A microcontroller-based automatic scheduling system for residential microgrids

The paper presents a microcontroller-based automatic scheduling system for the operation and control of the distributed energy resources connected to residential electric power installations, taking into account both the following operating conditions: 1) the grid connected operating mode, in which the household electric circuits are connected to the distribution network; and 2) the islanded operating mode, in which the household electric system is able to feed at least part of the load although being disconnected from the public distribution network. The considered residential electric power is assumed to include various distributed energy resources, also of innovative type, such as fuel cells and photovoltaic systems, and an energy storage device, such as a battery unit connected to the system through a voltage-source bi-directional power electronic converter, which allows the load balancing by means the battery charge and discharge in every operating condition. The operating behavior of the proposed automatic system is verified by using an experimental set-up equipped with commercial PEM fuel cell, a lead-acid battery storage system, a PV array emulator, and variable active and reactive loads of few kilowatts which are able to reproduce different load profiles.