battery 12, the charge rate (also referred to as remaining capacity) of the storage battery 12, and the power consumption of a load 17 connected to the storage battery 12. The management device 14 also detects the amount of power generated by the solar power generation device 16.

[0042] The management device 14 also performs overall control of each circuit of the power supply device 11, such as controlling the operation of the monitoring device 13 and the charging / discharging device 15. For example, when the management device 14 detects that the remaining charge of the storage battery 12 has fallen below a threshold, the management device 14 controls the charging / discharging device 15 to charge the storage battery 12 with the grid power 4 or the solar power generation device 16. When the management device 14 detects that the solar power generation device 16 is generating power, the management device 14 controls the charging / discharging device 15 to charge the storage battery 12 with the solar power generation device 16, and when the solar power generation device 16 is not generating power, the management device 14 controls the charging / discharging device 15 to charge the storage battery 12 with the grid power 4. When the management device 14 detects that the storage battery 12 is fully charged, the management device 14 stops charging the storage battery 12 by the charging / discharging device 15. In other words, the management device 14 controls the charging / discharging device 15 to supply or stop power from the grid power 4 to the storage battery 12. Furthermore, the management device 14 controls the charging / discharging device 15 so as to discharge or stop the power from the storage battery 12 to the grid power 4 based on a command from the VPP server 2.

[0043] The battery management device 20 is a device that manages the battery 12 of the user 10. Although not specifically shown, the battery management device 20 can be realized by a central processing unit (CPU), a readable and writable memory (RAM: Random Access Memory) which is an example of a storage means, and a read only memory (ROM: Read Only Memory) for storing various programs, etc. The battery management device 20 is also connected to the VPP server 2, the weather information server 3, and the power supply device 11 of the user 10 via a network N.

[0044] The battery management device 20 of this embodiment includes a power information acquisition unit 21, a weather information acquisition unit 22, a power calculation unit 23, a presentation unit 24, and a database 25, as shown in FIG.

[0045] The power information acquiring unit 21 acquires power information including a change in the capacity of the storage battery 12 per unit time from the power supply device 11 of each user 10, that is, the state of charge (SOC) of the storage battery, the power consumption of the load 17, and the power generation amount of the photovoltaic power generation device 16. The power information of each user 10 acquired by the power information acquiring unit 21 is stored in the database 25 as an operation record in association with the identification code of the user 10, etc. In addition, the power information for each user 10 acquired by the power information acquiring unit 21 is stored in the database 25 in association with conditions such as the day of the week (seven days of the week) and season (temperature). Note that the power information stored in the database 25 can be stored in association with a date in the database 25, so that the day of the week and season can be known from the accumulated date. The power information acquired by the power information acquiring unit 21 and stored in the database 25 in this manner is used by the power calculation unit 23 to predict the power consumption of the load 17 of the user 10 in a predetermined period and to predict the power generation amount of the photovoltaic power generation device 16.

[0046] The weather information acquisition unit 22 acquires weather forecast information (weather forecast information) corresponding to location information such as the address and region of each user 10 from the weather information server 3. The location information of the user 10 acquired by the weather information acquisition unit 22 is, for example, information registered in advance in the database 25. The weather information acquisition unit 22 grasps the location of the user 10, that is, the installation location of the solar power generation device 16, and acquires weather forecast information for the location of the user 10 at regular intervals such as every hour or every two hours, or throughout the day. The weather forecast information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit 22 from the weather information server 3 may be acquired at the same time when the power calculation unit 23, which will be described later in detail, calculates the reserved capacity including the remaining capacity for operating the load without grid power and calculates the available power out of the stored power of the storage battery 12. Of course, the weather forecast information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit 22 may be acquired periodically at regular intervals. Incidentally, the weather forecast information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit 22 includes at least weather information for a predetermined period during which the load can operate without grid power calculated by the power calculation unit 23. For example, if the predetermined period calculated by the power calculation unit 23 is 24 hours for the next day, the weather forecast information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit 22 only needs to include at least the next 24 hours.

[0047] Furthermore, the weather information acquisition unit 22 may associate the acquired weather forecast information with the power information and store it in the database 25. By thus associating the weather forecast information with the power information and storing it as the power generation record of the photovoltaic power generation device, the power calculation unit 23, which will be described later in detail, can predict the amount of power generation of the photovoltaic power generation device 16 from the past record, thereby improving the accuracy.

