Device control device, device control system, device control method and program

Abstract

To accurately control power consumption in a power demand area where a plurality of energy storage devices is installed.SOLUTION: A device control apparatus 10 comprises: a plan generation unit 114 for generating a first plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which a plurality of energy storage devices performs storage operations to store energy; and a device control unit 115 for instructing the plurality of energy storage devices to perform the storage operation according to the first plan. If the total power consumption in a power demand area exceeds or falls below a determination value at any point during the period targeted by the plan, the plan generation unit 114 generates a second plan that determines a period during which at least one energy storage device performs the storage operation for each energy storage device in the period after that point, and that is different from the first plan. The device control unit 115 instructs at least one energy storage device to perform the storage operation according to the second plan.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a device control device, a device control system, a device control method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] There are known technologies for controlling the power consumption of multiple energy storage devices. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a system that controls the heating operation of water heaters used in each household in an apartment building to reduce the maximum power consumption in the building.

[0003] Specifically, the system disclosed in Patent Document 1 predicts the next day's power consumption for each household based on past power consumption records, and determines the water heater heating schedule for each household based on the predicted power consumption so that the total power consumption of the apartment building does not exceed a preset upper limit. More specifically, the control system disclosed in Patent Document 1 predicts the total power consumption other than that of the water heater for the next day, and distributes the time periods during which the water heater of each household will heat the water to times when the predicted total power consumption other than that of the water heater will be small. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-2450 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, the time period for the water heater to heat water is determined based on the results of a power consumption prediction, so dealing with cases where the prediction is incorrect is an issue. For example, a sudden change in weather conditions, such as a sudden drop in temperature in winter, can increase the power consumption of an air conditioner. Alternatively, a sudden absence of users can result in less hot water being used than predicted, causing the water heater to heat water for a shorter time than expected. As such, there is a need to appropriately control power consumption in power demand areas where multiple energy storage devices are installed, even when the power consumption prediction is incorrect.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an equipment control device, etc. that can accurately control power consumption in an electricity demand area where multiple energy storage devices are installed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, a device control device according to the present disclosure First aspect of teeth, An equipment control device that controls a plurality of energy storage devices installed in an electric power demand area, a plan generating means for generating a first plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which the plurality of energy storage devices perform an energy storage operation to store energy during a planning period; device control means for instructing the plurality of energy storage devices to perform the storage operation in accordance with the first plan generated by the plan generation means; a selection means for selecting, when the total power consumption in the power demand area exceeds a determination value at any point in time during the plan period, a number of energy storage devices from among the plurality of energy storage devices that is less than the number of energy storage devices that are to perform the storage operation in the period after the point in time in the first plan, as at least one energy storage device that is to perform the storage operation in a second plan; Equipped with The plan generation means The at least one energy storage device selected by the selection means During the period after the above-mentioned time within the planning period Before a plan for determining a time period for performing the storage operation for each energy storage device, the time period being different from the first plan; The aforementioned Generate a second plan, The device control means instructs the at least one energy storage device to perform the storage operation in accordance with the second plan generated by the plan generation means. In order to achieve the above object, a second aspect of the device control device according to the present disclosure includes: An equipment control device that controls a plurality of energy storage devices installed in an electric power demand area, a plan generating means for generating a first plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which the plurality of energy storage devices perform an energy storage operation to store energy during a planning period; a device control means for instructing the plurality of energy storage devices to perform the storage operation in accordance with the first plan generated by the plan generation means, when the total power consumption in the power demand area falls below a determination value at any point in time during the planning period, the plan generation means generates a second plan different from the first plan, the second plan being a plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which at least one energy storage device among the plurality of energy storage devices performs the storage operation during a period after the point in time during the planning period; the device control means instructs the at least one energy storage device to perform the storage operation in accordance with the second plan generated by the plan generation means; When the total power consumption falls below the judgment value at the time point, the plan generation means changes the time period in which the at least one energy storage device performs the storage operation in the first plan to an earlier time period in the second plan. In order to achieve the above object, a third aspect of the device control device according to the present disclosure includes: An equipment control device that controls a plurality of energy storage devices installed in an electric power demand area, a plan generating means for generating a first plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which the plurality of energy storage devices perform an energy storage operation to store energy during a planning period; a device control means for instructing the plurality of energy storage devices to perform the storage operation in accordance with the first plan generated by the plan generation means, when the total power consumption in the power demand area exceeds a first determination value at any time point during the planning period, and when the total power consumption at the time point falls below a second determination value that is smaller than the first determination value, the plan generation means generates a second plan different from the first plan, the second plan being a plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which at least one energy storage device among the plurality of energy storage devices performs the storage operation in a period after the time point during the planning period; The device control means instructs the at least one energy storage device to perform the storage operation in accordance with the second plan generated by the plan generation means. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] In the present disclosure, an appliance control device generates a first plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which the plurality of energy storage devices will perform a storage operation during a planning period, instructs the plurality of energy storage devices to perform a storage operation in accordance with the first plan, and, if the total power consumption in the power demand area at any point during the planning period exceeds or falls below a determination value, generates a second plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which at least one energy storage device will perform a storage operation during a period from that point onward, and instructs the at least one energy storage device to perform a storage operation in accordance with the second plan. Thus, according to the present disclosure, it is possible to accurately control power consumption in a power demand area where a plurality of energy storage devices are installed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a device control system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a device control device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a device control device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4]FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of power consumption other than that of a water heater predicted by the appliance control device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a boiling plan generated by the device control device according to the first embodiment; [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of total power consumption when a heating operation is performed according to a heating plan in the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which the total power consumption of an apartment building exceeds a judgment value in the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of selecting a water heater for which a water heating plan is to be regenerated in the first embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a boiling schedule regenerated by the device control device according to the first embodiment; [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of total power consumption when a boiling operation is performed according to a regenerated boiling plan in the first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of processing executed in the device control system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 12] 1 is a flowchart showing a flow of a regeneration process of a boiling-up plan executed by the device control device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a device control device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a first example of notification information displayed on a display terminal according to the second embodiment; [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a second example of notification information displayed on the display terminal according to the second embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the amount of reduction in power consumption when an energy-saving action is requested in the second embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a third example of notification information displayed on the display terminal according to the second embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which the total power consumption of an apartment building falls below a judgment value in the third embodiment. [Figure 19]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of selecting a water heater for which a water heating plan is to be regenerated in the third embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a boiling schedule regenerated by the device control device according to the third embodiment; [Figure 21] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of total power consumption when a boiling operation is performed according to a regenerated boiling plan in the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, in which the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0011] (Embodiment 1) 1 shows the overall configuration of a device control system S according to embodiment 1. The device control system S is a system that controls a plurality of water heaters 1 installed in an apartment building H that is an area where electricity is in demand.

[0012] The housing complex H is a residence such as a condominium or apartment. The housing complex H has dwelling units for multiple consumers, including consumers A to C. Although not shown in the figure, the housing complex H also has common areas that are shared by the multiple consumers. The common areas include, for example, an entrance, an elevator, etc.

[0013] The device control system S includes a plurality of water heaters 1, a plurality of other devices 2, a high-voltage collective power receiving facility 3, a power measuring device 4, communication devices 5 and 6, and a device control device 10.

[0014] Each of the multiple water heaters 1 is a storage-type hot water supply system equipped with a heat pump unit, a hot water storage tank, and a hot water controller. Each water heater 1 is installed in the dwelling units of multiple consumers belonging to the apartment complex H, and is used by each consumer. The consumers are typically residents of each dwelling unit in the apartment complex H.

[0015] A heat pump unit is a heat pump-type heat source device that uses CO2 (carbon dioxide), HFC (hydrofluorocarbon), or other refrigerants. The heat pump unit is connected to a hot water storage tank via water piping through which hot and cold water flows. The heat pump unit generates hot water by using the surrounding air as a heat source to boil low-temperature water in the hot water storage tank into high-temperature water. The generated hot water is temporarily stored in the hot water storage tank and is supplied to consumers by being released from the hot water storage tank as needed.

[0016] The hot water controller, although not shown in the figure, is equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), a communication interface, and a readable / writable non-volatile semiconductor memory, etc., and provides overall control of the hot water heater 1.

[0017] Each of the plurality of water heaters 1 can be said to be a device that converts electric power into thermal energy, namely hot water, and stores the hot water in a hot water storage tank. Each of the plurality of water heaters 1 is an example of an energy storage device.

[0018] Each of the multiple other devices 2 is a device that is installed in each dwelling unit and consumes electricity other than the hot water heater 1. For example, each of the multiple other devices 2 is an air conditioner, lighting equipment, washing machine, microwave oven, refrigerator, computer, etc.

[0019] The high-voltage bulk power receiving equipment 3 is equipment that receives grid power supplied from a commercial power source. The high-voltage bulk power receiving equipment 3 receives grid power used in the apartment complex H from the commercial power source in a lump sum, converts the received grid power to low voltage, and supplies it to each of the multiple consumer units belonging to the apartment complex H. For example, the manager of the apartment complex H, who acts as an aggregator, has entered into a high-voltage bulk power receiving contract with the electric power company. Generally, a high-voltage bulk power receiving contract allows for cheaper electricity bills than when each unit enters into an individual contract.

[0020] The power metering device 4 measures the power consumption. The power metering device 4 is installed upstream of the dwelling units of multiple consumers, and measures the system power that the high-voltage bulk power receiving equipment 3 receives from the commercial power source. In this way, the power metering device 4 measures the total power consumption consumed in the apartment building H.

[0021] Here, the total power consumption in the apartment complex H is the sum of the power consumption in the dwelling units of the multiple consumers that the apartment complex H owns and the power consumption in the common areas of the apartment complex H. The power consumption in one consumer's dwelling unit is the sum of the power consumption of the water heater 1 and the power consumption of other devices 2 installed in that dwelling unit. The power consumption in the common areas is, for example, the amount of power consumed by entrance lighting, elevators, etc. The measurement data of the total power consumption measured by the power measuring device 4 is transmitted to the appliance control device 10 via the communication network N.

