Tue, 15 August, 2023
Current nanogrids that have been deployed in the field are designed to supply power to up to 6 homes, which acts as a standalone grid. A major development for version 3.0 of the controller unit is the power management for public lighting, ensuring it can be on at night without depleting all of the power reserved in the grid.
Figure 1. Nanogrid controller design
Figure 2. Nanogrid power distribution
Nanoé’s prototyped 6-load outputs smart controller will form the base for the deployment in the Philippines and Madagascar. The controller and the user interface are shown in the images above; and the technical specifications of the current controller can be seen in the table below.
Figure 3. Features and value table
The new smart controllers will implement many new features, such as:
- Battery charge/discharge management
- Metering of each user’s energy consumption
- Lock/unlock each user access depending on credit and predefined energy and power limits
- Credit management (Credit top-ups, balance viewing, etc)
- Upload technical data by the operator via bluetooth using Nanoé app (charge curve, battery voltage, incidents, etc)
- Electrical protection (overcurrent, short circuit, etc).
- Public lighting management (automatic start and shutdown at defined hours)
This updated version of these controllers will be developed and released. One major update is adding control functionalities needed for both pilot sites. Another challenge for the development of these controllers is ensuring compatibility with future upgrades made to the nanogrid systems.
Figure 4. Individual household nanogrid setup
This project is supported by Innovate UKs Energy Catalyst Programme (funding by the Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office through their Transforming Energy Access Programme) and UK aid and was awarded as a “subsidy” under the UK International Obligations for Subsidy Control and delivered under Grant 90935 from Innovate UK