[0048] The power calculation unit 23 predicts the power consumption by the load 17 of each user 10 at each fixed time period during a predetermined period, based on the power information acquired by the power information acquisition unit 21 and stored in the database 25. The predetermined period for the power consumption of the load 17 predicted by the power calculation unit 23 is a preset period during which the load 17 can operate without grid power, for example, a fixed period such as 24 hours or 36 hours the following day. This predetermined period may be arbitrarily set by the user 10 or the administrator of the storage battery management device 20. For example, if the user 10 does not use power at a certain time such as at night, the predetermined period may be set to be shorter.

[0049] Here, the power consumption by the load 17 of each user 10 predicted by the power calculation unit 23 can be calculated based on the power information stored in the database 25 indicating the operation record of the load 17. As described above, the database 25 stores, for example, power information including the power consumption of the load 17 in association with the day of the week (seven days of the week) and the season, so that the power consumption for each fixed time period can be predicted from the power information indicating the past operation record corresponding to the same day of the week and season as the day for predicting the power consumption. Note that the power consumption of the load 17 of the user 10 differs depending on the day of the week, that is, between weekdays and holidays. In addition, the power consumption of the load 17 of the user 10 differs depending on the type of air conditioning (cooling, heating) used and the amount of use thereof depending on the season. Therefore, the power calculation unit 23 can improve the accuracy of the prediction of the power consumption by acquiring the power information corresponding to the day of the week and season for which the power consumption is predicted from the database 25 as the past operation record and predicting the power consumption of the load 17 for the predetermined period. That is, if there is little power information stored in the database 25, which is the operation history, the accuracy of the predicted power consumption of the load 17 is low, and if there is a sufficient amount of power information stored in the database 25, the accuracy of the predicted power consumption of the load 17 is high. The power information required to predict the power consumption of the load 17 is, for example, power information for all days of the week (for one week).

[0050] Moreover, it is preferable that the power calculation unit 23 predicts the power consumption of the load 17 based on the past power information stored in the database 25 and the weather forecast information (temperature, weather, wind speed, etc.) acquired by the weather information acquisition unit 22. This is because the power consumption of the load 17 differs, for example, because the amount of air conditioning used varies depending on the temperature, and the time spent at home increases depending on the weather (rain, snow, typhoon) or strong winds. For this reason, the power calculation unit 23 predicts the power consumption of the load 17 based on the past power information stored in the database 25 and the weather forecast information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit 22, thereby improving the prediction accuracy of the power consumption of the load 17.

[0051] An example of the power consumption of the load 17 predicted by the power calculation unit 23 is shown in Fig. 4. Since the power consumption of the load 17 differs depending on the lifestyle of the user 10, the power calculation unit 23 predicts the power consumption of the load 17 at fixed time intervals for a predetermined period as shown in Fig. 4, based on power information accumulated in a database 25 indicating the operation record of the load 17 for each user 10.