[0022] A communication device 5 is installed in each of the dwelling units of multiple consumers. The communication device 5 communicatively connects the water heaters 1 installed in the same dwelling unit to a communication network N. Each water heater 1 connects to the communication network N via the communication device 5 and communicates with the appliance control device 10.

[0023] The communication device 6 communicatively connects the power measurement device 4 to the communication network N. The power measurement device 4 is connected to the communication network N via the communication device 6 and communicates with the appliance control device 10.

[0024] The appliance control device 10 is a device that controls multiple water heaters 1 installed in an apartment building H. Specifically, the appliance control device 10 is a cloud server that can be used via a communication network N. The appliance control device 10 is connected to a power measuring device 4 and multiple water heaters 1 via the communication network N so that they can communicate with each other. The appliance control device 10 can also be called a management server that manages power consumption in the appliance control system S.

[0025] The device control device 10 is managed by an aggregator, for example. Here, the aggregator is a business that provides a service that adjusts the supply and demand of electricity, and specifically, is a manager that manages the electricity of the apartment building H. For example, the aggregator is a high-voltage bulk electricity receiver that has concluded a high-voltage bulk electricity receiving contract with the high-voltage bulk electricity receiving facility 3.

[0026] The following describes the configuration, functions, and operations of the device control device 10. As shown in FIG.

[0027] The control unit 11 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU is also called a central processing unit, a processor, a microprocessor, a microcomputer, etc., and functions as a central processing unit that executes processing and calculations related to the control of the device control device 10. In the control unit 11, the CPU reads out programs and data stored in the ROM and uses the RAM as a work area to perform overall control of the device control device 10.

[0028] The storage unit 12 includes a nonvolatile semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), or an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), and serves as a so-called secondary storage device or auxiliary storage device. The storage unit 12 stores programs and data used by the control unit 11 to perform various processes. The storage unit 12 also stores data generated or acquired by the control unit 11 as a result of performing various processes.

[0029] The communication unit 13 includes a communication interface that enables the appliance control device 10 to communicate with external devices. Specifically, the communication unit 13 communicates with the power measuring device 4 and the plurality of water heaters 1 via a communication network N. The communication network N is, for example, a wide area network such as the Internet communication network.

[0030] Next, the functional configuration of the device control device 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 3, the device control device 10 functionally includes a power information acquisition unit 111, a device information acquisition unit 112, a power consumption prediction unit 113, a plan generation unit 114, a device control unit 115, a determination unit 116, and a selection unit 117.

[0031] Each of these functions is realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. The software and firmware are written as programs and stored in the ROM or storage unit 12. The CPU then executes the programs stored in the ROM or storage unit 12 to realize each of these functions.

[0032] The device control device 10 also includes a power DB 121, a device DB 122, and a plan DB 123. Each of these DBs is constructed in an appropriate storage area of ​​the storage unit 12.

[0033] The power information acquisition unit 111 communicates with the power measurement device 4 via the communication unit 13 and acquires power information from the power measurement device 4. Here, the power information is information related to the power consumption in the apartment building H. Specifically, the power information acquisition unit 111 acquires information indicating the total power consumption measured by the power measurement device 4 as the power information.

[0034] When the power information acquisition unit 111 acquires the power information, it stores the acquired power information in the power DB 121. The power information acquired by the power information acquisition unit 111 may be transmitted from the power measuring device 4 as a response to a request transmitted from the appliance control device 10, or may be transmitted spontaneously from the power measuring device 4. The power information acquisition unit 111 is an example of a power information acquisition means.

[0035] The power DB 121 stores power information for a predetermined period from the present to the past. The predetermined period may be any length, for example, two weeks. The power DB 121 also stores, as power information, the average value of the total power consumption measured by the power measuring device 4 for each specified time period. The specified time period may be any length, for example, 30 minutes.

[0036] The device information acquisition unit 112 communicates with the water heaters 1 installed in each of the dwelling units of multiple consumers via the communication unit 13, and acquires device information from the water heaters 1 in each dwelling unit. Here, the device information is information related to the water heaters 1 in each dwelling unit. Specifically, the device information includes information on the operating status of each water heater 1, such as whether it is stopped or heating water, the heating capacity of each water heater 1, the amount of hot water remaining in the hot water storage tank of each water heater 1, the operating history of each water heater 1, such as the past power consumption and amount of hot water used, and the amount of hot water required to be heated by each water heater 1 the next day.

[0037] The device information acquisition unit 112 acquires device information from the water heater 1 of each dwelling unit periodically and when necessary, and stores the acquired device information in the device DB 122. The device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit 112 may be transmitted from each water heater 1 in response to a request transmitted from the device control device 10, or may be transmitted spontaneously from each water heater 1. The device information acquisition unit 112 is an example of a device information acquisition means.

[0038] The device DB 122 stores device information for a predetermined period from the present to the past in units of a specified time. As with the power DB 121, the predetermined period and the specified time are, for example, two weeks and 30 minutes, respectively.

[0039] The power consumption prediction unit 113 predicts the power consumption to be consumed by devices other than the multiple water heaters 1 in the apartment building H during the planned period. Here, the planned period is a period for which a plan to have the multiple water heaters 1 perform a heating operation is generated. In the following, as an example, the planned period is described as being from midnight to midnight of the following day. However, the planned period may be another period. For example, the planned period may be from 11pm of the current day to 11pm of the following day.

[0040] The power consumption prediction unit 113 refers to the data on the total power consumption of the entire apartment building H from the power information stored in the power DB 121. The power consumption prediction unit 113 also refers to the data on the past power consumption of each water heater 1 from the equipment information stored in the equipment DB 122. Then, based on this data, the power consumption prediction unit 113 calculates the power consumption consumed by the multiple units of the apartment building H other than the water heaters 1 over the past two weeks.

[0041] Specifically, the power consumption prediction unit 113 calculates Pa(i,j) from Ps(i,j) and Peq(i,j) according to the following formula (1). Here, Ps(i,j) represents the amount of power received by the high-voltage bulk power receiving equipment 3 during time slot i on the jth day of the past two weeks, and corresponds to the total power consumption measured by the power measuring device 4. Peq(i,j) represents the amount of power consumed by the water heaters 1 combined across all dwelling units in the apartment building H during time slot i on the jth day of the past two weeks. Pa(i,j) represents the amount of power consumed by devices other than the water heaters 1 in the apartment building H during time slot i on the jth day of the past two weeks. Note that j is a variable representing a day in the past two weeks and is any value between 1 and 14. Furthermore, if a 24-hour day is divided into 48 30-minute periods, i is any value between 0 and 47, and time slot i represents any of the 48 time slots. Pa(i,j) = Ps(i,j) - Peq(i,j) …(1)

[0042] Furthermore, the power consumption prediction unit 113 calculates Pb(i) by averaging the calculated power amounts Pa(i,j) for j according to the following equation (2). Here, Pb(i) is a predicted value of the amount of power consumed by the units other than the hot water heaters 1 in the apartment building H during time slot i on the next day. N is the number of days in a two-week period in the past, which is a predetermined period, i.e., 14. α represents the amount of adjustment to the predicted value. For example, α can be the difference between the predicted value Pb(i) of the previous day and its actual measured value. Pb(i) = Σ[j=1…N]Pa(i,j) / N + α…(2)

[0043] By calculating the predicted value Pb(i) in this manner, the power consumption prediction unit 113 predicts the power consumption to be consumed by the multiple water heaters 1 in the apartment building H on the next day in the form of average power consumption per specified time period.

[0044] As an example, Fig. 4 shows the change in power consumption predicted by the power consumption prediction unit 113 from midnight to midnight of the next day, which is the target planning period. In Fig. 4, the horizontal axis represents the time from midnight to midnight of the target planning period, and the vertical axis represents the amount of power consumption other than that of the multiple water heaters 1 consumed in the apartment building H. For ease of understanding, Fig. 4 shows the power consumption in one-hour increments rather than the specified 30-minute increments.

[0045] The power consumption prediction unit 113 performs such a power consumption prediction process, for example, at 10:00 PM every day. The power consumption prediction unit 113 is an example of a power consumption prediction means. Note that the method for predicting power consumption by the power consumption prediction unit 113 is not limited to this, and an appropriate algorithm can be selected.

[0046] The plan generation unit 114 generates a first plan, which is a water heating plan that determines for each water heater 1 a time period during which each of the multiple water heaters 1 will perform an accumulation operation to accumulate energy during the planned period. Here, the accumulation operation corresponds to a water heating operation in which each water heater 1 heats up water. The plan generation unit 114 generates, as the first plan, a water heating plan that is information indicating a time period during which each of the multiple water heaters 1 will perform a water heating operation on the next day, which is the planned period.

[0047] Each water heater 1 generally performs heating operations during the night when electricity rates are low. However, when multiple water heaters 1 perform heating operations in the same time period, a peak occurs in the power consumption of the entire apartment building H. Here, in a high-voltage bulk power receiving type power purchase contract, the larger the power receiving contract capacity, the higher the electricity bill. The power receiving contract capacity is generally determined by the maximum power consumption of the entire apartment building H. Therefore, in order to reduce electricity bills, it is important to reduce the peak power consumption of the entire apartment building H. Based on this situation, the plan generation unit 114 assigns heating time periods individually to each water heater 1 so as to appropriately distribute the heating time periods of the multiple water heaters 1.

[0048] Specifically, the plan generation unit 114 allocates time periods for the heating operation to be performed by the multiple water heaters 1 so that the total power consumption in the apartment building H does not exceed a predetermined judgment value during all time periods from 0:00 to 24:00 on the following day, which is the planned period.

[0049] In preparation for generating a water heating plan, the plan generation unit 114 calculates, based on the equipment information acquired by the equipment information acquisition unit 112, the power consumption required for the water heating operation that each water heater 1 will perform the next day and the water heating time length, which is the length of time required for that water heating operation.

