Power management system and power management method

Abstract

In this power management system comprising: a plurality of home appliances including a first home appliance and a second home appliance; and a server for transmitting, to at least one of the first home appliance and the second home appliance, a control signal for operation in a power consumption reduction mode which enables reduction of a power consumption value, the server may: receive power consumption data from each of the first home appliance and the second home appliance; determine a total power consumption value for power consumed by the first home appliance and the second home appliance on the basis of the power consumption data; if the total power consumption value is greater than or equal to a first reference power consumption value, determine a home appliance, to which a control signal for operation in the power consumption reduction mode is to be transmitted, among the first home appliance and the second home appliance on the basis of a predetermined operation order of the power consumption reduction mode; and transmit a control signal for operation in the power consumption reduction mode to the determined home appliance.

Description

Power management system and power management method

[0001] The disclosed invention relates to a power management system and a power management method.

[0002] In general, when high-power home appliances are used simultaneously, a branch box is configured to have a circuit breaker for each branch to prevent a short circuit of the main circuit breaker.

[0003] However, as there is a recent trend of developing many home appliances with high instantaneous power consumption, if these home appliances with high instantaneous power consumption are used at the same time, a short circuit may occur even if the circuit breaker is configured for each branch.

[0004] Therefore, there is a need for a power management method that prevents the circuit breaker from short-circuiting even when multiple appliances with high instantaneous power consumption are used simultaneously.

[0005] The present disclosure can provide a power management system and a power management method that do not cause power cuts even when high-power home appliances are used simultaneously.

[0006] A power management system according to the invention comprises: a plurality of home appliances including a first home appliance and a second home appliance; and a server for transmitting a control signal for operating in a power consumption reduction mode capable of reducing a power consumption value to at least one home appliance among the first home appliance and the second home appliance; wherein the server receives power consumption data from each of the first home appliance and the second home appliance, determines a total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance and the second home appliance based on the power consumption data, and determines a home appliance among the first home appliance and the second home appliance to which a control signal for operating in the power consumption reduction mode is to be transmitted based on an operation priority of a predetermined power consumption reduction mode when the total power consumption value is equal to or greater than a first reference power consumption value, and transmits a control signal for operating in the power consumption reduction mode to the determined home appliance.

[0007] A power management method according to the invention may include: a step in which a server receives power consumption data from each of a first home appliance and a second home appliance; a step in which the server determines a total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance and the second home appliance based on the power consumption data; a step in which the server determines a home appliance to transmit a control signal for operating in the power consumption reduction mode among the first home appliance and the second home appliance based on an operation priority of a predetermined power consumption reduction mode when the total power consumption value is equal to or greater than a first reference power consumption value; and a step in which the server transmits a control signal for operating in the power consumption reduction mode to the determined home appliance.

[0008] According to one aspect of the disclosed invention, there is an effect that high-power home appliances can be used simultaneously without power cut-off.

[0009] According to one aspect of the disclosed invention, when high-power home appliances are used simultaneously, there is an effect that power can be cut off without causing inconvenience to the user in using the home appliances, taking into account the characteristics of the products.

[0010] The effects that can be obtained from the present disclosure are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects that are not mentioned can be clearly understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs from the description below.

[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a network of a power management system according to one embodiment.

[0012] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a flowchart of a power management method according to one embodiment.

[0013] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a home appliance to operate in a power consumption reduction mode based on an operation priority of the power consumption reduction mode of a power management system according to one embodiment.

[0014] FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are flowcharts showing a method for operating a home appliance in a power management system in a power consumption reduction mode according to one embodiment.

[0015] FIG. 6 is a graph for explaining conditions for releasing a power consumption reduction mode based on operation information of a home appliance according to one embodiment.

[0016] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for displaying information regarding operation of a power consumption reduction mode through a user device according to one embodiment.

[0017] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of providing an interface for notifying a user device that an appliance is operating in a power reduction mode according to one embodiment.

[0018] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a method for determining a reference power consumption value based on information input by a user according to one embodiment.

[0019] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a method for determining the operation priority of a power consumption reduction mode according to a user's selection according to one embodiment.

[0020] It should be understood that the various embodiments and terms used in this document are not intended to limit the technical features described in this document to specific embodiments, but rather to include various modifications, equivalents, or substitutes of the embodiments.

[0021] In connection with the description of the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used for similar or related components.

[0022] The singular form of a noun corresponding to an item may include one or more of said items, unless the relevant context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0023] In this document, each of the phrases "A or B", "at least one of A and B", "at least one of A or B", "A, B, or C", "at least one of A, B, and C", and "at least one of A, B, or C" may include any one of the items listed together in that phrase, or all possible combinations thereof.

[0024] The term "and / or" includes any combination of a plurality of related described elements or any one of a plurality of related described elements.

[0025] The terms "part," "module," and "member" may be implemented in hardware or software. Depending on the embodiments, multiple "parts," "modules," or "members" may be implemented as a single component, or a single "part," "module," or "member" may include multiple components.

[0026] Terms such as "first," "second," or "first" or "second" may be used simply to distinguish one component from another and do not qualify the components in any other respect (e.g., importance or order).