[0052] The power calculation unit 23 also predicts the amount of power generated by the solar power generation device 16 of each user 10 at every fixed time in a predetermined period based on at least the weather forecast information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit 22 and the power generation efficiency of the solar power generation device 16 of each user 10. The amount of power generated by the solar power generation device 16 varies depending on the amount of solar radiation based on the weather and the power generation efficiency of the solar power generation device 16 (solar panel). For this reason, the power calculation unit 23 predicts the amount of solar radiation (power generation amount) of the solar power generation device 16 of each user 10 at every fixed time in a predetermined period based on at least the weather forecast information for the position information of each user 10 acquired by the weather information acquisition unit 22 and the power generation efficiency of the solar power generation device 16, as shown in FIG. 4. The amount of power generated by the solar power generation device 16 also varies depending on the deterioration of power generation efficiency over time due to dirt on the solar panel, the angle and direction of the solar panel, the season indicating the position of the sun and the duration of sunlight, and the weather (weather forecast) indicating the amount of sunlight. For this reason, it is preferable that the power calculation unit 23 predicts the amount of power generated by the solar power generation device 16 based on the power generation reduction rate due to aging of the solar panel, the angle and direction of the solar panel, the season indicating the position of the sun and the duration of sunlight, and the like, in addition to the weather forecast information and the power generation efficiency of the solar power generation device 16. In this way, the power calculation unit 23 predicts the amount of power generated by the solar power generation device 16 based on the power generation reduction rate due to aging of the solar panel, the angle and direction of the solar panel, the season indicating the position of the sun and the duration of sunlight, and the like, in addition to the weather forecast information and the power generation efficiency of the solar power generation device 16, thereby improving the accuracy of the prediction of the amount of power generated. Incidentally, the information predicting the amount of power generated by the solar power generation device 16 may be stored in the database 25. It is also preferable to associate the weather forecast information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit 22 on a specific date or season with the amount of power generated by the solar power generation device 16 included in the power information of each user 10 acquired by the power information acquisition unit 21, and accumulate them in the database 25 as power generation results, and predict the amount of power generated based on the weather forecast information of the solar power generation device 16 for each fixed time period based on this power generation result. In this way, the power calculation unit 23 predicts the amount of power generated by the solar power generation device 16 from the power generation record of the solar power generation device 16 based on the weather forecast, thereby making it possible to further improve the accuracy of prediction of the amount of power generation.

[0053] The amount of power generated by the photovoltaic power generation device 16 at each fixed time period during a predetermined period calculated by the power calculation unit 23 in this manner is treated as the amount of charge to the storage battery 12 by the photovoltaic power generation device 16 .

[0054] The power calculation unit 23 calculates the reserved power including at least the power of the storage battery 12 capable of operating the load 17 without the grid power 4 for each user 10 at a fixed time in a predetermined period based on the power consumption of the load 17 predicted for each user 10 at a fixed time in a predetermined period and the power generation amount of the photovoltaic power generation device 16. In other words, the power capable of operating the load 17 when the storage battery 12 is charged only by the photovoltaic power generation device 16 without the grid power 4 at a fixed time in a predetermined period is calculated as the reserved power. As shown in FIG. 4 and Table 1 below, such reserved power C3 can be calculated by the difference ΔC (C2-C1) between the power consumption (C1) capable of operating the load 17 without the grid power 4 at a fixed time in a predetermined period and the power generation amount (C2) by the photovoltaic power generation device 16 at a fixed time in a predetermined period, that is, the amount charged to the storage battery 12. Note that the predetermined period is a period set in advance, for example, a fixed period such as 24 hours or 36 hours on the next day. Further, the fixed time is a time obtained by dividing a predetermined period into fixed intervals, for example, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, etc. For example, as shown in Table 1, the power calculation unit 23 calculates the guaranteed power C3 to be supplied to the load 17 from the storage battery 12 from the difference ΔC between the power consumption C1 that allows the load 17 to operate without the grid power 4 and the power generation amount C2 by the photovoltaic power generation device 16 every 30 minutes during the 24 hours from 0:00 on the next day to 0:00 on the day after that.

[0055] [Table 1]

[0056] As shown in Table 1 and FIG. 4, the power consumption C1 of the load 17 is 2 kW from 6:00 to 6:30, while the power generation amount C2 of the photovoltaic power generation device 16 is 1 kW, and the power generation amount C2 is smaller than the power consumption C1 of the load 17. Therefore, the load 17 cannot be operated only by the power generation by the photovoltaic power generation device 16, so the power difference ΔC that is insufficient to operate the load 17 is supplied from the storage battery 12. The power of the storage battery 12 required to operate this load 17 is called reserved power C3. Therefore, the reserved power C3 is power reserved in the storage battery 12 to supply the absolute value |ΔC| of the difference ΔC (C2-C1) between the power consumption C1 and the power generation amount C2 from the storage battery 12, and the reserved power C3 includes at least the difference |ΔC|. In other words, the reserved power C3 from 6:00 to 6:30 includes at least 1 kW, which is the absolute value of ΔC, -1 kW. In addition, the reserved power C3 is preferably reserved as the power of the storage battery 12 that can operate the load 17 with the predicted power consumption without the grid power 4, that is, a power slightly larger than the absolute value |ΔC| of the difference ΔC between the power consumption C1 and the power generation amount C2, so as to be able to cope with the case where the actual power consumption of the load 17 becomes larger than the predicted power consumption C1 of the load 17. In other words, the reserved power C3 is preferably the sum of the absolute value |ΔC| of the difference ΔC and the power (surplus power) set uniformly for each user 10, taking into consideration a safety factor. In this way, by setting the reserved power C3 to be larger than the absolute value |ΔC| of the difference ΔC between the predicted power consumption C1 of the load 17 and the power generation amount C2 of the photovoltaic power generation device 16 by the amount of the margin power, the load 17 can be operated normally without restricting the operation of the load 17, even if the actual power consumption C1 of the load 17 becomes larger than the predicted power consumption of the load 17 in an emergency. However, if the margin power included in the secured power C3 is set too large, the amount of power that can be provided from the storage battery 12 to the external power grid 4 will be reduced, and the compensation obtained by supplying the available amount of power to the outside will be reduced. For this reason, it is preferable that the margin power is set to 20% or less of the absolute value |ΔC| of the difference ΔC.

