JP6955450B2 - Air conditioning control system and air conditioning control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention generally relates to air conditioning control, and more particularly to the control of a plurality of air conditioners for air conditioning an area.

The air conditioning control system described in Patent Document 1 is known as an air conditioning control system that controls a plurality of air conditioners that air-condition an area. According to Patent Document 1, the following is described. Multiple air conditioners and multiple environment sensors are located in the area. The air conditioning control system classifies the plurality of arranged environmental sensors into two or more groups based on the correlation coefficient between the environmental information acquired from the plurality of environmental sensors. The air conditioning control system associates two or more groups with multiple air conditioners. The air conditioning control system controls each air conditioner based on the environmental information from the environment sensors in the group associated with the air conditioner.

WO2016 / 121390

According to Patent Document 1, first, a group of environment sensors is created, and then each air conditioner is associated with one of the groups. Therefore, in an area where two or more environment sensors exist in a range covered by the same air conditioner, the two or more environment sensors may be classified into two or more different groups, and as a result, the air conditioner. May be associated with two or more different groups. According to Patent Document 1, the air conditioner is controlled in a group unit, but it is difficult to control the air conditioner associated with two or more groups in a group unit.

An air-conditioning control system that controls a plurality of air conditioners that air-condition an area performs a zone determination process that determines a zone configuration that is a configuration of one or more zones based on a plurality of blocks in the area, and a zone determination unit and each zone. It has an air-conditioning control unit that performs air-conditioning control for zone-based control of an air conditioner corresponding to a zone-based control target block in the zone. The zone configuration is at least one of the number of zones (the number of zones) and the zone members (blocks as members constituting the zones). For each of the plurality of blocks, the block is a range defined as a range affected by air conditioning by the air conditioner corresponding to the block among the plurality of air conditioners. For each of the one or more zones, the zone is a cluster of one or more homogeneous blocks of the plurality of blocks.

According to the present invention, since none of the air conditioners is classified into two or more different zones, zone-based (zone-based) air-conditioning control is possible.

A configuration example of the entire system including the HVAC control system according to the first embodiment is shown. A configuration example of the HVAC control system is shown. The flow of the zone determination process is shown. The configuration of the zone table and the modification example of the zone table are shown. The flow of processing composed of feedback analysis processing and optimization processing is shown. The structure of the user feedback table is shown. This is an example of a schematic diagram for calculating the thermal comfort index value (Φ ^TC _t). An example of the time-series temperature transition of each block and the zone configuration at a plurality of time points is shown. The flow of the efficiency evaluation process which concerns on Example 2 is shown. An example of the administrator screen according to the third embodiment is shown. An example of a general user screen according to the third embodiment is shown. This is an example of a schematic diagram of the processing performed by the recommended program.

In the following description, the "interface unit" may be one or more interfaces. The one or more interfaces may be one or more communication interface devices of the same type (for example, one or more NICs (Network Interface Cards)) or two or more different types of communication interface devices (for example, NICs and HBAs (Host Bus Adapters)). )) May be.

Further, in the following description, the "memory unit" is one or more memories, and may typically be a main storage device. At least one memory in the memory unit may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory.

Further, in the following description, the “PDEV unit” is one or more PDEVs, and may typically be an auxiliary storage device. "PDEV" means a physical storage DEVice, typically a non-volatile storage device.

Further, in the following description, the "storage unit" is at least one of the memory unit and the PDEV unit (typically, at least the memory unit).

Further, in the following description, the "processor unit" is one or more processors. The at least one processor is typically a microprocessor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), but may be another type of processor such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). At least one processor may be single core or multi-core. At least one processor may be a processor in a broad sense such as a hardware circuit (for example, FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit)) that performs a part or all of the processing.

Further, in the following description, the process may be described with "program" as the subject, but the program is executed by the processor unit to appropriately perform the specified process in the storage unit and / or the interface unit, etc. The subject of the process may be a processor unit (or a device such as a controller having the processor unit). The program may be installed from the program source into a device such as a calculator. The program source may be, for example, a program distribution server or a computer-readable (eg, non-temporary) recording medium. Further, in the following description, two or more programs may be realized as one program, or one program may be realized as two or more programs.

Further, in the following description, a structure in which an output can be obtained for an input may be described by an expression such as "xxx table", but the structure may be data of any structure and may be used for an input. It may be a learning model such as a neural network that produces output. Therefore, the "xxx table" can be referred to as the "xxx structure". Further, in the following description, the configuration of each table is an example, and one table may be divided into two or more tables, or all or part of the two or more tables may be one table. good.

Further, in the following description, a "data set" is a logical mass of electronic data viewed from a program such as an application program, and is, for example, any of a record, a file, a key value pair, and a taple. It may be.

Further, in the following description, a reference code may be used when the same type of element is not distinguished, and an element ID may be used when the same type of element is described separately. For example, when the blocks are described without being particularly distinguished, they may be described as "block 130", and when the individual blocks are described separately, they may be described as "block 1" and "block 2". be.

Further, in the following description, an HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning) control system is adopted as an air conditioning control system that controls a plurality of air conditioners that air-condition the area.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of the entire system including the HVAC control system according to the first embodiment.

There is an area 100 subject to air conditioning control. Area 100 is, for example, one room, specifically, for example, a room such as an office room, a server room, a rest room, a conference room, and a sports room in a commercial building such as an office building. The area 100 may be an enclosed space or an unenclosed space.

A plurality of CUs (control units) 140 are connected to a plurality of HVAC units 160 (an example of an air conditioner) that perform air conditioning in the area 100, and the plurality of CUs (control units) 140 and the HVAC control system 180 are connected to each other. Connected to a communication network such as Internet 195. The HVAC control system 180 controls a plurality of HVAC units 160 by transmitting a plurality of commands to the plurality of CUs 140 via the Internet 195. A plurality of seats 150 are arranged in the area 100. The user can sit on any of the seats 150 and perform work, breaks, and the like.

The HVAC control system 180 periodically or irregularly sends sensor data sets from the sensor network to each of the plurality of environment sensors 120 arranged in the area 100 (plural blocks 130 in the area 100) via the Internet 195. To receive. For each environment sensor 120, the sensor data set includes a sensor ID (ID of the environment sensor 120), a thermal parameter value (an example of an environment metric value), and a time stamp (information representing the date and time). The sensor network includes a plurality of environment sensors 120 arranged in the area 100, as will be described later. Each of the plurality of environment sensors 120 measures the thermal parameter value. A sensor data set containing the measured thermal parameter values is transmitted to the HVAC control system 180. Therefore, the HVAC control system 180 is a so-called IoT (Internet Of Things) based system. The "thermal parameter" is an example of environmental parameters, such as temperature, humidity, CO ₂ level (CO ₂ concentration), and atmospheric pressure. The "thermal parameter value" is an example of an environmental parameter value, for example, a parameter value such as 25 ° C. (temperature value), 50% (humidity value), and 280 ppm (CO ₂ level value). In this embodiment, "temperature" means the internal temperature (temperature detected in the area 100), and "humidity" means the internal humidity (humidity detected in the area 100). In this embodiment, the temperature outside the area 100 (for example, outdoors) is referred to as "external temperature", and the humidity outside the area 100 is referred to as "external humidity".

