Air-conditioning control apparatus

An air-conditioning control apparatus, comprising:

• a computer arranged and configured to communicate with an air conditioner and to receive a signal indicating whether or not a user is away from a building in which the air conditioner is installed,
• the computer being programmed to:
• acquire position information of a portable terminal carried by the user;
• use the position information to acquire distance information indicating how far the portable terminal is from the building when the away detector has detected that the user is away;
• learn and store a plurality of passage times using the distance information, each of the passage times being a time needed by the user to pass through one of a plurality of preset areas, the plurality of preset areas including at least a preset area including positions at linear distances larger than a first distance threshold and smaller than or equal to a second distance threshold from the building, the second distance threshold being larger than the first distance threshold, the passage times including
• a first passage time that is a shortest time needed for the user to travel from the first distance threshold to the second distance threshold while going away from the building,
• a second passage time that is a shortest time needed from when the user passes through a spot at the first distance threshold while going away from the building until the user once more passes through the spot at the first distance threshold while returning toward the building, and
• a third passage time that is a shortest time needed for the user to travel from the second distance threshold to the first distance threshold while returning toward the building;
• calculate an away time based on the passage times when the signal indicates that the user is away from the building, the away time being an estimated value of a time beginning at a current timepoint and ending at a timepoint when the user returns;
• and
• control the air conditioner based on the distance information and the away time so that the air conditioner consumes less energy,
• the computer controlling the air conditioner by changing a setback value based on the away time, the setback value being a difference between a current set temperature of the air conditioner and a set temperature of the air conditioner when the away detector detects that the user is away from the building,
• the computer changing the setback value based on the away time,
• when the air conditioner is performing an air-warming operation, the computer progressively increasing the setback value to lower the set temperature as the away time becomes longer, and
• when the air conditioner is performing an air-cooling operation, the computer progressively increasing the setback value to raise the set temperature as the away time becomes longer.