Information processing apparatus

Abstract

An analysis is performed on the power load curve that changes before and after the act of a person who has planned to perform a certain act. 【Solution means】The server device 30 includes an estimation unit 33 that estimates a first power load curve of power used by a person who plans to move into a facility in the facility, an acquisition unit 31 that acquires a second power load curve in the facility before the person moves in, and a third power load curve according to the sum of the first power load curve and the second power load curve, and an output unit 35 that outputs information generated based on the difference between the third power load curve and a fourth power load curve to be compared.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for analyzing a power load curve in a facility such as an apartment building.

Background Art

[0002] Services for reporting power consumption to users are widely used. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a mechanism for displaying the results of analysis of energy consumption by day of the week, by hour, by time zone, by household appliance, and by similar households.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] For example, when a new occupant joins a facility such as an apartment building, the power load curve in the facility changes before and after the occupancy.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and an object thereof is to perform an analysis on a power load curve that changes before and after an action of a person who has a plan to perform the action.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, the present invention includes an estimation unit that estimates a first power load curve of power to be used by a person who has a plan to perform an action after the action an estimating unit that estimates, as the first power load curve, a power load curve corresponding to the attributes of a scheduler who has scheduled the certain action among the power load curves stored in association with the attributes of schedulers, or a power load curve indicating the history of the amount of power used by the scheduler before the action , an acquisition unit that acquires a second power load curve regarding an object of the action before the action by the person with the plan, and a difference between a third power load curve corresponding to the sum of the first power load curve and the second power load curve and a fourth power load curve to be a comparison target information regarding the difference in the amount of power between the third power load curve and the fourth power load curve in the same time period, generated by calculating a minuteAn information processing apparatus is provided, which includes an output unit that outputs The present invention also provides an information processing apparatus including: an estimating unit that estimates a first power load curve of power to be used by a scheduler who has scheduled a certain action after the action, the estimating unit estimating, as the first power load curve, a power load curve corresponding to the attributes of the scheduler who has scheduled the certain action among the power load curves stored in association with the attributes of schedulers, or a power load curve indicating the history of the amount of power used by the scheduler before the action; an acquisition unit that acquires a second power load curve regarding the target of the action before the action by the scheduler; and an output unit that outputs information regarding the balance of power costs between the third power load curve and the fourth power load curve, calculated by multiplying the excess or deficiency of power for each unit period based on the difference between the third power load curve corresponding to the sum of the first power load curve and the second power load curve and a fourth power load curve serving as a comparison target, by the power trading price The present invention also provides an information processing apparatus including: an estimating unit that estimates a first power load curve of power to be used by a scheduler who has scheduled occupancy of a facility after the occupancy, the estimating unit estimating, as the first power load curve, a power load curve corresponding to the attributes of the scheduler who has scheduled the occupancy among the power load curves stored in association with the attributes of schedulers, or a power load curve indicating the history of the amount of power used by the scheduler before the occupancy; an acquisition unit that acquires a second power load curve in the facility before the occupancy by the scheduler; and an output unit that outputs information regarding the approval or disapproval of the occupancy by the scheduler, generated by determining that the occupancy is disapproved when the similarity between the third power load curve corresponding to the sum of the first power load curve and the second power load curve and a fourth power load curve serving as a comparison target exceeds a threshold value, and determining that the occupancy is approved when the similarity is equal to or less than the threshold value Furthermore, the present invention provides an information processing apparatus including: an estimation unit that estimates a first power load curve of power to be used after a person who plans to own the right to generate power by a power generation device owns the right, the estimation unit estimating, as the first power load curve, a power load curve corresponding to the attribute of the person who plans to own the right among the power load curves stored in association with the attributes of the persons; an acquisition unit that acquires a second power load curve of the power generation device before the person owns the right; an output unit that outputs information regarding whether or not the person can own the right, the information being generated by determining that the ownership is not allowed when the similarity between a third power load curve corresponding to the sum of the first power load curve and the second power load curve and a fourth power load curve to be a comparison target exceeds a threshold value, and determining that the ownership is allowed when the similarity is equal to or less than the threshold value.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to perform an analysis on a power load curve that changes before and after an action of a person who has planned a certain action.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] [Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment of the present invention. The information processing system 1 includes a manager terminal 10 used by the manager of the facility 11, a power supply facility 20 that supplies power to the facility 11, and a server device 30 that functions as the information processing device of the present invention. In FIG. 1, one manager terminal 10, one power supply facility 20, and one server device 30 are shown respectively, but the number of these is not limited to the example of FIG. 1, and there may be a plurality of each. Also, there may be a plurality of power supply facilities 20 that supply power to one facility 11.