[0050] Specifically, the plan generation unit 114 refers to the heating capacity of each water heater 1 and the amount of hot water required to be boiled the next day by each water heater 1 from the equipment information stored in the equipment DB 122. Then, the plan generation unit 114 calculates the power consumption and boiling time required for the boiling operation of each water heater 1 from the required amount of boiling, the heating capacity, and the relationship between them.

[0051] The plan generating unit 114 may acquire information on the power consumption and the boiling time length required for the next day from each water heater 1 as part of the device information.

[0052] After calculating the power consumption and boiling time required for the next day, the plan generation unit 114 generates a boiling plan, which is a first plan, based on the predicted value Pb(i) of power consumption other than the water heater 1 for the next day predicted by the power consumption prediction unit 113, and the power consumption and boiling time required for each water heater 1 to perform the boiling operation on the next day.

[0053] Specifically, the plan generation unit 114 allocates the water heating time slots in which each water heater 1 performs the water heating operation in order of the time slot with the least power consumption predicted by the power consumption prediction unit 113. In the example shown in Fig. 4, the power consumption of units other than the water heater 1 predicted by the power consumption prediction unit 113 is smallest in the time slots from 2:00 to 4:00, from 10:00 to 12:00, and from 14:00 to 17:00. Therefore, firstly, the plan generation unit 114 allocates the water heating time slot of a first water heater 1 of the multiple water heaters 1 to one of these time slots.

[0054] Here, if the length of time for which the first water heater 1 heats up is shorter than the length of the time period with the lowest power consumption, the plan generation unit 114 allocates the heat-up time period of the first water heater 1 to a part of the time period with the lowest power consumption. On the other hand, if the length of time for which the first water heater 1 heats up is longer than the length of the time period with the lowest power consumption, the plan generation unit 114 allocates the heat-up time period of the first water heater 1 to a time period that includes the time period with the lowest power consumption.

[0055] In this case, the plan generating unit 114 is not limited to allocating the heating time period of one water heater 1 to one continuous time period, but may divide the time period into a plurality of separate time periods. For example, the plan generating unit 114 may allocate the heating time period of the first water heater 1 by dividing the time period into three time periods with the lowest power consumption in Fig. 4: from 2:00 to 4:00, from 10:00 to 12:00, and from 14:00 to 17:00.

[0056] After allocating the water heating time slots for the first water heater 1, secondly, the plan generation unit 114 identifies the time slots with the lowest power consumption when the power consumption of devices other than the water heater 1 predicted by the power consumption prediction unit 113 is added to the power consumption required for the water heating operation of the first water heater 1. Then, the plan generation unit 114 allocates the water heating time slots for the second water heater 1 to the identified time slots. The method for allocating the water heating time slots for the second water heater 1 is the same as the method for allocating the water heating time slots for the first water heater 1 described above.

[0057] After allocating the boiling time period for the second water heater 1, the plan generation unit 114 similarly allocates boiling time periods for the third water heater 1, the fourth water heater 1, ..., among the multiple water heaters 1. The order in which boiling time periods are allocated among the multiple water heaters 1 installed in the apartment building H may be in order of the length of boiling time, or may be a predetermined order.

[0058] In this way, the plan generation unit 114 generates a water heating plan, which is a first plan, by allocating the water heating time periods of each water heater 1. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 5, the plan generation unit 114 generates, as the water heating plan, information that determines the length of time for the water heating operation performed by the water heater 1 installed in each consumer's dwelling unit, and the start and end times of the water heating operation.

[0059] Fig. 6 shows the trend in the total power consumption in the apartment building H on the next day when each water heater 1 performs the heating operation in accordance with the first plan generated by the plan generation unit 114. The total power consumption for each time period in Fig. 6 corresponds to the amount of power consumption predicted for units other than the water heater 1 shown in Fig. 4 plus the power consumption required for the heating operation of each water heater 1.

[0060] 6 is the sum of the power consumption required for multiple water heaters 1 to perform the boiling operation. For example, the boiling time periods are dispersed, such as one water heater 1 operating from midnight to 4:00 and another from 3:00 to 6:00.

[0061] The total power consumption of the apartment building H is kept below the limit value indicated by the solid line and the judgment value indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 6 throughout all time periods. Here, the limit value is an upper limit that the total power consumption should not exceed, such as when the electricity bill increases if the total power consumption exceeds the limit value. The judgment value is a value smaller than the limit value that is set to determine whether the total power consumption is likely to exceed the limit value. The judgment value is preset to a value with a certain margin relative to the limit value so that the total power consumption does not reach the limit value. For example, the judgment value is set to a value 0.8 times the limit value.

[0062] The plan generation unit 114 distributes and allocates the water heating time periods of the multiple water heaters 1 so that the total power consumption for all time periods on the next day falls within a range below the judgment value. In this way, the plan generation unit 114 generates a water heating plan, which is a first plan. After generating the water heating plan, the plan generation unit 114 stores the generated water heating plan in the plan DB 123. The plan generation unit 114 is an example of a plan generation means.

[0063] The algorithm used by the plan generating unit 114 to allocate the water heating time periods of each water heater 1 when generating the water heating plan is not limited to the one described above. Any algorithm may be used as long as it can smooth the total power consumption during the planning period and keep the maximum value of the total power consumption within a range smaller than the judgment value.

[0064] 3, the device control unit 115 instructs the plurality of water heaters 1 to perform the boiling operation in accordance with the first plan generated by the plan generation unit 114. The device control unit 115 is an example of a device control means.

[0065] Specifically, the device control unit 115 communicates with each water heater 1 installed in the apartment building H via the communication unit 13 and transmits a boiling instruction to each water heater 1. The boiling instruction includes the start time and end time of the boiling operation set for the destination water heater 1 in the first plan. As a result, the device control unit 115 causes each water heater 1 to perform the boiling operation during the time period from the start time to the end time set in the first plan.

[0066] The device control unit 115 may send a boiling instruction to the water heater 1 directly at the timing when the start time of the boiling operation set for that water heater 1 in the first plan arrives. However, in order to avoid the risk of communication being cut off at the start time of the boiling operation, it is preferable that the device control unit 115 send a boiling instruction to the water heater 1 at a timing before the start time of the boiling operation set for that water heater 1.

[0067] When each water heater 1 receives a boiling instruction sent by the equipment control unit 115, it starts the boiling operation at the start time indicated in the received boiling instruction, and ends the boiling operation at the end time indicated in the received boiling instruction.

[0068] After the device control unit 115 sends a heating instruction to each water heater 1, the determination unit 116 determines the degree of discrepancy between the total power consumption predicted in the first plan and the total power consumption actually measured during the plan period. As described above, in the first plan, the plan generation unit 114 assigned the heating time periods of each water heater 1 so that the total power consumption of the apartment building H does not exceed the determination value throughout all time periods during the plan period.

[0069] However, in reality, there is a possibility that the total power consumption will increase more than predicted at some point during the planning period. For example, this would occur if the power consumption of other devices 2 in any of the dwelling units increases more than predicted, such as when a sudden change in weather conditions, such as a sudden drop in temperature in winter, increases the power consumption of an air conditioner. In this case, the total power consumption of the apartment building H increases, leading to a rise in electricity bills.

[0070] To detect such an increase in total power consumption, the determination unit 116 determines whether the total power consumption consumed in the apartment building H during the planned period has exceeded a determination value set in the first plan. Specifically, the determination unit 116 compares the actual total power consumption during the planned period with the determination value, and determines whether the total power consumption has exceeded the determination value. The determination unit 116 is an example of a determination means.

[0071] More specifically, during the planning period from midnight to midnight of the following day, the power information acquisition unit 111 acquires information indicating the total power consumption measured by the power measurement device 4 and stores the acquired power information in the power DB 121. The determination unit 116 periodically refers to the total power consumption stored in the power DB 121 during the planning period, and determines whether the total power consumption has exceeded the determination value indicated by the dashed line in FIG.

[0072] As an example, Figure 7 shows the trend of actual total power consumption measured by the power measuring device 4 during the time period from midnight to 8:00 during the planned period. The trend shown in Figure 7 shows an increase in the 7:00 and 8:00 hours compared to the trend predicted by the water heating plan shown in Figure 6, and at time T1 in the 8:00 hour, the actual total power consumption exceeds the judgment value. In such a case, the judgment unit 116 detects that the actual total power consumption has exceeded the judgment value.

[0073] As described above, the plan generation unit 114 allocated water heating time periods throughout the entire planning period as the first plan, but if the actual total power consumption exceeds the judgment value, carrying out the water heating operation according to the first plan would lead to a surge in electricity charges. To avoid this, if the judgment unit 116 determines that the total power consumption in apartment building H exceeds the judgment value at any point during the planning period, the plan generation unit 114 generates a second plan that differs from the first plan for a period after that point during the planning period.

[0074] Here, the second plan is a plan that determines, for each water heater 1, a time period during which at least one of the multiple water heaters 1 performs a water heating operation during a period from that point onward within the planning period. If the actual total power consumption exceeds the judgment value, a water heating plan different from the first plan, which is the original water heating plan, is regenerated as the second plan so that the total power consumption does not exceed the judgment value during the period from that point onward. Then, the plan generation unit 114 changes the first plan for the period after point onward to the regenerated second plan, which is the water heating plan.

[0075] In order for the plan generation unit 114 to regenerate the water heating plan, the selection unit 117 selects at least one water heater 1 to be regenerated, i.e., the water heater 1 to be the target for performing the water heating operation in the second plan, from among the multiple water heaters 1 installed in the apartment building H.

[0076] The first plan, which is the original water heating plan, was generated for all water heaters 1 in the apartment building H. In contrast, the second plan, which is the regenerated water heating plan, requires reducing the total power consumption, and therefore it is necessary to reduce the number of water heaters 1 that perform the water heating operation as much as possible.

[0077] Therefore, when the total power consumption at time T1 exceeds the judgment value, the selection unit 117 selects, from among the multiple water heaters 1, a number of water heaters 1 that is less than the number of water heaters 1 that will perform the water heating operation in the period after time T1 in the first plan, as at least one water heater 1 that will perform the water heating operation in the second plan. The selection unit 117 is an example of a selection means.

