Power management system and method for managing power distribution

The power management system optimizes power distribution by integrating a power generation and control unit to enhance the use of self-generating power, reducing grid reliance and lowering costs through strategic power allocation based on forecast data and user requirements.

JP7787009B2Active Publication Date: 2025-12-16HONDA MOTOR CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2022073904
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2021-05-18
Filing Date
2022-04-27
Publication Date
2025-12-16
Estimated Expiration
2042-04-27

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

The increasing popularity of electric vehicles and house batteries, collectively referred to as 'power sinks', has led to rising overall consumption of electrical energy, necessitating a more efficient use of self-generating power plants and reducing reliance on power grid purchases, which are not as ecologically friendly.

Method used

A power management system that integrates a power generation unit, power output unit, condition requirement setting unit, forecast data input, and control unit to optimize power distribution, considering forecast data and user requirements to maximize the use of self-generating power and minimize grid power usage.

Benefits of technology

The system enhances the use of self-generating power, reduces overall electricity costs, and optimizes power distribution strategies by adjusting power allocation based on forecast data and user needs, thereby increasing the 'green percentage' of power usage.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

To provide a power management system configured to improve use of a private power plant and reduce costs for a user.SOLUTION: A power management system comprises: a power generating unit; a power output unit to distribute electrical power generated by the power generating unit to a household and to a receiving unit, different from the household, the receiving unit being a battery or a power grid; a grid power output unit to output electrical power supplied from a power grid to the household or to the receiving unit; a condition requirement setting unit to receive condition requirement data and a time period after which the receiving unit has to satisfy the required condition; a prediction data input unit to receive prediction data that indicates prediction of the electrical power generated by the power generating unit over the time period; a control unit configured to receive the condition requirement data from the condition requirement setting unit and the prediction data from the prediction data input unit. The control unit controls the power distributing unit such that, after the time period has elapsed, the receiving unit satisfies the required condition, and is adapted to maximize the use of the power generating unit. The prediction data is based on given maximum power output of the power generating unit, availability of the receiving unit within the time period, and a weather forecast for the time period and for the location where the power generating unit is located.SELECTED DRAWING: None
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Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a power management system and a method for managing power distribution.

[0002] Recently, many homes have been equipped with self-generating power plants that use renewable energy sources, such as solar panels, to generate at least a portion of the electricity needed for their homes. However, with the increasing popularity of electric vehicles and house batteries (collectively referred to herein as "power sinks") that store energy for use independently of the renewable energy sources, overall consumption of electrical energy is rising, so that most of the time, homes and power sinks need to be supplied with power from the self-generating power plants and from the power grid. Because power from the power grid must be purchased from the power supplier and is not as ecological as generating electricity yourself, intelligent and adaptive strategies are needed to maximize the use of self-generating power plants.

[0003] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a power management system and a method for managing power distribution that can improve the use of private power generating equipment and / or reduce the overall costs for users of the system according to the present invention.

[0004] This object is solved in a first aspect of the present invention by a power management system comprising: a power generation unit adapted to generate electrical power from a non-electric power source; a power output unit adapted to output the power generated by the power generation unit to a power distribution unit, the power distribution unit adapted to distribute the power generated by the power generation unit to a home having a plurality of power consumption units, and to a power receiving unit different from the home, and / or to a power grid, the power receiving unit being a battery; a grid power output unit adapted to output power supplied from the grid to the home and / or the power receiving unit; a condition requirement setting unit adapted to receive condition requirement data from a user, the condition requirement data determining a requirement of the power receiving unit and a time period after which the power receiving unit must satisfy the requirement; a forecast data input adapted to receive forecast data indicative of a forecast of the power to be generated by the power generating unit over the time period; a control unit adapted to receive the condition request data from the condition request setting unit and the forecast data from the forecast data input unit; the control unit is adapted to control at least the power distribution unit so that the power receiving unit satisfies the requirement after the period has elapsed, and to maximize a percentage of use of power generated by the power generation unit relative to power supplied from the power grid in order to satisfy the requirement of the power receiving unit within the period by using the forecast data; The forecast data is based on at least one of a given maximum power output of the power generating unit, availability of the power receiving unit within the time period, and a weather forecast for the location where the power generating unit is located during the time period.

