POWER MANAGEMENT METHOD AND POWER MANAGEMENT DEVICE FOR A RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX COMPRISING ONE OR MORE RESIDENTIAL UNITS OR FOR AN URBAN DISTRICT

Abstract

The present invention provides a power management method and a power management device for a residential complex comprising one or more residential units or for an urban district, comprising a shared connection via which self-supplied electricity from a time-variable generation capacity is supplied to the mains power network from a decentralised self-supplied-electricity generation apparatus, and via which mains electricity is supplied to the residential complex or the urban district from the mains power network. The method is configured such that the demand not covered by the decentralised self-supplied-electricity generation apparatus is determined according to the mains supply level 1S of the electricity and the demand covered by the decentralised self-supplied-electricity generation apparatus is determined according to the self-supply level S of the electricity for the residential complex or urban district, time dependency of the electrical consumption of a residential unit is recorded, and electricity costs for the residential unit of the residential complex or of the urban district are determined by taking into account the determined time dependency of the mains supply level and the self-supply level, the recorded time dependency of the electricity consumption of the residential unit, and the relevant tariffs for mains electricity and self-supplied electricity.

Claims

1. Power management method for a residential complex comprising one or more residential units or for an urban district, comprising a shared connection via which self-supplied electricity from a time-variable generation capacity is supplied to the mains power network from a decentralised self-supplied-electricity generation apparatus, and via which mains electricity is supplied to the residential complex or the urban district from the mains power network, wherein the demand not covered by the decentralised self-supplied-electricity generation apparatus is determined according to the mains supply level 1S of the electricity and the demand covered by the decentralised self-supplied-electricity generation apparatus is determined according to the self-supply level S of the electricity for the residential complex or urban district, wherein time dependency of the electricity consumption of a residential unit is recorded, wherein electricity costs for the residential unit of the residential complex or of the urban district are determined by taking into account the determined time dependency of the mains supply level and the self-supply level, the recorded time dependency of the electricity consumption of the residential unit, and the relevant tariffs for mains electricity and self-supplied electricity.

2. Power management method according to claim 1, characterised in that a current mixed tariff is determined from the determined time dependency of the mains supply level and self-supply level and from the relevant tariffs for mains electricity and self-supplied electricity.

3. Power management method according to claim 2, characterised in that future mixed tariffs are extrapolated from previously determined mixed tariffs, and are displayed.

4. Power management method according to claim 1, characterised in that the individual electricity costs for a residential unit of the residential complex or of the urban district are determined by the billing period being divided into time intervals and the individual electricity consumption for each time interval in kWh and the specific variable electricity costs of the residential complex or urban district for the same time interval in C=/kWh are multiplied, and the C= figures thus determined for all time intervals are added together.

5. Power management method according to claim 1, characterised in that the individual electricity costs of the residential unit are determined by the determination time period being divided into time intervals and a. in each time interval, the mains supply level 1S and the self-supply level S is determined for this time interval, and b. the individual electricity consumption SV of the residential unit is determined in the same time interval and, from this, the proportion SVS is added to the self-supplied-electricity consumption and the proportion (1S)SV is added to the mains electricity consumption, and c. the individual self-supplied electricity costs are determined in the billing period by the stored total for the self-supplied electricity consumption being multiplied by the tariff for self-supplied electricity, and d. the individual mains electricity costs are determined in the billing period by the stored total for the mains electricity consumption being multiplied by the tariff for mains electricity, and e. the individual total electricity costs are determined as a sum of individual self-supplied electricity costs and individual mains electricity costs.

6. Power management method according to claim 5, characterised in that historical individual electricity costs are displayed over time.

7. Power management method according to claim 5, characterised in that expected future individual electricity costs are extrapolated and displayed over time.

8. Power management method according to claim 1 using a traffic-light display in red, yellow or green, characterised in that the traffic-light display visually displays the electricity-cost situation, wherein a. red shows when the self-supply level is lower than a predefined lower threshold and b. green shows when the self-supply level is higher than a predefined upper threshold.