In this embodiment, a plurality of tiers such as tier 1 and tier 2 are defined, and air conditioning control is performed based on both tier 1 and tier 2.

Tier 1 is the functionality of Area 100, specifically Area 100. For example, office rooms, server rooms, break rooms, and conference rooms all have different functionality, so even if they exist in the same space, they are different areas. Area 100 is physical and fixed.

Tier 2 is a higher tier than Tier 1. Tier 2 is one or more zones 110 in area 100, specifically one or more virtual sections of area 100. Each zone 110 is a collection of one or more homogeneous blocks 130. The block 130 exists for each HVAC unit 160 and is a range affected (covered) by the corresponding HVAC unit 160. Zone 110 is virtual and dynamically modified. Specifically, for example, the HVAC control system 180 periodically receives a plurality of sensor data sets corresponding to the plurality of environment sensors 120 from the sensor network, and a plurality of thermal parameter values in the plurality of sensor data sets. Based on a plurality of zone determination factors including one or more zone determination factors based on, the number of zones (the number of zones 110) and the zone members (which one or more blocks 130 are which zone 110) are determined. ,decide. The number of zones and zone members are examples of zone configurations. Which thermal parameter is prioritized depends on the functionality of the area 100 (that is, if the functionality of the area 100 is different, the priority is different even if the thermal parameters are the same), and among the number of zones and zone members At least one of is determined based on the thermal parameter value of the key thermal parameter (relatively preferred (eg, most preferred) thermal parameter) according to the functionality of the area 100.

As described above, the key thermal parameters differ depending on the functionality of the area 100. For example, if the area 100 is an office room, the key thermal parameter is temperature. If the area 100 is a server room, the key thermal parameter is humidity. If area 100 is a conference room, the key thermal parameter is the CO ₂ level. If area 100 is a sports room, the key thermal parameter is metabolic rate.

Further, which one or more blocks 130 are homogeneous blocks 130 depends on the functionality of the area 100 and the thermal parameter values of the one or more thermal parameters of each block 130.

FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of the HVAC control system 180.

The HVAC control system 180 includes an interface unit 290, a storage unit 210, and a processor unit 280 connected to them. The interface unit 290, the storage unit 210, and the processor unit 280 may exist in, for example, a system composed of one or more computers (for example, a cloud platform).

The sensor data set is received from the sensor network 200 via the interface unit 290. The received sensor data set is stored in the storage unit 210. The storage unit 210 contains, for example, a database of sensor data sets. For example, the storage unit 210 stores a time-series thermal parameter value for each environment sensor 120. The date and time in the sensor dataset is expressed in year, month, day, hour, minute, and second, but another expression may be adopted. The sensor network 200 HVAC controls a plurality of environment sensors 120, a gateway 191 and a sensor data set including the stored thermal parameter values received from the plurality of environmental sensors 120 via the gateway 191. It includes a relay computer (eg, a personal computer) 192 that transmits to the system 180. The sensor data set may be received from the environment sensor 120 or may be generated by the relay computer 192 based on the thermal parameter values from the environment sensor 120. The cycle in which the relay computer 192 receives the thermal parameter values from the plurality of environment sensors 120 and the cycle in which the relay computer 192 transmits the sensor data set to the HVAC control system 180 may be the same or different. Further, at least one of the reception cycle and the transmission cycle of the relay computer 192 is set depending on whether the environment sensor 120 outputs the key thermal parameter value or the environment sensor 120 outputs a parameter value other than the key thermal parameter value. It may be different. Further, the relay computer 192 acquires a thermal parameter value (for example, an average value) based on a plurality of thermal parameter values received from the environmental sensor 120 in a certain period of time for at least one environmental sensor 120, and obtains the acquired thermal parameter value. The included sensor data set may be transmitted to the HVAC control system 180.

Further, the weather information 291 and the HVAC / sensor mapping table 292, the user location 293, the user feedback 294, and the HVAC data 295 are received via the interface unit 290 (a part of the information 291-295). (For example, weather information 291) may not be available). The weather information 291 (for example, real-time weather information) is received from an external site (server) on a regular basis, for example. The HVAC / sensor mapping table 292 is a table showing the correspondence relationship between the HVAC unit 160, the block 130, and the environment sensor 120 (which environment sensor 120 belongs to the block 130 corresponding to which HVAC unit 160), for example. Received from the administrator's terminal. The HVAC / sensor mapping table 292 is, for example, for each environment sensor 120, the sensor ID, the HVAC unit ID, the block ID, and the block range information (information indicating the positional range of the block, for example, referring to the user location 293 as a key. Information to be provided) may be included. The user location 293 is information indicating a location in the area 100, and is information indicating a desktop PC location specified based on an ID (for example, an IP address or MAC address) of a desktop PC (Personal Computer) (not shown) in the area 100. It may be information indicating the location acquired by the GPS function of a mobile terminal such as a smartphone. The user feedback 294 is information indicating the user's impression (for example, impression such as "Hot", "Cold" or "OK" (comfort)) about the thermal environment, and is received from the user terminal in the area 100. The "user terminal" is a computer having a communication function, and may be either a desktop PC or a mobile terminal in the area 100. The user feedback 294 may be associated with a user location 293 indicating the location of the user who input the user feedback 294. Further, the user feedback 294 may be input via an API (Application Programming Interface) executed on the user terminal or via a Web browser. Further, in this embodiment, the user feedback 294 corresponds to the option selected by the user from the three options of "Hot", "Cold", and "OK", but the number of options may be more or less than three. It may be (for example, there may be further “Very hot” and “Vert cold”), and text input or the like may be adopted in place of or in addition to the selection. The HVAC data 295 is data related to the operating status of the HVAC unit 160 (for example, power consumption, set information (for example, temperature, humidity, operation mode)), and is, for example, periodically received from the HVAC unit 160. NS.

The processor unit 280 executes programs such as a data analyzer 220 that determines the air conditioning mode, an occupation analyzer 230 that performs occupation analysis, and an HVAC controller 240 that performs HVAC control. The HVAC controller 240 includes a zone analyzer 241 that performs zone determination processing, a feedback analyzer 242 that performs feedback analysis processing, and an optimizer 243 that performs optimization processing.

The HVAC control system 180 performs, for example, the following processing.