[0005] In particular, the present invention makes it possible to implement a power distribution strategy, for example a charging strategy for a battery connected to a private power generation unit (power generation unit), which is intermediate between two currently possible charging strategies: a charging strategy that provides as much power as possible to the home and the power receiving unit, for example in order to charge the battery as quickly as possible, according to which the maximum amount of power from the power grid must be used, and a charging strategy that uses only the power generated by the power generation unit (at least for the power receiving unit), according to which the use of this latter strategy may not reach the requirements of the power receiving unit within a certain period of time.

[0006] Based on the forecast data, the system of the present invention may consider reducing the amount of power generated by the power generation unit that is distributed to the power receiving unit and increasing the amount distributed to the home, for example, if the forecast data indicates that at a later point in time, but still within the time period, the power generation unit will be able to generate more power than is currently available.

[0007] To give an example, assume that the generating unit is a wind turbine, the receiving unit is an electric vehicle (EV) that can be charged by power generated by the wind turbine, and the requirement is that the EV must reach a 90% state of charge (SOC) within 14 hours from the present. Forecast data may indicate that winds will increase four hours from now, resulting in more power being available that will be generated by the wind turbine. The control unit may then reduce the amount of power to the EV generated by the wind turbine, thereby postponing the point within the 14-hour period where 90% SOC is reached, so that more (if not all) of the power consumed by the household at this time can be supplied by the wind turbine. This increases the use of the wind turbine and reduces the household's electricity costs by requiring less power to be purchased from the utility.

[0008] Of course, in this regard, the system may be self-adjusting in that it may record and determine the normal usage of the power receiver, e.g., the departure time of the EV at 8:30 AM every day Monday through Friday, the reconnection of the EV to the power generator at 5:30 PM, and the normal energy consumption of approximately 20% of the total battery capacity. Thus, the controller may automatically, without any input from the user, set a requirement of at least 20% SOC at 8:30 AM every day Monday through Friday. When the EV (or power receiver in general) is connected to the controller, the EV may transmit information indicating the actual condition of the EV, e.g., the actual SOC.

[0009] In another example that may be combined with the example described above, the power generated by the power generation unit may be supplied to the power grid. This may be combined with some incentive for the user, such as monetary payment from the power supplier. Many utilities limit the amount of power that can be supplied to the power grid, for example, to reduce peaks or shortages in the grid. Here, the system according to the present invention may maintain a more constant amount of power supplied to the power grid while optimizing the use of the private power generation device. That is, when there is a shortage in supplying the energy required for both the power grid and the battery, the control unit may prioritize the distribution of power generated by the power generation unit to the power grid at a higher rank than the distribution of energy for charging the battery, based on forecast data indicating that the power generation unit will provide sufficient power to charge the battery at a later time point in a period.

[0010] In particular, but not limited to, cost optimization of the household's electricity costs, the cost of purchasing electricity from the electricity supplier, and the respective incentives (e.g., sales) when selling electricity to the electricity supplier can be input into the system as further consideration data for adjusting the control of the control unit.

[0011] The location of the power generating unit may be indicated in the system by the postal code of the corresponding area. Based on the location, for example, the expected solar radiation in clear weather may be determined and used to calculate the time required to reach the required conditions of the power receiving unit, for example, the time required to charge a battery to a required SOC.

[0012] In one embodiment of the invention, the forecast data may be further based on an actual power output of a reference power generation unit as measured by a power output measuring unit connected to the reference power generation unit, the reference power generation unit and the power output measuring unit being remote from the power generation unit, which allows the power generation unit itself not to comprise measuring equipment adapted to measure the output of power generated by the power generation unit, thereby reducing the overall costs of installing and maintaining the power generation unit.

[0013] As a very simple example, if a reference power generating unit is identical to the power generating unit and is installed in the same manner (orientation, tilt, etc.) in a neighboring house, measurements of the power generated by the reference power generating unit can be used directly to determine the power generated by the power generating unit due to the same weather conditions for both power generating units. Based on the determination of the power generated by the power generating unit, the system according to the present invention can also determine the amount of energy that must be obtained from the electricity supplier. The same can be true for determining the power required in a home connected to the reference power generating unit by using the actual measured electrical energy consumption of the home (also called the reference home) connected to the reference power generating unit.

[0014] However, there are several reasons why the measured value of the power generated from the same reference power generation unit may still not exactly match the power generated by the power generation unit. For example, one of the power generation units may be cleaner than the other, or there may be trees or houses blocking solar radiation to only one of the power generation units. To verify the accuracy of the determination, the determined amount of power that must be obtained from the power supplier because the power generated by the power generation unit is not sufficient may be compared with the actual amount of power obtained from the power supplier. By doing this, the comparison of the estimated value with the value from the power meter may be performed periodically, for example at intervals of 3 months, 6 months, and / or 12 months.