[0027] When a component (e.g., a first component) is referred to as being "coupled" or "connected" to another component (e.g., a second component), with or without the terms "functionally" or "communicatively," it means that the component can be connected to the other component directly (e.g., wired), wirelessly, or through a third component.

[0028] The terms "include" or "have" are intended to specify the presence of a feature, number, step, operation, component, part or combination thereof described in this document, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof.

[0029] When a component is said to be “connected,” “coupled,” “supported,” or “in contact with” another component, this includes not only cases where the components are directly connected, coupled, supported, or in contact, but also cases where the components are indirectly connected, coupled, supported, or in contact through a third component.

[0030] When we say that a component is "on" another component, this includes not only cases where the component is in contact with the other component, but also cases where there is another component between the two components.

[0031] Meanwhile, the terms "front", "back", "left", "right", "upper", "lower", etc. used in the following description are defined based on the drawing, but the shape and position of each component are not limited by the above terms. For example, the front side may be defined as the +X side, and the rear side may be defined as the -X side. For example, based on the drawing, the right side may be defined as the +Y side, and the left side may be defined as the -Y side. For example, based on the drawing, the upper side may be defined as the +Z side, and the lower side may be defined as the -Z side.

[0032] Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0033] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a network of a power management system according to one embodiment.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 1, a power management system (1) may include a plurality of home appliances (10), servers (20), and / or user devices (30).

[0035] Each of the plurality of home appliances (10) may include a communication module capable of communicating with a server (20) or a user device (30), a user interface for receiving user input or outputting information to a user, at least one processor for controlling the operation of the home appliance (10), and at least one memory in which a program for controlling the operation of the home appliance (10) is stored.

[0036] The plurality of home appliances (10) may include a first home appliance (10a) and / or a second home appliance (10b). The first home appliance (10a) may include an induction (10a-1), an air conditioner (10a-2), etc. The second home appliance (10b) may include an air purifier (10b-1), a refrigerator (10b-2), etc. However, the distinction between the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b) is made for the convenience of explaining the operation order of the power consumption reduction mode to be described later, and is not limited to that illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0037] The plurality of home appliances (10) may include various home appliances, such as a dishwasher, a clothes manager, a washing machine, a dryer, a microwave oven, a cleaning robot, a vacuum cleaner, and a television. Furthermore, the aforementioned home appliances are merely examples, and in addition to the aforementioned home appliances, devices capable of performing the operations described below, connected to other home appliances, servers (20), or user devices (30), may be included in the home appliance (10) according to one embodiment.

[0038] The server (20) may include a communication module capable of communicating with another server, a plurality of home appliances (10) or a user device (30), at least one processor capable of processing data received from another server, a plurality of home appliances (10) or a user device (30), and at least one memory capable of storing a program for processing data or processed data. The server (20) may be implemented as a variety of computing devices such as a workstation, a cloud, a data drive, a data station, etc. The server (20) may be implemented as one or more servers that are physically or logically separated based on function, detailed configuration of function or data, etc., and may transmit and receive data through communication between each server and process the transmitted and received data.

[0039] The server (20) can perform functions such as managing user accounts, registering multiple home appliances (10) by linking them to user accounts, and managing or controlling the registered home appliances (10). For example, a user can access the server (20) through a user device (30) and create a user account. The user account can be identified by an ID and password set by the user. The server (20) can register a home appliance (10) to the user account according to a set procedure. For example, the server (20) can link identification information (e.g., serial number or MAC address) of the home appliance (10) to the user account, thereby registering, managing, and controlling the home appliance (10). The user device (30) may include a communication module capable of communicating with a home appliance (10) or a server (20), a user interface for receiving user input or outputting information to a user, at least one processor for controlling the operation of the user device (30), and at least one memory in which a program for controlling the operation of the user device (30) is stored.

[0040] The user device (30) may be carried by the user or placed in the user's home or office, etc. The user device (30) may include, but is not limited to, a personal computer, a terminal, a portable telephone, a smart phone, a handheld device, a wearable device, etc.

[0041] A program for controlling a home appliance (10), i.e., an application, may be stored in the memory of the user device (30). The application may be sold installed in the user device (30) or downloaded and installed from an external server.

[0042] A user can access a server (20) by executing an application installed on a user device (30), create a user account, and communicate with the server (20) based on the logged-in user account to register a home appliance (10).

[0043] For example, when the home appliance (10) is operated so that the home appliance (10) can be connected to the server (20) according to the procedure guided by the application installed on the user device (30), the home appliance (10) can be registered in the user account by registering the identification information (e.g., serial number or MAC address) of the home appliance (10) in the corresponding user account on the server (20).

[0044] A user can control a home appliance (10) using an application installed on a user device (30). For example, when a user logs into a user account using an application installed on the user device (30), a home appliance (10) registered to the user account appears, and when a control command for the home appliance (10) is input, the control command can be transmitted to the home appliance (10) via a server (20).

[0045] A network can include both wired and wireless networks. Wired networks include cable networks or telephone networks, while wireless networks can include any network that transmits and receives signals via radio waves. Wired and wireless networks can be interconnected.

