Development of a DC test network for monitoring power transfer

One solution for increasing the use of renewables is to find new strategies to allow distributed energy resources (DER) connection with the existing power system. A solution which allows a flexible integration of dispersed generation (DG) into energy networks is the use of DC at the user layer. One reason for choosing nowadays the DC technology for electrical energy distribution is the trend in the low voltage (LV) load characteristics. For most of the equipment, high performance is required and is ITC labeled - i.e. hosting a DC power source accommodating an inverter due to the present AC-distribution. Anticipating the further extensive use of low-power, DC-based, intelligent devices, one can avoid losses in energy transfer by using a DC layer within the distribution networks, at least where the energy is produced in a DC-form. DC grids in buildings are expected to be one of the main applications and challenges in the future. First promising applications are built around low power domestic loads and on concepts related to dispersed generation and their efficient integration into intelligent networks. In this paper the development of a DC test network, including measurement and communication, is presented.