Power generation estimation device

Abstract

To provide a power generation amount estimation device that can easily increase accuracy in estimating an amount of power to be generated.SOLUTION: A power generation amount estimation device is provided with: a model unit 11 that creates or acquires a three-dimensional building model including shape information on a structure; a creepage surface extraction unit 12 that extracts a creepage surface of the building on the basis of, the three-dimensional building model; an area calculation unit 13 that determines an area of the extracted creepage surface in which a solar panel can be installed; a solar radiation amount estimation unit 14 that estimates an amount of solar radiation on the extracted creepage surface on the basis of, the three-dimensional building model and acquired weather data; and a power generation amount estimation unit 15 that, on the basis of, the estimated solar radiation amount and the power generation efficiency of a solar panel to be installed in the installable area, estimates the amount of power generated by the solar panel. Since the area in which the solar panel can be installed is determined by the area calculation unit 13 and the amount of power generated when the solar panel is installed in the determined area is estimated, accuracy in estimating the amount of power to be generated can be easily increased.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric power generation amount estimation device. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, studies are being conducted on installing solar panels that convert sunlight into electricity on structures such as houses and buildings. If it is possible to estimate in advance how much solar radiation can be received at the location where the solar panels are to be installed, it is possible to predict the amount of power generated by the installed solar panels, the amount of solar panels, or the cost of the solar panels. For this reason, a technique for calculating the amount of solar radiation for a given structure has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-094596 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The technology described in Patent Document 1 was able to improve the accuracy of deriving the amount of solar radiation on a structure that is the subject of solar radiation calculation, for example, the amount of solar radiation on a wall surface, etc. However, even if the accuracy of deriving the amount of solar radiation on a wall surface, etc. can be improved, there was a problem in that it was difficult to improve the accuracy of predicting the amount of power generated by solar panels installed on the structure.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide a power generation amount estimation device that can easily improve the estimation accuracy of the amount of generated power. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following means. The power generation estimation device of the present invention is characterized by including a model unit that creates or acquires a three-dimensional building model including shape information of a building, a surface extraction unit that extracts a surface of the building based on the three-dimensional building model, an area calculation unit that determines an area on the extracted surface where a solar panel can be installed, a solar radiation estimation unit that estimates the amount of solar radiation on the extracted surface based on the three-dimensional building model and acquired weather data, and a power generation estimation unit that estimates the amount of power generated by the solar panel based on the estimated solar radiation and the power generation efficiency of the solar panel installed in the installation area.

[0007] According to the power generation estimation device of the present invention, the area calculation unit calculates an area where a solar panel can be installed, and estimates the amount of power generated when the solar panel is installed in the calculated area. For example, an area on the surface where a solar panel cannot be installed is not used for estimating the amount of power generated because the solar panel does not generate power.

[0008] In the above invention, it is preferable that the area calculation unit determines the area in which the solar panel can be installed based on attribute information of the surface.

[0009] In this way, by determining the area where solar panels can be installed based on the attribute information of the surface, the area where solar panels can be installed can be determined more accurately than when the attribute information is not used. The attribute information includes information on the shape of the surface, and information indicating the wall area and window area on the surface.

[0010] In the above invention, it is preferable that the area calculation unit further determines the type of solar panel that can be installed based on the attribute information, and the power generation estimation unit estimates the amount of power generated based on the power generation efficiency of the determined type of solar panel.

[0011] By estimating the amount of power generated based on the type of solar panel that can be installed in this way, the amount of power generated can be estimated more accurately than when estimating the amount of power generated without based on the type of solar panel. For example, the types of solar panels installed on creeping walls and those installed on windows can be determined. These two types of solar panels have different power generation efficiencies. Therefore, by estimating the amount of power generated using the power generation efficiency of each, a more accurate estimation can be achieved. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the power generation estimation device of the present invention, the area calculation unit determines an area in which solar panels can be installed, and the amount of power generated if solar panels are installed in the determined area is estimated, thereby achieving the effect of making it easier to improve the accuracy of estimating the amount of power generated. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a power generation amount estimation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of deriving the amount of solar radiation and predicting the amount of generated power in the power generation amount estimation device. [Diagram 3] 11 is a flowchart illustrating a process for creating a 3D building model. [Figure 4] FIG. 4(a) is a schematic diagram illustrating a DTM and a building frame, and FIG. 4(b) is a schematic diagram illustrating a 3D building model. [Diagram 5] 13 is a flowchart illustrating a wall surface extraction process. [Figure 6] FIG. 6(a) is a schematic diagram for explaining wall surface extraction, and is a schematic diagram for explaining extraction of wall surface coordinates. [Figure 7] FIG. 7(a) is a schematic diagram for explaining grid creation, and FIG. 7(b) is a schematic diagram for explaining grid creation when buildings are placed on sloping ground. [Figure 8] 11 is a flowchart illustrating a process for estimating a wall surface solar radiation amount. [Figure 9] FIG. 12(a) is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a process for calculating the sum of the amount of solar radiation on a wall surface, and FIG. 12(b) is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of a process for calculating the sum of the amount of solar radiation on a wall surface. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining a wall surface attribute. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which a window portion and a wall portion are defined within a grid. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process for estimating a power generation amount. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] An electric power generation estimation device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 12. The electric power generation estimation device 10 according to this embodiment is used for simulation and consideration when installing solar panels that convert sunlight into electricity in buildings such as houses and buildings. For example, it facilitates consideration of minimizing the installation costs of solar panels required to obtain a required amount of electric power, more specifically, consideration of the installation locations of the solar panels.