[0015] In this context, the forecast data for the power generation unit based on the actual power output of the reference power generation unit may be scaled for at least one of the following: a difference between the maximum power output of the reference power generation unit and the maximum power output of the power generation unit; different orientations of the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit; different tilts of the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit; different weather forecasts and / or different actual weather between the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit; and different locations of the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit. This allows a power generation device to be used as a reference power generation unit that is not identical to a power generation unit. For example, different solar power generation may be available at different locations that are widely separated, especially in the north-south direction of the Earth, even if the weather is clear at both locations.

[0016] Advantageously, the reference power generation unit may be connected to a server and adapted to transmit data indicative of the actual power output of the reference power generation unit to a server remote from the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit; the forecast data input unit may be adapted to receive forecast data from the server; the server may be adapted to scale the forecast data; preferably, the condition request setting unit and / or the forecast data input unit and / or the control unit may be part of the server, whereby the user may transmit the condition request data to the server, and the power distribution unit may be controlled by the server via a remote connection. Therefore, a direct connection between the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit is not required. Furthermore, it may be possible to use multiple reference power generation units to improve the accuracy of estimations / determinations regarding the power generated by the power generation unit. This optional feature may further reduce the number of components installed at the power generation unit site and the associated costs. Data may be exchanged via the Internet and entered by the user via a user terminal such as a smartphone.

[0017] Furthermore, the power management system may further include a memory unit adapted to record and store a difference between a predicted condition of the power receiving unit after the period and an actual condition of the power receiving unit after the period and / or a difference between a predicted period required to reach the required condition of the power receiving unit and an actual period required to reach the required condition of the power receiving unit, and the forecast data for the power generating unit may be further based on the difference stored in the memory unit. For example, if the required condition of the power receiving unit has not been reached at the end of the period or is reached earlier than calculated, the forecast data may be adapted for future calculations based on this difference to improve the accuracy of the prediction.

[0018] In addition to the above, preferably, the storage unit may further be adapted to record and store differences relative to specific dates and times, so that it may be possible to identify differences between the predicted power generated by the power generation unit and the actual power generated by the power generation unit that occur in a recurring pattern. In the example of a difference that occurs only in January and February (when the sun is low in the Northern Hemisphere) and also, for example, at specific time periods, especially if detected in consecutive years, it may be assumed that an obstacle such as a house or tree is blocking solar radiation to the power generation unit (but not to the reference power generation unit). This difference can then be taken into account in future predictions in order to improve the accuracy of the predictions.

[0019] In one embodiment of the present invention, the non-electrical power source may be at least one of a photovoltaic solar power plant, a wind turbine, a geothermal energy source, a hydrodynamic energy source, and a biomass energy source. Of course, the above given examples of power generating units (self-power generating units) are not necessarily limited to power generating units for a single home, but may further include power generating units supplying power to multiple homes.

[0020] Also according to the invention, the battery may be installed in an electric vehicle or hybrid electric vehicle and / or at the location of the power generation unit as a battery for the home.

[0021] As an example, the required conditions of the power receiving unit may be the state of charge of the battery and / or the supply ratio of the electric power generated by the power generation unit to the power grid. In combination with the determination of the required conditions, a strategy for reaching these required conditions may be selected, for example, by the user. Therefore, when the required condition is to charge the EV battery to 90% within 14 hours, the first selectable strategy may be to reach 90% SOC as fast as possible, the second selectable strategy may be to reach 90% SOC as slowly as possible in order to distribute the maximum amount of the electric power generated by the power generation unit to the home and / or the power grid, and the third selectable strategy may be to reach 90% SOC based on a predetermined minimum "green percentage" for reaching the required conditions, that is, the minimum percentage of the electric power generated by the power generation unit when charging the battery. It is only allowed to fall below this minimum percentage if the required conditions cannot be reached within the period.

[0022] In another aspect, the present invention relates to a power management system, the power management system comprising m quantities of power generation units each adapted to generate electric power from a non-electric power source, where m is a natural number and m ≧ 2, m quantities of power generation units, where n of the m quantities of power generation units are reference power generation units, n is a natural number, and n < m, n power output measurement units each connected to at least one of the reference power generation units and adapted to measure the actual output electric power from each of the respective reference power generation units, and the system is adapted to estimate the power output of the remaining m - n power generation units based on the measurements of the n reference power generation units.