The HVAC control system 180 periodically receives a sensor data set from the sensor network 200, and stores the received sensor data set in the storage unit 210. The HVAC control system 180 also receives weather information 291 and HVAC / sensor mapping table 292, user location 293, user feedback 294 and HVAC data (eg, power consumption) 295 on a regular or irregular basis. The received information may be stored in the storage unit 210 and read from the storage unit 210 by the HVAC controller 240. The HVAC / sensor mapping table 292 is updated when the correspondence between the HVAC unit 160 and the environment sensor 120 is changed due to the movement or increase / decrease of at least one environment sensor 120 or at least one HVAC unit 160. .. Further, a user feedback table 600, which will be described later, is generated based on the received user location 293, user feedback 294, and the like, and is stored in the storage unit 210. The user feedback table 600 is generated and updated by, for example, the feedback analyzer 242.

The data analyzer 220 identifies the number of users for each block 130 based on the HVAC / sensor mapping table 292 and the user location 293 for each user, and notifies the occupancy analyzer 230 of the number of users for each block 130. The occupancy analyzer 230 determines the operation mode of the HVAC unit 160 of each block 130 based on the number of users for each block 130, and notifies the HVAC controller 240 of the operation mode of the HVAC unit 160 of each block 130. At least one of the data analyzer 220 and the occupancy analyzer 230 may be a learning program such as an AI (Artificial Intelligence) program, and is sufficiently learned (for example, an occupancy pattern in the area 100 (for example, a time zone and every block 130). After recognizing (relationship with the number of users), the execution of the data analyzer 220 and the occupancy analyzer 230 may be skipped. Further, instead of the data analyzer 220 and the occupied analyzer 230, the operation mode of each HVAC unit 160 may be determined in advance for each time zone. The operating mode of each HVAC unit 160 may be used to determine the number of zones and zone members.

The zone analyzer 241 in the HVAC controller 240 determines one or more zones 110 (number of zones and zone members) based on the time-series sensor data set of each environment sensor 120 (time-series sensor data set in the storage unit 210). do. ^{The feedback analyzer 242 determines the thermal comfort index value (thermal index value) Φ TC} _{t of} this time (t) and the thermal comfort index value of this time (t) based on the zone member and the presence / absence of user feedback 294 for each block 130. Determine the minimum value of Φ ^{TC, min} _t. The optimizer 243 performs optimization processing for each zone 110 determined by the zone analyzer 241, that is, determines the optimum HVAC parameter value, and all control targets among all blocks 130 constituting the zone 110. The same command (air conditioning control command) is transmitted to the HVAC unit 160 of the block 130.

FIG. 3 shows the flow of the zone determination process. The zone determination process is performed periodically (for example, every n minutes (n> 0)) by the zone analyzer 241 (for example, n = 30).

The zone analyzer 241 includes factor A (size of area 100), factor F (functionality of area 100), factor P (priority of area 100), and factor Pt (upper limit of power consumption of all HVAC units 160 in area 100). ), And the number of zones, which is the number of zones 110 in the area 100, is determined based on at least one of the _{factors Δt-n (S301).} Specifically, for example, a number of zones _{= f (δΔ t-n +} γA + βF + αP + ωPt). Delta _t-n is a thermal deviation. Delta _t-n is thermal parameter value of a predetermined thermal parameters obtained in the previous (e.g., temperature) the maximum value among the (T ^{high _t-n),} thermal parameter values thermal parameters posited obtained in the previous It is a difference ( ^High _t-n- T ^low _ton ) from the lowest value ( ^Tlow _ton ) of the above. “Tn” means n minutes (for example, 30 minutes before) this time (t). The "predetermined thermal parameter" may be a key thermal parameter. First time, the number of zones is determined without delta _t-n, after periodically, the number of zones is updated based on the delta _t-n. Each of δ, γ, β, α and ω is a coefficient. [delta], gamma, beta, each value of α and ω are factors A, F, are determined based on P, the relative priority of each of the Pt and delta _t-n (weight). At least one of δ, γ, β, α and ω may be a value according to the functionality of the area 100. Factor A, F, P, may be no part of the Pt and _{delta t-n,} factors A, F, P, substitute for at least part of the other factors of the Pt and _{delta t-n} May be done. Since the zone 110 (tier 2) exists on the area 100 (tier 1), the number of zones is determined by using the information about the area 100 as a factor.

The zone analyzer 241 determines the configuration of each of the zones having the number of zones determined in S301 (S302). Each zone is composed of one or more homogeneous blocks 130. Which one or more of the blocks 130 is the homogeneous block 130 is determined based on the thermal parameter value in this embodiment (in the later Example 2, instead of (or in addition to) the thermal parameter value). ), Determined based on user feedback). Determining one or more homogeneous blocks 130 that make up one zone 110 corresponds to clustering the blocks 130. The clustering of block 130 may be determined based on an algorithm such as k-means clustering. As described above, the block value (value for each block 130) used when determining the zone member is a value based on the thermal parameter value in this embodiment, and may be, for example, a key thermal parameter value. When two or more thermal parameters are adopted for each block 130, the blocks 130 are clustered based on one value (for example, thermal comfort index value Φ ^TC _{t) based on the two or more thermal parameter values.} You may. Further, in the zone member, the weight of the thermal parameter value may differ depending on the position attribute of the environment sensor 120 corresponding to the thermal parameter value. For example, the thermal parameter value of the environment sensor 120 arranged near the window is higher than the thermal parameter value of the environment sensor 120 arranged at a position different from the vicinity of the window, in addition to the influence of the HVAC unit 160, in the outdoor thermal environment ( For example, since it is considered to be easily affected by (external temperature), the weight of the thermal parameter value of the environment sensor 120 arranged near the window and the thermal parameter value of the environment sensor 120 arranged at a position different from the vicinity of the window. The weights may be different. Further, one or more homogeneous blocks 130 constituting one zone 110 may be used in place of or in addition to the block value depending on the thermal parameter value, and the occupancy rate of the block 130 (the number of users existing in the block 130 (block 130). It may be determined based on the number of user locations 293 belonging to). For example, in clustering based on block values, blocks 130 having zero users and blocks having one or more users even if they belong to the same group. Different zones may be configured so as to be in different groups with 130.

The zone analyzer 241 creates (updates) a zone table based on the results of S301 and S302, and outputs the zone table (303). The structure of the zone table is as shown in FIG. 4, for example. For example, the zone table 400 has an entry for each zone 110, and each entry stores information such as zone ID 401 (zone 110 ID) and block ID 402 (block 130 ID). As illustrated in FIG. 4, the number of blocks 130 constituting one zone may be one or two or more.

As described above, since the zone determination process is performed periodically (every n minutes), the number of zones and the zone members may change dynamically (see, for example, FIG. 4).

