Microgrid management system based on a multi-agent approach: An office building pilot

Microgrids bring advantages to end-users and to the smart grid environment. However, adequate management software, enabling bringing to the field new energy management concepts, is not available yet. Small, single-tasked, software is usually proposed and tested while a clear overall system architecture for microgrid management required to take full advantage of the microgrids’ potential. Previous publications usually focus on energy-related problems and do not provide an efficient and viable solution for players’ representation and microgrid operation. This paper proposes a complete architecture for a microgrid management system based on a multi-agent approach – µGIM – allowing the easy implementation of different energy strategies. The µGIM agents can independently manage local resources while able to collaborate and/or compete with other agents. Designed to run in single-board computers, µGIM agents are light-weighted and easily deployed in buildings. To demonstrate these capabilities, the paper details and presents a microgrid deployment using µGIM solution.his work has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under project DOMINOES (grant agreement No 771066) and from FEDER Funds through COMPETE program and from National Funds through FCT under the project UID/EEA/00760/2019 and SFRH/BD/109248/2015.