[0023] As can be seen, this embodiment, which can be considered an alternative to the first embodiment falling within the scope of the same invention, relates to a plurality of power generating units, some of which are reference power generating units used to determine the power output of other (non-reference) power generating units.

[0024] It should be noted that, where applicable, all features, effects and advantages described in relation to the power management system according to the first aspect may also apply to this power management system, and vice versa.

[0025] In this regard, the system may be adapted to estimate the power output of each of the mn power generating units, thereby enabling the respective power outputs for all power generating units that are part of the power management system to be determined.

[0026] In a further aspect, the present invention relates to a method of managing an electrical power distribution, the method comprising: a power generation stage in which power is generated from a power generation unit using a non-electrical source; a power output stage in which the electric power generated in the power generation stage is output; a power distribution stage in which the power generated in the power generation stage is distributed to a home having a plurality of power consumers, and to a power receiving unit different from the home, and / or to a power grid, the power receiving unit being a battery; a condition requirement setting stage in which condition requirement data is received from a user, the condition requirement data determining a requirement of the power receiving unit and a period of time after which the power receiving unit must satisfy the requirement; a forecast data input stage in which forecast data indicative of a forecast of the power to be generated in the power generating stage over the time period is received; a control stage in which the condition request data and the forecast data are received; the control step controls at least the power distribution step so that the power receiving unit satisfies the required condition after the period has elapsed; The forecast data is based on at least a given maximum power output of the power generation stage and a weather forecast for the location where the non-electric power source is located for the time period.

[0027] It may already be mentioned at this point that, where applicable, all features, effects and advantages mentioned in relation to the system according to the invention may also apply to the method according to the invention, and vice versa.

[0028] In view of the above detailed description of the system according to the invention, it is now summarized that the method according to the invention makes it possible to increase the "green percentage" (power generated by the power generating unit) of the total required electrical energy necessary to achieve the requirements of the power receiving unit.

[0029] In the method according to the present invention, the prediction data may further be based on an actual power output of a reference power generation unit measured in a power output measurement step, the reference power generation unit being remote from the power generation unit.

[0030] Advantageously, the reference power generation unit may be connected to a server and data indicative of the actual power output of the reference power generation unit may be transmitted from the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit to the remote server, and in the forecast data input step, forecast data may be received from the server, and the server may scale the forecast data in particular with respect to at least one of the following: a difference between the maximum power output of the reference power generation unit and the maximum power output of the power generation unit, different orientations of the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit, different tilts of the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit, different weather forecasts and / or different actual weather for the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit, and different locations of the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit. Thus, adaptation of the forecast data may be performed in the server, thereby reducing the required processing power at the location of the power generation unit.

[0031] The condition requirement data may be based on at least one event planned by the user, each event including a date, a time, and a destination. Before or during the condition requirement setting step, a distance from the location of the power generation unit to the destination and the duration may be calculated, and the condition requirement data may be based on the calculated distance and duration. That is, the method may automatically determine the requirements based on parameters of the upcoming event. For example, if a user has entered an appointment scheduled for two days in the future and 100 km away from the user's home into a calendar, for example on their mobile phone, the requirements may be set so that the user's EV can travel at least that distance (and the return distance). Of course, the method may also take into account the travel time from the user's home to the destination, and set the end of the period after which the requirements must be met to the time when the user must leave their home (including some extra time, if applicable, if the user plans an earlier start).

[0032] The method may further include a suggestion step in which the user is suggested to extend the period to a proposed extended period, after which the power receiving unit must meet the requirements so that the contribution of the power generated from the power generating unit using the non-power source to meet the requirements can be increased. As an example, if a user sets a departure time of 8:00 AM the next day and a required minimum SOC is set to 65%, a system or method according to the present invention may indicate to the user, for example via the user's mobile phone, that the percentage of power generated by the power generating unit to reach this requirement based on actual forecast data (the "green percentage") will be 85%. In that case, the system or method according to the present invention may indicate to the user that if the user shifts the departure time to, for example, 10:00 AM, the "green percentage" can be increased to 100%. Thus, the user receives feedback and the possibility to optimize the use of the power generating unit and reduce overall electricity costs.