[0046] The network may include a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, a local area network (LAN) formed around an Access Point (AP), and / or a short-range wireless network that does not pass through an Access Point (AP). Short-range wireless networks may include, but are not limited to, Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15.1), Zigbee (IEEE 802.15.4), Wi-Fi Direct, Near Field Communication (NFC), Z-Wave, etc., for example.

[0047] An access point (AP) can connect a home appliance (10) or a user device (30) to a wide area network (WAN) to which a server (20) is connected. The home appliance (10) or the user device (30) can be connected to the server (20) via the wide area network (WAN).

[0048] The access point (AP) can communicate with a home appliance (10) or user device (30) using wireless communication such as Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11), Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15.1), or Zigbee (IEEE 802.15.4), and can connect to a wide area network (WAN) using wired communication, but is not limited thereto.

[0049] According to various embodiments, the home appliance (10) may be directly connected to a user device (30) or a server (20) without going through an access point (AP).

[0050] The home appliance (10) can be connected to a user device (30) or a server (20) via a long-distance wireless network or a short-distance wireless network.

[0051] For example, the home appliance (10) can be connected to the user device (30) via a short-range wireless network (e.g., Wi-Fi Direct).

[0052] As another example, the home appliance (10) may be connected to a user device (30) or a server (20) via a wide area network (WAN) using a long-distance wireless network (e.g., a cellular communication module).

[0053] As another example, a home appliance (10) can connect to a wide area network (WAN) using wired communication and be connected to a user device (30) or a server (20) through the wide area network (WAN).

[0054] If the home appliance (10) can connect to a wide area network (WAN) using wired communication, it can also function as an access relay. Accordingly, the home appliance (10) can connect other home appliances to the wide area network (WAN) to which the server (20) is connected. In addition, other home appliances can connect the home appliance (10) to the wide area network (WAN) to which the server (20) is connected.

[0055] A home appliance (10) can transmit information about its operation or status to another home appliance, a user device (30), or a server (20) via a network. For example, the home appliance (10) can transmit information about its operation or status to another home appliance, a user device (30), or the server (20) when a request is received from the server (20), when a specific event occurs in the home appliance (10), or periodically or in real time. When information about its operation or status is received from the home appliance (10), the server (20) can update the information about the operation or status of the home appliance (10) that has been stored therein, and transmit the updated information about the operation and status of the home appliance (10) to the user device (30) via a network. Here, updating information can include various operations that change existing information, such as an operation of adding new information to existing information, an operation of replacing existing information with new information, etc.

[0056] The home appliance (10) can obtain various information from other home appliances, user devices (30), or servers (20), and provide the obtained information to the user. For example, the home appliance (10) can obtain information related to the function of the home appliance (10) (e.g., cooking methods, washing instructions, etc.) and various environmental information (e.g., weather, temperature, humidity, etc.) from the server (20), and output the obtained information through a user interface.

[0057] The home appliance (10) can operate according to a control command received from another home appliance, a user device (30), or a server (20). For example, if the home appliance (10) has obtained prior approval from the user so that it can operate according to the control command of the server (20) even without user input, the home appliance (10) can operate according to the control command received from the server (20). Here, the control command received from the server (20) may include, but is not limited to, a control command input by the user through the user device (30) or a control command based on preset conditions.

[0058] The user device (30) can transmit information about the user to the home appliance (10) or server (20) via the communication module. For example, the user device (30) can transmit information about the user's location, health status, preferences, schedule, etc. to the server (20). The user device (30) can transmit information about the user to the server (20) with the user's prior consent.

[0059] The home appliance (10), user device (30), or server (20) may determine a control command using technology such as artificial intelligence. For example, the server (20) may receive information regarding the operation or status of the home appliance (10) or information regarding the user of the user device (30), process the information using technology such as artificial intelligence, and transmit the processing result or control command to the home appliance (10) or user device (30) based on the processing result.

[0060] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a flowchart of a power management method according to one embodiment.

[0061] Hereinafter, the plurality of home appliances (10) are described limited to the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b). However, the plurality of home appliances (10) may include various home appliances in addition to the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b).

[0062] Referring to FIG. 2, multiple home appliances (10) can transmit various data to a server (20) (S1).

[0063] For example, a first home appliance (10a) includes a first power sensor that collects first power consumption data according to the operation of the home appliance and can transmit the first power consumption data to a server (20). A second home appliance (10b) includes a second power sensor that collects second power consumption data according to the operation of the home appliance and can transmit the second power consumption data to a server (20).

[0064] The server (20) can generate a control signal for causing at least one of the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b) to operate in a power consumption reduction mode capable of reducing power consumption (S2).

[0065] Operating in power saving mode may mean limiting the operating specifications of the appliance in order to reduce the power consumed by the appliance.

[0066] For example, if the home appliance (10) includes a heater, high instantaneous power consumption is consumed at the time the heater is turned on, so the timing of turning on the heater may be delayed.

[0067] Another example, if the appliance (10) includes a compressor, this may include lowering the RPM of the compressor.

[0068] The server (20) can transmit a control signal to at least one of the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b) to operate in a power consumption reduction mode (S3).

