Abstract

Given the growing presence of microgrids, it is necessary to investigate how communication protocols impact their behavior. The study of DC microgrid topologies is of great importance due to their fast proliferation and the fact that they allow for quick and easy integration of energy generation and storage systems since both are also of DC nature. This paper presents a comprehensive study of how the communications protocols and control strategies affect the behavior of a DC microgrid. There is no standard communication protocol in DC microgrids; therefore, it is relevant to perform experimental tests of the control schemes implemented over various communication protocols to study intrinsic communications problems such as delays and package losses. This paper reviews the communication protocols used to implement microgrid control strategies with a particular focus on their experimental validation. Finally, the experimental results are presented by employing a hardware-in-theloop system to model a DC microgrid and with a communications board to implement different control topologies