Air Conditioner Control Scheduling for Peak Power Suppression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional consumer energy management systems fail to accurately estimate the time required for pre-cooling or pre-heating, leading to overlapping with power suppression periods and ineffective peak demand reduction due to large temperature changes set to satisfy power reduction targets.
Innovation Solution
A management system that calculates change-time based on weather information, device operation records, and acceptable temperature ranges to generate control schedules for air conditioners, ensuring power suppression within set ranges during designated periods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the air conditioner preset temperature is calculated to satisfy the power reduction target value, then power reduction is achieved, but large temperature changes occur causing pre-cooling/pre-heating time to overlap with power suppression period
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculation of the time required for pre-cooling or pre-heating based on thermal capacity before generating the control schedule. This allows the system to plan ahead and ensure that pre-cooling/pre-heating operations are completed before the power suppression period begins, avoiding overlap and ensuring power reduction targets are met without compromising temperature comfort.
2Productivity
If pre-cooling or pre-heating is performed with large temperature changes, then power demand peak is suppressed, but the time period for pre-cooling or pre-heating overlaps with power suppression time
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the preset temperature and calculates the required pre-cooling/pre-heating time based on real-time thermal capacity data. By making the temperature adjustment dynamic rather than fixed, the system can optimize the timing and magnitude of pre-cooling/pre-heating operations to suppress power demand peaks effectively while ensuring completion before the power suppression period starts, thus maintaining power suppression effectiveness.
3Use of energy by stationary object
If the change-time is not accurately calculated, then control schedule cannot be optimized, but power usage cannot be reduced while maintaining temperature ranges
Solution Approach 1:
The system utilizes the building's own thermal capacity characteristics and historical operation data to automatically calculate the required pre-cooling/pre-heating time. By leveraging the building's inherent thermal properties and past performance data, the system performs self-optimization without requiring complex external control mechanisms, thus reducing power usage while maintaining manageable system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A management system and a management method according to the invention calculate, on the basis of collected weather information, an operation record of a device, a state value and an acceptable range set for an area where the device is installed, and power-suppression-time during which electric power is suppressed, change-time during which the state value of the area is changed in response to the power-suppression-time by operations of the device, generate, using the calculated change-time, a control-schedule for controlling the device, and control the device. This enables reduction of electric power usage with the state value set for the area where the device is installed kept within the range in accordance with the power-suppression-time.