[0069] Among the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b), the home appliance that has received a control signal for operating in a power consumption reduction mode from the server (20) can operate in the power consumption reduction mode (S4).

[0070] The server (20) can transmit information regarding the operation of the power consumption reduction mode to the user device (30) (S5). The user device (30) can display information regarding the operation of the power consumption reduction mode. Details regarding this will be described later.

[0071] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a home appliance to operate in a power consumption reduction mode based on an operation priority of the power consumption reduction mode of a power management system according to one embodiment.

[0072] Referring to FIG. 3, in one embodiment, the server (20) can receive power consumption data of each of the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b) (200).

[0073] For example, the server (20) can receive first power consumption data from a first home appliance (10a) and second power consumption data from a second home appliance (10b).

[0074] In one embodiment, the server (20) can determine the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b) (201).

[0075] For example, the server (20) can determine a first power consumption value consumed by a first home appliance (10a) based on first power consumption data, and can determine a second power consumption value consumed by a second home appliance (10b) based on second power consumption data. The total power consumption value can be determined from the first power consumption value and the second power consumption value.

[0076] The first power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance (10a) may include the instantaneous power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance (10a), and the second power consumption value consumed by the second home appliance (10b) may include the instantaneous power consumption value consumed by the second home appliance (10b).

[0077] The server (20) can determine the power consumption value consumed by the home appliance (10) based on the power consumption data received from the home appliance (10) from the time the home appliance (10) performs an operation.

[0078] The time at which the home appliance (10) performs an operation may be determined differently depending on the type of the home appliance (10). For example, if the home appliance (10) is an induction (10a-1, see FIG. 1), the time at which the home appliance (10) performs an operation may include the time at which the induction (10a-1) is turned on. For another example, if the home appliance (10) is an air conditioner (10a-2) or a refrigerator (10b-2), the time at which the home appliance (10) performs an operation may include the time at which the operation is performed according to a set temperature. In addition, if the home appliance (10) is a dishwasher, the time at which the home appliance (10) performs an operation may include the time at which the dishwasher performs a dishwashing operation, and if the home appliance (10) is a washing machine, the time at which the home appliance (10) performs an operation may include the time at which the washing machine starts a washing cycle. And, if the home appliance (10) is a dryer, the time at which the home appliance (10) performs an operation may include the time at which the dryer starts the drying process.

[0079] In one embodiment, the server (20) can determine which home appliance to operate in the power consumption reduction mode among the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b) based on the operation order of the predetermined power consumption reduction mode when the total power consumption value is greater than or equal to the first reference power consumption value (example of 202) (203).

[0080] The operation priority of the predetermined power consumption reduction mode may include an operation priority predetermined according to the characteristics of the home appliance.

[0081] For example, if a user uses an induction cooktop, cooking may be inconvenient when operating in power-saving mode. On the other hand, air purifiers may experience less inconvenience to the user even when operating in power-saving mode. The operating priority of the power-saving mode can be determined in advance according to the characteristics of each product, and the server (20) can store a list of information regarding the operating priority of the power-saving mode in memory.

[0082] In one embodiment, the server (20) can store first usage history information regarding the power consumption value of the first home appliance (10a) and second usage history information regarding the power consumption value of the second home appliance (10b).

[0083] The first usage history information regarding the power consumption value of the first home appliance (10a) may include history information regarding the average power consumption according to the use of the first home appliance (10a).

[0084] The second usage history information regarding the power consumption value of the second home appliance (10b) may include history information regarding the average power consumption according to the use of the second home appliance (10b).

[0085] In one embodiment, the server (20) can determine a first reference power consumption value based on at least one of the first usage history information and the second usage history information.

[0086] For example, the server (20) can store information about average power consumption according to the use of the first home appliance (10a) in memory and change the first reference power consumption value based on the average power consumption according to the use of the first home appliance (10a).

[0087] Specifically, the server (20) can change the first reference power consumption value based on the average power consumption according to the use of the first home appliance (10a) from the time the first home appliance (10a) performs an operation.

[0088] As another example, the server (20) can store information about average power consumption according to the use of the second home appliance (10b) in memory, and change the first reference power consumption value based on the average power consumption according to the use of the second home appliance (10b).

[0089] Specifically, the server (20) can change the first reference power consumption value based on the average power consumption according to the use of the second home appliance (10b) from the time the second home appliance (10b) performs an operation.

[0090] The server (20) can change the first reference power consumption to a lower value as the average power consumption according to the use of the first home appliance (10a) increases.

[0091] The server (20) can change the first reference power consumption to a lower value as the average power consumption according to the use of the second home appliance (10b) increases.

[0092] In one embodiment, the server (20) may determine a home appliance to operate in the power consumption reduction mode among the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b) based on the operation priority of the predetermined power consumption reduction mode, and may transmit a control signal to the determined home appliance to operate in the power consumption reduction mode.

[0093] A home appliance that has received a control signal to operate in a power consumption reduction mode can operate in the power consumption reduction mode (204).