[0033] Optimizing the overall power cost to the user can be expressed by the following objective function to be maximized:

number

number

[0034] Here, the parameter indicating the power / energy required to charge the EV battery is

number

number

number

number

number

number

[0035] It should be noted that the above description may be applicable not only to the user's home but also to a workplace, etc., where the user's EV may be charged via a power generation device installed at the workplace, etc. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0036] The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a scheduling process for optimized charging of an EV. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a workflow for adjusting a parameter PowerFactor. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 illustrates a workflow for predicting household consumption. [Figure 4a] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an optimization model for optimized charging of an EV. [Figure 4b] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an optimization model for optimized charging of an EV. [Figure 4c] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an optimization model for optimized charging of an EV. [Figure 4d] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an optimization model for optimized charging of an EV. [Figure 5]1 is a graph including different curves for different geographic orientations showing the relationship between solar radiation and tilt angle of a PV panel. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0037] FIG. 1 shows a scheduling process for optimized scheduling of EV charging using a photovoltaic power generation system PV as the power generation unit.

[0038] The scheduling process of Figure 1 begins in step S10, where solar radiation forecasts are imported. Further, in step S10, the availability of EV charging is updated by user input and / or by the automated predictions of the system / method of the present invention. Additionally, the electricity price for selling / purchasing electricity from the electricity supplier may be updated as a further input data if this parameter is also taken into account.

[0039] Next, the process calculates time series of input data for the optimization model for a preset time period, e.g., 72 to 96 hours, in step S12. Time series are generated for the predicted PV power generation, i.e., the amount of power generated by the power generation unit, the predicted household consumption (see FIG. 3), and the minimum and / or maximum SOC for the EV.

[0040] The process then proceeds to step S14, where an optimized EV charging timetable is calculated based on whether the power generated by the power generation unit is distributed to the home, the EV and / or the grid, or the amount of power that must be obtained / purchased from the power supplier.

[0041] Figure 2 shows the parameter Power, which indicates the amount of power generated by the photovoltaic (PV) unit based on solar radiation. Factor2. As input data D10 and D12, forecast data indicating the actual amount of power generated in the reference power generating unit and the forecast of the amount of power generated by the power generating unit are input to step S16 of the workflow of Fig. 2. Then, in step S16, deviations (or differences) between both units are taken into account, such as different actual weather, different weather forecasts, different characteristics of the reference power generating unit and the power generating unit in terms of power generation performance (maximum power output, tilt, orientation, etc.).

[0042] After evaluation of the deviation between the reference power generating unit and the power generating unit in step S16, the parameter Power Factor is recalculated and output to the registration method of the present invention.

[0043] In Figure 3, a workflow for predicting the consumption of a home connected to a power generation unit is shown. As input data D14 and D16, actual data on the consumption of a home connected to a reference power generation unit (which may also be considered a reference home) and predicted data on the electricity consumption of the home connected to the power generation unit are entered in step S20. In this step S20, the deviation between the reference home and the home is evaluated, similar to step S16 of the workflow in Figure 2.

[0044] Next, in step S22, the prediction of the household consumption, which is scaled relative to the reference household based on the assessed deviation, may take into account whether the user (residing in the household connected to the power generation unit) has updated their household consumption data during the past period, e.g., the past year. Based on the updated consumption data, the scaling between the reference household consumption and the household consumption may become more accurate.

[0045] Next, in step S24, the hypothetical load profile for the user's home is recalculated and output to the superposition method or workflow.

[0046] An example of an optimization model is shown in Figures 4a to 4d. Figures 4a and 4b show time series for input data of the predicted amount of power generated by the power generation unit (curve 10 in Figure 4a) and the predicted amount of power consumed by the household (curve 12 in Figure 4a). Power is shown on the Y-axis in [kW] and the X-axis shows the time, here for the day of the week, Saturday and Sunday as an example.

[0047] Figure 4b shows the predicted battery discharge from driving an EV, where the Y-axis represents the driving distance in [km] and the X-axis again represents the days of the week, such as Saturday and Sunday.

[0048] Here, based on the above input data and according to the expected availability of charging for the EV, the strategy for the minimum SOC case (curve 14 in FIG. 4c) and the strategy for the maximum SOC case (curve 16 in FIG. 4c) are shown as inputs to the optimization model for the optimized SOC charging strategy shown by curve 18 in FIG. 4c.

[0049] Here, the Y-axis represents the SOC of the EV battery, and the X-axis is the same as in Figures 4a and 4b.