[0057] In addition, when the power consumption C1 of the load 17 predicted by the power calculation unit 23 is smaller than the power generation amount C2 of the solar power generation device 16 (C1 < C2), the difference ΔC (C2 - C1) is charged to the storage battery 12.

[0058] Also, the guaranteed power C3 may include an arbitrary power set for each user 10 in addition to the absolute value |ΔC| of the difference ΔC. The arbitrary power set for each user 10 is set according to the demands of each user 10. For example, for a user 10 who desires to surely operate the load 17 even in an emergency, the arbitrary power added to the absolute value |ΔC| of the difference ΔC as the guaranteed power C3 is made relatively large. On the contrary, for a user 10 who desires to supply the power of the storage battery 12 to the grid power as much as possible to obtain a price as much as possible because the use of the load 17 may be restricted in an emergency, the arbitrary power added to the absolute value |ΔC| of the difference ΔC as the guaranteed power C3 is made relatively small or zero (0). By adding the arbitrary power arbitrarily set for each user 10 to the difference ΔC in this way as the guaranteed power C3, it is possible to enhance the safety so as to surely operate the load 17 according to the demands of the user 10, and to supply the power of the storage battery 12 to the grid power 4 to make it easier to obtain a price.

[0059] Then, based on the calculated guaranteed power C3, the power calculation unit 23 calculates the amount of power that the storage battery 12 can provide to the outside. That is, the power calculation unit 23 subtracts the guaranteed power C3 from the total capacity of the storage battery 12 and calculates the subtracted remaining amount as the available power.

[0060] 4 and Table 1, from 6:00 to 6:30, the power consumption C1 of the load 17 is 2 kW, and the power generation amount C2 of the solar power generation device 16 is 1 kW, so the difference ΔC is -1 kW, and the secured power C3 of the storage battery is set to 1 kW, which is the absolute value of the difference ΔC. As a result, for example, when the state of charge (SOC) of the storage battery is 100 kW, the secured power C3 is 1 kW, and the available power amount is 99 kW, that is, 99% of the SOC. However, from 6:30 to 7:00, the power consumption C1 of the load 17 is 3 kW, and the power generation C2 of the photovoltaic power generation device 16 is 1 kW. Since the power generation C2 of the photovoltaic power generation device 16 is less than the power consumption C1 of the load 17, if 99% of the SOC of the storage battery 12 is provided to the external grid power 4 from 6:00 to 6:30, the remaining power of the storage battery 12 will be exhausted from 6:30 to 7:00, and the load 17 will not be able to operate. Therefore, the power calculation unit 23 calculates the final available power amount in a predetermined period so that the load 17 can be operated throughout the entire predetermined period, for example, 24 hours. Here, the relationship between the time and the charging rate (SOC) of the storage battery 12 when the load 17 is used only by charging with the photovoltaic power generation device 16 without the grid power 4 during the predetermined period is shown in the graph of FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5, the charging rate of the storage battery 12 gradually decreases as time passes due to the use of the load 17, and the charging rate decreases by the secured power C3. The SOC finally remaining in the specified period is the amount of power C4. When the weather is rainy or cloudy and the amount of solar radiation is low or the power consumption C1 of the load 17 is large, the rate of decrease in the charging rate of the storage battery 12 increases as shown by the dotted line in Fig. 5, resulting in an amount of power C4A that is smaller than the amount of power C4. When the amount of solar radiation is high or the power consumption C1 of the load 17 is small, the rate of decrease in the charging rate of the storage battery 12 decreases as shown by the dashed line in Fig. 5, resulting in an amount of power C4B that is larger than the amount of power C4.