[0094] FIGS. 4 and 5 are flowcharts illustrating a method for operating a home appliance in a power consumption reduction mode according to one embodiment of a power management system. FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating conditions for deactivating the power consumption reduction mode based on operation information of a home appliance according to one embodiment.

[0095] Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, as described above, the server (20) can receive power consumption data from the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b) (300), and can determine the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b) (301).

[0096] In one embodiment, the server (20) may determine the second home appliance (10b) as the home appliance to which a control signal for operating in the power consumption reduction mode is to be transmitted based on the operation priority of the power consumption reduction mode of the second home appliance (10b) being higher than the operation priority of the power consumption reduction mode of the first home appliance (10a) (303).

[0097] In one embodiment, the server (20) may transmit a control signal for operating in a power consumption reduction mode to the second home appliance (10b) based on determining that the second home appliance (10b) is the home appliance to which the control signal for operating in a power consumption reduction mode is to be transmitted.

[0098] In one embodiment, the second home appliance (10b) can operate in a power consumption reduction mode based on a control signal for operating in a power consumption reduction mode transmitted from the server (20) (304).

[0099] In one embodiment, the server (20) may transmit a control signal to the second home appliance (10b) to release the power consumption reduction mode based on the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b) being less than or equal to a second reference power consumption value while the second home appliance (10b) is operating in the power consumption reduction mode.

[0100] Disabling the power reduction mode may include operating according to the operating specifications prior to operating in the power reduction mode.

[0101] The second reference power consumption value may be lower than the first reference power consumption value. For example, if the total power consumption value is higher than the first reference power consumption value, the second reference power consumption value may be lower than the first reference power consumption value in order to secure more stable power after the second home appliance (10b) with a higher power consumption reduction mode operation priority among the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b) is operated in the power consumption reduction mode.

[0102] In one embodiment, the second home appliance (10b) may release the power consumption reduction mode based on receiving a control signal for releasing the power consumption reduction mode from the server (20) (306).

[0103] Referring to FIG. 5, in one embodiment, the server (20) may transmit a control signal to the first home appliance (10a) to operate in a power consumption reduction mode based on the fact that the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b) while the second home appliance (10b) is operating in a power consumption reduction mode is greater than or equal to a first reference power consumption value (example of 400).

[0104] For example, even after the second home appliance (10b) is operated in the power consumption reduction mode, a control signal can be transmitted to operate the first home appliance (10a) in the power consumption reduction mode based on the fact that the total power consumption value is greater than or equal to the first reference power consumption value.

[0105] The first home appliance (10a) can operate in a power consumption reduction mode based on receiving a control signal for operating in a power consumption reduction mode transmitted from a server (20) (401).

[0106] In one embodiment, the second home appliance (10b) may transmit information about the operation of the second home appliance (10b) to the server (20) while operating in a power consumption reduction mode.

[0107] Information regarding the operation of the second home appliance (10b) may include at least one of the remaining operation time of the second home appliance (10b) and the maximum power consumption value predicted during the remaining operation time of the second home appliance (10b).

[0108] Referring to FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a graph showing information regarding the operation of a second home appliance (10b) operating in a power consumption reduction mode.

[0109] Information regarding the operation of the second home appliance (10b) may include the remaining operation time of the second home appliance (10b).

[0110] For example, if the second home appliance (10b) is a dishwasher, it may include information about the expected end time of dishwashing.

[0111] Information about the operation of the second home appliance (10b) may include the maximum power consumption value predicted during the remaining operation time.

[0112] Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, in one embodiment, the server (20) may transmit a control signal to the second home appliance (10b) to release the power consumption reduction mode based on information about the operation of the second home appliance (10b) when the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b) is less than the first reference power consumption value while the second home appliance (10b) is operating in the power consumption reduction mode (NO of 400).

[0113] For example, the server (20) may transmit a control signal to release the power consumption reduction mode of the second home appliance (10b) based on the predicted maximum power consumption value during the remaining operation time of the second home appliance (10b) being less than a predetermined maximum power consumption value (P0).

[0114] In this case, even if the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b) is greater than the second reference power consumption value, a control signal for releasing the power consumption reduction mode can be transmitted to the second home appliance (10b).

[0115] In one embodiment, the server (20) can change the operating priority of the power consumption reduction mode based on whether the predicted maximum power consumption value during the remaining operation time of the second home appliance (10b) is less than a predetermined maximum power consumption value (P0).

[0116] For example, the server (20) may determine the operation priority of the power consumption reduction mode to be higher for the second home appliance (10b) than for the first home appliance (10a) based on the fact that the predicted maximum power consumption value during the remaining operation time of the second home appliance (10b) is smaller than the predetermined maximum power consumption value (P0).

[0117] In this case, the server (20) can transmit a control signal to the first home appliance (10a) to operate in power consumption reduction mode when the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b) is greater than or equal to the first reference power consumption value while the second home appliance (10b) is operating in power consumption reduction mode.

[0118] However, the server (20) changing the operation order according to the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the server (20) may change the operation order according to various embodiments.