FIG. 5 shows a processing flow composed of a feedback analysis processing and an optimization processing. The process shown in FIG. 5 is also performed periodically (for example, every n minutes). The cycle in which the processing shown in FIG. 5 is performed may be the same as the cycle in which the zone determination processing is performed. The process shown in FIG. 5 may be started when the zone determination process is completed. Specifically, for example, the process shown in FIG. 5 is started when the feedback analyzer 242 receives the zone table 400 output from the zone analyzer 241. Further, in the feedback analysis process, the user feedback table 600 illustrated in FIG. 6 is referred to as appropriate. Each time the user feedback 294 is received, the user feedback table 600 is updated, for example, by the feedback analyzer 242. Which user feedback 294 was obtained for which block 130 can be specified from the user feedback table 600.

The illustrated S501 to S511 are performed for each zone 110 determined by the zone analyzer 241. Hereinafter, in the description of FIG. 5, one zone 110 will be taken as an example (“target zone 110” in the description of FIG. 5).

The feedback analyzer 242 determines whether or not there is at least one user feedback 294 for the target zone 110 (S501). For example, the block 130 identified from the HVAC / sensor mapping table 292 using the user location 293 associated with the received user feedback 294 as a key, and the zone 110 identified from the zone table 400 using the block ID of the block 130 as a key. However, in the case of the target zone 110, the determination result of S501 is true.

When the determination result of S502 is false (S501: No), the feedback analyzer 242 sets the lower limit value Φ ^{TC, min} _t of the thermal comfort index value of this time (t) for the target zone 110, and sets the default lower limit value Φ ^{TC, Set min} (S502).

If the determination result of S502 is true (S501: Yes), the feedback analyzer 242 identifies the zone majority user feedback for the target zone 110 (S503). Regarding the target zone 110, the “zone majority user feedback” means the majority user feedback 294 for the target zone 110, specifically, the most user feedback among all user feedback 294 for all the blocks 130 constituting the target zone 110. It is 294. More specifically, for example, the feedback analyzer 242 also identifies the block majority user feedback for each block 130 that constitutes the target zone 110. For each block 130, the "block majority user feedback" is the majority user feedback 294 for the block 130, specifically the most user feedback 294 of all user feedback 294 for the block 130. Of the one or more block majority user feedbacks, the most block majority user feedback is the zone majority user feedback.

After S503, the feedback analyzer 242 determines for each block 130 constituting the target zone 110 whether the block majority user feedback is the same as the zone majority feedback (S504). The feedback analyzer 242 excludes the block 130 whose judgment result of S504 is false (that is, the block 130 corresponding to the block majority user feedback different from the zone majority feedback) from the controlled target block (S505). Specifically, for example, a block table (not shown) holding information about each block 130 is stored in the storage unit 210, and the feedback analyzer 242 controls the block 130 whose determination result of S504 is false. Set a flag in the block table that means to exclude from.

After S503, the feedback analyzer 242 determines whether the zone majority user feedback is "OK" (comfortable) (S506).

When the determination result of S506 is true (S506: Yes), the feedback analyzer 242 sets the previous lower limit value Φ ^{TC, min} _t-n ^{as Φ TC, min} _t for the target zone 110 (S508).

If S506 the determination result is false (S506: No), the feedback analyzer 242, the target zone 110, the [Phi ^{TC, min} _t that is set, is adjusted based on the zone Majority user feedback (S507). For example, the feedback analyzer 242 ^{increases or decreases the set Φ TC, min} _t for the target zone 110 depending on whether the zone majority user feedback is “Hot” or “Cold”.

S501~S509 Apart from the feedback analyzer 242, for example by a method such as calling the [Phi ^TC _t calculator (see FIG. 7) to calculate the [Phi ^TC _t (S509).

From the above S501 to S509, Φ ^TC _t and Φ ^{TC, min} _t are determined. The optimizer 243 performs optimization processing on the target zone 110. That is, the optimizer 243 is transmitted to the HVAC unit 160 of all the controlled target blocks 130 among all the blocks 130 constituting the target zone 110 based on ^{Φ TC} _t and Φ ^{TC, min} _{t for the target zone 110.} The parameter value (HVAC parameter value) to be included in the command (air conditioning control command) is determined (S510). The determined HVAC parameter value is an HVAC parameter value ^{for maintaining Φ TC} _t to be Φ ^{TC, min} _t or more (that is, maintaining Φ ^TC _t ≧ Φ ^{TC, min} _t ). The optimizer 243 generates a command including the HVAC parameter value determined in S510 for all the controlled target blocks 130 among all the blocks 130 constituting the target zone 110, and the generated command is used as the HVAC of each controlled target block 130. It is transmitted to the CU 140 of the unit 160 (S511).

As described above, in the feedback analysis process among the processes shown in FIG. 5, the user feedback table 600 shown in FIG. 6 is appropriately referred to. The user feedback table 600 is updated each time the user feedback 294 is received. The user feedback table 600 has, for example, an entry for each user. Each entry includes user ID 601 (user ID), block ID 602 (ID of block 130 with user), user feedback 603 (received user feedback 294), date and time 604 (received date and time of user feedback 294), temperature 605 (user). Feedback 294 temperature in reception cycle), humidity 606 (user feedback 294 reception cycle humidity), external temperature 607 (user feedback 294 reception cycle external temperature), and external humidity 608 (user) Information such as (external humidity) in the cycle at the time of receiving the feedback 294 is stored. The external temperature and external humidity can be specified from the weather information 291.

Further, Φ ^TC _t may be calculated as shown in FIG. 7, for example. That is, the Φ ^TC _t calculator 700 has a temperature “ ^troom _t ”, a humidity “ ^hroom _t ”, a clothing level “cl”, a metabolic rate “mr”, a metabolic activity “mb” and a time zone “T [t] -T. based on the [t-n] "such [Phi ^TC _t factors, it calculates the [Phi ^TC _t. The temperature " ^troom _t " and the humidity " ^hroom _t " are the temperature and humidity of the target zone 110 (for example, a plurality of temperature sensors (an example of the environment sensor 120) and a humidity sensor (of the environment sensor 120) for the target zone 110. If there is one example), the average value of temperature or humidity may be used). Each of the garment level “cl”, the metabolic rate “mr” and the metabolic activity “mb” may be preset default values for area 100 (tier 1) (ie, common to all zones 110). The Φ ^TC _t calculator 700 may be a program included in the feedback analyzer 242, or may be a program different from the feedback analyzer 242. Further, the Φ ^TC _t factor is not limited to the example shown in FIG. For example, PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) and at least one may be used for the calculation of [Phi ^TC _t as [Phi ^TC _t factor of PPD (Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied). The Φ ^TC _t factor used in the calculation of Φ ^TC _t may be determined based on the provisions such as ISO7730 or ASHRAE55 standard. At least one of PMV and PPD may be determined based on zone majority user feedback.