[0010] The facility 11 is an apartment building, a shared office, etc. where a plurality of residents live or work. The facility 11 includes, for example, a power generation device 12 such as a solar power generation device, a power generation amount measuring device 13 that measures the power generation amount by the power generation device 12, and a power consumption measuring device 14 that measures the power consumption in the entire facility 11. The electrical products or electrical facilities included in the facility 11 use the power supplied from the power supply facility 20 and the power generated by the power generation device 12.

[0011] The manager terminal 10 is a computer such as a smartphone, a wearable terminal, a tablet, or a personal computer.

[0012] The server device 30 is a computer that analyzes the power load curve of the facility 11 that changes according to the occupancy of the prospective occupants of the facility 11. For example, when a new prospective occupant is about to move into the facility 11, the server device 30 analyzes whether the prospective occupant can move in based on the change in the load curve (also referred to as the power load curve) that represents the change in the amount of power used in the facility 11 during a certain unit period before and after the occupancy.

[0013] The communication network 2 includes a wireless communication network or a wired communication network that communicably connects the administrator terminal 10, the facility 11, the power supply facility 20, and the server device 30. Note that the numbers of the facility 11, the administrator terminal 10, the power supply facility 20, and the server device 30 shown in FIG. 1 are merely examples and are not limited to the illustrated numbers.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the server device 30. Physically, the server device 30 is configured as a computer including a processor 3001, a memory 3002, a storage 3003, and a bus connecting these components. In the following description, the term "device" can be read as a circuit, a device, a unit, etc. The hardware configuration of the server device 30 may be configured to include one or more of each device shown in the figure, or may be configured without including some of the devices.

[0015] Each function in the server device 30 is realized by causing the processor 3001 to load a predetermined software (program) onto hardware such as the processor 3001 and the memory 3002, so that the processor 3001 performs calculations and controls communication by the communication device 3004, or controls at least one of reading and writing data in the memory 3002 and the storage 3003.

[0016] The processor 3001 controls the entire computer by operating, for example, an operating system. The processor 3001 may be constituted by a central processing unit (CPU: Central Processing Unit) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic device, registers, and the like.

[0017] The processor 3001 reads a program (program code), software module, data, etc. from at least one of the storage 3003 and the communication device 3004 into the memory 3002, and executes various processes according to these. As the program, a program for causing a computer to execute at least a part of the operations described later is used. The functional blocks of the server device 30 may be stored in the memory 3002 and realized by a control program operating in the processor 3001. Various processes may be executed by one processor 3001, or may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 3001. The processor 3001 may be implemented by one or more chips. Note that the program may be transmitted from the communication network 2 to the server device 30 via a telecommunication line.

[0018] The memory 3002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be constituted by at least one of, for example, ROM (Read Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The memory 3002 may be referred to as a register, a cache, a main memory (main storage device), and the like. The memory 3002 can store a program (program code), software module, etc. executable for implementing the method according to the present embodiment.

[0019] Storage 3003 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be composed of, for example, at least one of an optical disc such as a CDROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disc, a digital versatile disc, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disc), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magnetic strip, etc. Storage 3003 may also be referred to as an auxiliary storage device.

[0020] Communication device 3004 is hardware (a transmission / reception device) for performing communication between computers via communication network 2 and is also referred to as, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, a communication module, etc.

[0021] Each device such as processor 3001 and memory 3002 is connected by a bus for communicating information. The bus may be configured using a single bus or may be configured using different buses for each device.

[0022] Further, server device 30 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc., and some or all of each functional block may be realized by such hardware. For example, processor 3001 may be implemented using at least one of these hardware components.

[0023] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the server device 30. In the server device 30, the functions of an acquisition unit 31, a storage unit 32, an estimation unit 33, a generation unit 34, and an output unit 35 are realized by the cooperation of a processor 3001, a memory 3002, a storage 3003, and a communication device 3004.

[0024] The acquisition unit 31 acquires various data from the outside. The acquisition unit 31 acquires data (referred to as power generation performance data) indicating the time-series power generation amount generated by the power generation device 12 of the facility 11 from the power generation meter 13 via the communication network 2. As shown in FIG. 4, this power generation performance data is stored in the storage unit 32 in association with the facility ID for identifying each facility 11.

