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SEAM: Swarm Algorithms for Energy Allocation in Microgrids

Authors:
Erik Buchmann
Jens Wagner

Keywords: Smart Grid; Demand Response; Swarm Approaches

Abstract:
Microgrids are local energy distribution cells that include energy consumers and energy generators and may or may not be connected to wide-area transmission grids. By balancing consumption and supply locally, microgrids foster the transition to renewable energy sources that are less predictable than carbon-based ones. In this context, an important issue is to develop scheduling approaches for energy appliances that can be scaled to numerous independent, small energy consumers and generators. We propose SEAM, our approach for Swarm-based Energy Allocation in Microgrids. SEAM allows supply- and demand-side management based on a price signal that reflects over- or undersupply of energy. Together, all individual energy appliances that participate with SEAM form a swarm, which balances generation and consumption of energy. Thus, SEAM provides a distributed platform for transactive energy management with low entry barriers for participants and without a third party learning personal details from consumption data. To acknowledge that SEAM works as intended, we provide a formal framework that allows us to derive important properties regarding grid stability. Furthermore, we describe a model prototype using SEAM. Our prototype shows that SEAM can be realized easily and copes very well with fluctuating energy sources, as predicted by our framework.

Pages: 7 to 13

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2017

Publication date: May 21, 2017

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2308-412X

ISBN: 978-1-61208-556-2

Location: Barcelona, Spain

Dates: from May 21, 2017 to May 25, 2017