Decentralized energy equalizer for a balancing aggregation of production and consumption of energy in scalable units

One objective of a smart grid is the production and consumption of energy on a local scale while decreasing the load of the higher network levels. To achieve a balancing aggregation of shiftable loads (e.g. white goods, thermal processes), generators (e.g. μCHP, PV) and storages, the architecture shall be dynamically scalable. The smallest possible grid is a private household or a SMB which is controlled by a Smart-Energy-Controller (SEC). To support the decentralized energy system, central backend-services are realised as Online Services in this scenario, e.g. given the Aggregator (AGG) for the administration of the SECs. For semiautomatic operation, the SEC has two operation modes. In the operation mode “Local” the SEC tries to achieve the balancing aggregation for the connected devices within the household. This principle is called the Energy Equalizer. Furthermore, the SEC is registered at the AGG and then assigned to a logical group containing neighboured households. The groups are formed logically and are not switched physically by a Controller in the substation. In the operation mode “Grid” the SEC is operated by the AGG to achieve the balancing aggregation for the logical group. This is done by scheduling a certain roadmap for each household to achieve a dedicated total profile for the whole group. The objective is a balance between load- and generator-capacity. Each group on this network level can form a new group on the next higher network level with neighbouring groups to achieve a superior aggregation. The Online Services not only provide the aggregation of the subscribers but also deliver global parameters such as tariff information. The architecture with an in-house controller in private households/SMB and an AGG as a central entity was specified in the BMWi research project E-DeMa [1] and continued in the research project INES [2].The approach is to avoid controllers which are capable of full autonomic operation such as deployment in a Microgrid.