[0119] For example, if the home appliance (10) includes a first home appliance (10a), a second home appliance (10b), and a third home appliance (not shown), and the operation order of the power consumption reduction mode is, in order, the third home appliance (not shown), the second home appliance (10b), and the first home appliance (10a), the server (20) may determine the operation order of the power consumption reduction mode to be higher for the second home appliance (10b) than for the third home appliance (not shown) based on the predicted maximum power consumption value during the remaining operation time of the third home appliance (not shown) being smaller than a predetermined maximum power consumption value (P0).

[0120] In this case, the server (20) can transmit a control signal to the second home appliance (10b) to operate in power consumption reduction mode when the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance (10a), the second home appliance (10b), and the third home appliance (not shown) is greater than the first reference power consumption value while the third home appliance (not shown) is operating in power consumption reduction mode.

[0121] As another example, the server (20) may transmit a control signal to release the power consumption reduction mode of the second home appliance (10b) based on the fact that the predicted maximum power consumption value during the remaining operation time of the second home appliance (10b) is less than a predetermined maximum power consumption value (P0) when the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b) is less than a first reference power consumption value while the second home appliance (10b) is operating in a power consumption reduction mode.

[0122] The power consumption reduction mode can be released based on receiving a control signal for releasing the power consumption reduction mode of the second home appliance (10b) transmitted from the second home appliance (10b) server (20) (402).

[0123] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for displaying information regarding the operation of a power reduction mode via a user device according to one embodiment. FIG. 8 illustrates an example of providing an interface for notifying a user device that an appliance is operating in a power reduction mode, according to one embodiment.

[0124] In one embodiment, as described above, the server (20) can determine which home appliance to operate in the power consumption reduction mode among the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b) based on the operation priority of the predetermined power consumption reduction mode (500). The determined home appliance can operate in the power consumption reduction mode (501).

[0125] In one embodiment, when the server (20) transmits a control signal to operate in a power consumption reduction mode to at least one of the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b), the server (20) may transmit information regarding the operation of the power consumption reduction mode to the user device (30).

[0126] Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the user device (30) can display information regarding the operation of the power consumption reduction mode transmitted from the server (20) through a user interface.

[0127] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a method for determining a reference power consumption value based on information input by a user according to one embodiment.

[0128] Referring to FIG. 9, the server (20) can determine a first reference power consumption value based on information about the maximum available power consumption value transmitted from the user device.

[0129] For example, the maximum available power consumption value may include the capacity of the main circuit breaker and / or the capacity of the distribution box installed in the home.

[0130] The user device (30) can receive information about the capacity of the main circuit breaker and / or the capacity of the distribution box input from the user through an input interface, and transmit the information about the capacity of the main circuit breaker and / or the capacity of the distribution box input to the server (20).

[0131] Additionally, the user device (30) can receive an image of the main circuit breaker and / or distribution box through a communication interface and transmit the received image of the main circuit breaker and / or distribution box to the server (20). The server (20) can determine a first reference power consumption value using the image of the main circuit breaker and / or distribution box received from the user device (30).

[0132] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a method for determining the operation priority of a power consumption reduction mode according to a user's selection according to one embodiment.

[0133] In one embodiment, the server (20) can determine a home appliance to transmit a control signal to operate in a power consumption reduction mode to at least one of the first home appliance (10a) and the second home appliance (10b) based on the operation priority of the power consumption reduction mode transmitted from the user device (30).

[0134] For example, if a user who does not currently need to use an induction range and wants to use an air purifier to purify the air generated during the cooking process selects an air purifier, the server (20) can transmit a control signal to the induction range to perform an operation to lower the operating temperature of the induction range.

[0135] A power management system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: a plurality of home appliances including a first home appliance and a second home appliance; and a server for transmitting a control signal for operating in a power consumption reduction mode capable of reducing a power consumption value to at least one home appliance among the first home appliance and the second home appliance; wherein the server receives power consumption data from each of the first home appliance and the second home appliance, determines a total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance and the second home appliance based on the power consumption data, and determines a home appliance among the first home appliance and the second home appliance to which a control signal for operating in the power consumption reduction mode is to be transmitted based on an operation priority of a predetermined power consumption reduction mode when the total power consumption value is equal to or greater than a first reference power consumption value, and transmits a control signal for operating in the power consumption reduction mode capable of reducing the power consumption value to the determined home appliance.

[0136] The server may transmit a control signal to the second home appliance to operate in the power consumption reduction mode based on the operation priority of the power consumption reduction mode of the second home appliance being higher than the operation priority of the power consumption reduction mode of the first home appliance.

[0137] The second home appliance can operate in the power consumption reduction mode based on a control signal for operating in the power consumption reduction mode transmitted from the server.

[0138] The server may transmit a control signal to the second home appliance to release the power consumption reduction mode based on the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance and the second home appliance while the second home appliance is operating in the power consumption reduction mode being less than or equal to a second reference power consumption value.

[0139] The second home appliance transmits information about the operation of the second home appliance to the server while operating in the power consumption reduction mode, and the server transmits a control signal to the second home appliance for releasing the power consumption reduction mode based on the information about the operation of the second home appliance when the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance and the second home appliance while the second home appliance is operating in the power consumption reduction mode is less than the first reference power consumption value, and the information about the operation of the second home appliance may include at least one of a remaining operation time of the second home appliance and a maximum power consumption value predicted among the remaining operation time of the second home appliance.

