Price-Response Matrices Design Methodology for Electrical Energy Management Systems Based on DC Bus Signalling

Abstract

Prosumers’ electrical installations (PEIs), as nanogrids and low-voltage microgrids, have gained importance in recent years following the development of standards such as the IEC 60364-8 series. In these systems, all distributed energy resources (DERs) are usually integrated using dc bus coupling. The IEC 60364-8-3 predicts an electrical energy management system (EEMS) for power-sharing. The overall research framework of this paper is the nanogrid power management, where complex algorithms are required, as well as the conventional state machines and hierarchical controls. However, the addition of new DERs in such systems is not straightforward due to the complicated parameter settings for energy usage optimization. A different control strategy, named price-based power management, has been conceived to make the EEMS scalable to include new sources and simplify parameterization. Since it is analogous to economic markets, most users understand the concepts and feel comfortable tuning parameters according to their own cost/benefits goals. This paper proposes a price-based power management algorithm for EEMS to automatically design the price-response matrices (PRMs). The PRMs are a way to organize power management, considering new DERs and variable price of energy. The main contribution is the methodology to design the PRMs. Experimental results are carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy. The results were obtained with a 1.5 kW prototype composed of a PV generator, battery energy storage, loads, and grid connection.