[0015] Here, the solar panel may be a module, which is a unit having multiple cells that convert sunlight into electricity, a string, which is a unit having multiple modules, or an array, which is a unit having multiple strings.

[0016] In this embodiment, the power generation amount estimation device 10 is described as an example of an information processing device such as a personal computer or a server having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM, RAM, an input / output interface, etc. The power generation amount estimation device 10 is communicably connected to a LiDAR database 21, a building database 22, a weather database 23, and a wall surface database 24 via a known information communication network by wire or wirelessly.

[0017] The program stored in the storage device such as the ROM described above causes the CPU, ROM, RAM, and input / output interface to function in cooperation with each other as a model unit 11, a surface extraction unit 12, an area calculation unit 13, a solar radiation estimation unit 14, and a power generation estimation unit 15, as shown in FIG. 1.

[0018] The model unit 11 creates a three-dimensional building model (hereinafter, also referred to as a "3D building model") that includes shape information of the building. The specific contents of the calculation process for creating the 3D building model will be described later. In this embodiment, the model unit 11 creates a 3D building model, but the model unit 11 may obtain a 3D building model from an external source.

[0019] The creeping surface extraction unit 12 extracts creeping surfaces of a building based on a 3D building model. In this embodiment, the invention will be described by applying it to an example of extracting a wall surface, which is a side surface of a building. The specific contents of the calculation process for extracting the wall surface will be described later. The wall surface may be a side surface of a building, or a surface other than the top surface, which is the upper end surface of a building.

[0020] The area calculation unit 13 calculates an area on the extracted wall surface where solar panels can be installed based on attribute information of the wall surface. The area calculation unit 13 also calculates the type of solar panels that can be installed based on the attribute information. The specific calculation content of the area calculation unit 13 will be described later.

[0021] The solar radiation estimating unit 14 estimates the amount of solar radiation on the extracted wall surface based on the 3D building model and the acquired weather data. A specific method for estimating the amount of solar radiation in the solar radiation estimating unit 14 will be described later.

[0022] The power generation amount estimation unit 15 estimates the amount of power generated by the solar panel based on the estimated amount of solar radiation and the power generation efficiency of the solar panel installed in the area where the panel can be installed. A specific method for estimating the amount of power generated by the power generation amount estimation unit 15 will be described later.

[0023] Next, the calculation for deriving the amount of solar radiation and the calculation for predicting the amount of generated power in the power generation amount estimation device 10 configured as described above will be described with reference to Figs. When the calculation is started, the power generation amount estimation device 10 performs a calculation process to create a 3D building model as shown in FIG. 2 (S100).

[0024] When the calculation process S100 is started, the model unit 11 of the power generation amount estimation device 10 performs a calculation process to acquire airborne LiDAR data from the LiDAR database 21, as shown in FIG. 3 (S101).

[0025] The airborne LiDAR data is terrain data measured using an aircraft, and is terrain data measured by LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) that uses laser light. Note that, although the present embodiment will be described as an example of acquiring airborne LiDAR data, terrain data measured using a technology other than LiDAR may also be used.

[0026] When the aerial LiDAR data is acquired, the model unit 11 performs a calculation process (S102) to create a digital terrain model (DTM) 31. In this embodiment, the model unit 11 extracts points classified as ground from a point cloud included in the aerial LiDAR data, and complements the points to create the DTM 31 (see FIG. 4(a)).

[0027] In this embodiment, the model unit 11 performs calculation processing using GIS (Geographic Information System) software. Note that the model unit 11 may perform calculation processing using software other than the GIS software.