[0025] Also, the acquisition unit 31 acquires the attributes of the prospective residents who are about to newly move into the facility 11 from the administrator terminal 10 via the communication network 2. Here, the attributes of the prospective residents refer to attributes that affect the power consumption in the facility 11, such as the number of prospective residents, age, occupation, etc., when the facility 11 is an apartment building.

[0026] Also, the acquisition unit 31 acquires the power load curve before occupancy (hereinafter referred to as the pre-occupancy facility load curve) in the facility 11 by the prospective residents from the power usage meter 14 via the communication network 2. This pre-occupancy facility load curve may be an average load curve over one year, or may be an average load curve in units of seasons such as spring, summer, autumn, and winter or in units of months. As shown in FIG. 4, this pre-occupancy facility load curve is stored in the storage unit 32 in association with the facility ID for identifying each facility 11. The pre-occupancy facility load curve corresponds to the second power load curve in the present invention.

[0027] The estimation unit 33 estimates the load curve of the electric power used in the facility 11 (hereinafter referred to as the incoming resident load curve) before the incoming resident scheduled to move into the facility 11 actually moves in. This estimation is performed based on the attributes of the incoming resident obtained by the acquisition unit 31. As shown in FIG. 5, the storage unit 32 stores data indicating the incoming resident load curve for each attribute of the incoming resident in a corresponding manner. The estimation unit 33 refers to the stored content of the storage unit 32 and identifies the incoming resident load curve corresponding to the attributes of the incoming resident obtained by the acquisition unit 31. The correlation between the attributes of the incoming resident and the incoming resident load curve may be analyzed, for example, by machine learning using teacher data with the attributes of the incoming resident as explanatory variables and the incoming resident load curve as the objective variable. This incoming resident load curve may be a load curve averaged over one year, similar to the pre-incoming facility load curve, or a load curve averaged in units of seasons such as spring, summer, autumn, and winter or in units of months. The incoming resident load curve corresponds to the first electric power load curve in the present invention.

[0028] Here, FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an incoming resident load curve L1 corresponding to a certain incoming resident, and FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a pre-incoming facility load curve L2 corresponding to a certain facility 11. In FIGS. 6 and 7, the vertical axis represents the amount of electric power used (kw), and the horizontal axis represents time (here, 0 to 24 hours) (the same applies to FIGS. 8 to 10 described later).

[0029] For example, if there are two adult incoming residents who are both working during the day, the facility 11 will be unoccupied during the day and not much electricity will be used. On the other hand, at night, they will be in the facility 11 and use a relatively large amount of electricity. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the incoming resident load curve L1 will be a curve with peaks in the morning and at night.

[0030] On the other hand, assuming that in the entire facility 11, there are a mix of residents who are absent from the facility 11 during the day and residents who are present in the facility 11 during the day, the pre-incoming facility load curve L2 will be a curve with approximately the same peak power amount from morning to night, as shown in FIG. 7.

[0031] Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the sum of the expected occupant load curve L1 and the pre-occupancy facility load curve L2 corresponds to the load curve of the power used at Facility 11 after occupancy, assuming that the expected occupant has moved into Facility 11 (hereinafter referred to as the post-occupancy facility load curve L3). The post-occupancy facility load curve L3 corresponds to the third power load curve in the present invention.

[0032] Returning to the description of FIG. 3, the generation unit 34 identifies a reference load curve that is a comparison target with the post-occupancy facility load curve L3. The reference load curve is a power load curve that includes the amount of power generated by the power generation device 12 of Facility 11 where the expected occupant intends to move in. More specifically, the reference load curve represents the time-series amount of power indicated by the power generation performance data acquired by the acquisition unit 31. The reference load curve corresponds to the fourth power load curve in the present invention. This reference load curve may be a load curve averaged over one year, similar to the pre-occupancy facility load curve and the expected occupant load curve, or may be a load curve averaged in units of seasons such as spring, summer, autumn, and winter or in units of months.

[0033] The generation unit 34 compares the post-occupancy facility load curve with the reference load curve, and generates the provided information to be provided to the administrator by performing an analysis based on the difference between these post-occupancy facility load curve and the reference load curve.

[0034] This provided information includes, for example, information regarding the difference in the amount of power between the post-occupancy facility load curve and the reference load curve at the same time zone. As shown in FIG. 9, in the post-occupancy facility load curve L3 and the reference load curve L4, the generation unit 34 calculates the difference between the two for each unit period (for example, every 30 minutes or 1 hour) (that is, the excess or deficiency of the supply power with respect to the power consumption for each unit period), and uses this as the provided information.