Further, Φ ^{TC, min} _t and Φ ^TC _t may be determined for the area 100 instead of the zone base. Zone-based optimization processing (air conditioning control) may be performed in order to maintain ^{Φ TC} _t ≧ Φ ^{TC, min} _t for the area 100.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the zone 110, which is a unit of air conditioning control, is a cluster of homogeneous blocks 130, and each block 130 is an influence range of air conditioning by the corresponding HVAC unit 160. Therefore, the same block 130 (same HVAC unit 160) is not included in two or more different zones 110. Therefore, zone-based air conditioning control is possible. As the zone-based air conditioning control, the same command may be prepared for the HVAC unit 160 of all the control target blocks belonging to the same zone, so that the processing load of the HVAC control system 180 can be reduced.

Further, according to the present embodiment, it is periodically based on a plurality of thermal parameter values from a plurality of environment sensors 120 arranged in a plurality of blocks 130 in the area 100 according to the thermal environment condition. The number of zones and zone members are updated (based on multiple sensor datasets). For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the number of zones and zone members can be changed every 30 minutes based on the sensor data set of each of blocks 1 to 4 every 30 minutes. Specifically, for example, at 7:00, the number of zones is 3, but at 11:00 and 15:00, the number of zones is 2. Further, even if the number of zones is the same = 2, the zone members are different between 11:00 and 15:00. Specifically, the first zone is a zone as a cluster of blocks belonging to the second lowest temperature range, whether it is 11:00 or 15:00, but the members (and the number of members) of the zone are Different (at 11:00, the members are blocks 2 and 3, but at 15:00, the members are blocks 1, 2 and 4). The second zone is a cluster of blocks belonging to the highest temperature range at 11:00, but a cluster of blocks belonging to the lowest temperature range at 15:00. In this way, since the number and members of the zones, which are the air conditioning control units, are periodically set to the number and members according to the thermal environment condition, it can be expected that the zone-based air conditioning control becomes an appropriate air conditioning control. .. At least one of the magnitude and number of the temperature range may be fixed or variable depending on the number of zones at each time point. Further, the members of the same zone 110 are not limited to the adjacent blocks 130, but may be two or more blocks 130 separated by one or more blocks 130.

Also, according to this embodiment, the number of zones and the key thermal parameters preferred in determining at least one of the zone members depend on the functionality of the area 100 on which the zone 110 is based. That is, the number of zones and at least one of the zone members depends on the functionality of the area 100. Therefore, air conditioning control can be performed according to the functionality of the area 100 (for example, which of the office room, the server room, the conference room, and the sports room the area 100 corresponds to).

Further, according to the present embodiment, user feedback 294 is taken into consideration when controlling the air conditioning. Specifically, the block 130 corresponding to the block majority user feedback different from the zone majority user feedback is excluded from the target of the air conditioning control. As a result, it is possible to reduce the number of users who feel uncomfortable with the air conditioning control by the HVAC control system 180 according to the present embodiment.

The above is the description of this embodiment.

In this embodiment, both Tier 1 and Tier 2 are considered, but the number of zones and the zones are not considered (that is, the priority of each thermal parameter is the same) without considering the functionality of the area 100. At least one of the members may be determined (ie, there may be no definitions such as Tier 1 and Tier 2).

Further, in this embodiment, the number of zones and the number of zone members are prioritized (that is, the number of zones is determined and the determined number of zones is configured), but the zone members are prioritized. It may be (that is, the number of zones may not be determined).

Further, in the present embodiment, the process shown in FIG. 3 and the process shown in FIG. 5 are performed periodically, but at least one process may be performed irregularly.

Further, in this embodiment, the feedback analyzer 242 may not be provided. That is, the optimizer 243 may perform the optimization process based on the result of the zone determination process by the zone analyzer 241.

Further, in the present embodiment, the user feedback 294 is information input by the user, but may be alternative or additionally to information input by a person other than the user (for example, an administrator). Further, in the present embodiment, the user feedback 294 is information indicating the user's impression (impression on air conditioning) at the time of input, but instead of or in addition, the user's preference regarding the thermal environment (for example, relatively). It may be information indicating (I like hot people, I like relatively dry people).

The second embodiment will be described. At that time, the differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the common points with the first embodiment will be omitted or simplified.

In the second embodiment, the zone analyzer 241 determines the number of zones and zone members based on the user feedback 294 of a plurality of users in the plurality of blocks 130 instead of the plurality of sensor data sets for the plurality of environment sensors 120. (User feedback 294 may be input by the user or may be input by a person other than the user (for example, an administrator)). The number of zones and zone members may be updated periodically or irregularly based on the block majority user feedback of each block 130. For each block 130, block majority user feedback includes movement of one or more users (eg, movement between blocks 130, entry into area 100, exit from area 100), and dynamic user feedback 294 input. Can change with at least one of. For example, the zone analyzer 241 can configure zones as follows.
(A) The zone analyzer 241 constitutes a zone 110 having a common block majority user feedback by clustering blocks 130 having the same block majority user feedback. According to this, at the time when the zone 110 is created, the block 130 of the block majority user feedback different from the zone majority user feedback of the zone 110 does not exist in the zone 110.
(B) In addition to (a), the zone analyzer 241 may configure the zone 110 as a cluster of blocks 130 in which the user feedback 294 does not exist.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the zone 110 can be configured based on the user feedback 294, so that the environment sensor 120 may not be provided.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the efficiency evaluation program 900 can perform an efficiency evaluation process, which is a process for evaluating (measuring) the efficiency of air conditioning control. The efficiency evaluation program 900 is a program executed in the HVAC control system 180, and may be an internal element or an external element of the HVAC controller 240.

As shown in FIG. 9, the efficiency evaluation process includes the process of case 1 (S901 to S903) and the process of case 2 (S911 to S916). In the block table (not shown) described above, the entry of each block 130 stores an efficiency count value which is an example of an index indicating efficiency. In the following description, the "comfort zone" is a cluster of blocks 130 in which the block majority user feedback is "OK" (an example of user feedback meaning comfort), and the "non-comfort zone" is a block. A cluster of blocks 130 whose majority user feedback is other than "OK". There may be one or more types of comfortable zones and non-comfortable zones. For example, as the uncomfortable zone, there is a Cold zone which is a cluster of blocks 130 whose block majority user feedback is “Cold” and a Hot zone which is a cluster of blocks 130 whose block majority user feedback is “Hot”. You can do it. In addition, the efficiency evaluation process is performed regularly (or irregularly). That is, the efficiency evaluation process is performed once or more. The cycle of the efficiency evaluation process may be the same as or different from the cycle of the zone determination process (for example, the efficiency evaluation process may be performed when the zone determination process is completed).

The process of Case 1 is a process related to the comfort zone. Specifically, for example, it is as follows.

The efficiency evaluation program 900 determines whether or not the block majority user feedback is "OK" k times or more (k is a natural number) in succession for each block 130 belonging to the comfort zone (S901). In the block table (not shown) described above, the entries of each block 130 are the OK count value which is the number of times the block majority user feedback of the block 130 is continuously "OK" and the entries other than "OK" continuously. A non-OK count value, which is the number of times the data has been reached, may be stored, and any count value may be incremented or reset each time the efficiency evaluation process is performed.