[0140] The server may transmit a control signal to the first home appliance to operate in the power consumption reduction mode based on the fact that the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance and the second home appliance while the second home appliance is operating in the power consumption reduction mode is greater than or equal to the first reference power consumption value.

[0141] The user device may further include, and the operation order of the predetermined power consumption reduction mode may include the operation order of the power consumption reduction mode transmitted from the user device.

[0142] The user device further includes a server, wherein the server can determine the first reference power consumption value based on information about the maximum available power consumption value transmitted from the user device.

[0143] The server may further include a user device, and when the server transmits a control signal for operating in the power consumption reduction mode to at least one of the first home appliance and the second home appliance, the server may transmit information regarding the operation of the power consumption reduction mode to the user device.

[0144] The server may store first usage history information regarding a power consumption value of the first home appliance and second usage history information regarding a power consumption value of the second home appliance, and determine the first reference power consumption value based on at least one of the first usage history information and the second usage history information.

[0145] A power management method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure comprises the steps of: a server receiving power consumption data from each of a first home appliance and a second home appliance;

[0146] The method may include: a step in which the server determines a total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance and the second home appliance based on the power consumption data; a step in which the server determines a home appliance to transmit a control signal for operating in the power consumption reduction mode among the first home appliance and the second home appliance based on an operation priority of a predetermined power consumption reduction mode when the total power consumption value is equal to or greater than a first reference power consumption value; and a step in which the server transmits a control signal for operating in the power consumption reduction mode capable of reducing the power consumption value to the determined home appliance.

[0147] The step of transmitting a control signal for the server to operate in a power consumption reduction mode capable of reducing the power consumption value to the determined home appliance; may include a step of transmitting a control signal for operating in the power consumption reduction mode to the second home appliance based on the operation priority of the power consumption reduction mode of the first home appliance being higher than the operation priority of the power consumption reduction mode of the second home appliance.

[0148] The second home appliance may further include a step of operating in the power consumption reduction mode based on a control signal for operating in the power consumption reduction mode.

[0149] The above-mentioned server may further include a step of transmitting a control signal to the second home appliance to release the power consumption reduction mode based on the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance and the second home appliance being less than or equal to a second reference power consumption value while the second home appliance is operating in the power consumption reduction mode.

[0150] The method further includes: transmitting information about the operation of the second home appliance to the server while the second home appliance is operating in the power consumption reduction mode; and transmitting a control signal to the second home appliance for releasing the power consumption reduction mode based on the information about the operation of the second home appliance when the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance and the second home appliance is less than the first reference power consumption value while the second home appliance is operating in the power consumption reduction mode. The information about the operation of the second home appliance may include at least one of a remaining operation time of the second home appliance and a maximum power consumption value predicted among the remaining operation time of the second home appliance.

[0151] The above-mentioned server may further include a step of transmitting a control signal to the first home appliance to operate in the power consumption reduction mode based on the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance and the second home appliance being greater than or equal to the first reference power consumption value while the second home appliance is operating in the power consumption reduction mode.

[0152] The operation priority of the above-determined power consumption reduction mode may include the operation priority of the power consumption reduction mode transmitted from the user device.

[0153] The server may further include a step of determining the first reference power consumption value based on information about the maximum available power consumption value transmitted from the user device.

[0154] The method may further include a step of transmitting information about the operation of the power consumption reduction mode to a user device when the server transmits a control signal for operating in the power consumption reduction mode to at least one of the first home appliance and the second home appliance.

[0155] The server may further include a step of storing first usage history information regarding a power consumption value of the first home appliance and second usage history information regarding a power consumption value of the second home appliance; and a step of determining the first reference power consumption value based on at least one of the first usage history information and the second usage history information.

[0156] Meanwhile, the disclosed embodiments may be implemented in the form of a recording medium storing computer-executable instructions. The instructions may be stored in the form of program code, and when executed by a processor, may generate program modules to perform the operations of the disclosed embodiments. The recording medium may be implemented as a computer-readable recording medium.

[0157] Computer-readable storage media include all types of storage media that store instructions that can be deciphered by a computer. Examples include read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic tape, magnetic disks, flash memory, and optical data storage devices.

[0158] Additionally, a computer-readable recording medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Here, the term "non-transitory storage medium" simply means a tangible device that does not contain signals (e.g., electromagnetic waves). This term does not distinguish between cases where data is permanently stored in the storage medium and cases where data is temporarily stored. For example, a "non-transitory storage medium" may include a buffer in which data is temporarily stored.

[0159] According to one embodiment, the method according to various embodiments disclosed in the present document may be provided as included in a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded as a product between a seller and a buyer. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable recording medium (e.g., compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)), or may be distributed online (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) via an application store (e.g., Play Store™) or directly between two user devices (e.g., smartphones). In the case of online distribution, at least a portion of the computer program product (e.g., a downloadable app) may be temporarily stored or temporarily generated on a machine-readable recording medium, such as the memory of a manufacturer's server, an application store's server, or an intermediary server.