[0035] In addition, the provided information includes information on the profit and loss of electricity costs during the same time period between the post-occupancy facility load curve and the reference load curve. The generation unit 34 can calculate the profit and loss of electricity costs by multiplying the excess or deficiency of electricity for each unit period calculated as described above by the electricity trading price. When the electricity trading price is determined in 30-minute units in the electricity trading market, for example, if the value of the post-occupancy facility load curve from 10:30 to 11:00 is 100 kw and the value of the reference load curve is 50 kw, the profit and loss of electricity costs for that time period is calculated by multiplying the shortage of electricity, which is 50 kw, by the electricity trading price from 10:30 to 11:00 (for example, 10 yen / kWh). Furthermore, by performing this calculation on a daily, monthly, or annual basis, the profit and loss of electricity costs for any unit period can be calculated.

[0036] In addition, the provided information may include information regarding the admissibility of occupancy of the prospective occupants of Facility 11. The smaller the similarity between the post-occupancy facility load curve and the reference load curve, the greater the difference in the amount of electricity or the profit and loss of electricity costs during the same time period as described above. For example, in the post-occupancy facility load curve L3 in FIG. 9, since there are a mixture of occupants who are absent from Facility 11 during the day and occupants who are present in Facility 11 during the day, it is a curve with a similar peak amount of electricity from morning to night. Also, in the post-occupancy facility load curve L3 in FIG. 10, since there are relatively many occupants who are absent from Facility 11 during the day, it is a curve with peaks in the amount of electricity in the morning and at night.

[0037] In contrast, the reference load curves L4 in FIGS. 9 and 10 both represent the amount of electricity generated mainly by the solar power generation device, and are curves with a peak in the amount of electricity around noon.

[0038] Therefore, when comparing the similarity between the post-occupation facility road curve L3 and the reference road curve L4 in FIGS. 9 and 10, the similarity between the post-occupation facility road curve L3 and the reference road curve L4 in FIG. 9 is greater than the similarity between the post-occupation facility road curve L3 and the reference road curve L4 in FIG. 10. The similarity between the two can be obtained, for example, by integrating the difference between the post-occupation facility road curve L3 and the reference road curve L4 at each time.

[0039] When the similarity between the post-occupation facility road curve L3 and the reference road curve L4 exceeds a predetermined threshold, the generation unit 34 determines that the occupancy of the person scheduled to move in is not allowed, and when the similarity is below the threshold, the generation unit 34 determines that the occupancy of the person scheduled to move in is allowed. The provided information includes information indicating whether the person scheduled to move into the facility 11 can move in or not.

[0040] The output unit 35 outputs the provided information generated by the generation unit 34 to the outside. For example, the output unit 35 transmits the provided information to the administrator terminal 10 via the communication network 2. At the administrator terminal 10, this provided information is presented to the administrator by means such as display.

[0041] Next, with reference to FIG. 11, the operation of the server device 30 will be described. Before the process shown in FIG. 11 starts, it is assumed that the power generation achievement data is acquired by the acquisition unit 31 from the power generation amount measuring device 13 of each facility 11 and stored in the storage unit 32 together with the facility ID (FIG. 4). Also, it is assumed that the pre-occupation facility road curve is acquired by the acquisition unit 31 from the power consumption measuring device 14 of each facility 11 and stored in the storage unit 32 together with the facility ID (FIG. 4).

[0042] In FIG. 11, the administrator of the facility 11 obtains the attributes of a person scheduled to newly move into the facility 11 from the person scheduled to move in by means such as a questionnaire. The administrator uses the administrator terminal 10 to input the obtained attributes of the person scheduled to move in. The acquisition unit 31 acquires the attributes of the person scheduled to move in together with the facility ID of the facility 11 from the administrator terminal 10 via the communication network 2 (step S11).

[0043] Next, the estimation unit 33 estimates the occupancy schedule load curve based on the attributes of the scheduled occupant acquired in step S11 with reference to the stored content of the storage unit 32 as illustrated in FIG. 5 (step S12).

[0044] Next, the generation unit 34 identifies the pre-occupancy facility load curve corresponding to the facility ID acquired in step S11 from among the pre-occupancy facility load curves of each facility 11 stored in the storage unit 32 (step S13).

[0045] Next, the generation unit 34 calculates the post-occupancy facility load curve by obtaining the sum of the occupancy schedule load curve acquired in step S12 and the pre-occupancy facility load curve identified in step S13 (step S14).

