Smart Home

The Smart Grid Laboratory at the Fraunhofer Center for Digital Energy offers the opportunity to test innovative operational concepts and the digital interconnection of small-scale installations in the low-voltage grid. The test infrastructure enables the flexible deployment of control algorithms in the form of decentralized or local energy management systems. The closed test infrastructure allows the real-world testing of concepts without actual impact on the distribution network operation. The highly realistic environment provides the possibility to set up multiple low-voltage branches at a transformer outlet and to flexibly design them with approximately 4.2 km of cable. Several commercially available solar and battery inverters, as well as charging stations for electric vehicles, are available. Load profiles can be emulated with load benches of variable sizes. All devices can be controlled and digitally interconnected through real communication channels. Thus, the test infrastructure offers a flexible investigation environment for novel operational and control concepts in the distribution grid. Through a co-simulation research environment, the test infrastructure can be scaled-up by incorporating simulated components and emulated communication interfaces.