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Danfoss Drives achieved significant improvements in speed, cost savings, and quality by using Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing. With HIL simulation, tasks that typically required weeks in the lab were completed in just a few days, allowing for efficient software adjustments that met customer expectations. This approach not only enhanced operational efficiency but also provided a superior customer experien…

The growing adoption of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) like photovoltaic systems, battery energy storage, and fuel cells has heightened the need for effective coordination within the power grid. Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), in collaboration with Typhoon HIL and Missouri S&T, are addressing this challenge by developing and testing a distributed control architec…

The e-mesh Control system is engineered for the seamless integration of renewables with traditional energy assets, but ensuring coordinated communication among multiple e-mesh controls poses a significant challenge. By utilizing Typhoon controller Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) technology, the design and testing of e-mesh controls were significantly accelerated, resulting in increased test coverage. This HIL Te…

Hitachi Energy faced the challenge of integrating various Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and controlling multiple loads within a complex system. While Software-in-the-Loop was initially used for developing control algorithms, the need for real controllers led to the adoption of Controller Hardware-in-the-Loop (C-HIL) technology. C-HIL provides the necessary grid flexibility and adaptability, covering m…

Typhoon HIL solutions enable Hitachi Energy to push the limits of testing product functionality, addressing customer needs throughout the entire product lifecycle. While Software in the Loop (SIL) aids in developing individual algorithms, a higher fidelity testing environment like Controller Hardware-in-the-Loop (C-HIL) is essential to ensure the system functions cohesively. C-HIL combines real hardware con…

Decentralization, decarbonization, and digitalization are key forces driving the development of emerging technologies for the distributed control of microgrid assets. Hitachi Energy’s e-mesh is a vertically integrated system that optimizes distributed energy resources from the device level to the systems control and IoT domain, ensuring a stable and reliable electricity supply. In Norway, a football arena e…

In this spotlight episode, Dr. Nadia Mei Lin Tan, Associate Professor at UNITEN, and her graduate student, Nuraina Syahira, discuss how they use Typhoon Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) technology for nanogrid and battery energy storage applications. They share insights on the advantages of HIL, such as real-time simulation, which provides confidence in models before actual implementation, and how it accelerates …

In this blog article from our Building a Better Microgrid series, Andy Haun, CTO of Schneider Electric’s microgrid business, talks about the ways Schneider Electric uses model-based system engineering and HIL testing fot designing and testing power systems controls.

This article is the second in a series from the Microgrid Conference Panel 2019 – Making Sure Your Microgrid Will Work: Risk Reduction with Controller Hardware In the Loop (C-HIL) and Model-based Engineering. It focuses on the experiences shared by Qiang Fu, Regional Technology Manager at Eaton, who was one of the panelists at the session.

This article is the first in a series from the Microgrid Conference Panel 2019 – Making Sure Your Microgrid Will Work: Risk Reduction with Controller Hardware In the Loop (C-HIL) and Model-based Engineering. Paul Roege, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at Typhoon HIL, introduced panelists from Schneider Electric, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Eaton, Raytheon, and EPC Power, highlighting maj…

For this next spotlight, we spoke with Powerstar’s CTO, Solon Mardapittas, about developing Powerstar’s intelligent energy management system (EMS) using real-time Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) technology. Based in the UK, Powerstar’s integrated energy system combines voltage optimization technology with an energy storage solution to secure power, lower energy costs, and provide demand-side response servi…

In this spotlight, we speak with Sau Ngosi, CTO of Residential Solar and Storage at Schneider Electric, about how smart inverter manufacturers can speed up development without compromising quality. The Conext XW Pro solar hybrid Inverter/Charger is the latest solution for solar with storage, backup power, self-consumption, and off-grid power. Sau discusses his team’s comprehensive quality assurance process,…

For this spotlight, we traveled on-site to meet the brilliant team behind Schneider Electric’s active harmonic filters division in the quiet town of Salem, Oregon. Nicolas LaRue, global offer manager for Schneider Electric’s AccuSine products, discusses how Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) technology gives his customers peace of mind. HIL, a model-based design and testing tool, simulates power electronics and…

As Europe’s premier research and technology organization, the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) bridges the gap between industry and research by utilizing innovative solutions to key infrastructure issues. Zoran Miletic, Senior Research Engineer and Power Electronics Design Specialist at AIT, discusses how AIT developed its powerful pre-certification toolbox to design and test smart grid converters f…

At the Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Management (FREEDM) Systems Center at North Carolina State University, U.S. universities and industry partners are focusing on modernizing the electric grid using advanced power electronics. Dr. Subhashish Bhattacharya, a founding faculty member at the FREEDM Systems Center, concentrates his research on power electronics and power systems, including DC Mi…

FlexGen, a leader in the energy storage industry, has revolutionized the field with its advanced hybrid energy storage software and power conversion products for various power systems. Commissioned by Vista Energy, FlexGen’s 10-megawatt/42-megawatt-hour storage system is now the largest battery in Texas. Tony Olivo, Director of Engineering, and Preston Miller, firmware engineer, discuss how they utilized Ty…

Frequency regulation is currently provided by large individual resources, such as coal plants and gas turbines. There is growing interest in utilizing the power flexibility of DERs in microgrids for providing frequency regulation. Researchers, funded by ARPA-E, from the University of California San Diego (UCSD) have developed a control framework for a microgrid that coordinates DERs for frequency regulation…

Using a Controller Hardware-in-the-Loop simulation platform, EPC Power was able to integrate their control software with new hardware in just two days. Based in San Diego, CA, EPC Power designs and manufactures grid-forming bi-directional inverters and DC-DC converters for solar, wind, energy storage, automotive, and microgrid applications. Ryan Smith, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Controls Architect, …

This blog article delves into the evolution from centralized to distributed microgrid control architectures, highlighting the innovative work by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Funded by ARPA-E, these researchers have developed a distributed controller architecture that uses multiple microcontrollers or nodes to communicate and achieve consensus, eliminating the need fo…

Sandia National Laboratories, the largest U.S. Department of Energy national lab, plays a pivotal role in supporting inverter development and testing protocols for standards organizations and distributed energy resource (DER) vendors. Jay Johnson, a principal member of the technical staff at Sandia, discusses his research on a SunSpec-Compliant Smart Grid Controller and the innovative use of Controller Har…