[0046] Next, the generation unit 34 identifies, as the reference load curve, the power generation performance data corresponding to the facility ID acquired in step S11 from among the power generation performance data of each facility 11 stored in the storage unit 32 (step S15).

[0047] Next, the generation unit 34 compares the post-occupancy facility load curve calculated in step S14 with the reference load curve identified in step S15 (step S16), and generates the provided information based on the difference between the post-occupancy facility load curve and the reference load curve (step S17). As described above, this provided information includes at least any one of information regarding the difference in the amount of power between the post-occupancy facility load curve and the reference load curve in the same time period, information including the balance of power costs between the post-occupancy facility load curve and the reference load curve in the same time period, or information regarding the admissibility of occupancy of the scheduled occupant in the facility 11.

[0048] The output unit 35 outputs the provided information generated by the generation unit 34 to the administrator terminal 10 via the communication network 2 (step S18). By viewing the provided information displayed on the administrator terminal 10, the administrator can, prior to the occupancy of the facility 11 by the scheduled occupant, know the information that serves as the basis for determining what impact the occupancy of the scheduled occupant will have on the load curve in the facility 11 and whether to approve the occupancy of the scheduled occupant.

[0049] According to the embodiment described above, it is possible to perform an analysis regarding the load curve that changes in response to the occupancy of the scheduled occupant in the facility 11.

[0050] [Modification Example] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The above-described embodiment may be modified as follows. Also, two or more of the following modification examples may be combined and implemented.

[0051] [Modification Example 1] In the above embodiment, it is assumed that the facility 11 is an apartment building, and the number of people, age, and occupation are exemplified as the attributes of the scheduled occupant. In contrast, the facility 11 may be a facility other than an apartment building. For example, in the case of a co-working office or a factory, the number of employees, business type, etc. may be used as the attributes of the company that is the scheduled occupant. Also, in the case where the facility 11 is a hospital, the number of people, age, gender, etc. may be used as the attributes of the patient who is the scheduled occupant. Further, in the case where the facility 11 is a school, the number of people, gender, etc. may be used as the attributes of the student who is the scheduled occupant. In short, the attributes of the scheduled occupant may be any attributes that affect the power consumption in the facility 11.

[0052] [Modification Example 2] In the above-described embodiment, the estimation unit 33 estimated the occupancy schedule load curve based on the attributes of the scheduled occupants acquired by the acquisition unit 31. This estimation may be performed based on the load curve of the power actually used by the scheduled occupants before moving into the facility 11. For example, since the power supply facility 20 and the like accumulate the history of the power consumption (i.e., the load curve) actually used by each scheduled occupant, the acquisition unit 31 of the server device 30 acquires this power consumption history from the power supply facility 20, and the estimation unit 33 estimates the power consumption history as the occupancy schedule load curve. In this way, the estimation unit 33 can estimate a more accurate occupancy schedule load curve based on the power load curve of the power used by the scheduled occupants before moving into the facility 11.

[0053] [Modification Example 3] In the above-described embodiment, the facility 11 was provided with the power generation device 12. However, instead of the power generation device 12 itself being within the facility 11, there is a form in which the power generation device 12 is located at a location separate from the facility 11, and the facility 11 has the right to use the power generated by the power generation device 12. Even in such a form, various load curves can be estimated and compared in the same manner as in the embodiment.

[0054] [Modification Example 4] In the above-described embodiment, the estimation unit 33 estimated the first power load curve of the power to be used by the scheduled occupants of the facility after moving into the facility, the acquisition unit 31 acquired the second power load curve of the facility before the scheduled occupants moved in, the generation unit 34 generated the provided information based on the difference between the third power load curve corresponding to the sum of the first power load curve and the second power load curve and the fourth power load curve to be compared, and the output unit 35 output the generated presentation information. And this presentation information included information regarding the admissibility of the scheduled occupants' occupancy of the facility 11.

[0055] On the other hand, for example, for a person (hereinafter referred to as a virtual owner-to-be) who owns the right to generate electricity by a certain power generation device (such as a large-scale solar power generation facility, etc.) and wants to use the generated electricity for the electricity consumption of the facility where he / she lives, an embodiment for the purpose of providing information useful for determining whether to own the right or not can also be considered.

[0056] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the information processing system 1a according to Modification 4. The information processing system 1a includes a user terminal 101 to be used by a virtual owner-to-be, a power generation device 121 such as a large-scale solar power generation facility, a power generation amount measuring device 131 that measures the power generation amount by the power generation device 121, a power consumption amount measuring device 141 that measures the amount of electricity consumed in a facility (not shown) where the virtual owner-to-be lives, a power supply facility 20 that supplies power, and a server device 30 that functions as the information processing device of the present invention. Electrical products or electrical facilities included in the facility where the virtual owner-to-be lives use the power supplied from the power supply facility 20 and the power generated by the power generation device 12.