[0160] The disclosed embodiments have been described with reference to the attached drawings as described above. Those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention can be implemented in forms other than the disclosed embodiments without altering the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. The disclosed embodiments are illustrative and should not be construed as limiting.

Claims

1. A power management system comprising a plurality of home appliances including a first home appliance and a second home appliance; and a server for transmitting a control signal to operate at least one of the first home appliance and the second home appliance in a power consumption reduction mode capable of reducing power consumption; The above server, Receiving power consumption data from each of the first home appliance and the second home appliance, and determining the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance and the second home appliance based on the power consumption data, If the total power consumption value is greater than or equal to the first reference power consumption value, the home appliance to be operated in the power consumption reduction mode is determined among the first home appliance and the second home appliance based on the operation order of the predetermined power consumption reduction mode, and A power management system that transmits a control signal to the above-determined home appliance to operate in the power consumption reduction mode.

2. In paragraph 1, The above server, A power management system that transmits a control signal to the second home appliance to operate in the power consumption reduction mode based on the operation priority of the power consumption reduction mode of the second home appliance being higher than the operation priority of the power consumption reduction mode of the first home appliance.

3. In paragraph 2, The above second home appliance, A power management system that operates in a power consumption reduction mode based on a control signal for operating in a power consumption reduction mode transmitted from the server.

4. In paragraph 3, The above server, A power management system that transmits a control signal to the second home appliance to release the power consumption reduction mode based on the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance and the second home appliance being less than or equal to a second reference power consumption value while the second home appliance is operating in the power consumption reduction mode.

5. In paragraph 3, The above second home appliance, Transmitting information about the operation of the second home appliance to the server while operating in the power consumption reduction mode; The above server, When the second home appliance is operating in the power consumption reduction mode and the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance and the second home appliance is less than the first reference power consumption value, a control signal for releasing the power consumption reduction mode is transmitted to the second home appliance based on information about the operation of the second home appliance, A power management system in which information regarding the operation of the second home appliance includes at least one of the remaining operation time of the second home appliance and the maximum power consumption value predicted during the remaining operation time of the second home appliance.

6. In paragraph 3, The above server, A power management system that transmits a control signal to the first home appliance to operate in the power consumption reduction mode based on the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance and the second home appliance being greater than or equal to the first reference power consumption value while the second home appliance is operating in the power consumption reduction mode.

7. In paragraph 1, further including user devices; A power management system in which the operation order of the above-determined power consumption reduction mode includes the operation order of the power consumption reduction mode transmitted from the user device.

8. In paragraph 4, further including user devices; The above server, A power management system that determines the first reference power consumption value based on information about the maximum available power consumption value transmitted from the user device.

9. In paragraph 3, further including user devices; The above server, A power management system that transmits information regarding the operation of the power consumption reduction mode to the user device when a control signal for operating in the power consumption reduction mode is transmitted to at least one of the first home appliance and the second home appliance.

10. In paragraph 1, The above server, Store first usage history information regarding the power consumption value of the first home appliance and second usage history information regarding the power consumption value of the second home appliance, A power management system that determines the first reference power consumption value based on at least one of the first usage history information and the second usage history information.

11. A step in which the server receives power consumption data from each of the first home appliance and the second home appliance; A step in which the server determines the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance and the second home appliance based on the power consumption data; A step for the server to determine a home appliance to transmit a control signal for operating in the power consumption reduction mode among the first home appliance and the second home appliance based on the operation priority of the predetermined power consumption reduction mode when the total power consumption value is greater than or equal to the first reference power consumption value; and A power management method comprising: a step of transmitting a control signal to the determined home appliance to operate in the power consumption reduction mode; 12. In paragraph 11, The step of the server transmitting a control signal to the determined home appliance to operate in the power consumption reduction mode; A power management method comprising: a step of transmitting a control signal to the second home appliance to operate in the power consumption reduction mode based on the operation priority of the power consumption reduction mode of the first home appliance being higher than the operation priority of the power consumption reduction mode of the second home appliance; 13. In paragraph 12, A power management method further comprising: a step of operating the second home appliance in the power consumption reduction mode based on a control signal for operating the second home appliance in the power consumption reduction mode.

14. In paragraph 13, A power management method further comprising: a step of transmitting a control signal to the second home appliance to release the power consumption reduction mode based on the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance and the second home appliance while the second home appliance is operating in the power consumption reduction mode being less than or equal to a second reference power consumption value; 15. In paragraph 13, A step of transmitting information about the operation of the second home appliance to the server while the second home appliance operates in the power consumption reduction mode; and The server further includes a step of transmitting a control signal to the second home appliance to release the power consumption reduction mode based on information about the operation of the second home appliance when the total power consumption value consumed by the first home appliance and the second home appliance is less than the first reference power consumption value while the second home appliance is operating in the power consumption reduction mode; A power management method in which information regarding the operation of the second home appliance includes at least one of the remaining operation time of the second home appliance and the maximum power consumption value predicted during the remaining operation time of the second home appliance.

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