PowerMatching City, a living lab smart grid demonstration

PowerMatching City is a living lab Smart Grid demonstration in the Netherlands consisting of 25 interconnected households (phase-I). It focuses on the development of a market model for intelligent network operation under normal market conditions that allows simultaneous in-home optimization (pro-sumer), technical coordination (distribution system operator) and commercial coordination (balance responsible). The coordination mechanism, provided by the agent based PowerMatcher technology, is extended to allow these simultaneous optimizations. Mature smart grids require a transparent coordination mechanism which allows various energy sources and appliances to be interconnected on a non-segregated and plug-in basis. It should seamlessly combine distributed generation with demand response. A generic design has been developed that allows seamless coordination of hybrid heat pumps, µ-CHPs, electric cars, smart appliances such as freezers, washing machines etc. in a single ICT solution. End-user acceptance is guaranteed by advanced comfort control mechanisms and monitored in a participating design program.

I. Introduction

Distributed energy sources are a promising solution to solve today's energy and climate challenges but large scale integration in our currently top-down oriented energy infrastructure provides new technical, economical and social challenges for grid operators and utilities. Intermittent energy sources like wind and solar energy require flexible energy sources like combined heat and power (CHP) technology and energy storage to balance out the fluctuations. At the same time our energy consumption changes: (light) electric vehicles become our means of transportation, traditional heating system are replaced by μ-CHP systems and heat pumps and various appliances allow to be coordinated in a smart way. The energy supply chain will become completely bi-directional and market roles will change: consumers will become self-producing so called prosumers and new market parties, like commercial aggregators, will enter the supply chain. In order to fully exploit the potential of this new emerging energy landscape advanced ICT solutions will enable smart grid solutions and provide the essential coordination communication infrastructure to seamlessly match supply and demand of energy without user interaction and loss of comfort.