MRTS: a flexible system for microgrids real-time digital simulation using hardware-in-the-loop

Dissertação de mestrado em Mechatronic EngineeringThe recent changes on the power systems paradigm require the active participation of small and medium players in the electricity network management. With the electricity price flotation, the small and medium players must manage their consumption in order to decrease the economic costs without the degradation of the users’ comfort. Additionally, the appearance of new concepts in the power systems, such as smart grids and microgrids, bring several advantages. This includes the use of distributed generation and the execution of demand response programs. However, their implementation on the current power grid can also bring management and stability issues. The purpose of this dissertation is to simulate, in real-time, a microgrid facility by employing real hardware resources and survey of the consumption and generation profiles of the small and medium consumers. The facility would include small power load, medium power load and a micro-generation unit. This microgrid facility proposes controlling methods of hardware devices that enable the real loads to be integrated as hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) loads for the small and medium simulation players. The implemented system uses real consumption loads and real wind power generator. The main contribution of this dissertation is the integration of real resources inside the simulation environment. Furthermore, this study describes the hardware and software developed and implemented on the loads built to manual use, outside of the simulation environments. In the case studies, actual consumption and generation profiles of the small and medium consumers has been employed in order to simulate in real-time.As mudanças recentes no paradigma dos sistemas elétricos de energia requerem uma participação ativa dos participantes de pequeno e médio tamanho na gestão da produção e utilização da eletricidade. Com a flutuação do preço da eletricidade, estes participantes têm de gerir o consumo de modo a diminuir custos sem degradar o conforto dos utilizadores. Além disso, o aparecimento de novos conceitos de eletrónica de potência, como as redes inteligentes e as micro-redes, traz grandes vantagens. Isto inclui o uso de produção distribuída e a execução de programas de resposta à procura. No entanto, as suas implantações podem trazer complicações de gestão e estabilidade aos atuais sistemas elétricos de energia. O objetivo desta dissertação é simular, em tempo real, uma micro-rede usando recursos de hardware reais e analisar o consumo e perfis de geração de consumidores pequenos e médios. A micro-rede incluiria uma pequena carga, uma média carga e uma unidade de micro-geração. Esta micro-rede propõe métodos de controlar dispositivos de hardware que permitem integrar cargas reais como cargas hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) para simulação de participantes pequenos e médios. O sistema implementado tem cargas com consumos reais e um gerador de energia eólica. A principal contribuição desta dissertação é a integração de dispositivos reais dentro do ambiente de simulação. Além disso, este estudo descreve o hardware e o software desenvolvidos e implementados nas cargas desenhadas para utilização manual, fora dos ambientes de simulação. Nos casos de estudo, o consumo real e os perfis de geração dos consumidores pequenos e médios foram utilizados para realizar as simulações em tempo-real.تغییرات اخیر در سیستم های توزیع قدرت ، شرکت کردن فعال مصرف کنندگان و تولید کنندگان برق را بیش از پیش مورد اهمیت قرار داده است. همچنین با توجه به متغیر بودن قیمت برق ، این واحد ها باید مدیریت کافی را بر روی مصرف خود داشته ، تا بتوانند هزینه های ماهیانه انرژی را کاهش دهند. علاوه بر این، پیدایش مفاهیم جدیدی در سیستم های قدرت ، مانند شبکه های هوشمند ، فواید بسیاری را برای این سیستم ها ایجاد کرده اند. این فواید شامل استفاده از تکنولوژی تولید پراکنده و یا اجرای برنامه های پاسخ به بخش تقاضا می باشند. البته در کنار این فواید، این مفاهیم جدید مشکلاتی مدیریتی و پایداری را برای شبکه ایجاد می کنند. هدف از این پایان نامه ، شبیه سازی زمان واقعی یک شبکه برق کوچک می باشد که از مصرف روش های ، HIL کنندگان و تولید کنندگان واقعی استفاده می کند. این شبکه برق کوچک با استفاده از سناریو کنترلی را ارائه می دهد که اپراتور را قادر می سازد تا با ادغام سخت افزار های واقعی در محیط شبیه سازی ، به نتایج واقعی و قابل قبول تری دست یابد. همچنین این پایان نامه ، نرم افزار ها و سخت افزار هایی را توضیح می دهد که با اجرای آنها بر روی وسایلی که برای استفاده های معمولی و خارج از محیط شبیه سازی ساخته شده اند ، به صورت سخت افزار های واقعی در محیط شبیه سازی ایفای نقش کنند. در موارد بررسی شده در این پایان نامه ، یک دوره دو ساعته از این شبیه سازی زمان واقعی برای مصرف کنندگان خانگی و تجاری بیان می شود

Energy Resource Scheduling in an Agriculture System Using a Decision Tree Approach