When the determination result of S901 is true (S901: Yes), the efficiency evaluation program 900 increments the efficiency count value of each block 130 belonging to the comfort zone by 1 (S902).

On the other hand, when the determination result of S901 is false (S901: No), the efficiency evaluation program 900 does not perform any special processing (S903). In S903, the efficiency evaluation program 900 may reset the OK count value of the block whose block majority user feedback is not “OK” to the initial value (for example, zero) k times or more in succession.

The process of Case 2 is a process relating to the uncomfortable zone. Specifically, for example, it is as follows.

The efficiency evaluation program 900 determines whether or not the block majority user feedback is other than "OK" for each block 130 belonging to the uncomfortable zone continuously p times (p is a natural number) or more (S911). Note that p = k or p ≠ k.

When the determination result of S911 is false (S9111: No), the efficiency evaluation program 900 does not perform any special processing (S912). In S912, the efficiency evaluation program 900 may reset the non-OK count value of the block whose block majority user feedback is other than "OK" to the initial value (for example, zero) p times or more in succession.

When the determination result of S911 is true (S911: Yes), the efficiency evaluation program 900 decrements the efficiency count value of each block 130 belonging to the uncomfortable zone by 1 (S913). The optimizer 243 can perform the optimization process based on the efficiency count value after S913 of each block 130 belonging to the non-comfort zone.

After S913, the efficiency evaluation program 900 determines whether or not the efficiency count value of any block 130 belonging to the uncomfortable zone has reached the lower limit of the efficiency count value (S914).

When the judgment result of S914 is true (S914: Yes), the efficiency evaluation program 900 performs the following processing.
Information indicating that the efficiency count value of any block 130 belonging to the uncomfortable zone is less than the lower limit of the efficiency count value (for example, the block 130 whose efficiency count value is less than the lower limit of the efficiency count value). Notify the administrator of information including ID),
The operation mode of the block 130 (HVAC unit 160) whose efficiency count value has reached the lower limit of the efficiency count value is set to “off”.
-Exclude the block 130 whose efficiency count value has reached the lower limit of the efficiency count value from the zone 110.
At least one of them is performed (S915). The block 130 in the operation mode “off” is the block 130 excluded from the zone-based air conditioning control, that is, the block 130 subject to individual control. When user feedback 294, which means "OK", is collected in a certain ratio or more as a result of individual control for a certain period of time (for example, the block majority user feedback of the block 130 is "OK"). The efficiency evaluation program 900 manages the block 130 as a block that can be a member of any of the zones 110. Specifically, for example, in the block table (not shown) described above, the entry of each block 130 may store a flag indicating whether or not the block 130 is subject to zone-based control. Whether or not the block 130 is a zone-based control target is managed depending on whether the value of the flag is set to "1" (zone-based control target) or "0" (individual control target). good.

On the other hand, when the determination result of S914 is false (S914: No), the efficiency evaluation program 900 does not perform any special processing (S916).

When the efficiency count value of any block 130 belonging to the uncomfortable zone is decremented in the effect evaluation process performed periodically (or irregularly), the optimization process is performed based on the efficiency count value after the decrement. Will be done. As a result, improvement in air conditioning control in units of zones 110 configured based on user feedback 294 can be expected.

The third embodiment will be described. At that time, the differences from the first and second embodiments will be mainly described, and the common points with the first and second embodiments will be omitted or simplified.

A display control program (not shown) displays a UI (User Interface) screen according to the role of the user to the user. The user's role is one of a plurality of roles. The plurality of roles include, for example, an administrator and a general user. The display control program is a program executed in the HVAC control system 180, and may be an internal element or an external element of the HVAC controller 240.

For example, the display control program displays the administrator screen 1050, which is a UI screen for the administrator illustrated in FIG. 10. The administrator screen 1050 includes a UI (for example, a pull-down menu) 1000 for inputting the functionality of the area 100, a UI 1010 for inputting a thermal parameter as a key thermal parameter, and the power consumption of the entire plurality of HVAC units 160. The UI 1020 for inputting the upper limit, the UI 1030 for instructing the execution of the zone determination process of the second embodiment instead of the zone determination process of the first embodiment, and the power consumption of each member block of the zone 110 selected by the administrator. It has a UI 1040 and a UI 1040 showing the transition of. The administrator can manage the air conditioning control system 180 based on the administrator screen 1050.

Further, for example, the display control program displays the general user screen 1150, which is a UI screen for general users illustrated in FIG. 11. Hereinafter, a certain general user will be taken as an example (“target user” in the description of FIG. 11). The general user screen 1150 includes information 1100 indicating the average temperature of the space (block 130 or zone 110) in which the target user exists, and information 1110 indicating the average humidity of the space (block 130 or zone 110) in which the target user exists. Recommended information 1120, which is information indicating recommended blocks for the target user for each area (each area functionality), UI 1130 for the target user to input user feedback, and user feedback of all users in the space where the target user exists. It has a UI 1140 and a UI 1140 indicating the ratio of. According to UI1140, the target user can know how many users have the same impression as himself / herself in the space where the target user exists. Further, according to the recommended information 1120, the target user can know where is a comfortable space for the target user in each area 100.

The recommended information 1120 can be generated, for example, by the recommended program 1200 illustrated in FIG. The recommended program 1200 is a program executed in the HVAC control system 180 and may be an internal element or an external element of the HVAC controller 240. The recommended program 1200, for example, for each user, is described below.
-Identify which thermal environment tends to be preferred at which time of day,
-Determine the recommended block for each time zone according to the functionality of the area 100 according to the preference for each specified time zone.
-The block ID of the recommended block according to the functionality of the area 100 corresponding to the time zone to which the date and time when the general user screen 1150 is displayed for the user belongs is specified, and the block specified according to the functionality of the area 100. Display ID,
I do. Specifically, for example, the recommended program 1200 has a history of user ID, block ID (ID of the block in which the user existed at the date and time), user feedback, temperature, humidity, external temperature, and external humidity for each date and time. Based on the above, it is possible to specify which thermal environment tends to be preferred in which time zone, and thus the block ID of the recommended block according to the functionality of the area 100 can be specified and output. As the history of a user increases, it can be expected that the accuracy of the recommended block for that user will increase.

The above description of Examples 1 to 3 can be summarized as follows, for example. The following summary may include explanations of matters not included in the above description. In addition, the reference reference numerals are omitted in the following summary.

A zone determination unit (for example, a zone analyzer) in which an air conditioning control system that controls a plurality of air conditioners (for example, HVAC unit 160) that air-conditions an area performs a zone determination process for forming one or more zones based on a plurality of blocks in the area. It has 241) and an air conditioning control unit (for example, an optimizer 243) that performs air conditioning control (for example, air conditioning optimization) for zone-based control of an air conditioner corresponding to a zone-based controlled target block in the zone. The zone configuration is at least one of the number of zones (the number of zones) and the zone members (blocks as members constituting the zones). For each of the plurality of blocks, the block is a range defined as a range affected by air conditioning by the air conditioner corresponding to the block among the plurality of air conditioners. For each of the one or more zones, the zone is a cluster of one or more homogeneous blocks of the plurality of blocks. As a result, none of the air conditioners is classified into two or more different zones, so that zone-based (zone-based) air-conditioning control is possible.