[0061] In this way, the power calculation unit 23 reserves in the storage battery 12 the power required to operate the load 17 using only the power generated by the solar power generation device 16 without the grid power 4 for a specified period of time as reserved power C3, while calculating the amount of power C4 of the storage battery 12 as the amount of available power that can be supplied to the external grid power 4.

[0062] The available energy C4 for each user 10 calculated by the power calculation unit 23 in this way is presented to the outside, in this embodiment to the VPP server 2, by the presentation unit 24. The presentation unit 24 in this embodiment may present data associating the identification code of the user 10 stored in the database 25 with the amount of energy C4 of the user 10 so that the VPP server 2 can refer to it. That is, the VPP server 2 acquires necessary information from the storage battery management device 20 via the network N. Of course, the presentation unit 24 may transmit data associating the identification code of the user 10 with the amount of energy C4 to the VPP server 2 via the network N at a preset time. That is, presenting the available energy calculated by the presentation unit 24 to the outside includes presenting the available energy so that it can be referred to from the outside, and transmitting the available energy to the outside for presentation.

[0063] When the VPP server 2 receives a power adjustment request from a business partner and performs power adjustment, it sends a command to the management device 14 of the user 10 to supply power from the storage battery 12 to the external power grid 4 based on the identification code of the user 10 and the amount of power C4 presented by the storage battery management device 20.

[0064] The timing for the power calculation unit 23 to calculate the amount of power C4 may be the same as the timing of the inquiry from the VPP server 2. For example, when the VPP server 2 receives a power adjustment request from a business partner, it inquires of the battery management device 20 as to whether or not the amount of available power can be supplied from the storage battery 12 to the external grid power 4. If weather forecast information is acquired and the amount of available power C4 for a predetermined period is calculated in accordance with the timing of the inquiry from the VPP server 2 as to whether or not power adjustment is possible, the amount of available power C4 suitable for the latest weather forecast can be calculated and presented to the VPP server 2. Therefore, the accuracy of predicting the amount of available power C4 can be improved, and the amount of available power C4 can be supplied to the outside without restricting the operation of the load 17.

[0065] In this way, the battery management device 20 can operate the load 17 normally without restricting the operation of the load 17 in the event of an emergency, and can supply the power C4 of the storage battery 12 to the grid power 4. Therefore, there is no need to perform settings or mode changes to restrict the operation of the load 17 in the event of an emergency, and the storage battery 12 can supply the power C4 of the storage battery 12 to the outside and receive compensation without the need for complicated operations. In addition, the available power C4 is calculated based on a weather forecast that matches the geographic information of the user 10, so that highly accurate predictions can be made. Therefore, the remaining charge of the storage battery 12 is unlikely to be insufficient in the event of an emergency, and the load 17 can be operated normally, improving convenience.

[0066] Here, the storage battery management method of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the storage battery management method.

[0067] As shown in FIG. 6, the calculation of the power amount C4 of the storage battery 12 of each user 10 begins with the power information acquisition unit 21 acquiring power information from the management device 14 of the user 10 and storing it in the database 25 in step S1.

[0068] Next, in step S2, it is determined whether or not power information necessary for predicting the power consumption C1 of the load 17 for a predetermined period has been accumulated, and if the power information necessary for the prediction has not been accumulated in step S2 (step S2: No), steps S1 to S2 are repeated until the power information necessary for the prediction is accumulated. Here, the power information necessary for the prediction is, for example, the power consumption of the load 17 for each day of the week (for one week).

[0069] In step S2, if the power information required for prediction has been accumulated (step S2: Yes), in step S3, the weather information acquisition unit 22 acquires weather forecast information that matches the geographic information of each user 10 from the weather information server 3.

