JP2015076648A - Power value collection system - Google Patents

Abstract

A power value collection system capable of collecting power values even in an environment where wireless communication is difficult is provided. A power value collection system includes a smart meter for measuring a power value, a HEMS adapter for collecting a power value measured by the smart meter, and a distribution board for distributing power from the smart meter. With. Then, while the power value is transmitted from the smart meter 10 to the HEMS adapter 20 by wireless communication, if the wireless communication transmission level falls below a predetermined threshold, the wireless communication is switched to power line communication, and the smart meter 10 transmits power to the HEMS adapter 20. The power value is transmitted through the board 30 by power line communication. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a power value collection system.

  In recent years, systems that regularly collect power values from smart meters are being introduced (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4). In order to realize such a system, a HEMS (Home Energy Management System) adapter that collects electric power values is installed and communicated with the smart meter by wireless communication.

JP 2012-039314 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-356771 JP 2012-228043 A JP 2013-031236 A

  However, there are various installation environments for smart meters and HEMS adapters. For example, when a smart meter is installed in a metal box, radio communication is difficult because radio waves are attenuated by the metal. Also, if there is a lot of noise on the radio, communication will not be successful. In such a case, there arises a problem that the HEMS adapter cannot play the role of collecting the power value.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a power value collection system that can collect a power value even in an environment where wireless communication is difficult.

  The present invention is a power value collection system, a smart meter for measuring a power value, a HEMS adapter for collecting a power value measured by the smart meter, and a distribution board for distributing power from the smart meter, Is provided. And while transmitting the said electric power value by radio | wireless communication from the said smart meter to the said HEMS adapter, if the transmission level of the said radio | wireless communication is less than a predetermined threshold value, it will switch from the said radio | wireless communication to power line communication. Thereby, the power value is transmitted from the smart meter to the HEMS adapter through the distribution board via the power line communication.

  The distribution board may acquire the power value from the smart meter through the power line communication while the power value is transmitted from the smart meter to the HEMS adapter through the wireless communication. When the HEMS adapter cannot collect the power value by the wireless communication, the HEMS adapter may request the power distribution board for the insufficient power value.

  The HEMS adapter is configured to switch from the wireless communication to the power line communication and use the power line communication when the communication quality of the wireless communication is worse than a reference value at the initial setting for initial registration of the smart meter. Initial settings may be made. The same applies not only when the communication quality of the wireless communication is worse than the reference value but also when communication is not possible.

  In addition, when the communication quality of the wireless communication becomes worse than a reference value during operation after the HEMS adapter has successfully completed the initial setting to use the wireless communication, the power communication from the wireless communication to the power line communication is performed. May be set to use the power line communication. The same applies not only when the communication quality of the wireless communication becomes worse than the reference value during operation, but also when communication becomes impossible.

  In addition, the distribution board includes a noise removal filter at the front stage or the rear stage of the main circuit breaker, and also includes the power line communication outlet at the front stage of the noise removal filter, and the HEMS adapter is connected to the power line communication outlet. It may be connected.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to provide the electric power value collection system which can collect an electric power value also in the environment where radio | wireless communication is difficult.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a power value collection system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the smart meter according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the HEMS adapter according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the initial setting process of the HEMS adapter according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the initial setting process of the smart meter according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing communication method switching processing during operation of the HEMS adapter according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a power value collection system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a distribution board according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8A shows a case where a noise removal filter is provided at the rear stage of the main breaker, and FIG. 8B shows a case where a noise removal filter is provided at the front stage of the main breaker. When prepared.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that similar components are included in the following embodiments. Therefore, in the following, common reference numerals are given to those similar components, and redundant description is omitted.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a power value collection system according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the power value collection system includes a smart meter 10, a HEMS adapter 20, and a distribution board 30. Here, it is assumed that the HEMS adapter 20 is installed indoors, and the smart meter 10 is installed outside in a metal box.