The zone determination unit performs the zone determination process on a regular or irregular basis. This allows the zone configuration to be changed dynamically.

A plurality of environment sensors are arranged in two or more blocks which are all or a part of the plurality of blocks. At least one zone 110 is a thermal zone. The thermal zone is a zone composed of one or more blocks having a homogeneous (for example, the same or similar) thermal index value. For each block of the thermal zone, the thermal index value is a value according to one or more thermal parameter values from one or more environmental sensors arranged in the block. This allows control based on thermal parameter values, for example, IoT-based control. The "thermal index value" may be a key thermal parameter value or a thermal comfort index value (Φ ^TC ) determined based on the thermal parameter values of two or more thermal parameters.

The zone determination unit determines the number of zones based on the thermal deviation each time the zone determination process is performed regularly or irregularly, and determines the zone members of the zone for each zone of the determined number of zones. As a result, the determined number of zones can be maintained, and zone-based air conditioning control can be performed for each zone of the determined number of zones. The thermal deviation is the difference between the maximum value of the thermal index value in the previous zone determination process and the minimum value of the thermal index value in the previous zone determination process. Further, the number of zones may be further based on at least one of the size of the area, the functionality of the area, the priority of the area, and the upper limit of the power consumption of all the air conditioners in the area. As a result, it can be expected that the number of zones will be more appropriate according to the area.

The air conditioning control system further includes a feedback management unit (eg, feedback analyzer 242) that manages user feedback of users in the area. The feedback management unit identifies the block majority user feedback, which is the most user feedback among all the user feedbacks related to the block, for each block constituting the thermal zone. The feedback management unit excludes blocks of block majority user feedback, which is different from zone majority feedback, which is the most block majority user feedback among all block majority user feedbacks related to the thermal zone, from the zone-based control target. As a result, more appropriate zone-based air conditioning control can be expected. The air conditioning control unit may individually control the air conditioners of the excluded blocks.

Further, the feedback management unit may determine the lower limit value of the thermal comfort index value based on the user feedback regarding the thermal zone. In this case, the air conditioning control unit performs air conditioning control for maintaining the thermal comfort index value at or above the lower limit value. This can be expected to provide a thermal environment in which more users feel comfortable.

As described above, the feedback management unit manages user feedback of users in the area. Thereby, at least one of determination of the zone configuration based on user feedback, air conditioning control based on user feedback, and provision of information including information on user feedback can be expected. The feedback management unit may perform the following processing in place of or in addition to the above processing.

For example, at least one zone is the user feedback zone. The user feedback zone is a zone composed of one or more blocks having the same block majority user feedback. For each block in the user feedback zone, the block majority user feedback for that block is the most user feedback of all user feedback for that block. In this way, the zone configuration can be determined based on user feedback.

The air conditioning control system may further have an efficiency evaluation unit (for example, an effect evaluation program 900) that periodically or irregularly performs efficiency evaluation processing related to the user feedback zone. The efficiency evaluation process includes the following for each block constituting the user feedback zone. As a result, appropriate zone-based air conditioning control of the zone configured based on user feedback can be expected.
-The value of the block (for example, the efficiency count value) is incremented if the block majority user feedback of the block means comfort (for example, if it is "OK" k times or more in a row), and the block is incremented. Block Majority Decrement if user feedback does not mean comfort (for example, if it is not "OK" more than j times in a row).
-If the value of the block has reached the lower limit, issue a notification, exclude the block from zone-based control, or exclude the block from the user feedback zone.

The air conditioning control system may further have a recommendation unit (for example, a recommended program 1200) that determines a recommended block provided to the user based on the date and time, user feedback, and the history of the thermal environment. This allows the user to know which blocks are likely to be comfortable for the user. When there are a plurality of areas with different functionality, the recommendation section can determine a recommended block to be provided to the user for at least a part of each area of the plurality of areas based on the functionality of each area. ..

The air conditioning control system may further have a display control unit (for example, a display control program) that displays information about the user feedback (for example, UI1140) of all the users in the block in which the user exists. As a result, the user can know the impressions of other users in the block in which the user exists. For example, if the user's impression is found to be a minority, the user can consider moving to another block.

The air conditioning control unit may predict the transition of power consumption for each of the plurality of areas including the area. When the time when the power consumption exceeds the threshold value is predicted for the area where the priority is relatively high, the air conditioning control unit may switch the air conditioner in the area where the priority is relatively low to the power saving mode (for example, prediction). The switching may be performed when the time is reached). The air conditioning control unit performs zone-based air conditioning control for each of the plurality of areas according to whether the mode of the air conditioner in the area is the power saving mode or the normal mode. As a result, it can be expected that each area is controlled on a zone basis while appropriately maintaining the power consumption of the entire plurality of areas. A plurality of air conditioners are prepared in each of the plurality of areas. For each area, the transition of power consumption can be predicted using a model such as a regression model. Further, the air conditioning control unit may send a notification to the administrator including switching the air conditioner to the power saving mode in the area having a relatively low priority and the time of the switching.

Although some examples have been described above, these are examples for explaining the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these examples. The present invention can also be practiced in various other forms. For example, the HAVC control system 180 according to any of Examples 1 to 3 is a system suitable for automatic air conditioning control in a large commercial building, and can achieve both cost reduction (for example, reduction of processing load) and comfort maintenance. can.

180 HVAC control system

Claims (6)