[0028] 3, the model unit 11 performs a calculation process to acquire building data from the building database 22 (S103). The building data includes 2D polygon information such as the position and perimeter of the building used to create a 3D building model.

[0029] In this embodiment, the building data is obtained from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan's basic map information. The building data may be obtained from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan's basic map information, or may be obtained from information other than the basic map information that includes 2D polygon information such as the location and perimeter of a building.

[0030] When the building data is acquired, the model unit 11 performs a calculation process to extract a building frame 32 including 2D polygon information of the building from the building data (S104). The building frame 32 represents the outer frame of the building as shown in FIG. 4(a).

[0031] In addition, the process S100 for acquiring aerial LiDAR data and the process S101 for creating DTM 31, and the process S102 for acquiring building data and the process S104 for extracting building frame 32 may be performed one after the other, or both may be performed in parallel.

[0032] Next, the model unit 11 performs a calculation process (S105) to create a 3D building model 40 based on the DTM 31 created in the DTM creation process S101 and the building frame 32 extracted in the building frame extraction process S104, as shown in Fig. 3. Specifically, the elevation of the building is estimated based on the DTM 31 and the point cloud classified as rooftops included in the aerial LiDAR data. The 3D building model 40 is created based on the estimated elevation and the building frame 32 including 2D polygon information.

[0033] The 3D building model 40 is a model that represents the terrain and building frames, as shown in Fig. 4(b). By repeatedly performing the process of creating the above-mentioned 3D building model 40 for buildings located in a specific area, a 3D city model for the specific area can be created.

[0034] When the 3D building model 40 is created, the creepage extraction unit 12 of the power generation estimation device 10 returns to Fig. 2 and performs a calculation process to extract the wall surface 45 (S200). When the calculation process S200 starts, as shown in Fig. 5, the creepage extraction unit 12 performs a calculation process to select the wall surface 45 (S201).

[0035] In this embodiment, the creepage extraction unit 12 extracts the wall surfaces 45 from the building data by using the building periphery. From the extracted wall surfaces 45, a process is performed to select the wall surfaces 45 for which the amount of solar radiation is derived and the amount of power generated is estimated.

[0036] The wall surface 45 may be selected by the operator of the power generation amount estimation device 10 using an input device such as a mouse, or may be selected based on a predetermined rule, such as selecting a wall surface 45 facing south. In this embodiment, the description will be given by applying the example to the case where the wall surface 45 indicated by the dotted circle in Fig. 6(a) is selected.

[0037] When the wall surface 45 is selected, as shown in FIG. 5, the area calculation unit 13 performs a calculation process to extract the wall surface coordinates 46 (S202). In this embodiment, the description will be given by applying to an example in which the wall surface coordinates 46 are extracted as shown in FIG. 6(b). Specifically, the coordinates of a position that is a predetermined distance d away from the selected wall surface 45 and corresponds to a corner of the wall surface 45 are extracted as the wall surface coordinates 46. In this embodiment, the description will be given by applying to an example in which the predetermined distance d is 2 m. Note that the predetermined distance d may be a distance shorter or longer than 2 m.

[0038] By extracting a position a predetermined distance d away from the wall surface 45 as the wall surface coordinate 46, it becomes easier to specify the height of the grid g when estimating the amount of solar radiation and calculating the amount of power generation, which will be described later, compared to the case where the wall surface coordinate is set on the wall surface 45. Furthermore, it becomes easier to take into account the influence of the shadow of the building.

[0039] When the wall surface coordinates 46 are extracted, the area calculation unit 13 performs a calculation process to divide the wall surface 45 in the horizontal and vertical directions (S203), as shown in Fig. 5. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 7(a), an example is described in which the wall surface is divided into meshes at intervals of 1 m in the horizontal direction and at intervals of 1 m in the vertical direction. When a building is placed on a sloping land with a large change in ground elevation as shown in Fig. 7(b), a calculation process is performed to divide the area above the lower limit line extending horizontally from the highest point of the lower side in the horizontal and vertical directions.

[0040] 5, the area calculation unit 13 performs a calculation process to determine a surface on the wall surface 45 on which the solar panel can be installed (S204). Specifically, the area calculation unit 13 performs a process to determine a surface on which the solar panel can be installed from the ground elevation.

[0041] As shown in Fig. 7(a), when a building is located on flat ground with little change in ground elevation, it is determined that solar panels can be installed on the entire surface of wall surface 45. As shown in Fig. 7(b), when a building is located on sloping ground with a large change in ground elevation, a part of wall surface 45 is determined as a surface on which solar panels can be installed. In the case shown in Fig. 7(b), the area above the lower limit line extending horizontally from the highest point of the lower side (area cut into a mesh) is determined as a surface on which solar panels can be installed.