  The smart meter 10 receives power supplied from the power transmission line and supplies it to the distribution board 30, while measuring the power value consumed in the home periodically (for example, every 30 minutes). The frequency of the power measurement may be a regular frequency such as every 30 minutes or once a day. In addition, when such a periodic frequency, that is, the period of power measurement is several hours or more, an irregular event that is irregular to meet the power value collection request (so-called demand response) requested by the power company. The power value may be measured and transmitted. The smart meter 10 is connected to the distribution board 30 via the power line 41.

  The HEMS adapter 20 collects the power value measured by the smart meter 10. In addition, various control functions are provided such as controlling the load in order to suppress the peak of power consumption. The HEMS adapter 20 is connected to the distribution board 30 via the power line 42.

  The distribution board 30 distributes commercial power supplied via the smart meter 10 or renewable power such as sunlight to various places in the house. In addition to household electrical appliances such as a fan, an air conditioner, a refrigerator, and a washing machine, a solar power generator, a fuel cell, a storage battery, and the like are connected to the distribution board 30 as necessary.

  By the way, when the smart meter 10 is installed in a metal box, radio communication is difficult because radio waves are attenuated by the metal. Therefore, in the power value collection system according to the present embodiment, the communication path is duplexed by different communication methods, and when the main communication becomes impossible, the HEMS adapter 20 is mainly switched to the sub communication. Specifically, the main communication is wireless communication (IEEE802.15.4 or the like), and the sub communication is power line communication (PLC). For example, when a state where the wireless reception level such as the received electric field strength RSSI is below a predetermined threshold continues for a predetermined time, it is considered that wireless transmission can no longer be performed and main communication which is wireless communication transmission is not possible.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the smart meter 10 according to the first embodiment. As shown in this figure, the smart meter 10 includes a main communication unit 11, a sub-communication unit 12, a communication switching control unit 13, a power value transmission unit 14, a power measurement unit 15, and a power value accumulation unit 16. Is provided. The main communication unit 11 controls main communication. The sub communication unit 12 controls sub communication. The communication switching control unit 13 switches between main communication and sub communication as necessary. The electric power measurement part 15 measures the electric power value consumed in a house regularly (for example, every 30 minutes). The power value transmission unit 14 transmits the power value measured by the power measurement unit 15 by main communication or sub communication. The power value accumulation unit 16 accumulates the power value measured by the power measurement unit 15.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the HEMS adapter 20 according to the first embodiment. As shown in this figure, the HEMS adapter 20 includes a main communication unit 21, a communication quality acquisition unit 22, a sub communication unit 23, a communication switching control unit 24, a power value receiving unit 25, and a power value storage unit 26. With. The main communication unit 21 controls main communication. The communication quality acquisition unit 22 acquires the quality of main communication. The sub communication unit 23 controls sub communication. The communication switching control unit 24 switches between main communication and sub communication as necessary. The power value receiving unit 25 receives a power value by main communication or sub communication. The power value accumulation unit 26 accumulates the power value received by the power value reception unit 25.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an initial setting process of the HEMS adapter 20 according to the first embodiment. First, when there is no smart meter setting (S1: NO), the HEMS adapter 20 displays an error indicating that (S8), and when there is a smart meter setting (S1: YES), an initial setting process is performed (S2). ). Thereby, when the initial setting process is successful (S3: YES), the collection of the power value transmitted from the smart meter 10 is started (S4). On the other hand, when the initial setting process is not successful (S3: NO), when the cause is a communication failure of the main communication (S5: YES → S6: NO), the communication method is switched from the main communication to the sub communication ( S7) Thereafter, only sub-communication is performed. When the initial setting process is not successful due to a cause other than the communication failure of the main communication (S5: NO, or step S6: YES), an error indicating that is displayed (S8).

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an initial setting process of the smart meter 10 according to the first embodiment. First, the smart meter 10 enters a connection waiting state for main communication or sub-communication (S11). If the initial setting process is successful in this state (S12 → S13: YES), if the communication method is sub-communication (S15: YES), the communication method is set to sub-communication (S16), and the HEMS adapter 20 Then, transmission of the power value is started (S18). On the other hand, when the communication method is main communication (S15: NO), the communication method is set to main communication (S17), and transmission of the power value to the HEMS adapter 20 is started (S18). If the initial setting process is not successful (S12 → S13: NO), an error indicating that fact is displayed (S14).

