Energy Management Controller Priority Selection for Power Measurement

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current energy management systems, such as home energy management systems (HEMS), face challenges in selecting the most accurate power value from multiple power lines for effective energy management, particularly when both HEMS and electric vehicle power conditioning systems (EV-PCS) measure power values from the same lines, leading to inconsistent data and inefficient control.

Innovation Solution

The energy management controller acquires and stores power values from multiple devices, displays selected power values based on pre-assigned priorities, and corrects differences in measurement times using a correction mechanism to ensure accurate power management.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If multiple devices measure power values from the same power line, then more data is available for analysis, but measurement consistency and data reliability deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenumber of power value measurementsVSAvoidmeasurement consistency
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the measurement data by source device and applies different processing rules to each segment. Devices are categorized into priority groups (e.g., HEMS vs. EV-PCS), and segmentation allows the system to handle measurements from different devices differently, selecting from high-priority devices while still utilizing data from multiple sources for comprehensive energy management.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The energy management controller acts as an intermediary that receives measurements from multiple devices, applies priority-based selection rules, and produces a single consistent power value. This intermediary function resolves conflicts between multiple measurements by mediating through predefined priority relationships, ensuring reliability while maintaining multiple measurement sources.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Adaptability or versatility

If power values from multiple devices are used simultaneously, then comprehensive monitoring is achieved, but control accuracy deteriorates due to measurement time differences

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecomprehensive monitoring capabilityVSAvoidpower value accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by storing raw measurement data from multiple devices with timestamps, then applies correction processing before final selection. This preliminary data collection and timestamp recording enables subsequent synchronization operations that eliminate measurement time differences, ensuring both comprehensive monitoring and high precision.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system replaces physical synchronization of measurements (which would require simultaneous mechanical operation) with computational time-based correction. By substituting the mechanical constraint of simultaneous measurement with a software-based timestamp comparison and correction mechanism, the system achieves both versatile monitoring and precise measurements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Reliability

If one device's measurement is selected over others, then measurement consistency is improved, but system versatility deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemeasurement consistencyVSAvoidmulti-device utilization
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies local quality by assigning different weights and priorities to different devices based on their specific roles and measurement qualities. Rather than uniform treatment, each device's measurements are evaluated with locally optimized criteria (e.g., HEMS gets higher priority for overall energy management, while EV-PCS measurements are used for vehicle-specific control), maintaining consistency while utilizing multiple devices.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP3176907B1Energy management controller, energy management method, and program
Publication Date: 2019.10.02 MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORP
  • EP3176907B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3176907B1 patent drawingFigure 2~4
  • EP3176907B1 patent drawingFigure 5

AI summary

An energy management controller (2) acquires, for each of power lines (D1-D4) in a demand area, from devices (4, 5), measurement data relating to a power value measured by each device (4, 5). The energy management controller (2) selects, when power values are measured from a single power line, one power value as a power value measured from the power line, based on a priority assigned beforehand to each device (4, 5). Then, the energy management controller (2) manages power consumed in the demand area using the power value measured from each power line. Furthermore, the energy management controller (2) causes an operation terminal (3) to display, in a predetermined mode, information indicating the power value measured from each power line.