[0078] To select a water heater 1, the selection unit 117 analyzes the current state of the water heater 1 as shown in Fig. 8. Specifically, the selection unit 117 acquires information on the amount of hot water boiled on that day, the latest value of the amount of hot water remaining, and the amount of hot water required on that day for each of the multiple water heaters 1 installed in the apartment building H.

[0079] Here, the current day's heating is information indicating whether each water heater 1 has already performed the heating operation scheduled for that day, is currently performing it, or has not yet performed it. The latest value of the remaining hot water amount is the latest value of the amount of usable hot water remaining in the hot water storage tank of each water heater 1. The required hot water amount for that day corresponds to the amount of hot water used on that day, i.e., the amount of hot water output from the water heater 1 on that day.

[0080] The information on the day's boiling and the latest value of the remaining hot water volume are included in the equipment information acquired on that day by the equipment information acquisition unit 112. As this information, the selection unit 117 uses the latest value of the equipment information acquired from each water heater 1. On the other hand, the selection unit 117 uses the required boiling volume used when generating the first plan, which is the initial boiling plan, as the required hot water volume for that day.

[0081] If a separately predicted value is available, it is also possible to use that value as information on the amount of hot water required for that day. For example, the selection unit 117 may predict the amount of hot water required for that day from the amount of hot water used in the past stored in the device DB 122. More specifically, the selection unit 117 may predict the amount of hot water required for that day from the amount of hot water supplied on the day with the largest amount of hot water supplied in a certain water heater 1 in the past week.

[0082] The selection unit 117 selects at least one water heater 1 to be the target for regeneration of the water heating plan based on this current information of each water heater 1. Specifically, the selection unit 117 selects, from among the multiple water heaters 1, a water heater 1 that has not yet performed water heating on the day and whose remaining hot water amount, which is the remaining amount of energy at time T1, is smaller than the hot water supply amount, which is the amount of energy released predicted for the period after time T1, as the at least one water heater 1 to be the target for regeneration.

[0083] Here, a water heater 1 whose remaining hot water volume at time T1 is smaller than the hot water volume predicted for the period after time T1 specifically corresponds to a water heater 1 whose current reserve capacity value shown in Figure 8 is positive and which has not yet performed hot water heating on that day. The reserve capacity value is a value that indicates the reserve capacity of the water heater 1 during the planning period, and is used as an index that indicates the urgency of the hot water heating operation in that water heater 1. The selection unit 117 calculates the reserve capacity value for each water heater 1 according to the formula "reserve capacity value = latest value of remaining hot water volume - hot water volume required on that day".

[0084] For water heaters 1 with a positive reserve capacity value, it is determined that the amount of hot water remaining in the hot water storage tank can cover the amount of hot water required for that day. Therefore, the selection unit 117 excludes water heaters 1 with a positive reserve capacity value from targets for regeneration. In the example of FIG. 8, the reserve capacity value of water heater 1 in consumer B's home is positive. Therefore, the selection unit 117 excludes water heater 1 in consumer B's home from targets for regeneration, and cancels the water heating operation scheduled for that day in the first plan.

[0085] By canceling the water heater 1 of consumer B's home heating operation for that day, the amount of hot water remaining in the hot water storage tank for the next day is significantly reduced. Therefore, in the next water heater plan, i.e., the water heater plan for the next day that the plan generation unit 114 generates at 10:00 PM on that day, it is necessary to take care to finish the water heater operation of the water heater 1 of consumer B's home at an early time slot. Therefore, the selection unit 117 sets a priority flag set for the water heater 1 of consumer B's home. The priority flag is a flag for preferentially allocating a water heater time slot when the next plan is generated. By setting the priority flag, the plan generation unit 114 allocates the water heater operation of the water heater 1 of consumer B's home to a time slot earlier than the water heater operation of the other water heaters 1 when the next plan is generated.

[0086] Next, the selection unit 117 excludes the water heater 1 of consumer E's home, which has already performed the water heating operation scheduled for that day, from the targets for regeneration. Note that the remaining capacity value of the water heater 1 of consumer E's home is -20, but this is because the amount of remaining hot water has decreased due to the use of hot water after the water heating operation was performed, and it is determined that the water heater 1 of consumer E's home has completed the water heating operation for the amount of hot water required for that day. Therefore, the selection unit 117 does not set the priority flag set for the water heater 1 of consumer E's home, and will treat it as normal when generating the next plan.

[0087] Furthermore, the selection unit 117 excludes the water heater 1 of the consumer C's home, which is currently heating up in accordance with the original plan, from the targets for regeneration, and continues the heating operation as is. The selection unit 117 does not set the priority flag set for the water heater 1 of the consumer C's home, and will treat it as normal when the next plan is generated.

[0088] Through this selection process, the selection unit 117 selects three water heaters 1, namely, the home of consumer A, the home of consumer D, and the home of consumer F, as the water heaters 1 to be targeted for regeneration. The urgency of these three water heaters 1 is considered to be in ascending order of available capacity, i.e., in this example, consumer A's home, consumer D's home, and consumer F's home. Therefore, the selection unit 117 sets the urgency in ascending order of available capacity.

[0089] When the selection unit 117 selects at least one water heater 1 to be re-planned, the plan generation unit 114 allocates a heating time period for each of the at least one selected water heater 1 so that the total power consumption does not exceed a predetermined judgment value during the period from time T1 on the current day onwards. In this way, the plan generation unit 114 generates a second plan that is individually determined for each of the at least one selected water heater 1.

[0090] When generating the second plan, the plan generation unit 114 uses the same rules as when generating the first plan. Specifically, the plan generation unit 114 generates the second plan based on the predicted value Pb(i) of power consumption other than that of the water heater 1 predicted by the power consumption prediction unit 113, and the power consumption and the boiling time length required for at least one water heater 1 selected by the selection unit 117 to perform the boiling operation.

[0091] More specifically, the plan generating unit 114 allocates the water heating time periods in which each water heater 1 performs the water heating operation in order from the time period with the smallest predicted value Pb(i) of the power consumption other than the water heater 1. At this time, the plan generating unit 114 uses the same value as when generating the first plan as the predicted value Pb(i).

[0092] When the second plan is generated, the plan generation unit 114 changes the boiling plan for the period after time T1 in the initially generated first plan to the second plan. Specifically, the plan generation unit 114 changes the initial boiling plan shown in FIG. 5 to the boiling plan shown in FIG. 9.

[0093] The plan generating unit 114 allocates the water heating time slots of each water heater 1 in the second plan based on the urgency set by the selecting unit 117. In the example shown in Fig. 8, the urgency increases in the order of consumer A's home, consumer D's home, and consumer F's home. Therefore, the plan generating unit 114 allocates the water heating time slots in this order so that the start times of the water heating operations come earlier.

[0094] 10 shows the trend in total power consumption in the period after time T1, when the total power consumption exceeds the judgment value, when each water heater 1 performs the water heating operation in accordance with the second plan generated by the plan generation unit 114. The total power consumption for each time period after time T1 in FIG. 10 corresponds to the amount of power consumption predicted for water heaters other than the water heater 1 shown in FIG. 4 plus the power consumption required for the water heating operation of at least one water heater 1 selected by the selection unit 117.

[0095] Since the second plan targets fewer water heaters 1 than the first plan, the total power consumption predicted in the second plan is smaller than the total power consumption predicted in the first plan. Therefore, the second plan can reduce the possibility that the total power consumption will exceed the judgment value in the period after time T1 more than the first plan.

[0096] In this way, the plan generation unit 114 regenerates the boiling plan by changing the plan of the initially generated first plan for the period after the time T1 when the total power consumption exceeded the judgment value to the second plan. When the boiling plan is regenerated, the plan generation unit 114 stores the regenerated boiling plan in the plan DB 123.

[0097] When the plan generation unit 114 generates the second plan, the device control unit 115 immediately applies the generated second plan. Specifically, the device control unit 115 transmits a water heating instruction including the start time and end time of the water heating operation defined in the second plan to at least one water heater 1 selected by the selection unit 117. As a result, the device control unit 115 instructs at least one water heater 1 that is to perform the water heating operation in the second plan to perform the water heating operation in accordance with the second plan during the period after the time T1 when the total power consumption exceeds the judgment value.

[0098] When each water heater 1 receives a boiling instruction transmitted by the device control unit 115, it starts the boiling operation at the start time indicated in the received boiling instruction and ends the boiling operation at the end time indicated in the received boiling instruction. In other words, when each water heater 1 receives a boiling instruction according to the second plan, it will thereafter perform the boiling operation during the boiling time period determined in the second plan, rather than the boiling time period determined in the first plan.

[0099] Next, the flow of processing executed by the device control system S will be described with reference to Fig. 11. The processing shown in Fig. 11 is executed, for example, at around 10:00 pm every day in order to generate a boiling schedule that starts at midnight the next day.

[0100] In the appliance control device 10, the control unit 11 functions as an appliance information acquisition unit 112 and acquires appliance information from the hot water heater 1 in each dwelling unit (step S1). The control unit 11 also functions as a power information acquisition unit 111 and acquires power information from the power measurement device 4 (step S2).

[0101] After acquiring the device information and power information, the control unit 11 functions as a power consumption prediction unit 113 and predicts the power consumption to be consumed by the multiple water heaters 1 in the apartment building H on the next day (step S3). Specifically, the control unit 11 calculates the predicted value Pb(i) from the power consumption of the entire apartment building H and the power consumption of each water heater 1 over the past two weeks in accordance with the above equations (1) and (2).

[0102] When the power consumption is predicted, the control unit 11 functions as the plan generation unit 114, and generates a water heating plan, which is a first plan, by individually allocating water heating time periods to each water heater 1 (step S4).