[0042] In addition, one of the division calculation process S203 and the installation available surface determination calculation process S204 may be performed first, and the other may be performed later. Also, the division calculation process S203 and the installation available surface determination calculation process S204 may be performed in parallel.

[0043] Thereafter, the area calculation unit 13 performs a calculation process to create a grid g on the wall surface 45 as shown in Fig. 5 (S205). The grid g is an intersection of meshes cut as shown in Fig. 7(a) and Fig. 7(b), and is a point at which the amount of solar radiation is estimated.

[0044] After creating the grid g, the power generation amount estimation device 10 performs a calculation process (S300) for estimating the amount of solar radiation on the wall surface and a calculation process (S400) for determining the wall surface attributes, as shown in FIG. 2. One of the estimation process S300 and the determination process S400 may be performed first and the other may be performed later, or both may be performed in parallel.

[0045] When the estimation process S300 starts, the solar radiation estimation unit 14 performs a calculation process to acquire weather data from the weather database 23 (S301), as shown in Fig. 8. In this embodiment, the weather database is an example of a database of the Japan Meteorological Agency. The acquired weather data includes cloud cover information for the past five years in the vicinity of the area including the building for which the solar radiation is to be estimated.

[0046] When the weather data is acquired, the solar radiation estimation unit 14 performs a calculation process to extract cloud cover information from the acquired weather data (S302). After extracting the cloud cover information, the solar radiation estimator 14 performs a calculation process to estimate the solar radiation in each grid g (S303). Specifically, the average cloud cover for each month is determined based on the extracted cloud cover information, and the solar radiation in each grid g is estimated based on the determined cloud cover. For example, the total solar radiation in each grid g for one day is estimated.

[0047] As shown in Fig. 9(a), when a building is located on flat ground with little change in ground elevation, the solar radiation estimator 14 first estimates the total solar radiation for one day for multiple grids g arranged horizontally on the bottom side. Then, it estimates the total solar radiation for one day for multiple grids g arranged horizontally adjacent to the top side. This is repeated until the total solar radiation for one day has been estimated for all grids g provided on the wall surface 45.

[0048] As shown in Fig. 9(b), when a building is located on a slope with large changes in ground elevation, the solar radiation estimator 14 first estimates the total solar radiation for one day for one grid g located at the bottom edge. Then, it estimates the total solar radiation for one day for one adjacent grid g on the upper side. It repeats this process until it reaches the grid g located at the top edge, estimating the total solar radiation for one day.

[0049] Next, the total solar radiation for one day is estimated for one grid g that is horizontally adjacent and located on the bottom side. Thereafter, the estimation of the total solar radiation for one day is repeated one by one in the same manner until the total solar radiation for one day is estimated for all grids g provided on the wall surface 45.

[0050] On the other hand, when the determination process S400 is started, the area calculation unit 13 performs a calculation process to acquire wall surface data from the wall surface database 24 (S401), as shown in Fig. 10. The wall surface data includes information such as the positions and shapes of the window portion 48 and the wall portion 49 in the wall surface 45.

[0051] When the wall surface data is acquired, the area calculation unit 13 performs a calculation process to extract information such as the positions and shapes of the window portion 48 and the wall portion 49 in the wall surface 45 from the wall surface data (S402). When information such as the positions and shapes of the window portion 48 and the wall portion 49 is extracted, the area calculation unit 13 performs a calculation process to define the positions of the window portion 48 and the wall portion 49 within the grid g (S403). In this embodiment, the description will be given by applying the example in which the window portion 48 and the wall portion 49 are defined as shown in FIG.

[0052] After the amount of solar radiation is estimated in the estimation process S303 and the positions and shapes of the window portion 48 and the wall portion 49 are defined in the definition process S403, the process returns to FIG. 2 and the power generation estimation device 10 performs a calculation process to estimate the power generation (S500).

[0053] When the estimation process S500 is started, the power generation amount estimation unit 15 performs a calculation process to acquire an estimated result of the amount of solar radiation on the wall surface 45 (S501), as shown in Fig. 12. The estimated result of the amount of solar radiation is a result estimated by the calculation process S303 for estimating the amount of solar radiation.

[0054] The power generation amount estimation unit 15 performs a calculation process to determine a conversion formula for the power generation amount for each wall attribute (S502). In this embodiment, the following conversion formula is used as an example for explanation. In this case, the power generation amount estimation unit 15 performs a calculation process to determine the values ​​of K and P for each wall attribute.

