IoT-Based Power Management for DC Microgrids

DC microgrids can be considered as a new paradigm in recent power distribution systems owing to their reliability and efficiency. This concept has been geared up with the increased penetration of renewable energy sources. In order to securely control the load demand, with the intermittent behavior of the integrated renewables, a well-established communication infrastructure is therefore crucial to effectively coordinate between different components in the power grid. IoT is an emerging technology that is integrated in this project to provide wireless communication of a DC smart microgrid and thereby reduce wires used in the system. This technology, however, has not been applied in Egypt yet. To this end, this paper provides the design and the experimental validation of an IoT-based sensing system using a prototype dc micro grid, as a part of a senior project for electromechanical engineering undergraduate students. The design of different system components is introduced, and the experimental validation is carried out under different scenarios including healthy as well as contingency conditions.