[0103] After generating the water heating plan, the control unit 11 functions as the device control unit 115 and sends a water heating instruction to each water heater 1 at around 11:30 p.m. (step S5). As a result, the control unit 11 instructs each water heater 1 to perform water heating operation in accordance with the water heating plan generated in step S4.

[0104] When each water heater 1 receives a water heating instruction from the appliance control device 10, it sets parameters necessary for the water heating operation, including the start time and end time of the water heating operation, in accordance with the received water heating instruction (step S6). Then, when the water heating time slot set by the water heating instruction arrives during the planning period, each water heater 1 performs the water heating operation (step S7).

[0105] During the planning period, the control unit 11 of the appliance control device 10 functions as the power information acquisition unit 111 and acquires power information from the power measurement device 4 (step S8). Then, the control unit 11 functions as the determination unit 116 and refers to the acquired power information to determine whether the total power consumption of the apartment building H has exceeded a determination value (step S9).

[0106] If the total power consumption exceeds the determination value (step S9; YES), the control unit 11 regenerates the boiling plan (step S10). Details of the process of regenerating the boiling plan will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0107] When the regeneration process of the water heating plan shown in Figure 12 is started, the control unit 11 functions as the equipment information acquisition unit 112 and acquires information from each water heater 1 regarding the amount of water heated on that day, the latest value of the remaining hot water amount, and the amount of hot water required on that day (step S101).

[0108] Next, control unit 11 functions as selection unit 117 and selects a water heater 1 to be regenerated from among the multiple water heaters 1 installed in apartment building H (step S102). Specifically, control unit 11 selects at least one water heater 1 to be regenerated that has a positive remaining capacity value obtained by subtracting the amount of hot water required on that day from the latest value of the remaining amount of hot water, and that has not yet been heated on that day.

[0109] When at least one water heater 1 is selected, the control unit 11 functions as the plan generation unit 114 and individually assigns the water heating time slots of the at least one selected water heater 1 to a period from the current time point onward within the planning period (step S103). As a result, the control unit 11 regenerates the water heating plan, which is the second plan. This completes the water heating plan regeneration process shown in FIG. 12.

[0110] 11, when the water heating plan is regenerated, the control unit 11 functions as the device control unit 115 and sends a water heating instruction to the water heaters 1 (step S11). As a result, the control unit 11 instructs each water heater 1 to perform a water heating operation in accordance with the water heating plan regenerated in step S10.

[0111] When each water heater 1 receives a new boiling instruction from the equipment control device 10, it discards the boiling instruction received in step S5, and performs boiling operations in accordance with the new boiling instruction received in step S11, i.e., in accordance with the regenerated boiling plan, from the current time onwards.

[0112] On the other hand, if the total power consumption does not exceed the judgment value (step S9; NO), the control unit 11 skips the processes of steps S10 and S11 and does not execute the process of regenerating the water heating plan. In this case, each water heater 1 performs the water heating operation according to the original water heating plan generated in step S4 until the end of the plan period.

[0113] As described above, the equipment control device 10 according to the first embodiment generates a first plan that determines, for each water heater 1, a time period during which the multiple water heaters 1 will perform the water heating operation during the planned period, and instructs the multiple water heaters 1 to perform the water heating operation according to the first plan. If the total power consumption in the apartment building H exceeds a judgment value at any point during the planned period, the equipment control device 10 generates a second plan that determines, for each water heater 1, a time period during which at least one water heater 1 will perform the water heating operation during the period after that point, and instructs the at least one water heater 1 to perform the water heating operation according to the second plan.

[0114] In this way, the device control device 10 according to the first embodiment regenerates the water heating plan and applies it to subsequent water heating operations when the total power consumption of the apartment building H while the water heating operation is being performed according to the initial water heating plan deviates from the prediction. Therefore, even if the prediction of power consumption is incorrect, the power consumption in the apartment building H can be accurately controlled. In particular, when power consumption increases, the number of target water heaters 1 is reduced and the water heating plan is regenerated, thereby suppressing the peak value of the total power consumption of the apartment building H and avoiding a rise in electricity charges.

[0115] (Embodiment 2) Next, a description will be given of embodiment 2. Descriptions of the same configurations and functions as embodiment 1 will be omitted where appropriate.

[0116] The appliance control device 10 according to the first embodiment regenerates the water heating plan when the total power consumption of the apartment building H exceeds the judgment value. On the other hand, it is also important to improve the energy conservation awareness of the consumers themselves so that the total power consumption does not exceed the judgment value in the first place. Therefore, the appliance control device 10 according to the second embodiment notifies the consumers of notification information regarding the power consumed by the apartment building H, in addition to executing the processing described in the first embodiment.

[0117] As shown in FIG. 13, the device control system S according to the second embodiment further includes a plurality of display terminals 20 in addition to the same configuration as that of the first embodiment.

[0118] Each of the multiple display terminals 20 is a terminal operated by a consumer who uses each water heater 1. Specifically, each display terminal 20 is a communication terminal such as a smartphone, tablet terminal, or personal computer. Although not shown, each display terminal 20 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, display unit, operation unit, communication interface, readable / writable non-volatile semiconductor memory, and the like. Each display terminal 20 is connected to the appliance control device 10 via the communication network N so as to be able to communicate with the appliance control device 10.

[0119] 3, the device control device 10 further includes a notification unit 118 and a contribution calculation unit 119. Each of these functions is realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. The software and firmware are written as programs and stored in the ROM or storage unit 12. The CPU then executes the programs stored in the ROM or storage unit 12 to realize each of these functions.

[0120] The notification unit 118 communicates with each of the multiple display terminals 20 via the communication unit 13, and notifies each of the multiple display terminals 20 of notification information related to the power consumed in the apartment building H. Specifically, the notification information includes the amount of power consumed in the apartment building H, the usage fee for that amount of power, and the usage fee predicted if the total power consumption of the apartment building H exceeds a judgment value. The notification unit 118 is an example of a notification means.

[0121] 14, for example, the notification unit 118 displays, as notification information, the current power consumption and the most recent power consumption in each consumer's dwelling unit on the display terminal 20 of each consumer. The notification unit 118 also displays, as notification information, the annual electricity fee predicted at the current time and the annual electricity fee predicted if the total power consumption of the apartment building H exceeds the judgment value.

[0122] In this way, the power consumption situation is visualized and the electricity charge is displayed in numerical form, which can improve the energy conservation awareness of consumers.

[0123] Furthermore, when the total power consumption of the apartment building H exceeds the judgment value as a result of the judgment by the judgment unit 116, the notification unit 118 notifies the display terminal 20 of notification information requesting the consumers to save energy. For example, as shown in Fig. 15 , the notification unit 118 displays, as the notification information, a notification screen requesting emergency energy saving action on the display terminal 20 of each consumer. This notification screen is provided with "OK" and "Cancel" buttons so that the consumer can indicate whether or not they will cooperate with the request for energy saving action.

[0124] Returning to FIG. 13 , when the total power consumption of the apartment building H exceeds the judgment value, the contribution calculation unit 119 calculates the consumer's contribution to energy saving. The contribution is a value that represents the degree to which the consumer has contributed to reducing the total power consumption of the apartment building H. For example, when the consumer presses "OK", the contribution calculation unit 119 increases the consumer's contribution. The contribution calculation unit 119 is an example of a contribution calculation means.

[0125] More specifically, the contribution degree calculation unit 119 calculates the contribution degree based on the degree of reduction in power consumption by the consumer after the notification unit 118 notifies the notification information. Hereinafter, a method for calculating the contribution degree will be described with reference to Fig. 16. Fig. 16 shows an example in which a request for energy saving action was notified at 3:00 PM yesterday in an apartment building H where power management is performed in 30-minute increments, and consumer A pressed the "OK" button in response to the request. The upper part of Fig. 16 shows the required reduction in total power consumption of apartment building H, and the lower part of Fig. 16 shows the power consumption of consumer A's home.

[0126] In the example of Figure 16, a request was made to take energy-saving actions from 15:00 to 17:00 yesterday. The required reduction amount for the entire apartment building H during this requested period is 6,700 Wh, as shown in the total amount for the requested period. On the other hand, the required reduction amount for the entire apartment building H is 0 outside of the requested period.

[0127] The reduction in power consumption at Consumer A's home is calculated for each 30-minute time slot as the difference from the power consumption in the immediately preceding time slot. The total reduction in power consumption at Consumer A's home during the requested period is 230Wh, as shown in the total amount for the requested period.

[0128] The contribution calculation unit 119 calculates 230 / 6700≒3%, which is the ratio of the total amount of reduction in consumer A's home to the entire amount of reduction in apartment building H, as a value indicating the degree of reduction in power consumption in consumer A's home. This value is called the initial contribution of consumer A. Note that the initial contribution is not limited to calculating such a ratio, and the value of the reduction amount of 230 Wh may be used directly, or a point system with stages such as 1 point for every 100 Wh may be used.

[0129] The contribution degree calculation unit 119 calculates the contribution degree of consumer A's home by multiplying the initial contribution degree by a coefficient. Here, the coefficient changes depending on the situation when the energy saving action is requested. Specifically, the coefficient changes depending on at least one of the day of the week when the power consumption reduction was implemented, the time period when the reduction was implemented, and the power consumption when the reduction was implemented.

[0130] For example, if a reduction of 10 kWh is required in the total power consumption of apartment building H, the degree of urgency is higher than if a reduction of 1 kWh is required. Therefore, when the degree of urgency is high, contribution calculation unit 119 calculates the degree of contribution by setting the coefficient five times higher than in normal cases. Alternatively, contribution calculation unit 119 calculates the degree of contribution by setting a larger coefficient on days or time periods when power consumption tends to be high, such as weekends and evenings, compared to days or time periods when power consumption does not tend to be high.

[0131] Furthermore, when requesting energy-saving behavior, the notification unit 118 may further motivate the consumer to take energy-saving behavior by notifying the consumer of a coefficient, such as "If you comply with this request, you will receive five times the points." By calculating the degree of contribution using the coefficient in this way, it is possible to strengthen the consumer's motivation to take energy-saving behavior.

