Smart power router for future DC Homes

The advent of rooftop photovoltaics (PV), energy storage systems like a battery and high capacity electric vehicles (EVs) is changing the landscape of electrical distribution rapidly. Traditional electricity consumers like households, buildings (both commercial and residential) are augmented with these emerging technologies which are turning them into “Prosumers” (producer and consumer).

To fully realize the potential of these multiple sources and loads as a single dispatch-able prosumer, we need to develop hardware to accurately control these individual elements which result in an intelligent, flexible and safe grid. The current state of the art uses multiple sources or load converters to interconnect different elements. To control the power flow of the network, an expensive communication architecture is used between the multiple sources or load converters which makes the system slow, and thus limits its application.

A centralized multi-port smart power router concept is introduced in this research which can integrate and control these multiple sources, loads and storages without the need for expensive ICT infrastructure.
Soumya Bandyopadhyay, Power Electronics Engineer – Lightyear One