Modular Microgrid Technology with a Single Development Environment Per Life Cycle

Teodora Mîndra, Oana Chenaru, Radu Dobrescu and Lucian Toma ()
Additional contact information
Teodora Mîndra: Department of Automatic Control and Industrial Informatics, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest—UNSTPB, 060042 Bucharest, Romania
Oana Chenaru: Department of Automatic Control and Industrial Informatics, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest—UNSTPB, 060042 Bucharest, Romania
Radu Dobrescu: Department of Automatic Control and Industrial Informatics, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest—UNSTPB, 060042 Bucharest, Romania
Lucian Toma: Department of Electrical Power Systems, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest—UNSTPB, 060042 Bucharest, Romania

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-19

Abstract: The life cycle of a microgrid covers all the stages from idea to implementation, through exploitation until the end of its life, with a lifespan of around 25 years. Covering them usually requires several software tools, which can make the integration of results from different stages difficult and may imply costs being hard to estimate from the beginning of a project. This paper proposes a unified platform composed of four modules developed in MATLAB 2022b, designed to assist all the processes a microgrid passes through during its lifetime. This entire platform can be used by a user with low IT knowledge, because it is completed with fill-in-the-blank alone, as a major advantage. The authors detail the architecture, functions and development of the platform, either by highlighting the novel integration of existing MATLAB tools or by developing new ones and designing new user interfaces linked with scripts based on its complex mathematical libraries. By consolidating processes into a single platform, the proposed solution enhances integration, reduces complexity and provides better cost predictability throughout the project’s duration. A proof-of-concept for this platform was presented by applying the life-cycle assessment process on a real-case study, a microgrid consisting of a photovoltaic plant, and an office building as the consumer and energy storage units. This platform has also been developed by involving students within summer internships, as a process strengthening the cooperation between industry and academia. Being an open-source application, the platform will be used within the educational process, where the students will have the possibility to add functionalities, improve the graphical representation, create new reports, etc.

Keywords: automated reporting; life cycle; microgrid; operation and predictive maintenance; sizing optimization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/19/5016/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/19/5016/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:19:p:5016-:d:1495001

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().