9. Power management method according to claim 1 using a traffic-light display in red, yellow or green, characterised in that the traffic-light display visually displays the electricity-cost situation, for example flashing red shows when the mains supply level or the electrical supply of the residential complex or the urban district averaged over a predetermined time interval is greater than a predefined percentage of the annual high up to the present.

10. Power management method according to claim 1, characterised in that the residential units of the residential complex or urban district are informed of individual electricity costs for a time period or a plurality of time periods.

11. Power management method according to claim 1, characterised in that the residential units of the residential complex or urban district are informed of individual electricity consumption values in comparison with average electricity consumption values of the residential complex or urban district.

12. Power management method according to claim 11, characterised in that the electricity consumption values are based on the living area of the residential unit.

13. Power management method according to claim 11, characterised in that the electricity consumption values are based on the refrigerator, freezer, washing machine or tumble dryer.

14. Power management method according to claim 1, characterised in that the residential units of the residential complex or urban district are informed of individual electricity consumption values in comparison with electricity consumption values of other residents in the residential complex or urban district.

15. Power management method according to claim 1, characterised in that the residential units of the residential complex or urban district are informed of the level of CO.sub.2 emissions corresponding to their individual electricity consumption value.

16. Power management method according to claim 3, characterised in that the future data is determined and displayed for 24 hours over the course of a day.

17. Power management method according to claim 1, characterised in that the decentralised self-supplied-electricity generation apparatus is a photovoltaic system.

18. Power management method according to claim 1, characterised in that the decentralised self-supplied-electricity generation apparatus is a cogeneration system.

19. A computer program to be executed by a computer processor comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions prompt a processor (501) to carry out the method according to claim 1 when the computer program is executed by the computer processor.

20. Power management method for a residential complex comprising one or more residential units or for an urban district, comprising: a shared connection via which self-supplied electricity from a time-variable generation capacity is supplied to the mains power network from a decentralised self-supplied-electricity generation apparatus, and via which mains electricity is supplied to the residential complex or the urban district from the mains power network, wherein the shared connection to the decentralised self-supplied-electricity generation apparatus and the shared connection to the mains power network are connected to a bidirectional meter, which supplies an information signal from which the demand not covered by the decentralised self-supplied-electricity generation apparatus can be continuously determined according to the mains supply level 1S of the electricity and the demand covered by the decentralised self-supplied-electricity generation apparatus can be continuously determined according to the self-supply level S of the electricity for the residential complex or urban district, and an apparatus for recording time dependency of the electricity consumption of a residential unit, wherein a determination apparatus is provided which is designed such that it determines electricity costs for the residential unit of the residential complex or of the urban district by taking into account the determined time dependency of the mains supply level and the self-supply level, the recorded time dependency of the electricity consumption of the residential unit, and the relevant tariffs for mains electricity and self-supplied electricity.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0051] In the drawings:

[0052] FIG. 1 shows a typical residential complex;

[0053] FIG. 2 is a diagram of how the self-supply level is determined from data from the residential complex;

[0054] FIG. 3 is a diagram of how the number of kilowatt hours consumed in total by the residential unit n in the billing period from the photovoltaic system is determined from the number of kilowatt hours consumed by the residential unit n in m quarter hours from the photovoltaic system, and the same for the mains electricity;

[0055] FIG. 4 shows a method outlined as an embodiment of the invention in the form of a flow diagram; and

[0056] FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a computer in the form of a block diagram.

EMBODIMENTS

[0057] Embodiments of the invention will be described in the following. Reference will be made to the drawings.

[0058] FIG. 1 shows a typical residential complex. There are one or more residential units (101) in the residential complex (112). The residential units are located in one or more houses. One or more of the houses are equipped with a photovoltaic system (102). In the following, the embodiment is explained for the specific case in which the decentralised power generation unit is a photovoltaic system. However, the invention is generally also applicable to other decentralised power generation units, for example cogeneration systems.