The present work was done and funded in the scope of project: Eco Rural IoT (TETRAMAX-VALUECHAIN-TTX-1), CEECIND/02887/2017, and UID/EEA/00760/2019 funded by FEDER Funds through COMPETE and by National Funds through FCT.Agriculture sector is backbone of each country. Nowadays the energy efficiency in this sector is at a very low level, which shows the necessity of more investments in this regard. By appearance of smart grid technologies, some new concepts were also appeared in the agriculture sector, such as smart farm, and smart agriculture. This paper provides an energy management system for an agriculture field equipped with renewable energy resources and a river turbine. A decision tree is developed in this paper to schedule and optimize the use of energy resources for reducing the electricity costs. Decision tree method enables the system to obtain optimal scheduling of energy resources in offline mode, without using any external server/machine or internet access. A case study validates the performance of developed decision tree, and the errors and accuracy of all gained results are discussed.The present work was done and funded in the scope of project: Eco Rural IoT (TETRAMAX-VALUECHAIN-TTX-1), CEECIND/02887/2017, and UID/EEA/00760/2019 funded by FEDER Funds through COMPETE and by National Funds through FCTinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Modeling of a Low Voltage Power Distribution Network of a University Campus

The use of renewable generation and demand response programs become a reality in the nowadays electricity markets and distribution networks. An intelligent energy management system is required in all levels of electricity supply chain, in order to efficiently profit from the distributed energy sources. However, before the implementation of the business models, the mathematical and simulation models should be well surveyed and verified. This paper presents a model of low voltage distribution network of a university campus developed in MATLAB/Simulink tools. Several types of resource modelings have been used in order to develop a reliable distribution network model. In the case study of this paper, the real consumption profiles of the buildings located in the university campus are provided to the developed model and the behaviors of the network components are surveyed.The present work was done and funded in the scope of the following projects: H2020 DREAM-GO Project (Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 641794); and UID/EEA/00760/2019 funded by FEDER Funds through COMPETE program and by National Funds through FCT.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Ramping of Demand Response Event with Deploying Distinct Programs by an Aggregator

This article belongs to the Special Issue Demand Response in Smart GridsSystem operators have moved towards the integration of renewable resources. However, these resources make network management unstable as they have variations in produced energy. Thus, some strategic plans, like demand response programs, are required to overcome these concerns. This paper develops an aggregator model with a precise vision of the demand response timeline. The model at first discusses the role of an aggregator, and thereafter is presented an innovative approach to how the aggregator deals with short and real-time demand response programs. A case study is developed for the model using real-time simulator and laboratory resources to survey the performance of the model under practical challenges. The real-time simulation uses an OP5600 machine that controls six laboratory resistive loads. Furthermore, the actual consumption profiles are adapted from the loads with a small-time step to precisely survey the behavior of each load. Also, remuneration costs of the event during the case study have been calculated and compared using both actual and simulated demand reduction profiles in the periods prior to event, such as the ramp periodThe present work was done and funded in the scope of the following projects: UIDB/00760/2020, CEECIND/02887/2017, and COLORS PTDC/EEI-EEE/28967/2017, funded by FEDER Funds through the COMPETE program. This work has also received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under project DOMINOES (grant agreement No 771066).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

SCADA Office Building Implementation in the Context of an Aggregator

This paper at first presents an aggregation model including optimization tools for optimal resource scheduling and aggregating, and then, it proposes a real implemented SCADA system in an office building for decision support techniques and participating in demand response events. The aggregator model controls and manages the consumption and generation of customers by establishing contract with them. The SCADA based office building presented in this paper is considered as a customer of proposed aggregation model. In the case study, a distribution network with 21 buses, including 20 consumers and 26 distributed generations, is proposed for the aggregator network, and optimal resource scheduling of aggregator, and performance of implemented SCADA system for the office building, will be surveyed. The scientific contribution of this paper is to address from an optimization-based aggregator model to a SCADA based customer.This work has received funding from the Projects: NetEffiCity (ANI|P2020 18015); FEDER Funds through COMPETE program; National Funds through FCT under project UID/EEA/00760/2013; H2020 DREAM-GO Project (Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 641794).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Real-Time Demand Response Program Implementation Using Curtailment Service Provider

Nowadays, electricity network operators obligated to utilize the new concepts of power system, such as demand response program, due to peak shaving or reducing the power congestion in the peak periods. These types of management programs have a minimum capacity level for the consumers who tend to participate. This makes small and medium scale consumer incapable to participate in these programs. Therefore, a third party entity, such as a Curtailment Service Provider, can be a solution for this barrier since it is a bridge between the demand side and grid side. This paper provides a real-time simulation of a curtailment service provider that utilize realtime demand response programs for small and medium consumers and prosumers. The case study of the paper represents a network with 220 consumers and 68 distributed generations, which aims at the behavior of two small and medium scale prosumers during a real-time demand response program.This work has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 641794 (project DREAMGO) and from FEDER Funds through COMPETE program and from National Funds through FCT, under the project UID/EEA/00760/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Laboratorial Microgrid Emulation Based on Distributed Control Architecture