[0055] In other words, a calculation process is performed to determine the type of solar panel to be installed for each wall attribute, and to determine the values ​​of K and P based on the determined type of solar panel. In this embodiment, an example is described in which a polycrystalline solar panel is installed on the wall portion 49 of the wall surface 45, and a transparent solar panel that transmits visible light is installed in the window portion 48. The values ​​of K and P used are those of the polycrystalline solar panel and the transparent solar panel.

[0056]

number

[0057] Here, C is the amount of electricity generated per day (kWh) on the installation surface (wall surface 45), and H is the amount of solar radiation per day on the installation surface (wall surface 45) (kWh / m 2 ), K is the loss coefficient, P is the system capacity (kW), and D is the solar radiation intensity under standard conditions (kW / m 2 ).

[0058] The power generation amount estimation unit 15 also performs a calculation process to reflect the wall surface attributes in the grid g (S503). The acquisition process S501, the determination process S502, and the reflection process S503 may be performed one by one in order, or a plurality of processes may be performed in parallel as necessary.

[0059] After the acquisition process S501, the determination process S502, and the reflection process S503, the power generation amount estimation unit 15 performs a calculation process to convert the amount of solar radiation into the amount of power generation at each grid g (S504). Specifically, the calculation process is performed using the conversion formula for the amount of power generation determined in the calculation process of S502.

[0060] After the conversion process S504, the power generation amount estimation unit 15 performs a calculation process to calculate the power generation amount of the wall surface 45 from the sum (S505). The method for calculating the sum of the power generation amount may be the same as the method used in the calculation process S303 for estimating the amount of solar radiation, or may be another method. Once the power generation amount of the wall surface 45 is calculated, the process returns to FIG. 2, and the calculation to derive the amount of solar radiation and the calculation to predict the amount of generated power are completed.

[0061] According to the power generation amount estimation device 10 configured as above, the area calculation unit 13 determines an area where a solar panel can be installed, and estimates the amount of power generated when a solar panel is installed in the determined area. For example, an area on the wall surface 45 where a solar panel cannot be installed is not used for estimating the amount of power generated because power generation by a solar panel is not performed there. Therefore, by using the power generation amount estimation device 10, it is easy to improve the accuracy of estimating the amount of power generated.

[0062] By determining an area where solar panels can be installed based on attribute information of wall surface 45, the area where the solar panels can be installed can be determined more accurately compared to a case where attribute information is not used.

[0063] By estimating the amount of power generation based on the type of solar panel that can be installed, the amount of power generation can be estimated more accurately than when the amount of power generation is estimated without being based on the type of solar panel. For example, the type of solar panel installed on the wall portion 49 of the wall surface 45 and the type of solar panel installed on the window portion 48 can be obtained.

[0064] The power generation efficiency of these two types of solar panels is different. Therefore, by estimating the amount of power generated using the power generation efficiency of each, a more accurate estimation is possible. Furthermore, by using the power generation estimation device 10, it becomes easier to consider how to minimize the installation cost of the solar panels required to obtain the required amount of power generation, more specifically, to consider the installation location of the solar panels.

[0065] The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, a single power generation estimation device 10 functions as the model unit 11, the creepage extraction unit 12, the area calculation unit 13, the solar radiation estimation unit 14, and the power generation estimation unit 15. However, a plurality of information processing devices connected to each other so as to be able to communicate information may cooperate to function as the model unit 11, the creepage extraction unit 12, the area calculation unit 13, the solar radiation estimation unit 14, and the power generation estimation unit 15. [Explanation of symbols]

[0066] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10...power generation amount estimation device, 11...model section, 12...surface extraction section, 13...area calculation section, 14...solar radiation estimation section, 15...power generation amount estimation section

Claims

1. A model unit that creates or acquires a three-dimensional building model including shape information of the building; a creepage extraction unit that extracts a creepage of the building based on the three-dimensional building model; an area calculation unit that calculates an area where a solar panel can be installed at a position a predetermined distance away from the extracted creeping surface; a solar radiation amount estimation unit that estimates the solar radiation amount on the surface extracted based on the three-dimensional building model and the acquired meteorological data; a power generation estimation unit that estimates the amount of power generated by the solar panel based on the estimated amount of solar radiation and the power generation efficiency of the solar panel installed in the installation area.

2. 2. The power generation amount estimation device according to claim 1, wherein the area calculation unit determines the area in which the solar panels can be installed based on attribute information of the surface.

3. The area calculation unit further determines the type of the solar panel that can be installed based on the attribute information, 3. The power generation amount estimation device according to claim 2, wherein the power generation amount estimation unit estimates the amount of power generated based on the power generation efficiency determined for the type of the solar panel.

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