[0057] The hardware configuration and functional configuration of the server device 30 are the same as those in the embodiment, but its operation is different. Specifically, the acquisition unit 31 acquires, via the communication network 2 from the power generation amount measuring device 131, a load curve indicating the time-series power generation amount generated by the power generation device 121.

[0058] In addition, the acquisition unit 31 acquires, via the communication network 2 from the user terminal 101, the attributes of the virtual owner-to-be. Here, the attributes of the virtual owner-to-be are attributes that affect the power consumption, such as the number of people, age, occupation, etc.

[0059] In addition, the acquisition unit 31 acquires, via the communication network 2 from the power consumption amount measuring device 141, a load curve of the electricity consumed in the residential facility before the virtual owner-to-be owns the above right. This load curve may be an average load curve over one year, or an average load curve averaged in units of seasons such as spring, summer, autumn, and winter or in units of months.

[0060] Then, the load curve of the electric power that the virtual owner-to-be will use after owning the right to generate electric power by the power generation device 121 is defined as the first electric power load curve in the present invention, and the load curve of the electric power that was generated and used by the power generation device 121 before the virtual owner-to-be owns the above right is defined as the second electric power load curve in the present invention, and the sum of these first electric power load curve and the second electric power load curve is defined as the third electric power load curve in the present invention. On the other hand, the load curve of the electric power generated by the power generation device 121 is defined as the fourth electric power load curve in the present invention.

[0061] The generation unit 34 compares the third electric power load curve with the fourth electric power load curve, and generates the provision information to be provided to the virtual owner-to-be by performing an analysis based on the difference between these third electric power load curve and the fourth electric power load curve. Specifically, when the similarity between the third electric power load curve and the fourth electric power load curve exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the generation unit 34 determines that the ownership of the above right by the virtual owner-to-be is not allowed, and when the similarity is equal to or less than the threshold value, the generation unit 34 determines that the ownership of the above right by the virtual owner-to-be is allowed. The provision information includes information indicating whether the virtual owner-to-be can own the right as described above.

[0062] That is, in this Modification 4, the estimation unit 33 estimates the first electric power load curve of the electric power that the person who plans to own the right to generate electric power by the power generation device 121 will use after owning the right, the acquisition unit 31 acquires the second electric power load curve of the electric power of the power generation device 121 before the person owns the right, and the output unit 35 outputs the information generated based on the difference between the third electric power load curve corresponding to the sum of the first electric power load curve and the second electric power load curve and the fourth electric power load curve to be compared.

[0063] According to this Modification 4, for example, a virtual owner-to-be who desires to satisfy his or her own power demand with renewable energy such as solar power generation can confirm to what extent the power generation amount of the power generation device that he or she will own can satisfy his or her demand before owning the right to generate power by such renewable energy.

[0064] From the above-described embodiments and the content of this Modification Example 4, the present invention may be an information processing apparatus including an estimation unit that estimates a first power load curve of power to be used by a person who has planned a certain action after the action, an acquisition unit that acquires a second power load curve regarding the object of the action before the action by the person who has planned the action, an output unit that outputs information generated based on the difference between a third power load curve corresponding to the sum of the first power load curve and the second power load curve and a fourth power load curve to be a comparison target. That is, the action in the present invention may be an action of moving into a facility, or may be an action of owning the right to generate power by a power generation device. Further, the second power load curve regarding the object of the action in the present invention may be a power load curve regarding the facility that is the object of the action of moving in, which was described in the above embodiment, or may be a power load curve regarding the power generation device that is the object of the action of owning the right to generate power, which was described in this Modification Example 4.

[0065] Note that the power generation device 12 and the power generation device 121 may be various power generation devices such as a wind power generation device or a hydro power generation device in addition to the solar power generation device. Further, the power generation device 12 and the power generation device 121 are provided with a storage battery or connected to a storage battery, and the amount of power generated by the power generation device 12 and stored in the storage battery may be included in the first power load curve in the present invention.

