Experimental verification of a dynamic programming and IoT-based simultaneous load-sharing controller for residential homes powered with grid and onsite solar photovoltaic electricity

Abstract

Quest for harnessing clean and affordable electricity has increased renewable energy installations, especially the rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in many residential homes; simultaneously, such homes are connected to the utility grid for reliable energy service, creating a hybrid power supply system (HPSS). However, the most stressful challenge with the HPSS is the confounding condition of connecting which load to which power source for optimal utilization of the energy sources. Hence, this paper proposes an optimum and sustainable solution with ease of implementation and simple operation for simultaneous load-sharing problems utilizing the dynamic programming (DP) and internet of things (IoT) concepts. In the proposed simultaneous load-sharing concept, the system decides which ON state loads of a household receive power from rooftop solar PV, considering the maximum power available at the rooftop solar plant. The critical condition arises during the absence of any power sources and/or the lack of both sources, which is also included in the system and resolved with the proposed solution. The IoT integration helps remote control through a customized mobile application, whose experimental verification ensured the effectiveness and real-time feasibility by reducing the grid energy consumption by 17.59% and related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions thereby promoting low-carbon solar PV electricity consumption.