[0059] In each residential unit, the electrical loads are connected to electricity meters (103). These meters (103) measure the total electricity consumption of the residential unit. There is a separate electricity meter (103) for each residential unit within a house. The total photocurrent generated is determined by a generation meter (105). In this embodiment, the electricity consumed by all the houses is determined by a supply meter (104).

[0060] It is noted, however, that a supply meter (104) of this type is not strictly necessary, and the total electricity consumption can be calculated by adding together the consumption from separate meters. For the rest of the explanation of the embodiment, it is however assumed that there is a supply meter (104).

[0061] The flows of electricity from the supply meter (104) and the generation meter (105) are added together, and the resulting electricity total is measured by a summation meter (106). The summation meter (106) is a bidirectional meter that measures both the flow of power from the mains into the residential complex and the flow of power from the residential complex into the mains. The information from the meters (104) and (106) is used to determine the mixed tariff (1001) and the PV self-supply level (204).

[0062] The mixed tariff (1001) is determined and displayed by the power management system. This is demonstrated by the following example: the tariff for mains supply is T2=0.20 C= per kilowatt hour. The tariff for electricity from the photovoltaic system is T1=0.10 C= per kilowatt hour. In a supply quarter hour (201), E2=100 kWh (202) is supplied to the residential complex from the mains (meter (106)) and E1=200 kWh (203) photocurrent generated by the photovoltaic system is consumed in the residential complex. The power E1 generated by the photovoltaic system and consumed in the residential complex is, for example, determined as the difference between the total power consumed by the residential complex (meter (104)) and the power supplied to the residential complex from the mains (meter (106)). The mixed tariff is then produced by the weighted addition in accordance with formula (1001) [(E1T1)+(E2T2)]/(E1+E2). The mixed tariff in the example is therefore 0.13 C=/kWh.

[0063] Furthermore, a photovoltaic self-supply level is determined and displayed by the power management system. The self-supply level is calculated in accordance with the following formula:

self-supply level=E1/(E1+E2) (204) (1004)

[0064] For the example numbers given, the self-supply level is 67%. The mixed price and the self-supply level are determined and displayed by the power management system.

[0065] By way of example, the billing for the individual residential unit n is determined in accordance with the following method: [0066] 1. Determining the self-supply level S.sub.i in the i-th quarter hour, where: [0067] E1.sub.i is the number of kilowatt hours generated by the photovoltaic system and consumed in the residential complex in the i-th quarter hour of the billing period. This is determined as the difference between the total power consumed in the residential complex (meter (104)) and the power supplied to the residential complex from the mains (meter (106)). [0068] E2.sub.i is the number of kilowatt hours supplied from the mains in the i-th quarter hour of the billing period. This is supplied by the meter (106). [0069] S.sub.i=E1.sub.i/(E1.sub.i+E2.sub.i) (204) [0070] The self-supply level S.sub.i is the same for all the residents of the residential complex and is determined for each i-th quarter hour (i=1 to m) in the billing period. [0071] 2. For each quarter hour in the billing period, the number of kilowatt hours from the photovoltaic system is determined for the individual residential unit n. For the i-th quarter hour, this number is referred to as E1.sub.i.sup.n. It is calculated according to: [0072] E1.sub.i.sup.n=S.sub.inumber of kilowatt hours measured by the individual meter number n (103) in the i-th quarter hour of the billing period [0073] 3. The number of kilowatt hours consumed in total by the residential unit n in the billing period from the photovoltaic system (301) is calculated. This number is referred to as E1.sub.ges.sup.n. Said number is calculated by summation/addition of the numbers E1.sub.i.sup.n of kilowatt hours in the supply quarter hour from the photovoltaic system (205) over all (i=1 to m) the quarter hours in the billing period, according to [0074] E1.sub.ges.sup.n=.sub.i=1.sup.mE1.sub.i.sup.n [0075] 4. For each quarter hour in the billing period, the number of kilowatt hours from the mains is determined for the individual residential unit n. For the i-th quarter hour, this number is referred to as E2.sub.i.sup.n. It is calculated according to: [0076] E2.sub.i.sup.n=(1S.sub.i)number of kilowatt hours measured by the individual meter number n (103) in the i-th quarter hour of the billing period [0077] 5. The number of kilowatt hours consumed in total by the residential unit n in the billing period from the mains (302) is calculated. This number is referred to as E2.sub.ges.sup.n. Said number is calculated by summation/addition of the numbers E2.sub.i.sup.n of kilowatt hours in the supply quarter hour from the mains (206) over all (i=1 to m) the quarter hours in the billing period, according to [0078] E2.sub.ges.sup.n=.sub.i=1.sup.mE2.sub.i.sup.n [0079] 6. The individual billing price is determined. This is referred to as P.sup.n. P.sup.n is calculated according to [0080] P.sup.n=E1.sub.ges.sup.nT1+E2.sub.ges.sup.nT2, where [0081] T1 is the tariff in C= per kilowatt hour for photocurrent, and [0082] T2 is the tariff in C= per kilowatt hour for mains electricity.