[0050] As a result, Fig. 4d shows the solution of the optimization model with the optimal SOC output and the corresponding derived charging time, shown by area 20 in Fig. 4d. Similar to Fig. 4a, the Y-axis represents the amount of power in [kW], and the X-axis represents exemplary days of the week, such as Saturday and Sunday.

[0051] FIG. 5 shows a graph including different curves for different geographic orientations, illustrating the relationship between the PV generation in percent received by the panel and the corresponding tilt angle (relative to the ground) of the PV panel. That is, as indicated by the type of line, curve C1 shown in FIG. 5 represents a PV panel oriented south, curve C2 represents a PV panel oriented southwest or southeast, curve C3 represents a PV panel oriented west or east, curve C4 represents a PV panel oriented northwest or northeast, and curve C5 represents a PV panel oriented north. Clearly, the graph in FIG. 5 may be valid for locations in the Earth's northern hemisphere, particularly Germany, because curve C1 for a solar panel oriented south shows the highest received solar radiation. Curve C1 also shows higher received solar radiation at tilts of approximately 30 to 40 degrees than at tilts above or below that range. For curve C5, the received solar radiation decreases more with increasing tilt of the solar panel, but each graph may be created for each specific location of the PV panel system.

[0052] The graphs described above show that it may be beneficial to use multiple reference points to have well-matched reference and target points. The graphs may be used to compensate for differences between the target home and the reference point (e.g., by using PV orientation, weather conditions, total solar radiation, panel type, PV area, PV cell efficiency, etc.), thereby allowing the amount of PV power generation at the target home to be more accurately predicted from measurements at the reference point. In other words, the graphs in FIG. 5 may be used to convert the amount of change from the total amount of solar radiation (0 degrees). The PV area may be used to provide a proportional conversion based on the total installation area. The solar cell efficiency may be used to provide a proportional conversion based on the rated efficiency of the solar panels. Additionally, values ​​from a nearby solar radiometer may be used for the total solar radiation. If the distance between the target home and the reference point is short, conversion may not be required.

[0053] The power generation of the target home may be determined using the following formula: PV generation = total solar radiation [Wh / m 2 ]×area[m 2 ] x (tilt angle / orientation change) x solar cell efficiency (type and performance of solar cell).

[0054] To explain the above formula, to calculate the PV power generation of a target home (the generating PV), a particular solar panel installed on the target home, defined by its solar cell efficiency and its area, is scaled to a PV system installed at a reference location by multiplying it by a tilt angle / orientation transformation, and then multiplied by the total available solar radiation.

Claims

1. 1. A power management system comprising: a power generation unit adapted to generate electrical power from a non-electrical source; a power output unit adapted to output the power generated by the power generation unit to a power distribution unit, the power distribution unit adapted to distribute the power generated by the power generation unit to a home having a plurality of power consumers and to a power receiving unit different from the plurality of power consumers of the home and / or to a power grid, the power receiving unit being a battery; a grid power output unit adapted to output power supplied from the grid to the home and / or the power receiving unit; a condition requirement setting unit adapted to receive condition requirement data from a user, the condition requirement data determining a requirement of the power receiving unit and a time period after which the power receiving unit must satisfy the requirement; a forecast data input adapted to receive forecast data indicative of a forecast of the power to be generated by the power generating unit over the time period; a control unit adapted to receive the condition request data from the condition request setting unit and the forecast data from the forecast data input unit; the control unit is adapted to control at least the power distribution unit so that the power receiving unit satisfies the requirement after the period has elapsed, and to maximize a percentage of use of power generated by the power generation unit relative to power supplied from the power grid in order to satisfy the requirement of the power receiving unit within the period by using the forecast data; the forecast data is based on at least one of a given maximum power output of the power generating unit, availability of the power receiving unit within the time period, and a weather forecast for a location where the power generating unit is located during the time period; The power management system is adapted to record normal usage of the power receiving unit and to set the requirements based on the normal usage of the power receiving unit without input from the user. Power management system.

2. the predicted data is further based on an actual power output of the reference power generator measured by a power output measuring unit connected to the reference power generator; The power management system according to claim 1 , wherein the reference power generation unit and the power output measurement unit are remote from the power generation unit.

3. 3. The power management system of claim 2, wherein the forecast data for the power generation unit based on the actual power output of the reference power generation unit is scaled with respect to at least one of a difference between the maximum power output of the reference power generation unit and the maximum power output of the power generation unit, a different orientation between the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit, a different tilt between the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit, a different weather forecast and / or different actual weather between the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit, and a different location between the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit.

