AUTHOR=Santoro Danilo , Delmonte Nicola , Cova Paolo , Toscani Andrea TITLE=A cost-efficient DC active load laboratory solution JOURNAL=Frontiers in Energy Research VOLUME=10 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/energy-research/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2022.1078010 DOI=10.3389/fenrg.2022.1078010 ISSN=2296-598X ABSTRACT=

The increased use of DC renewable energy resources and DC storage systems, combined with the necessary reduction of energy waste, is boosting the development of DC smart grids. In this scenario, DC load emulation is of great importance. From the hardware point of view, DC buses stability of smart grids and the different DC/DC converter topologies must be tested. From the software point of view, smart grid strategies and job schedulers must be tested with different power absorption profiles. Moreover, DC load emulation can be useful for many other purposes, such as battery characterization, power supply testing, photovoltaic I-V curve measurements, etc. In this work, a cost-efficient DC Active Load (AL) solution is proposed. The principle of the circuit topology is a buck-boost-derived converter. This solution can be designed and tested considering the required voltage, current, and maximum input power. Both simulation and experimental results are shown on a 400 W size prototype. Thermal and electrical results validate the simulation model and the AL feasibility.