An air conditioning control system that controls multiple air conditioners that air-condition the area.
A zone determination unit that performs a zone determination process for determining a zone configuration that is a configuration of one or more zones based on a plurality of blocks in the area, and a zone determination unit.
For each zone, an air conditioner control unit that performs air conditioning control that controls the air conditioner corresponding to the zone-based control target block in the zone on a zone basis .
It has a feedback management unit that manages user feedback of users in the area.
The zone configuration is at least one of a number of zones, which is the number of zones, and a zone member, which is a block as a member constituting the zone.
For each of the plurality of blocks, the block is a range defined as a range affected by air conditioning by the air conditioner corresponding to the block among the plurality of air conditioners.
For each of the one or more zones, the zone, Ri 1 or more clusters der homogeneously block of the plurality of blocks,
A plurality of environment sensors are arranged in two or more blocks which are all or a part of the plurality of blocks.
At least one zone is the thermal zone,
The thermal zone is a zone composed of one or more blocks having a homogeneous thermal index value.
For each block of the thermal zone, the thermal index value is a value according to one or more thermal parameter values from one or more environmental sensors arranged in the block.
The feedback management unit
For each block constituting the thermal zone, the block majority user feedback, which is the most user feedback among all user feedbacks related to the block, is identified.
Blocks of block majority user feedback that are different from the zone majority feedback, which is the block majority user feedback, which is the most block majority user feedback among all block majority user feedbacks related to the thermal zone, are excluded from the zone-based control target.
Air conditioning control system. An air conditioning control system that controls multiple air conditioners that air-condition the area.
A zone determination unit that performs a zone determination process for determining a zone configuration that is a configuration of one or more zones based on a plurality of blocks in the area, and a zone determination unit.
At least one zone is the user feedback zone
For each zone, an air conditioner control unit that performs air conditioning control that controls the air conditioner corresponding to the zone-based control target block in the zone on a zone basis.
A feedback management unit that manages user feedback of users in the area,
With the efficiency evaluation unit that periodically performs evaluation processing related to the user feedback zone
Have,
The zone configuration is at least one of a number of zones, which is the number of zones, and a zone member, which is a block as a member constituting the zone.
For each of the plurality of blocks, the block is a range defined as a range affected by air conditioning by the air conditioner corresponding to the block among the plurality of air conditioners.
For each of the one or more zones, the zone is a cluster of one or more homogeneous blocks of the plurality of blocks.
The user feedback zone is a zone composed of one or more blocks having the same block majority user feedback.
For each block in the user feedback zone, the block majority user feedback for that block is the most user feedback of all user feedback for that block.
The evaluation process is performed on each block constituting the user feedback zone.
The value of the block is incremented if the block majority user feedback of the block means comfort, and decremented if the block majority user feedback of the block means comfort.
If the value of the block has reached the lower limit, at least one of issuing a notification, excluding the block from zone-based control, and excluding the block from the user feedback zone is performed.
including,
Air conditioning control system. It is an air conditioning control method that controls multiple air conditioners that air-condition the area.
A computer performs a zone determination process for determining a zone configuration, which is a configuration of one or more zones, based on a plurality of blocks in the area.
The zone configuration is at least one of a number of zones, which is the number of zones, and a zone member, which is a block as a member constituting the zone.
For each of the plurality of blocks, the block is a range defined as a range affected by air conditioning by the air conditioner corresponding to the block among the plurality of air conditioners.
For each of the one or more zones, the zone, Ri 1 or more clusters der homogeneously block of the plurality of blocks,
A plurality of environment sensors are arranged in two or more blocks which are all or a part of the plurality of blocks.
At least one zone is the thermal zone,
The thermal zone is a zone composed of one or more blocks having a homogeneous thermal index value.
For each block of the thermal zone, the thermal index value is a value according to one or more thermal parameter values from one or more environmental sensors arranged in the block.
Computer, have rows conditioning control for controlling the plurality of air conditioners in a zone basis,
For each block constituting the thermal zone, the computer identifies the block majority user feedback, which is the most user feedback among all user feedbacks related to the block.
The computer excludes from zone-based control the blocks of block majority user feedback that differ from the zone majority feedback, which is the block majority user feedback that has the highest block majority user feedback for the thermal zone.
Air conditioning control method. It is an air conditioning control method that controls multiple air conditioners that air-condition the area.
A computer performs a zone determination process for determining a zone configuration, which is a configuration of one or more zones, based on a plurality of blocks in the area.
The zone configuration is at least one of a number of zones, which is the number of zones, and a zone member, which is a block as a member constituting the zone.
For each of the plurality of blocks, the block is a range defined as a range affected by air conditioning by the air conditioner corresponding to the block among the plurality of air conditioners.
For each of the one or more zones, the zone is a cluster of one or more homogeneous blocks of the plurality of blocks.
At least one zone is the user feedback zone
The user feedback zone is a zone composed of one or more blocks having the same block majority user feedback.
For each block in the user feedback zone, the block majority user feedback for that block is the most user feedback of all user feedback for that block.
A computer performs air conditioning control that controls the plurality of air conditioners on a zone basis.
The computer periodically performs an evaluation process on the user feedback zone.
The evaluation process is performed on each block constituting the user feedback zone.
The value of the block is incremented if the block majority user feedback of the block means comfort, and decremented if the block majority user feedback of the block means comfort.
If the value of the block has reached the lower limit, at least one of issuing a notification, excluding the block from zone-based control, and excluding the block from the user feedback zone is performed.
including,
Air conditioning control method. For computers connected to multiple air conditioners that air-condition the area,
A zone determination process for determining a zone configuration, which is a configuration of one or more zones, is performed based on a plurality of blocks in the area.
The zone configuration is at least one of a number of zones, which is the number of zones, and a zone member, which is a block as a member constituting the zone.
For each of the plurality of blocks, the block is a range defined as a range affected by air conditioning by the air conditioner corresponding to the block among the plurality of air conditioners.
For each of the one or more zones, the zone, Ri 1 or more clusters der homogeneously block of the plurality of blocks,
A plurality of environment sensors are arranged in two or more blocks which are all or a part of the plurality of blocks.
At least one zone is the thermal zone,
The thermal zone is a zone composed of one or more blocks having a homogeneous thermal index value.
For each block of the thermal zone, the thermal index value is a value according to one or more thermal parameter values from one or more environmental sensors arranged in the block.
There line conditioning control for controlling the plurality of air conditioners in a zone basis,
For each block constituting the thermal zone, the block majority user feedback, which is the most user feedback among all user feedbacks related to the block, is identified.
A computer program that excludes a block of block majority user feedback, which is different from the zone majority feedback, which is the block majority user feedback, which is the most block majority user feedback among all block majority user feedbacks related to the thermal zone, from the zone-based control target. For computers connected to multiple air conditioners that air-condition the area,
A zone determination process for determining a zone configuration, which is a configuration of one or more zones, is performed based on a plurality of blocks in the area.
The zone configuration is at least one of a number of zones, which is the number of zones, and a zone member, which is a block as a member constituting the zone.
For each of the plurality of blocks, the block is a range defined as a range affected by air conditioning by the air conditioner corresponding to the block among the plurality of air conditioners.
For each of the one or more zones, the zone is a cluster of one or more homogeneous blocks of the plurality of blocks.
At least one zone is the user feedback zone
The user feedback zone is a zone composed of one or more blocks having the same block majority user feedback.
For each block in the user feedback zone, the block majority user feedback for that block is the most user feedback of all user feedback for that block.
Air-conditioning control that controls the plurality of air conditioners on a zone basis is performed.
Periodically perform evaluation processing related to the user feedback zone
To run,
The evaluation process is performed on each block constituting the user feedback zone.
The value of the block is incremented if the block majority user feedback of the block means comfort, and decremented if the block majority user feedback of the block means comfort.
If the value of the block has reached the lower limit, at least one of issuing a notification, excluding the block from zone-based control, and excluding the block from the user feedback zone is performed.
including,
Computer program.

Images