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing communication method switching processing during operation of the HEMS adapter 20 according to the first embodiment. First, when the communication method is the main communication (S21: YES), the HEMS adapter 20 acquires the quality of the main communication (S22). The quality of main communication is, for example, an RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) value. Here, when the RSSI value exceeds a reference value (for example, −90 dB) (S23: YES), the communication method is switched from the main communication to the sub-communication (S26). On the other hand, when the RSSI value does not exceed the reference value (S23: NO), the meter reading reception log is analyzed (S24). Thereby, when the number of reacquisition of the meter reading value exceeds a reference value (for example, 3 times) (S25: YES), the power value obtained from the smart meter 10 at intervals of 30 minutes during operation cannot be obtained 3 times continuously. It will be. As described above, even when the link is established, the communication method is switched from the main communication to the sub-communication even when there is no response from the other party (S26).

  Next, a modified example will be described. As will be described below, the distribution board 30 may support data exchange between the smart meter 10 and the HEMS adapter 20.

  In other words, the distribution board 30 acquires a power value from the smart meter 10 to the HEMS adapter 20 through main communication while acquiring a power value from the smart meter 10 through sub communication. This acquisition interval may be 30 minutes, for example. The acquired power value is stored in a storage device included in the distribution board 30 together with related information (measurement time information, identification information, etc.). When the HEMS adapter 20 cannot collect the power value in the main communication, the HEMS adapter 20 requests the power distribution board 30 for the insufficient power value. The insufficient power value can be specified based on the related information (measurement time information, identification information, etc.). As a result, the distribution board 30 reads out the insufficient power value requested from the HEMS adapter 20 from the storage device and transmits it to the HEMS adapter 20.

  As described above, the power value collection system according to the first embodiment includes the smart meter 10 that measures the power value, the HEMS adapter 20 that collects the power value measured by the smart meter 10, and the power from the smart meter 10. And a distribution board 30 for distributing. And while transmitting the electric power value from the smart meter 10 to the HEMS adapter 20 by radio | wireless communication, if the transmission level of radio | wireless communication is less than a predetermined threshold value, it will switch from the said radio | wireless communication to power line communication. Thereby, the power value is transmitted from the smart meter 10 to the HEMS adapter 20 through the distribution board 30 by power line communication. In this way, if it has a sub-communication (power line communication) function in addition to the main communication (wireless communication) function, and automatically switches to power line communication when the wireless communication is defective, the power value is collected even in an environment where wireless communication is difficult It is possible.

  The distribution board 30 may acquire the power value from the smart meter 10 through power line communication while the power value is transmitted from the smart meter 10 to the HEMS adapter 20 through wireless communication. When the HEMS adapter 20 cannot collect the power value by wireless communication, the HEMS adapter 20 may request the power distribution board 30 for the insufficient power value. Thereby, the exchange of data between the smart meter 10 and the HEMS adapter 20 is supported by the distribution board 30, and the power value can be collected efficiently.

  In addition, the HEMS adapter 20 performs initial setting to switch from wireless communication to power line communication and to use power line communication when the communication quality of wireless communication is worse than the reference value at the initial setting when the smart meter 10 is registered for the first time. Also good. The same applies not only when the communication quality of wireless communication is worse than the reference value but also when communication is not possible. Thereby, even when the quality of wireless communication is poor depending on the installation location of the smart meter 10 or the HEMS adapter 20, and the installation location cannot be changed for improvement, the power value can be collected by the sub-communication function.

  Further, the HEMS adapter 20 switches from wireless communication to power line communication when the communication quality of wireless communication becomes worse than a reference value during operation after successfully completing the initial setting to use wireless communication. You may set to use. The same applies not only when the communication quality of wireless communication becomes worse than the reference value during operation, but also when communication becomes impossible. As a result, even when a situation occurs in which the communication quality of wireless communication significantly decreases after the initial installation, it is possible to automatically switch the communication method to power line communication and continue collecting power values without interruption.