[0132] The contribution calculation unit 119 calculates such a contribution for each of the multiple consumers who use electricity in the apartment complex H. The contribution calculation unit 119 manages the calculated contribution by linking it to individuals, such as consumer A, consumer B, ...

[0133] The notification unit 118 notifies the display terminal 20 of each consumer of notification information indicating the degree of contribution calculated by the contribution degree calculation unit 119. The notification unit 118 transmits a notification screen indicating the degree of contribution of the consumer to the display terminal 20 of the consumer to display it, as shown in Fig. 17 , for example.

[0134] More specifically, the notification unit 118 notifies the display terminal 20 of notification information indicating the ranking of the degree of contribution calculated by the contribution degree calculation unit 119 among the multiple consumers. Specifically, the contribution degree calculation unit 119 calculates the degree of contribution of each consumer each time an energy saving action is requested. Alternatively, the contribution degree calculation unit 119 may calculate the average value of the degree of contribution for multiple requests as the degree of contribution of each consumer. The contribution degree calculation unit 119 ranks the multiple consumers based on the degree of contribution calculated in this way.

[0135] The notification unit 118 notifies the display terminal 20 of the consumer of notification information indicating the consumer's contribution level and the consumer's ranking. As a result, the notification unit 118 causes the display terminal 20 of the consumer to display a notification screen including the consumer's ranking, as shown in FIG. 17. This notification screen allows the consumer to check the number of points awarded to them and their ranking, such as 10th place out of 200 people. This makes it possible to improve the energy conservation awareness of consumers in a game-like manner.

[0136] The degree of contribution and ranking of such consumers are converted into points and given to the consumers as an incentive. In particular, in high-voltage bulk power receiving contracts, limiting the maximum power consumption also brings cost benefits to the aggregator, which is the power supplier, by reducing the power procurement price. Points may be used as a way to return this benefit to consumers and improve their satisfaction. For example, depending on the points earned by consumers, they may be applied to their monthly electricity bill, to the charges for services other than electricity, or exchanged for goods such as gift catalogs, thereby providing economic feedback.

[0137] As described above, the appliance control device 10 according to the second embodiment executes processing to encourage consumers to take energy-saving actions in addition to the processing described in the first embodiment. This can further enhance the effect of suppressing the maximum value of total power consumption in the apartment building H. This in turn can enhance the effect of suppressing increases in electricity charges for consumers and stabilizing power procurement costs for power suppliers.

[0138] It should be noted that the method by which the contribution calculation unit 119 calculates the contribution of each consumer is not limited to the method described above. For example, when the plan generation unit 114 regenerates the water heating plan, the consumer of the water heater 1 that is the target of regeneration can be said to have contributed to reducing the total power consumption of the apartment building H. In the example of Fig. 8, such consumers are consumer A, consumer D, and consumer F. Therefore, the contribution calculation unit 119 may increase the contribution of such consumers.

[0139] Furthermore, it can be said that the consumer of the water heater 1 whose water heating operation was stopped for that day when the plan generation unit 114 regenerated the water heating plan made a significant contribution to reducing the total power consumption of the apartment building H. In the example of Fig. 8, such a consumer corresponds to consumer B. Therefore, the contribution calculation unit 119 may further increase the contribution of such a consumer compared to the contributions of other consumers.

[0140] (Embodiment 3) Next, a description will be given of embodiment 3. Descriptions of the same configurations and functions as those of embodiments 1 and 2 will be omitted where appropriate.

[0141] In the first embodiment described above, if the total power consumption in the apartment building H exceeds the judgment value at any point during the planned period, the plan generation unit 114 changes the first plan for the period after that point to the second plan. However, due to the influence of the actual amount of hot water used, the outside temperature, etc., the heating operation may be completed earlier than originally planned. In such cases, the total power consumption of the apartment building H is less than predicted, and there are times when there is a surplus in the total power consumption.

[0142] To deal with such cases, in the third embodiment, when the total power consumption in the apartment building H falls below the judgment value at any point during the plan period, the plan generation unit 114 generates a second plan that determines, for each water heater 1, a time period during which at least one water heater 1 performs the heating operation during a period after that point. Then, the plan generation unit 114 changes the plan of the first plan for the period after the point when the total power consumption falls below the judgment value to the second plan.

[0143] For the sake of distinction, the judgment value for detecting that the total power consumption has increased from a value smaller than the judgment value to a value larger than the judgment value, as described in embodiment 1, is called the first judgment value, and the judgment value for detecting that the total power consumption has decreased from a value larger than the judgment value to a value smaller than the judgment value, as described in embodiment 3, is called the second judgment value.

[0144] Figure 18 shows the change in actual total power consumption measured by the power measuring device 4 during the time period from midnight to 4:00 a.m. during the planned period. In Figure 18, the second judgment value is indicated by a dashed line. As an example, the second judgment value is set to a value 0.6 times the limit value. The judgment unit 116 periodically references the total power consumption stored in the power DB 121 during the planned period, and determines whether the total power consumption has exceeded the first judgment value and whether it has fallen below the second judgment value.

[0145] The transition shown in Fig. 18 shows a decrease in the 4 o'clock hour compared to the transition predicted by the water heating plan shown in Fig. 6, and the actual total power consumption falls below the second determination value at time T2 in the 4 o'clock hour. In such a case, the determination unit 116 detects that the actual total power consumption falls below the second determination value.

[0146] Such a decrease in total power consumption occurs when the water heating operation by one of the water heaters 1 ends early, for example, when the amount of hot water used is less than expected due to a sudden absence of users. For example, if the water heating operation ends earlier than planned in the 4 o'clock hour, the water heating operation scheduled for the 5 o'clock and 6 o'clock hours in the original water heating plan will not be performed. Therefore, if each water heater 1 continues to perform the water heating operation according to the original plan, the water heating operation will not be performed in the 5 o'clock and 6 o'clock hours, even though these are time periods when the water heating operation can be performed, which is inefficient.

[0147] Furthermore, since power consumption generally tends to increase in the evening and later, it is desirable to suppress power consumption in the evening and later as much as possible. Therefore, the plan generation unit 114 regenerates the water heating plan so that the water heating operation in the period after time T2 is performed earlier. In other words, the plan generation unit 114 changes the time period in which at least one water heater 1 performs the water heating operation, which was set as a period after time T2 in the first plan, to an earlier time period in the second plan.

[0148] In order for the plan generation unit 114 to regenerate the water heating plan, the selection unit 117 selects at least one water heater 1 to be regenerated, i.e., the water heater 1 to be the target for performing the water heating operation in the second plan, from among the multiple water heaters 1 installed in the apartment building H.

[0149] To select a water heater 1, the selection unit 117 analyzes the current state of the water heater 1, as shown in Fig. 19. Specifically, the selection unit 117 acquires information on current day boiling for each of the multiple water heaters 1 installed in the apartment building H. As explained in the first embodiment, the current day boiling is information indicating whether each water heater 1 has already performed, is currently performing, or has not yet performed the boiling operation scheduled for that day. The current day boiling information is included in the device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit 112 on that day.

[0150] While each water heater 1 is performing the water heating operation according to the water heating plan, the device information acquisition unit 112 periodically acquires, as device information, the operating status of each water heater 1. From the operating information of each water heater 1, it is possible to acquire information on the day's water heating for each water heater 1. Furthermore, by comparing the operating information with the original water heating plan, it is possible to determine for each water heater 1 whether the water heating operation has finished earlier than the original water heating plan.

[0151] The selection unit 117 selects at least one water heater 1 that is to be the target for regeneration of the water heating plan based on the current information of each water heater 1. Specifically, the selection unit 117 selects at least one water heater 1 that has not yet performed water heating on the day as the target for regeneration.

[0152] 19, the selection unit 117 excludes the water heaters 1 in the homes of consumers A and B, which have already performed heating on the day, and the water heater 1 in the home of consumer C, which is currently in heating operation, from the targets for regeneration. Then, the selection unit 117 selects the water heaters 1 in the homes of consumers D to F as targets for regeneration.

[0153] When the selection unit 117 selects at least one water heater 1 to be re-planned, the plan generation unit 114 individually assigns a heating time period for the at least one selected water heater 1 to each water heater 1 during the period from time T2 on the current day onward. In this way, the plan generation unit 114 generates a second plan.

[0154] When generating the second plan, the plan generation unit 114 uses the same rules as when generating the first plan. Specifically, the plan generation unit 114 generates the second plan based on the predicted value Pb(i) of power consumption other than that of the water heater 1 predicted by the power consumption prediction unit 113, and the power consumption and the boiling time length required for at least one water heater 1 selected by the selection unit 117 to perform the boiling operation.

[0155] More specifically, the plan generating unit 114 allocates the water heating time periods in which each water heater 1 performs the water heating operation in order from the time period with the smallest predicted value Pb(i) of the power consumption other than the water heater 1. At this time, the plan generating unit 114 uses the same value as when generating the first plan as the predicted value Pb(i).

[0156] When the second plan is generated, the plan generation unit 114 changes the boiling plan for the period after time point T2 in the initially generated first plan to the second plan. Specifically, the plan generation unit 114 changes the initial boiling plan shown in FIG. 19 to the boiling plan shown in FIG. 20.

[0157] Specifically, the plan generating unit 114 reallocates the water heating time slots of the water heaters 1 in the homes of consumers D to F selected by the selecting unit 117 using the same rules as the initial water heating plan. For example, if there is a surplus in the total power consumption between 5:00 and 6:00, the plan generating unit 114 allocates the start time of the water heating time slots of the water heaters 1 in the homes of consumers D to F to 5:00. At this time, the plan generating unit 114 slides the water heating time slots of each water heater 1 to an earlier time slot without changing the length of the water heating time from the initial water heating plan.

[0158] In addition, the plan generation unit 114 assigns the end time of the heating time period for the water heater 1 at consumer C's home to 6:00, the same as the original heating plan, so that the water heater 1 at consumer C's home, which is currently in heating operation, can continue to perform the heating operation in accordance with the original heating plan.

