Busbar voltage-based control strategy for energy flexibility in farmhouse coupled to photovoltaic systems

Abstract

Control strategy is a crucial technology for solving the mismatch between supply and demand in photovoltaic (PV) systems. Model predictive control (MPC) has high accuracy but high system complexity and cost, thus limiting its application. This study proposes a busbar-voltage-based control strategy and applies it to a farmhouse equipped with a PV system in Northern China. The core of the busbar-voltage-based control strategy is that the converter in the system automatically adjusts the operating conditions to ensure that the busbar voltage is stabilized within a specific range. Field test results revealed that the busbar voltage-based control strategy improved the energy flexibility of the farmhouse PV system. We developed a predictive model for the control system and analyzed its performance during different seasons. The simulation results confirmed that the farmhouse PV system's energy flexibility, self-satisfaction rate, and self-consumption rate under the proposed control strategy were similar to those under the conventional MPC approach. This study provides a novel control approach that enables MPC-level performance without the need for communication systems and controllers, which reduces costs and helps promote PV systems.