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EP-4740284-A1 - ELECTRIC POWER MANAGEMENT APPARATUS AND RELATED PROCESS

EP4740284A1EP 4740284 A1EP4740284 A1EP 4740284A1EP-4740284-A1

Abstract

An electrical energy management apparatus (10) comprises a circuit (13) connectable during use to one or more user devices (12) and to an electric network (18), at least two energy generators (11) different from each other, which are connected to the circuit (13) in parallel with respect to each other, wherein at least one of the generators (11) is of the bidirectional type and is configured both to supply energy to said circuit (13) and to receive and store electrical energy received from the circuit (13) by means of storage devices (16) and/or transformer devices (17). The apparatus (10) comprises detection means (21, 22, 23) configured to detect operating parameters of the circuit (13) and of the generators (11) and environmental parameters in correspondence with or in proximity to one or more of the generators (11), a memory unit (24) and a control unit (20) configured to regulate the operation of the generators (11) on the basis of the data received from the detection means (21, 22, 23).

Inventors

  • PETRAZZO, Michele

Assignees

  • Totaltel S.r.l.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240705

Claims (11)

  1. 1. Electrical energy management apparatus (10) with a circuit (13) connectable during use to one or more user devices (12) and to an electric network (18) and at least two energy generators (11), which are connected to said circuit (13) in parallel with respect to each other, wherein at least one of said generators (11) is of the bidirectional type and is configured both to supply energy to said circuit (13) and also to receive and store energy received from said circuit (13) by means of storage devices (16) and/or transformer devices (17), characterized in that it comprises: - first devices (21) configured to continuously detect operating parameters of said circuit (13), which comprise one or more of either the electric voltage or energy required by said one or more user devices (12); - second devices (22) configured to continuously detect operating parameters of one or more of said generators (11); - third devices (23) configured to detect environmental parameters in correspondence with or in proximity to one or more of said generators (11); - a memory unit (24) in which one or more characteristic operating curves, or data, are stored for each of said generators (11), associated with specific environmental parameters and/or parameters of usage over time, and - a control unit (20) configured to receive the data from said first, second and third devices (21, 22, 23) and implement a mathematical model able to describe the operation of said circuit (13) and execute a control algorithm able to receive at input the operating data of said circuit (13) and the environmental parameters in correspondence with or in proximity to said one or more generators (11), compare them with said stored characteristic curves and identify the generator or generators (11) operating in conditions of efficiency and command its/their operation in order to use the energy produced by said identified generator(s) (11) to power said user devices (12) and/or supply electrical energy to said at least one bidirectional generator (11).
  2. 2. Management apparatus (10) as in claim 1, characterized in that said control unit (20) comprises one or more neural networks (26) configured to process the operating parameters and the environmental parameters detected by said first, second and third devices (21, 22, 23) on the basis of the mathematical model of said circuit (13) and of the characteristic curves and determine suitable system variables to command the operation of said generators (11) and said storage (16) and/or transformer (17) devices connected to said circuit (13).
  3. 3. Management apparatus (10) as in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said control unit (20) is configured and programmed to dynamically update said mathematical model on the basis of the data detected by said devices (21, 22, 23) and stored in said memory unit (24), also determining in a predictive maimer the operation of said circuit (13) on the basis of said mathematical model.
  4. 4. Management apparatus (10) as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said control unit (20) comprises a processing unit (29) configured to implement a processing and filtering algorithm (30) able to receive at input at least the operating parameters of said circuit (13) detected at least by said first, second and/or third devices (21, 22, 23) and supply at output filtered and normalized values corresponding to said detected parameters.
  5. 5. Management apparatus (10) as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said characteristic operating curves of each generator (11) define, on the basis of wear and/or environmental conditions, one or more operating parameters of the respective generator (11) and of any storage (16) and/or transformer (17) devices associated therewith, comprising one or more of either efficiency, on and off times, response times to an energy variation request, maximum deliverable power, operating current.
  6. 6. Management apparatus (10) as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that it comprises one said generator (11) configured to generate electrical energy from renewable energy sources and another said generator (11) comprising at least one of either a storage device (16) or a transformer device (17) provided with an electrolyzer (17A) and a fuel cell (17B).
  7. 7. Management apparatus (10) as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that it comprises, connected to said circuit (13), an energy community (19) configured to produce, consume, store and sell renewable energy, comprising or connected to one or more of said renewable type generators (111), storage devices (116) and/or transformer devices (117), and said control unit (20) is configured to communicate with a data source (27) of said energy community (19) in order to evaluate whether to use one or more of said generators (11) to generate energy to be supplied to said energy community (19) or to use the energy available therefrom to operate said at least one bidirectional generator (11) in order to store it.
  8. 8. Management apparatus (10) as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said first and/or second devices (21, 22) comprise at least one of either a sensor suitable to detect the instantaneous energy delivered by the generator, a current sensor or a voltage sensor, a sensor for the amount of energy available, a sensor that indicates a state of availability of energy delivery, and said third devices (23) comprise at least one of either a temperature sensor, an atmospheric humidity sensor, a barometric pressure sensor, a temperature and/or humidity sensor.
  9. 9. Method for managing electrical energy with an apparatus (10) as in any claim hereinbefore, comprising: - detecting at least one operating parameter of said circuit (13) selected from electric voltage or energy required by said one or more user devices (12); - detecting at least one operating parameter of one or more of said generators (11); - detecting environmental parameters in correspondence with or in proximity to one or more of said generators (11); - elaborating and processing said detected parameters in order to implement a mathematical model of the circuit (13) and execute a control algorithm which provides to receive at input the operating data of said circuit (13) and the environmental parameters in correspondence with or in proximity to said one or more generators (11), compare them with said stored characteristic curves and identify the generator or generators (11) operating in conditions of efficiency and command its/their operation in order to use the energy produced by said identified generator(s) (11) to power said user devices (12) and/or supply electrical energy to said at least one bidirectional generator (11) in order to store or transform it for later use.
  10. 10. Management method as in claim 9, characterized in that it provides to carry out a feedback control of the operation of said circuit (13) on the basis of the parameters detected by said detection devices (21, 22, 23) and of said stored characteristics curves, wherein said detected parameters (21, 22, 23) are elaborated and processed by means of neural networks (26) in order to actively control, in a dynamic and predictive maimer, the operation of the circuit (13) in a continuous manner, so as to make it always operate in such a way as to optimize its efficiency and productivity.
  11. 11. Method as in claim 9 or 10, characterized in that it also provides to regulate the operation of one or more of said user devices (12) on the basis of the data received from said detection devices (21, 22, 23), of the information received from one or more user devices (12) via communication bus and/or on the basis of an analysis of the stored historical data, determining the amount of energy to be absorbed at a given moment by said user device/s (12) in order to maximize and increase the efficiency of the apparatus (10) in compliance with the set customizations and said characteristic curves.