[0159] 21 shows the transition of total power consumption in the period after time T2 when the total power consumption exceeds the judgment value when each water heater 1 performs the water heating operation according to the second plan generated by the plan generation unit 114. In the second plan, the water heating period after time T2 is advanced compared to the first plan. Therefore, in the second plan, total power consumption can be reduced more than in the first plan in the time period after 4:00 PM.

[0160] In this way, the plan generation unit 114 regenerates the boiling plan by changing the initially generated first plan for the period after time T2 when the total power consumption falls below the second judgment value to the second plan. When the boiling plan is regenerated, the plan generation unit 114 stores the regenerated boiling plan in the plan DB 123.

[0161] The device control unit 115 immediately applies the water-heating time slot regenerated by the plan generation unit 114 during the plan period. Specifically, the device control unit 115 sends a water-heating instruction including the start time and end time of the water-heating operation defined in the second plan to at least one water heater 1 selected by the selection unit 117. As a result, the device control unit 115 causes at least one water heater 1 selected by the selection unit 117 to perform the water-heating operation in accordance with the second plan during the period after time T2 when the total power consumption falls below the second judgment value.

[0162] When each water heater 1 receives a boiling instruction transmitted by the device control unit 115, it starts the boiling operation at the start time indicated in the received boiling instruction and ends the boiling operation at the end time indicated in the received boiling instruction. In other words, when each water heater 1 receives a boiling instruction according to the second plan, it will thereafter perform the boiling operation during the boiling time period determined in the second plan, rather than the boiling time period determined in the first plan.

[0163] As described above, when the total power consumption of the apartment building H falls below the second judgment value, the device control device 10 according to the third embodiment regenerates the water heating plan so as to advance the water heating time slots in the period following that point in the plan period. This makes it possible to improve the efficiency of power consumption by shifting the water heating time slots even when power consumption drops unexpectedly. As a result, there is a margin for power consumption in the subsequent time slots, which leads to suppressing the peak value of the total power consumption of the apartment building H.

[0164] (Variation) Although the embodiments have been described above, it is possible to combine the embodiments, or to modify or omit the embodiments as appropriate.

[0165] For example, although the above embodiment does not mention the frequency with which the water heating plan is regenerated, the frequency with which the water heating plan is regenerated may be limited if there are constraints such as communication load, processing load, or ensuring the lifespan of the water heater 1. For example, a limit may be set to once a day, or a new regeneration may not be performed for 12 hours after the first regeneration.

[0166] In the above embodiment, a water heater 1 has been described as an example of an energy storage device. However, the energy storage device is not limited to a water heater 1 as long as it is capable of storing energy. For example, at least one of the multiple energy storage devices may be a power storage facility including a storage battery that stores energy by charging. When the energy storage device is a water heater 1 as in the above embodiment, the storage operation of storing energy corresponds to the boiling operation of boiling hot water, the remaining energy corresponds to the remaining amount of hot water, and the amount of released energy corresponds to the amount of hot water used or the amount of hot water supplied. In contrast, when the energy storage device is a power storage facility, the storage operation of storing energy corresponds to a charging operation, the remaining energy corresponds to the remaining amount of stored power, and the amount of released energy corresponds to the amount of discharged energy. In addition, even if the energy storage device is a power storage facility, by replacing the "hot water storage tank" in the above embodiment with a "storage battery," replacing "hot water" with "electricity stored in a storage battery," replacing "hot water use" and "hot water supply" with "discharging a storage battery," and replacing "heating" with "charging a storage battery," the effect of reducing the total power consumption of the entire apartment building H can be achieved in the same way as in the above embodiment.

[0167] In the above embodiment, the device control device 10 includes the power DB 121, the device DB 122, and the plan DB 123. However, these DBs do not necessarily have to be provided within the device control device 10, but may be provided in a device external to the device control device 10, and each piece of history information may be stored in the external device.

[0168] In the above embodiment, the power demand area has been described as being the apartment complex H. However, the power demand area is not limited to the apartment complex H, and may be any facility such as a hotel or hospital, as long as a plurality of energy storage devices are installed therein.

[0169] In the above-described embodiments, "electric energy" may be read as "electric power" and "electric power" may be read as "electric energy." "Electric power" and "electric energy" may be values ​​expressed in either the unit of "electric power" or the unit of "electric energy." For example, in the above-described embodiments, the power metering device 4 measures the total power consumption of the apartment building H and the power consumption prediction unit 113 predicts the power consumption, but these may be measured or predicted in either the unit of "electric power" or the unit of "electric energy."

[0170] In the above embodiment, the CPU in the control unit 11 of the device control device 10 executes a program stored in the ROM or the storage unit 12 to function as each unit shown in FIG. 3 or 13. However, the control unit 11 may be dedicated hardware. Dedicated hardware is, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof. When the control unit 11 is dedicated hardware, the functions of each unit may be realized by individual hardware, or the functions of each unit may be realized together by a single piece of hardware.

[0171] In addition, some of the functions of each unit may be realized by dedicated hardware, and other parts may be realized by software or firmware. In this way, the control unit 11 can realize each of the above-mentioned functions by hardware, software, firmware, or a combination of these.

[0172] It is also possible to make an existing computer such as a personal computer or information terminal device function as the device control device 10 by applying a program that defines the operation of the device control device 10 to the computer.

[0173] Furthermore, the method of distribution of such a program is arbitrary, and for example, it may be stored on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disk ROM), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), an MO (Magneto Optical Disk), or a memory card and distributed, or it may be distributed via a communication network such as the Internet.

[0174] The present disclosure allows various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are intended to illustrate the present disclosure and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. That is, the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, not the embodiments. Various modifications made within the scope of the claims and the meaning of equivalent disclosures are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0175] The above describes in detail preferred embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0176] Various aspects of the present disclosure are summarized below as appendices.

[0177] (Appendix 1) An equipment control device that controls a plurality of energy storage devices installed in an electric power demand area, a plan generating means for generating a first plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which the plurality of energy storage devices perform an energy storage operation to store energy during a planning period; a device control means for instructing the plurality of energy storage devices to perform the storage operation in accordance with the first plan generated by the plan generation means, when the total power consumption in the power demand area exceeds or falls below a judgment value at any point in time during the planning period, the plan generation means generates a second plan different from the first plan, the second plan being a plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which at least one energy storage device among the plurality of energy storage devices performs the storage operation during a period after the point in time during the planning period; the device control means instructs the at least one energy storage device to perform the storage operation in accordance with the second plan generated by the plan generation means. Equipment control device. (Appendix 2) a selection means for selecting, when the total power consumption exceeds the determination value at the time point, a number of energy storage devices from among the plurality of energy storage devices that is less than the number of energy storage devices that are to perform the storage operation in the period after the time point in the first plan, as the at least one energy storage device that is to perform the storage operation in the second plan; the plan generation means generates the second plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which the at least one energy storage device selected by the selection means performs the storage operation. 10. The device control device of claim 1. (Appendix 3) the selection means selects, from among the plurality of energy storage devices, an energy storage device that has not yet performed the storage operation at the time point and whose remaining energy amount at the time point is smaller than the amount of energy release predicted for a period after the time point, as the at least one energy storage device. 10. The device control device according to claim 2. (Appendix 4) a notification means for notifying a display terminal of a consumer that uses each of the plurality of energy storage devices of notification information related to the power consumed in the power demand area, 4. The device control device according to any one of appendices 1 to 3. (Appendix 5) When the total power consumption exceeds the determination value, the notification means notifies the display terminal of the notification information indicating a request for energy saving to the consumer. 5. The device control device according to claim 4. (Appendix 6) a contribution calculation means for calculating a contribution of the consumer to the energy saving when the total power consumption exceeds the determination value; the notification means notifies the display terminal of the notification information indicating the degree of contribution calculated by the degree of contribution calculation means. 6. The device control device according to claim 5. (Appendix 7) the contribution calculation means calculates the contribution based on a degree of reduction in power consumption by the consumer after the notification means notifies the consumer of the notification information. 7. The device control device according to claim 6. (Appendix 8) the contribution calculation means calculates the contribution by multiplying a value indicating the degree of the reduction by a coefficient that varies depending on at least one of the day of the week when the reduction was implemented, the time period when the reduction was implemented, and the power consumption when the reduction was implemented. 8. The device control device according to claim 7. (Appendix 9) the contribution calculation means calculates the contribution for each of a plurality of consumers who use electric power in the electric power demand area; the notification means notifies the display terminal of the notification information indicating a ranking among the plurality of consumers of the degree of contribution calculated by the degree of contribution calculation means. 9. The device control device according to any one of appendices 6 to 8. (Appendix 10) when the total power consumption falls below the determination value at the time point, the plan generation means changes a time period in which the at least one energy storage device performs the storage operation in the first plan to an earlier time period in the second plan; 10. The device control device according to any one of appendices 1 to 9. (Appendix 11) further comprising a power consumption prediction means for predicting power consumption to be consumed in the power demand area other than at the plurality of energy storage devices during the planning period; The plan generation means generating the first plan based on the power consumption predicted by the power consumption prediction means and the power consumption and time length required for each of the plurality of energy storage devices to perform the storage operation during the plan target period; generating the second plan based on the power consumption predicted by the power consumption prediction means and the power consumption and time length required for each of the at least one energy storage device to perform the storage operation during a period after the time point within the plan period; 11. The device control device according to any one of appendices 1 to 10. (Appendix 12) At least one of the plurality of energy storage devices is a hot water storage type water heater, The storage operation is a boiling operation in which the water heater boils water. 12. The device control device according to any one of appendices 1 to 11. (Appendix 13) At least one of the plurality of energy storage devices is a power storage facility, The storage operation is a charging operation. 13. The device control device according to any one of appendices 1 to 12. (Appendix 14) A system including the device control device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 13 and the plurality of energy storage devices. Equipment control system. (Appendix 15) 1. A device control method for controlling a plurality of energy storage devices installed in an electric power demand area, comprising: generating a first plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which the plurality of energy storage devices will perform an energy storage operation to store energy during a planning period; instructing the plurality of energy storage devices to perform the storage operation according to the first plan; When the total power consumption in the power demand area exceeds or falls below a judgment value at any point in time during the planning period, a second plan different from the first plan is generated, the second plan being a plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which at least one energy storage device among the plurality of energy storage devices performs the storage operation during a period after the point in time during the planning period; instructing the at least one energy storage device to perform the storage operation in accordance with the second schedule; Equipment control methods. (Appendix 16) A computer that controls multiple energy storage devices installed in areas where electricity is needed. a plan generating means for generating a first plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which the plurality of energy storage devices perform an energy storage operation to store energy during a planning period; causing the device to function as a device control means for instructing the plurality of energy storage devices to perform the storage operation in accordance with the first plan generated by the plan generation means; when the total power consumption in the power demand area exceeds or falls below a judgment value at any point in time during the planning period, the plan generation means generates a second plan different from the first plan, the second plan being a plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which at least one energy storage device among the plurality of energy storage devices performs the storage operation during a period after the point in time during the planning period; the device control means instructs the at least one energy storage device to perform the storage operation in accordance with the second plan generated by the plan generation means. program. [Explanation of symbols]

