A Low Cost, High Capacity, Smart Residential Distribution Network Enabled By SiC Power Electronics

英国配电网络运营商（DNO）今天面临的一个关键挑战是对住宅网络的电力需求不断增加，例如电动汽车（EV）的普及和向电热的转变。此外，分布式发电（DG）的增加现在导致不可接受的局部电压上升。TSB可行性研究表明，通过将本地网络相电压提高到400 V（现有电缆额定值为600 V），可以在现有基础设施上实现这些问题的经济有效的解决方案。为了将每个家庭的电压降低到230 V，DNO拥有的低成本，99%效率的电力电子转换器（佩奇）将需要安装在电表箱中。我们之前的研究表明，99%的效率对于避免仪表箱过热至关重要，因此必须使用新的低成本3C SiC器件。该系统不仅将增加网络容量，还将为新兴的电动汽车充电，DG和储能提供优化的连接-“智能电网”。该项目将开发一个PEC原型，该原型将由西部配电公司在该项目的小规模示范中部署。

A key challenge facing the UK Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) today is the increasing demand for power being placed on residential networks e.g. by the proliferation of electrical vehicles (EVs) and the move to electro-heat. Also, the increase in distributed generation (DG) is now resulting in unacceptable local voltage rises. This project follows on from a TSB Feasibility Study which showed that a cost effective solution to these problems can be achieved on the existing infrastructure by increasing the local network phase voltage to 400 V (existing cable is rated at 600V). To step the voltage back down to 230 V at each house, DNO-owned, low-cost, 99% efficient power electronic converters (PECs) will need to be installed in the meter-box. Our previous study showed that the 99% efficiency was essential to avoid over-heating in the meter-box and hence new, low-cost 3C SiC devices were mandatory. This system will not only increase network capacity, but also provide optimised connections for emerging EV charging, DG and energy storage - the “smart-grid”. The project will develop a PEC prototype which will be deployed by Western Power Distribution in a small-scale demonstration of the project.