Patent ID: 8695365
Filing Date: 2014-04-15
Classification: F25B,F25D

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for managing operation of refrigerating machines by controlling defrosting of an evaporator for each of a plurality of refrigeration cycles, each of the plurality of refrigeration cycles using at least a compressor, a condenser, a decompressor and the evaporator and being for a corresponding one of cooling/heating devices which are installed in a single store, each of the cooling/heating devices being configured to be capable of a cooling target to be cooled by utilizing an effect of heat absorption due to evaporation of a refrigerant in the evaporator, comprising: a storage section that stores, for each of the plurality of refrigeration cycles, a defrosting start time or defrosting end time and a power consumption during a pull-down operation, the power consumption during the pull-down operation being a power consumption which is necessary for the pull-down operation performed for a corresponding one of the cooling/heating devices after defrosting is performed; a power consumption estimating section that estimates a power consumption of the store for each of predetermined time periods, the power consumption of the store including at least the power consumptions of the plurality of refrigeration cycles; and a defrosting shift controller that changes the defrosting start time or defrosting end time so that a total estimated power consumption does not exceed an upper limit value of a power consumption when the pull-down operation is performed, the total estimated power consumption being obtained by adding the power consumption during the pull-down operation stored in the storage section to the power consumption estimated by the power consumption estimating section, the upper limit value of the power consumption being set in advance in the store; wherein, when the total estimated power consumption exceeds the upper limit value of the power consumption that is set in advance in the store, the defrosting shift controller swaps, among the plurality of refrigeration cycles, the defrosting start time or defrosting end time of one refrigeration cycle and the defrosting start time or defrosting end time of another refrigeration cycle.