[0066] [Modification Example 5] In the above embodiment, it is premised that the power generation device 12 is already provided in the facility 11 when the person who plans to move in tries to move in, and the pre-move-in facility load curve is determined based on the power generation performance data. On the other hand, for example, when a plurality of persons who plan to move into a newly established facility 11 try to move in, a case where they jointly purchase the power generation device 12 can be considered. In this case, since there is no power generation performance data as used in the embodiment, power generation prediction data to replace the power generation performance data may be prepared from the power generation performance of the power generation device 12 and the predicted solar radiation amount for the facility 11, and used as the pre-move-in facility load curve.

[0067] [Modification Example 6] The reference load curve may be a load curve determined in the area including the location of Facility 11. For example, when there is no power generation device 12 in Facility 11, in the area including the location of Facility 11, from the power supply capacity of the power supply facility 20 that supplies power to that area and the total power demand in that area, etc., using well-known techniques such as simulation, etc., an ideal load curve is determined in advance in Facility 11. Then, in the storage unit 32, the load curve determined as described above is stored as the reference load curve in association with the facility ID of each facility. And various load curves may be estimated and compared in the same manner as in the embodiment. Thereby, even when there is no power generation device 12 in Facility 11, it becomes possible to perform an analysis regarding the load curve that changes according to the occupancy of the prospective occupants of Facility 11.

[0068] [Modification Example 7] In the above embodiment, the generation unit 34 calculates the balance of power costs by multiplying the excess or deficiency amount of power for each unit period by the power trading price, and generates presentation information including the calculation result. In addition to calculating the balance of power costs in this way, it is also possible to calculate, for example, the reduction amount of CO2 or the self-consumption rate of the power generation amount based on the power usage amount used for the power generation amount by the solar power generation device.

[0069] [Other Modification Examples] The block diagrams used in the description of the above embodiment show blocks of functional units. These functional blocks (constituent parts) are realized by an arbitrary combination of at least one of hardware and software. Also, the method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using one physically or logically combined device, or two or more physically or logically separated devices may be directly or indirectly (for example, using wired, wireless, etc.) connected and realized using these multiple devices. The functional block may be realized by combining software with the above one device or the above multiple devices.

[0070] The functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, decision-making, determination, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, solution, selection, selection determination, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, presumption, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating (mapping), assigning, etc. For example, a functional block (component) that enables transmission is referred to as a transmitting unit or a transmitter. As described above, the implementation method is not particularly limited in any case.

[0071] For example, the server device 30 in an embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that performs the processing of the present disclosure.

[0072] Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be applied to at least one of systems using LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), FRA (Future Radio Access), NR (new Radio), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, UWB (Ultra-WideBand), Bluetooth (registered trademark), other suitable systems, and next-generation systems extended based on these. Further, a combination of multiple systems (for example, a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A and 5G, etc.) may be applied.

[0073] The present invention may be an information processing method comprising: an estimation step of estimating a first power load curve of power to be used by a scheduler who has scheduled a certain action after the action; an acquisition step of acquiring a second power load curve regarding the object of the action before the action by the scheduler; and an output step of outputting information generated based on the difference between a third power load curve corresponding to the sum of the first power load curve and the second power load curve and a fourth power load curve to be a comparison target. Also, the processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be rearranged as long as there is no contradiction. For example, regarding the method described in the present disclosure, elements of various steps are presented using an exemplary order and are not limited to the specific order presented.

[0074] The input / output information etc. may be stored in a specific location (e.g., memory) or may be managed using a management table. The input / output information etc. may be overwritten, updated, or appended. The output information etc. may be deleted. The input information etc. may be transmitted to other devices.

[0075] The determination may be made by a value represented by 1 bit (0 or 1), may be made by a truth value (Boolean: true or false), or may be made by numerical comparison (e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

[0076] As described above in detail, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described in the present disclosure. The present disclosure can be implemented as modified and changed modes without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure determined by the description of the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is for the purpose of exemplification and has no restrictive meaning for the present disclosure.

[0077] Software should be broadly construed to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, execution threads, procedures, functions, etc., whether called software, firmware, middleware, microcode, a hardware description language, or by any other name. Also, software, instructions, information, etc. may be transmitted and received via a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using at least one of wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL)) and wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave), at least one of these wired and wireless technologies is included within the definition of a transmission medium.

[0078] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc., which may be referred to throughout the above description, may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof. Regarding the terms described in this disclosure and the terms necessary for understanding this disclosure, they may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings.

[0079] Also, the information, parameters, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using absolute values, relative values from a predetermined value, or in terms of corresponding other information.

[0080] As used in this disclosure, the description "based on" does not mean "based only on" unless otherwise specified. In other words, the description "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on".