Description

ELECTIC POWER MANAGEMENT APPARATUS AND RELATED PROCESS FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention concerns an automatic management apparatus and a related method, suitable to supply electrical energy to a plurality of users by selecting one or more generators and/or energy sources from time to time in order to dynamically optimize the use of available energy and the overall efficiency of the system. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is known that the need to provide alternative energy sources that can supply electrical energy to a plurality of user devices, even of different types, for example in the domestic, commercial or industrial sectors, is increasingly widespread. In this regard, generators are increasingly being used which allow to produce energy from renewable sources, such as wind devices, solar panels and geothermal type devices, as well as storage devices that allow the energy produced to be stored and used as needed. In the known solutions, the user devices are connected to an electrical system connected to an electric network and the generator or/or the storage device are connected in parallel to the system. In the known solutions, there is no direct interfacing or interaction between generator and user, or even between different generator/ storage devices. In the known solutions, the transition from power supply by means of the electric network to power supply by means of generator or storage device is often manual, which results in non-optimization, technical and economic waste, as well as an increased generation and emission of greenhouse gases. Solutions are also known in which the transition from one or the other energy source occurs automatically on the basis of data and instructions provided and defined on a project basis, or in general on the basis of the amount of energy available from the generator or the storage device. When generators and/or storage devices of a different type are present, the known solutions do not make it possible to best exploit the characteristics of each of them in a dynamic maimer, on the basis of the actual conditions of use, on the contrary, their operation remains substantially static and on the basis of pre-set parameters andusage curves. Furthermore, where there are several generators and/or several storage devices, they are normally all connected in parallel to the plant and the energy generated is normally used, where possible, directly on site while it is being generated and, in the event of excess energy being produced, the latter is first stored and eventually sold to the main electric network. Studies and experiments have been proposed for a multiple use of energy sources having stored energy, however they are generally limited in the choice of generators or storage devices and the proposed efficiency methods concern the individual generators or storage devices and are on the basis of predetermined efficiency rules of the individual energy generator, but do not consider an overall energy management. For example, the following factors have been considered and developed in the current state of the art: a) optimizers or MPPTs (Maximum Power Point Tracker) in a photovoltaic system; b) correct positioning of the photovoltaic panels or wind turbines with respect to the orientation of the sun or direction of the wind; c) efficiency and characteristic curves of the inverters used; d) materials and construction processes of the storage devices; e) improvements or production processes to reduce friction; f) high efficiency and low consumption electric motors, in particular for the automotive sector. There is therefore the need to perfect a system and a method for managing energy sources that can overcome at least one of the disadvantages of the state of the art. To do this, it is necessary to solve the technical problem of actively and dynamically coordinating the plurality of generators/storage devices both to compensate for any inefficiency or insufficiency of one of them, and to guarantee the complete and efficient use of the available energy. One purpose of the present invention is to provide a system and a method for managing a plurality of generators that allow not only to optimize and improve the efficiency of a single energy generator, but also to improve the overall efficiency of the entire system, in addition to prolonging the useful life of the devices and apparatuses that constitute such a system. One purpose of the present invention is in particular to make a management system that allows a flexible use in the delivery and generation of energy in a dynamic maimer, both according to rules set and depending on the state and environmental conditions. Another purpose of the present invention is to make a system and a related management method that allow to dynamically choose if and when to use a given generator to supply energy to a user. Another purpose of the present invention is to develop a system and a management method that are flexible and