Research at Center for Combined Smart Energy Systems
The laboratory emulates a small microgrid that consists of 4 single-family houses (SFH) and 1 multi-family house (MFH) with integrated heat, electric and communication layer. Each house represents a prosumer in terms of both electricity and heat. The buildings are connected with a distribution electric and heat grids. In addition, the electric and heat grids are coupled through the CHPs and heat pumps, which essentially integrate these two energy systems into one entity. Two electric vehicle charging stations include transportation system into the test microgrid as well.
Research Potential
The main research direction behind the CoSES laboratory is the investigation and validation of the sector coupling (electricity and heat) within the microgrid concept. In particular, the following challenges of the future smart energy systems will be studied:
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Development of suitable models of integrated energy systems that need to be validated with a real life equipment.
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Proposing economically viable electric and heat systems that enable bidirectional flows and consequently free movement of energy.
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Implementation of appropriate amount of coupling components such as heat pumps, CHPs, and EVs to exploit the available flexibilities in a synchronized manner.
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Intensive utilization of ICT and power electronics platforms that enables sufficient observability and controllability of the system with reasonable costs while respecting the data privacy.
