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Balancing of Low-Voltage Supply Network with a Smart Utility Controller Leveraging Distributed Customer Energy Sources

Author

Listed:
  • Dumisani Mtolo

    (Gautrain Management Agency, Midrand 1682, South Africa)

  • David Dorrell

    (School of Electrical and Information Engineering, The University of the Witwatersrand, Braamfontein, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa)

  • Rudiren Pillay Carpanen

    (School of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, The University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa)

Abstract

In South Africa, there has been a rapid adoption of solar power, particularly inverter-based solar sources, in low-voltage (LV) networks due to factors such as load shedding, rising electricity costs and greenhouse gas emissions reduction. In residential LV networks, the alignment between solar supply and energy demand is less precise, necessitating larger battery storage systems to effectively utilize solar energy. Residential areas experience peak energy demand in the morning and evening when solar irradiance is limited. As a result, substantial energy storage is important to fully utilize the potential of solar energy. However, increasing inverter-based, customer-generated power creates an imbalance in the utility supply. This is because utility LV supply transformers have three phases, while individual customers have single-phase connections and no load balancing control mechanism. This supply imbalance adversely affects the overall power quality, causing energy losses, damage to devices and other issues. To address these problems, the paper proposes a smart control approach to minimize power imbalances within utility LV supply transformers. The controller uses customer battery storage in residential areas to balance the utility transformer phases. A laboratory model was built to simulate a three-phase low-voltage network with single-phase customers, both with and without a smart controller. The results show that closely monitoring and controlling individual inverters through a central controller can significantly improve the balance of the supply network.

Suggested Citation

  • Dumisani Mtolo & David Dorrell & Rudiren Pillay Carpanen, 2023. "Balancing of Low-Voltage Supply Network with a Smart Utility Controller Leveraging Distributed Customer Energy Sources," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-30, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:23:p:7707-:d:1285256
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gheorghe Grigoraș & Bogdan-Constantin Neagu & Florina Scarlatache & Livia Noroc & Ecaterina Chelaru, 2021. "Bi-Level Phase Load Balancing Methodology with Clustering-Based Consumers’ Selection Criterion for Switching Device Placement in Low Voltage Distribution Networks," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-36, March.
    2. Claeys, Robbert & Cleenwerck, Rémy & Knockaert, Jos & Desmet, Jan, 2023. "Stochastic generation of residential load profiles with realistic variability based on wavelet-decomposed smart meter data," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 350(C).
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