(Second Embodiment)
Hereinafter, only differences between the second embodiment and the first embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a power value collection system according to the second embodiment. As shown in this figure, a fan 50 is connected to the distribution board 30 via a power line 43. In this case, noise generated from the electric fan 50 is superimposed on the power line 43, which may affect power line communication (sub communication) between the smart meter 10 and the HEMS adapter 20. Therefore, the distribution board 30 includes a power line communication outlet 31 having a function of removing noise from the house as an outlet 31 dedicated to the HEMS adapter 20.

  FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of the distribution board 30 according to the second embodiment. The distribution board 30 includes a main breaker 32 and a plurality of branch breakers 33. A main line which is a system power supply line is extended from the main breaker 32, and a branch breaker 33 is branched from the main line to supply power to the wall outlet of each system.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 8A, the distribution board 30 includes a noise removal filter 34 at a stage subsequent to the main breaker 32 (between the main breaker 32 and the branch breaker 33). You may provide the insertion port of the outlet 31 for power line communication in the front | former stage. If the HEMS adapter 20 is connected to the outlet 31, noise generated from the electric fan 50 is removed by the noise removal filter 34, so that only power can be combined with the PLC signal. That is, power line communication can be performed between the smart meter 10 and the HEMS adapter 20 without being affected by noise generated from the electric fan 50.

  Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), the distribution board 30 includes a noise removal filter 34 in front of the main breaker 32 (between the smart meter 10 and the main breaker 32), and in front of the noise removal filter 34. May be provided with an insertion port for the outlet 31 for power line communication. Also in this case, it is possible to obtain the same effect as in the case of FIG.

  As described above, the distribution board 30 includes the noise removal filter 34 before or after the main breaker 32, and the power line communication outlet 31 before the noise removal filter 34. The HEMS adapter 20 includes the power line communication. May be connected to an electrical outlet 31 for use. Thereby, since the noise of the household appliances which operate | move in a house can be removed, it is possible to improve the communication quality between the smart meter 10 and the HEMS adapter 20. FIG.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made. For example, in each of the above embodiments, the case where the communication method is switched from the main communication to the sub communication has been described. However, when the quality of the main communication is improved, this is automatically detected and the communication method is changed from the sub communication. You may switch to main communication.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Smart meter 20 HEMS adapter 30 Distribution board 31 Outlet for power line communication 32 Master breaker 34 Noise removal filter

Claims (5)

A smart meter that measures power,
A HEMS adapter that collects power values measured by the smart meter;
A distribution board for distributing power from the smart meter,
While transmitting the power value by wireless communication from the smart meter to the HEMS adapter, if the transmission level of the wireless communication falls below a predetermined threshold, the wireless meter is switched to power line communication, and the smart meter transmits the power to the HEMS adapter. The power value is collected by the power line communication via a distribution board. A power value collecting system. The distribution board acquires the power value from the smart meter through the power line communication while the power value is transmitted from the smart meter to the HEMS adapter through the wireless communication.
2. The power value according to claim 1, wherein, when the power value cannot be collected by the wireless communication, the HEMS adapter requests the power distribution board for the shortage of the power value. Collection system.   The HEMS adapter switches from the wireless communication to the power line communication when the communication quality of the wireless communication is worse than a reference value or cannot communicate at the initial setting for initial registration of the smart meter, and the power line communication is performed. The power value collection system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the initial setting for use is performed.   The HEMS adapter, after successfully completing the initial setting to use the wireless communication, when the communication quality of the wireless communication becomes worse than a reference value during operation, or when it becomes impossible to communicate, The power value collection system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the wireless line is switched to the power line communication and the setting to use the power line communication is performed. The distribution board includes a noise removal filter at the front stage or the rear stage of the main circuit breaker, and includes the power line communication outlet at the front stage of the noise removal filter,
The power value collection system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the HEMS adapter is connected to the power line communication outlet.

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