4. the reference power generation unit is connected to a server and adapted to transmit data indicative of the actual power output of the reference power generation unit to a server remote from the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit; the forecast data input unit is adapted to receive forecast data from the server; The power management system of claim 2 or 3, wherein the server is adapted to scale the forecast data.

5. the power management system further comprises a storage unit adapted to record and store a difference between a predicted condition of the power receiving unit after the period and an actual condition of the power receiving unit after the period and / or a difference between a predicted period required to reach the required condition of the power receiving unit and an actual period required to reach the required condition of the power receiving unit; the prediction data for the power generation unit is further based on the difference stored in the storage unit, The power management system of claim 1 , wherein the storage unit is further adapted to record and store the difference relative to a particular date and time.

6. The power management system of claim 1 , wherein the non-electrical power source is at least one of a photovoltaic solar power generation device, a wind turbine, a geothermal energy source, a hydrodynamic energy source, and a biomass energy source.

7. The power management system according to claim 1 , wherein the battery is installed in an electric vehicle or a hybrid electric vehicle and / or at the location of the power generation unit as a battery for the home.

8. The power management system according to claim 1 , wherein the required condition of the power receiving unit is a state of charge of the battery and / or a supply rate of the power generated by the power generating unit to the power grid.

9. m power generating units each adapted to generate electrical power from a non-electrical source, where m is a natural number and m≧2; Among the m power generation units, n power generation units are reference power generation units, n is a natural number, and n<m; n power output measuring units each connected to at least one of the reference power generating units and adapted to measure an actual output power of each of the reference power generating units; A power management system comprising: The power management system is adapted to estimate power outputs of the remaining mn power generating units based on measurements of the n reference power generating units.

10. The power management system of claim 9, wherein the power management system is adapted to estimate the power output of each of the mn power generating units.

11. A power generation stage in which a power generation unit included in the power management system generates power using a non-electric power source; a power output stage in which the power management system outputs the power generated in the power generation stage; a power distribution stage in which the power management system distributes the power generated in the power generation stage to a home having a plurality of power consumers, a power receiving unit different from the plurality of power consumers in the home, and / or a power grid, the power receiving unit being a battery; the power management system storing a normal usage of the power receiving unit; the power management system setting requirements for the power receiving unit based on the normal usage of the power receiving unit without user input; a condition request setting stage in which the power management system receives condition request data from the user, the condition request data determining the requirement of the power receiving unit and a period of time after which the power receiving unit must satisfy the requirement; a forecast data input step in which a forecast data input unit included in the power management system receives forecast data indicating a forecast of the power to be generated in the power generation step over the period; a control step in which a control unit included in the power management system receives the condition request data and the prediction data from the prediction data input unit; and in the control step, the control unit controls at least the power distribution step so that the power receiving unit satisfies the required condition after the period has elapsed.

10. A method of managing electrical power distribution, wherein the forecast data is based on at least a given maximum electrical power output of the generating stage and a weather forecast for a location where the non-electric power source is located for the time period.

12. the predicted data is further based on an actual power output of a reference power generating unit measured in a power output measuring step; The method of claim 11 , wherein the reference power generation unit is remote from the power generation unit.

13. the reference power generation unit is connected to a server, and data indicating the actual power output of the reference power generation unit is transmitted from the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit to the server, which is remote from the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit; In the prediction data input step, the prediction data input unit receives prediction data from the server, 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the server scales the forecast data with respect to at least one of the following: a difference between the maximum power output of the reference power generation unit and the maximum power output of the power generation unit; different orientations between the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit; different tilts between the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit; different weather forecasts and / or different actual weather between the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit; and different locations between the reference power generation unit and the power generation unit.

14. the power receiving unit is a battery of an electric vehicle, The condition request data is based on at least one event planned by the user, each event including a date and time and a destination of the electric vehicle; and 14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the distance and the period from the location of the power generation unit to the destination are calculated before or during the condition request setting step, and the condition request data is based on the calculated distance and period.

15. 14. The method according to claim 11, further comprising a proposal step in which the power management system proposes to the user to extend the period to a proposed extended period, after which the power receiving unit must satisfy the requirement such that a contribution of the power generated from the power generating unit using the non-power source to satisfy the requirement is increased.

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