Power systems worldwide are complex and challenging environments. The increasing necessity for an adequate integration of renewable energy sources is resulting in a rising complexity in power systems operation. Multiagent based simulation platforms have proven to be a good option to study the several issues related to these systems. This paper presents an emulation of a laboratorial microgrid based on distributed control architecture. The proposed model contains real consumption and generation resources, including consumer load, photovoltaic, and wind turbine emulator. Also, a web-based graphical interface has been designed in order to monitor and control the microgrid. In this system, there are four main agents, which are connected by means of a communication network capable of sharing and exchanging information to achieve the overall system’s goal. The performance of the distributed architecture is demonstrated in order to observe the applicability of the agents and their collaboration abilities. The results of the paper show in practice that how a distributed control based microgrid manages its resources, and how it reacts if there is a fault or no activity on them.This work has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 641794 (project DREAMGO) and from FEDER Funds through COMPETE program and from National Funds through FCT, under the project UID/EEA/00760/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Towards transactive energy systems: An analysis on current trends

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis on the latest advances in transactive energy systems. The main contribution of this work is centered on the definition of transactive energy concepts and how such systems can be implemented in the smart grid paradigm. The analyzed works have been categorized into three lines of research: (i) transactive network management; (ii) transactive control; and (iii) peer-to-peer markets. It has been found that most of the current approaches for transactive energy are available as a model, lacking the real implementation to have a complete validation. For that purpose, both scientific and practical aspects of transactive energy should be studied in parallel, implementing adequate simulation platforms and tools to scrutiny the results.This work has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under project DOMINOES (grant agreement No. 771066) and from FEDER Funds through COMPETE program and from National Funds through FCT under the project UID/EEA/00760/2019.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Electric Water Heater Modelling for Direct Load Control Demand Response

Home Energy Management System creates the scopes to small household electrical appliances users to participate in the demand response programs. Among several load controllable electrical household appliances water heater is more suitable. Integration of water heater is considered to manage the demand response events that can contribute to smart grid technology. This paper represents a thermodynamic load model for a water heater, which is considered as to be controlled through direct load control for demand response program. The daily electricity consumption and temperature profile of the heater is also considered, the direct load control method is activated to the heater as soon as the energy consumption reaches to 1 kW, with the effects the device is turned off for next one hour. In results, it gained a significant reduction in the electricity consumption for the users without making any discomfort as temperature does not reduce to disruption level. Real time electricity pricing is also compared which implied financial benefit to the consumers. The result exhibit that the method applied to this heater can contribute and participate in the demand response events.The present work was done and funded in the scope of the following projects: H2020 DREAM-GO Project (Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 641794); SIMOCE (ANI|P2020 17690); and UID/EEA/00760/2013 funded by FEDER Funds through COMPETE program and by National Funds through FCT.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Consumption Optimization in an Office Building Considering Flexible Loads and User Comfort

This article belongs to the Special Issue Architectures and Platforms for Smart and Sustainable CitiesThis paper presents a multiperiod optimization algorithm that is implemented in a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system. The algorithm controls lights and air conditioners as flexible loads to reduce the consumption and controls a dishwasher as a deferrable load to implement the load shifting. Several parameters are considered to implement the algorithm for several successive periods in a real building operation. In the proposed methodology, optimization is done regarding user comfort, which is modeled in the objective function related to the indoor temperature in each room, and in the constraints in order to prevent excessive power reduction, according to users' preferences. Additionally, the operation cycle of a dishwasher is included, and the algorithm selects the best starting point based on the appliance weights and power availability in each period. With the proposed methodology, the building energy manager can specify the moments when the optimization is run with consideration of the operational constraints. Accordingly, the main contribution of the paper is to provide and integrate a methodology to minimize the difference between the actual and the desired temperature in each room, as a measure of comfort, respecting constraints that can be easily bounded by building users and manager. The case study considers the real consumption data of an office building which contains 20 lights, 10 ACs, and one dishwasher. Three scenarios have been designed to focus on different functionalities. The outcomes of the paper include proof of the performance of the optimization algorithm and how such a system can effectively minimize electricity consumption by implementing demand response programs and using them in smart grid contexts.The present work was done and funded in the scope of the following projects: COLORSPTDC/EEI-EEE/28967/2017 and UIDB/00760/2020 funded by FEDER Funds through COMPETE programinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio