Project Objectives

The primary research objective of this project is the design and analysis of innovative methods for management and control of multiple building scale DC microgrids operating on a specific territory (region) and willing to share the same objective (coordinated distributed management). Both modelling and control actions take into account possible power quality constraints due to increased number of electronic interfaces bridging generation, storage or load with the DC microgrid.

 

The second main technical objective of this project will be the application of these methods to real, laboratory scale DC microgrids.

 

Other specific objectives are:

 (a) to develop a comprehensive modelling analysis framework for a set of architectures for clusters of LV building level DC microgrids;

 

 (b) to derive a comprehensive set of architectures compatible with clusters of LV building level microgrids;

 

 (c) to develop stochastic models for optimal operation of DC microgrids under uncertainty.

 

The research advancements proposed in the project have the potential to  disrupt the current knowledge on load characteristics (regular home appliances that are usually connected on an AC source) and their actual behavior when directly supplied from the DC sources of a microgrid. It is the research team hope that all this effort will eventually accelerate further knowledge discoveries and moving the society into a new era, of DC-based, low voltage active distribution grids.