[0081] Any reference to an element using designations such as "first", "second", etc. used in this disclosure does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient way to distinguish between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not mean that only two elements can be employed, or that the first element must precede the second element in some form.

[0082] The "section" in the configuration of each of the above devices may be replaced with "means", "circuit", "device", etc.

[0083] In this disclosure, when terms such as "include", "including" and their variants are used, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising". Further, the term "or" used in this disclosure is intended not to be an exclusive disjunction.

[0084] In this disclosure, for example, when articles are added by translation, such as a, an and the in English, this disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are in the plural form.

[0085] In this disclosure, the term "A is different from B" may mean that "A and B are different from each other". Note that the term may also mean that "A and B are each different from C". Terms such as "separate", "coupled", etc. may also be interpreted in the same way as "different".

Description of Reference Signs

[0086] 1: Information processing system, 2: Communication network, 10: Administrator terminal, 101: Scheduler terminal, 11: Facility, 12, 121: Power generation device, 13, 131: Power generation amount measuring device, 14, 141: Power consumption measuring device, 20: Power supply equipment, 30: Server device, 31: Acquisition unit, 32: Memory unit, 33: Estimation unit, 34: Generation unit, 35: Output unit, 3001: Processor, 3002: Memory, 3003: Storage, 3004: Communication device.

Claims

1. an estimation unit that estimates a first power load curve of power to be used by a planner who plans to perform a certain action after the action, the estimation unit estimating, as the first power load curve, a power load curve corresponding to an attribute of the planner who plans to perform the certain action among power load curves stored in association with attributes of the planner, or a power load curve showing a history of an amount of power used by the planner before the action; An acquisition unit that acquires a second power load curve related to a target of the action before the action by the scheduled person; an output unit that outputs information about a difference in the amount of power between the third power load curve and the fourth power load curve during the same time period, the difference being generated by calculating a difference between a third power load curve corresponding to the sum of the first power load curve and the second power load curve and a fourth power load curve to be compared; An information processing device comprising:

2. An estimation unit that estimates a first power load curve of electricity to be used by a person who is planning to perform a certain action after the action, the estimation unit estimating as the first power load curve a power load curve corresponding to the attributes of the person who is planning to perform the certain action from among power load curves stored in correspondence with the attributes of the person, or a power load curve showing a history of the amount of electricity used by the person before the action; An acquisition unit that acquires a second power load curve related to a target of the action before the action by the scheduled person; an output unit that outputs information regarding the balance of electricity costs for the same time period in the third power load curve and the fourth power load curve, the information being calculated by multiplying an amount of electricity surplus or shortage per unit period based on a difference between a third power load curve corresponding to the sum of the first power load curve and the second power load curve and a fourth power load curve to be compared, by an electricity trading price; An information processing device comprising:

3. An estimation unit that estimates a first power load curve of electricity to be used by a person who plans to move into a facility after moving in, the estimation unit estimating as the first power load curve a power load curve corresponding to the attributes of the person who plans to move in from among power load curves stored in correspondence with the attributes of the person, or a power load curve showing a history of the amount of electricity used by the person before moving in; an acquisition unit that acquires a second power load curve in the facility before the prospective occupant moves in; an output unit that outputs information regarding the propriety of the prospective occupancy by the prospective occupant, the information being generated by determining that the occupancy is not permitted if a similarity between a third power load curve corresponding to the sum of the first power load curve and the second power load curve and a fourth power load curve to be compared exceeds a threshold value, and determining that the occupancy is permitted if the similarity is equal to or less than the threshold value; An information processing device comprising:

4. An estimation unit that estimates a first power load curve of electricity to be used by a person who plans to own the right to generate electricity using a power generation device after acquiring said right, the estimation unit estimating as the first power load curve a power load curve corresponding to the attributes of the person who plans to own said right from among power load curves stored in correspondence with the attributes of the person; an acquisition unit that acquires a second power load curve of the power generation device before the prospective owner acquires the right; an output unit which outputs information on whether or not the planner can own the third power load curve, generated by determining that the planner cannot own the third power load curve when a similarity between the third power load curve corresponding to the sum of the first power load curve and the second power load curve and a fourth power load curve to be compared exceeds a threshold value, and determining that the planner can own the third power load curve when the similarity is equal to or smaller than the threshold value; An information processing device comprising:

5. The fourth power load curve is a power load curve including an amount of power generated by a power generation device of the facility.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3.

6. The fourth power load curve is a power load curve according to a power load curve determined in a region including a location where the scheduled activity is to be performed.

5. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the information processing device is a computer.

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