[0178] 1 water heater, 2 communication device, 3 high-voltage bulk power receiving equipment, 4 power measurement device, 5, 6 communication device, 10 equipment control device, 11 control unit, 12 memory unit, 13 communication unit, 20 display terminal, 111 power information acquisition unit, 112 equipment information acquisition unit, 113 power consumption prediction unit, 114 plan generation unit, 115 equipment control unit, 116 judgment unit, 117 selection unit, 118 notification unit, 119 contribution calculation unit, 121 power DB, 122 equipment DB, 123 plan DB, H apartment building, N communication network, S equipment control system

Claims

1. An equipment control device that controls a plurality of energy storage devices installed in an electric power demand area, a plan generating means for generating a first plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which the plurality of energy storage devices perform an energy storage operation to store energy during a plan target period; device control means for instructing the plurality of energy storage devices to perform the storage operation in accordance with the first plan generated by the plan generation means; a selection means for selecting, when the total power consumption in the power demand area exceeds a determination value at any point in time during the plan period, a number of energy storage devices from among the plurality of energy storage devices that is less than the number of energy storage devices that are to perform the storage operation in the period after the point in time in the first plan, as at least one energy storage device that is to perform the storage operation in the second plan; the plan generation means generates the second plan, which is a plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which the at least one energy storage device selected by the selection means performs the storage operation in a period after the time point within the planning period, and which is different from the first plan; the device control means instructs the at least one energy storage device to perform the storage operation in accordance with the second plan generated by the plan generation means. Equipment control device.

2. the selection means selects, from among the plurality of energy storage devices, an energy storage device that has not yet performed the storage operation at the time point and whose remaining energy amount at the time point is smaller than an amount of energy release predicted for a period after the time point, as the at least one energy storage device. The equipment control device according to claim 1 .

3. An equipment control device that controls a plurality of energy storage devices installed in an electric power demand area, a plan generating means for generating a first plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which the plurality of energy storage devices perform an energy storage operation to store energy during a plan target period; a device control means for instructing the plurality of energy storage devices to perform the storage operation in accordance with the first plan generated by the plan generation means, when the total power consumption in the power demand area falls below a determination value at any point in time during the planning period, the plan generation means generates a second plan different from the first plan, the second plan being a plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which at least one energy storage device among the plurality of energy storage devices performs the storage operation during a period after the point in time during the planning period; the device control means instructs the at least one energy storage device to perform the storage operation in accordance with the second plan generated by the plan generation means; when the total power consumption falls below the determination value at the time point, the plan generation means changes a time period in which the at least one energy storage device performs the storage operation in the first plan to an earlier time period in the second plan; Equipment control device.

4. An equipment control device that controls a plurality of energy storage devices installed in an electric power demand area, a plan generating means for generating a first plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which the plurality of energy storage devices perform an energy storage operation to store energy during a plan target period; a device control means for instructing the plurality of energy storage devices to perform the storage operation in accordance with the first plan generated by the plan generation means, when the total power consumption in the power demand area exceeds a first determination value at any time point during the planning period, and when the total power consumption at the time point falls below a second determination value that is smaller than the first determination value, the plan generation means generates a second plan different from the first plan, the second plan being a plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which at least one energy storage device among the plurality of energy storage devices performs the storage operation in a period after the time point during the planning period; the device control means instructs the at least one energy storage device to perform the storage operation in accordance with the second plan generated by the plan generation means. Equipment control device.

5. a notification means for notifying a display terminal of a consumer that uses each of the plurality of energy storage devices of notification information related to the power consumed in the power demand area; the notification means notifies the display terminal of the notification information indicating a request for energy saving to the consumer when the total power consumption exceeds the determination value; a contribution calculation means for calculating a contribution of the consumer to the energy saving when the total power consumption exceeds the determination value; the notification means notifies the display terminal of the notification information indicating the degree of contribution calculated by the degree of contribution calculation means. The device control device according to claim 1 or 2.

6. the contribution calculation means calculates the contribution based on a degree of reduction in power consumption by the consumer after the notification means notifies the consumer of the notification information. The equipment control device according to claim 5 .

7. the contribution calculation means calculates the contribution by multiplying a value indicating the degree of the reduction by a coefficient that varies depending on at least one of the day of the week when the reduction was implemented, the time period when the reduction was implemented, and the power consumption when the reduction was implemented. The equipment control device according to claim 6 .

8. the contribution calculation means calculates the contribution for each of a plurality of consumers who use electric power in the electric power demand area; the notification means notifies the display terminal of the notification information indicating a ranking among the plurality of consumers of the degree of contribution calculated by the degree of contribution calculation means. The equipment control device according to claim 5 .

9. further comprising a power consumption prediction means for predicting power consumption to be consumed in the power demand area other than at the plurality of energy storage devices during the planning period; The plan generation means generating the first plan based on the power consumption predicted by the power consumption prediction means and the power consumption and time length required for each of the plurality of energy storage devices to perform the storage operation during the plan target period; generating the second plan based on the power consumption predicted by the power consumption prediction means and the power consumption and time length required for each of the at least one energy storage device to perform the storage operation during a period after the time point within the plan period; The device control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

10. At least one of the plurality of energy storage devices is a hot water storage type water heater, The storage operation is a boiling operation in which the water heater boils water. The device control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

11. At least one of the plurality of energy storage devices is a power storage facility, The storage operation is a charging operation. The device control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

12. A power distribution system comprising: the device control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4; and the plurality of energy storage devices. Equipment control system.

13. 1. A device control method for controlling a plurality of energy storage devices installed in an electric power demand area, comprising: generating a first plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which the plurality of energy storage devices will perform an energy storage operation to store energy during a planning period; instructing the plurality of energy storage devices to perform the storage operation in accordance with the first plan; When the total power consumption in the power demand area exceeds a determination value at any point in time during the plan period, select, from among the plurality of energy storage devices, a number of energy storage devices that is less than the number of energy storage devices that are to perform the storage operation in the period after the point in time in the first plan, as at least one energy storage device that is to perform the storage operation in the second plan; generating a second plan that is different from the first plan and that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which the selected at least one energy storage device performs the storage operation in a period after the time point within the planning period; instructing the at least one energy storage device to perform the storage operation in accordance with the second schedule; Equipment control methods.

14. 1. A device control method for controlling a plurality of energy storage devices installed in an electric power demand area, comprising: generating a first plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which the plurality of energy storage devices will perform an energy storage operation to store energy during a planning period; instructing the plurality of energy storage devices to perform the storage operation in accordance with the first plan; generating a second plan different from the first plan, when the total power consumption in the power demand area falls below a determination value at any point in time during the planning period, the second plan being a plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which at least one energy storage device among the plurality of energy storage devices performs the storage operation during a period after the point in time during the planning period; instructing the at least one energy storage device to perform the storage operation in accordance with the second schedule; A device control method, comprising: In the step of generating the second plan, a time period in which the at least one energy storage device performs the storage operation in the first plan is changed to an earlier time period in the second plan. Equipment control methods.

15. A computer that controls multiple energy storage devices installed in areas where electricity is needed. a plan generating means for generating a first plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which the plurality of energy storage devices perform an energy storage operation to store energy during a plan target period; device control means for instructing the plurality of energy storage devices to perform the storage operation in accordance with the first plan generated by the plan generation means; when the total power consumption in the power demand area exceeds a determination value at any point in time during the plan period, the selection unit selects, from among the plurality of energy storage devices, a number of energy storage devices that is less than the number of energy storage devices that are to perform the storage operation in the period after the point in time in the first plan, as at least one energy storage device that is to perform the storage operation in the second plan; the plan generation means generates the second plan, which is a plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which the at least one energy storage device selected by the selection means performs the storage operation in a period after the time point within the planning period, and which is different from the first plan; the device control means instructs the at least one energy storage device to perform the storage operation in accordance with the second plan generated by the plan generation means. program.

16. A computer that controls multiple energy storage devices installed in areas where electricity is needed. a plan generating means for generating a first plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which the plurality of energy storage devices perform an energy storage operation to store energy during a plan target period; causing the device to function as a device control means for instructing the plurality of energy storage devices to perform the storage operation in accordance with the first plan generated by the plan generation means; when the total power consumption in the power demand area falls below a determination value at any point in time during the planning period, the plan generation means generates a second plan different from the first plan, the second plan being a plan that determines, for each energy storage device, a time period during which at least one energy storage device among the plurality of energy storage devices performs the storage operation during a period after the point in time during the planning period; the device control means instructs the at least one energy storage device to perform the storage operation in accordance with the second plan generated by the plan generation means; when the total power consumption falls below the determination value at the time point, the plan generation means changes a time period in which the at least one energy storage device performs the storage operation in the first plan to an earlier time period in the second plan; program.

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