[0070] In step S4, it is determined whether weather forecast information necessary for predicting the amount of power generated by the solar power generation device 16 has been acquired, and if the weather forecast information necessary for the prediction has not been acquired in step S4 (step S4: No), steps S3 to S4 are repeated until the weather forecast information necessary for the prediction is acquired. Note that if the weather forecast information necessary for the prediction cannot be acquired (step S4: No), an error message may be displayed to the manager of the battery management device 20, etc.

[0071] In step S4, if the weather forecast information required for the prediction has been acquired (step S4: Yes), in step S5, the power calculation unit 23 calculates the secured power C3, which includes at least the power required to operate the load 17 without the grid power 4, and the power amount C4, based on the power information stored in the database 25 and the predicted power generation amount.

[0072] After that, in step S6, the presentation unit 24 presents the available energy C4 calculated by the power calculation unit 23 to an external entity, for example, the VPP server 2, together with the identification code of the user 10 and the like.

[0073] The VPP server 2 transmits a command to the power supply device 11 of the user 10 to supply power from the storage battery 12 to the external power grid 4, based on the amount of power C4 presented to the storage battery management device 20.

[0074] (Other embodiments) Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the basic configuration of the present invention is not limited to the above.

[0075] For example, in the storage battery management device 20 of the above-mentioned embodiment 1, the power with which the load 17 can operate without the grid power 4 during a predetermined period in the event of an emergency is calculated as the secured power C3, and the amount of power C4 that can be provided to the outside of the storage battery 12 is calculated from the secured power C3, but this is not particularly limited. For example, the present invention can be applied to a case where the storage battery 12 is not charged from the grid power 4 during the daytime and is charged from the grid power 4 at night due to peak shifting. That is, during the daytime, the secured power C3 of the storage battery 12 that can cover the predicted power consumption C1 of the load 17 only by charging the storage battery 12 by the solar power generation device 16 is calculated without charging the storage battery 12 from the grid power 4, and the amount of available power C4 that can be supplied to the grid power outside the storage battery 12 is calculated. Then, the storage battery 12 is charged from the grid power 4 at night. This allows the time period during which grid power 4 is consumed to be shifted, thereby reducing power consumption from grid power 4 during peak power demand periods, and also allows available power from the stored power in storage battery 12 to be supplied to grid power 4 during peak power demand periods.

[0076] The battery management device 20 may determine a priority order for supplying the amount of power C4 of the storage battery 12 to the outside for a plurality of users 10, and may present the available amount of power C4 and the priority order to the outside. For example, the priority order may be set to a high order for a user 10 with a large amount of power C4 and a low order for a user with a small amount of power C4, and the user 10 with a large amount of power C4 may be presented with priority for supplying power to the outside. However, there are users 10 who want to actively supply power to the outside and receive compensation even if the amount of power C4 is small, and users 10 who do not want to supply power to the outside, leaving as much of the amount of power C4 as possible in the storage battery 12, even if the available amount of power C4 is large. For this reason, for example, the administrator arbitrarily sets a weight for supplying power to the outside for each user 10 in advance in accordance with the desires of the users 10. The power calculation unit 23 determines a priority order for supplying power to the outside to multiple users 10 based on the available amount of power C4 that can be supplied to the outside for each user 10 and a weighting arbitrarily set for each user 10, and the presentation unit 24 may present the available amount of power C4 and the priority order for each user 10 to the outside.

[0077] Furthermore, each user 10 may be provided with multiple storage batteries 12. In this case where the user 10 is provided with multiple storage batteries 12, the total of the secured power C3 of each storage battery 12 may be regarded as the "secured power".

[0078] In addition, when the remaining amount of the storage battery 12 for operating the load 17 without the grid power 4 is insufficient based on the calculation of the secured power C3 by the power calculation unit 23, the presentation unit 24 of the storage battery management device 20 presents this to the outside, for example, to other users 10 who are subject to power management. Specifically, the presentation unit 24 presents the fact that the remaining amount of the storage battery 12 for operating the load 17 without the grid power 4 is insufficient to the management device 14, which is a management means for the storage battery 12 of the other user 10 who can provide the available power amount. After this presentation, the management device 14 of the storage battery 12 of the other user 10 who can provide the available power amount controls the storage battery 12 to provide the available power amount to the storage battery 12 of the user 10 who has insufficient remaining amount of the storage battery 12 for operating the load 17 without the grid power. As a result, in the event of an emergency, the users 10 in a specific user group can cover the insufficient power with the power amount C4, and the operation of the load 17 is not restricted, thereby improving convenience. In addition, when the user 10 has a plurality of power supply devices 11, the above-described power exchange may be performed between the plurality of power supply devices 11 of the user 10. [Explanation of symbols]

[0079] 1 Battery management system 2 VPP Server 3. Weather information server (weather forecast supply means) 4 Grid power 10 users (power management target) 11 Power supply 12 Storage battery 12A battery cell 13 Monitoring equipment 14 Management device 15 Charge / discharge device 16. Solar power generation equipment 17 Load 20 Storage battery management device 21 Power information acquisition section 22 Weather information acquisition section 23 Power Calculation Section 24 Presentation section 25 Database C1 power consumption C2 Power generation C3 Secured Power C4, C4A, C4B Available power N Network

Claims

1. a power information acquisition unit that acquires and stores the power information output from a plurality of subjects of power management, the power information being output from the ... a weather information acquiring unit that acquires weather forecast information including a weather forecast for a location of each of the subjects of power management; a power calculation unit that predicts power consumption for each fixed time period in a predetermined period for each of the subjects of power management based on the power information acquired by the power information acquisition unit, predicts an amount of power generation by the power generation device for each of the subjects of power management based on the weather forecast information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit, calculates secured power including at least power of the storage battery capable of operating the load without the grid power for each of the subjects of power management for each of the subjects of power management based on the predicted power consumption and the predicted amount of power generation, and calculates an amount of power available from the stored power of the storage battery for each of the subjects of power management based on the calculated secured power; a presentation unit that presents the amount of available power calculated by the power calculation unit to an outside as power that can be provided to an outside; A battery management device comprising:

2. The battery management device of claim 1, characterized in that the weather forecast information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit is stored in association with the power information, and the power calculation unit predicts the power generation amount of the power generation device based on the accumulated weather forecast information and the power information.

3. 3 . The battery management device according to claim 1 , wherein the presentation of the available energy by the presentation unit to an outside includes transmitting information about the available energy to an outside. 4 .

4. The battery management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the guaranteed power is a sum of the power of the storage battery that can operate for each of the power management subjects at a power consumption predicted for the load without the grid power, and an arbitrary power set for each of the power management subjects.

5. the power information acquisition unit accumulates the power information in association with at least a day of the week; The battery management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the power calculation unit predicts the power consumption of the load based on the accumulated power information that coincides with the day of the week to be predicted.

6. The battery management device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the power calculation unit predicts the power consumption of the load based on the power information and the weather forecast information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit.

7. The battery management device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the power calculation unit determines a priority order for providing power to an external source for the multiple subjects of power management based on a weighting arbitrarily set for each subject of power management and the amount of available power calculated for each subject of power management, and the presentation unit presents the amount of available power and the priority order to the outside.

8. The battery management device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the presentation unit presents a message to the effect that the remaining charge of the storage battery is insufficient to operate the load without grid power based on the calculation of the reserved power by the power calculation unit, and after the presentation, controls the provision of power from a storage battery under power management that is capable of providing the available power amount to another storage battery under power management that has insufficient remaining charge to operate the load without grid power.

9. A power generation device that generates electricity; A storage battery connected to a load, a grid power, and the power generation device and capable of storing power; a management means for acquiring and outputting power information including a remaining capacity of the storage battery, a power consumption of the load, and a power generation amount of the power generation device; acquiring weather forecast information including a weather forecast for a location of each of the power management subjects; predicting power consumption at each fixed time period for each of the subjects of power management based on the acquired power information; predicting an amount of power generation to be performed by the power generation device for each of the power management targets based on the acquired weather forecast information; calculating, for each of the power management subjects, a guaranteed power amount including at least the power of the storage battery capable of operating the load without the grid power for each of the fixed time periods within the predetermined period, based on the predicted power consumption and the predicted power generation amount; calculating an amount of power available from the stored power of each of the storage batteries subject to power management based on the calculated secured power; The calculated available power amount is presented to the outside as power that can be provided to the outside. A battery management method comprising:

Images