Programmable load control for load frequency control in microgrids

Abstract

Advanced technologies have a great impact on the living styles of human beings. For instance, people used fire to cook a few decades ago. Today, they use different kinds of electronic gadgets such as induction cookers, toasters, steamers, air fryers and so forth, which require electricity as a power source to cook. Moreover, sophisticated lifestyles of the people lead to increase demand in electricity usage as advanced electronic devices become a part of their daily routines. Likewise, power demand from industries and commercial organizations increases over the years. Electricity is generated by generators at a power plant, and all the electrical loads connected to the power grid draw different amount of power at a given time. Therefore, the frequency of the generators varies with respect to power demand. Hence, Dr. Eddy Foo Yi Shyh from NTU has developed the Load Frequency Control (LFC) for the NTU microgrid that detects frequency deviation and maintains nominal frequency of the synchronous generator. In this project, the 13.5kW programmable AC/DC electronic load, Chroma model 63804, was used to simulate the characteristics of the fast changing load. The programmable load was used to represent different kinds of electrical loads such as residential electrical loads, industrial electrical loads, and commercial electrical loads. Therefore, a programmable load controller, which adjusts the power demand of the electronic AC load programmatically, was developed using LabVIEW System Design Software and integrated into the existing load frequency control. Then, the transient response of the synchronous generator and the LFC was studied under the fast changing load conditions.