[0083] FIG. 2 shows how the self-supply level (204) is determined from data from the residential complex (202), (203), and how the number of kilowatt hours consumed in this quarter hour by the residential unit n from the photovoltaic system (205) and the number of kilowatt hours consumed in this quarter hour by the residential unit n from the mains (206) are determined from said self-supply level and the individual electricity consumption data (103). FIG. 2 outlines the method for one quarter hour (201).

[0084] FIG. 3 shows how the number of kilowatt hours consumed in total by the residential unit n in the billing period from the photovoltaic system (301) is determined from the number of kilowatt hours consumed by the residential unit n in m quarter hours from the photovoltaic system, and the same for the mains electricity (302). FIG. 3 outlines the summation/addition of the quarter hours for the billing period.

[0085] The method outlined as an embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 4 in the form of a flow diagram. It can be seen that the claimed determination of the individual electricity costs does not require load profile data, but just the two numbers for consumed kWh (301), (302).

[0086] In the embodiment according to FIG. 1, the residential complex is connected to the mains by a medium-voltage transformer (107). The transformer (107) is connected to the medium-voltage network (108). The information from the bidirectional meter (106) is passed to the computer of the power management system (109). Said computer calculates the current and predicted electricity prices, the indicators and other information that is important to display. This information is displayed on suitable terminals (110). Terminals of this type may be PCs, tablet computers or mobile telephones, for example. There are traffic-light displays (111) in the residential units. The traffic-light displays visually display the cost situation for electricity using a red, green or yellow signal. A green signal is emitted if the self-supply level is above a threshold. For example, green is displayed in the i-th quarter hour when S.sub.i=1, red is displayed when S.sub.i<0.2 and yellow is displayed for all other values of S.sub.i. For example, a flashing red signal is displayed when the mains supply rises above 70% of the annual high up to the present and there is the risk of the mains demand rate being increased.

[0087] FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a computer (403) in the form of a block diagram.

[0088] Said computer comprises a processor (501). The processor (501) executes program instructions for example, which are stored in the program memory (504), and stores e.g. intermediate results or the like in the data memory (503). The program memory (504) and/or the main memory (503) can be used by the processor (501) to store data, such as meter data or tariff data. Program instructions which are stored in the program memory (504) relate in particular to determining at least the stated electricity costs.

[0089] The program instructions may for example be included in a computer program, which is stored in the program memory (504) or has been loaded into the program memory (504), for example of a computer program product, in particular a computer-readable storage medium, or via a network.

[0090] The processor (501) obtains data via the interface and data input (502). The data are, for example, meter data or tariff data. The processor (501) generates new data and outputs these data via the interface and data output (505). The output data are visually displayed (507) and/or passed to a traffic-light circuit (506).