Simulation Tools for a Smart Micro-Grid: Comparison and Outlook

Abstract

Smart micro-grids are low voltage autonomous power systems that integrate information and communication technologies with electrical energy systems. In order to realize this, it is important to find the optimal configuration of components that will result in the most efficient and sustainable DC micro-grid. To facilitate this analysis, a number of modeling and simulation tools for power systems have been proposed. However, in practice, these tools differ widely in the features they provide and the implementation approach. In this paper, we compare the strength and weakness of four popular simulation tools for power systems: Anylogic, Repast, GridLAB-D and RAPSim. We propose a simplified model of a Photovoltaic (PV) panel for smart micro-grid which is implemented in all tools. We determine the strength and weaknesses of each tool based on ease of implementation, accuracy of the final model, and the ability to view results. We also recommend further improvements for existing tools.

Keywords

• Smart micro-grid
• Simulation Tools
• AnyLogic
• Repast
• GridLAB-D
• RAPSim
• Smart grid