Heating system control method and heating system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9851110-B2
Application number	US-201213817650-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 17, 2012
Priority date	Aug 24, 2011
Publication date	Dec 26, 2017
Grant date	Dec 26, 2017

Abstract

A method of controlling a heating system includes: obtaining, from a power supply source, information specifying an output modulation period during which power consumption by a heat pump unit is to be reduced; and controlling, based on the information obtained in the obtaining, an amount of heat generated by the heat pump unit. In the controlling, the heat pump unit is caused to generate a first amount of heat per unit time in a period other than the output modulation period, and generate a second amount of heat per unit time during the output modulation period, the second amount of heat being less than the first amount of heat.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of controlling a heating system that is installed in a building and operates using power supplied from a power supply source, the heating system including:
a heat pump that generates heat using the power supplied from the power supply source, heats water flowing in the heat pump with the generated heat, and outputs the heated water;
a radiator that is installed in a room, and radiates the heat generated by the heat pump; and
a memory that stores a temperature settings table including first associated information sets, each set including an outside temperature and an outlet temperature in association with each other, the first associated information sets being determined to prevent a temperature of the room from dropping below a predetermined minimum temperature during an output modulation period, the outside temperature being a temperature outside the building in which the heating system is installed, the output modulation period being a period during which power consumption by the heat pump is to be reduced,
the method of controlling the heating system comprising:
detecting a current outside temperature;
obtaining, from the power supply source, information specifying the output modulation period;
controlling an amount of the heat generated by the heat pump and a temperature of the heated water output from the heat pump, based on the information specifying the output modulation period obtained from the power supply source, and the detected current outside temperature; and
detecting an inlet water temperature and an outlet heated water temperature on a per unit time basis, the inlet water temperature being a temperature of the water flowing into the heat pump, the outlet heated water temperature being a temperature of the heated water exiting the heat pump,

wherein, in the controlling, the heat pump is caused to:
generate a first amount of heat per unit time and output heated water of a first temperature in a period other than the output modulation period; and
generate a second amount of heat per unit time and output heated water of a second temperature during the output modulation period, the second amount of heat being less than the first amount of heat, the second temperature being lower than the first temperature,

in the controlling, the temperature of the heated water exiting the heat pump is reduced from the first temperature to the second temperature, by determining whether a difference between the outlet heated water temperature and the inlet water temperature exceeds a threshold and reducing, in accordance with the difference between the inlet water temperature and the outlet heated water temperature, the temperature of the heated water exiting the heat pump each time the difference between the outlet heated water temperature and the inlet water temperature exceeds the threshold, and
the method of controlling further comprises:
selecting an outlet temperature from the first associated information sets, as the second temperature, the selected outlet temperature being associated with the outside temperature corresponding to the detected current outside temperature.

2. The method of controlling the heating system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the memory further stores a second temperature settings table including second associated information sets, each set including the outside temperature, a length of the output modulation period, a thermal insulation efficiency of the building, and the outlet temperature in association with each other, the second associated information sets being determined to keep a decrease in the temperature of the room, in which the radiator is installed, within a predetermined range during the output modulation period, and
in the controlling, one of the outlet temperatures is selected from the second associated information sets, as the second temperature, the selected outlet temperature being associated with the outside temperature which corresponds to the detected current outside temperature, the length of the output modulation period obtained from the power supply source, and the thermal insulation efficiency of the building being set in advance.

3. The method of controlling the heating system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
obtaining, from the power supply source, a degree of reduction in power consumption during the output modulation period,
wherein, in the controlling, the selected outlet temperature, as the second temperature, is corrected based on the obtained degree of reduction.

4. The method of controlling the heating system according to claim 3 ,
wherein, in the controlling,
the selected outlet temperature, as the second temperature, is corrected to a lower value when the obtained degree of reduction is greater than a predetermined criterion, and
the selected outlet temperature, as the second temperature, is corrected to a higher value when the obtained degree of reduction is less than the predetermined criterion.

5. The method of controlling the heating system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the memory further stores information, in which combinations of the outlet temperature and the power consumption are associated with each outside temperature, and
in the controlling,
a comfort rating and a power consumption rating are calculated for each of the combinations of the outlet temperature and the power consumption associated with the outside temperature corresponding to the detected current outside temperature, the comfort rating increasing with an increase in the outlet temperature and the power consumption rating increasing with a decrease in the power consumption,
an overall rating is calculated for each of the combinations of the outlet temperature and the power consumption, by adding the comfort rating and the power consumption rating, and
the selected outlet temperature, as the second temperature, is selected from the information stored in the memory, the selected outlet temperature being based upon a combination having a highest overall rating of the calculated overall rating for each of the combinations.

6. The method of controlling the heating system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
detecting, on the per unit time basis, the temperature of the room in which the radiator is installed,
wherein, in the controlling, the temperature of the heated water exiting the heat pump is reduced by a first amount when a unit time decrease in the detected temperature of the room is less than or equal to a second threshold.

7. The method of controlling the heating system according to claim 6 ,
wherein, in the controlling, the temperature of the heated water exiting the heat pump is increased by a second amount when the unit time decrease in the detected temperature of the room exceeds a third threshold, the second amount being less than the first amount and the third threshold being greater than or equal to the second threshold.

8. The method of controlling the heating system according to claim 7 ,
wherein, in the controlling, the temperature of the heated water exiting the heat pump is maintained when the unit time decrease in the detected temperature of the room exceeds the second threshold and is less than or equal to the third threshold.

9. The method of controlling the heating system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the heating system further includes a heater that, when the temperature of the heated water exiting the heat pump drops below the first temperature, heats the heated water to the first temperature, and
in the controlling,
operation of the heater is permitted in the period other than the output modulation period, and
operation of the heater is restricted during the output modulation period.

Assignees

• Hayashida Gaku
• Takasaki Shinichi
• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Hayashida Gaku
• Takasaki Shinichi

Classifications

• H02J2105/42

  Home appliances · CPC title

• F24D2200/08

  Electric heater · CPC title

• G05D23/1923

  using thermal energy, the cost of which varies in function of time · CPC title

• Y04S20/222

  Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving · CPC title

• F24D2220/042

  Temperature sensors · CPC title