Tag Archives: TH Köln

Continuing the development of the planning tool for micro grids

15/02/2022Allgemein, enershelf newsInterview, TH KölnJonas Bauhof

In this interview, Paul David Bohn from Cologne University of Applied Sciences talks about his role in the EnerSHelF project. He continues the work of Silvan Rummeny on an advisor and planning tool for Photovoltaic-diesel-hybrid systems.

In autumn 2021, you took over the role of Silvan Rummeny, who was working in work package 3.3. Can you tell us what his – and now your – work entails?

The main subject of work package 3.3. is the development of an advisor and planning tool for micro grids. The acronym for this tool is Micro Grid User Energy Planning TooL (MiGUEL). MiGUEL is used to design, simulate and evaluate Photovoltaic (PV)-diesel-hybrid systems for Ghanaian health facilities. The goal is to provide users with suitable solutions on how to design a cost-effective micro grid, contributing to fulfil the sustainable development goals and affiliated roadmaps. The target groups are project developers, engineering companies, and private as well as public grid operators who want to implement micro or mini grids. Silvan Rummeny started designing MiGUEL and I took over the development since he left EnerSHelF.

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Developing an Advisor and Planning Tool for Micro Grid Systems

21/04/2021Allgemein, enershelf newsInterview, TH KölnJonas Bauhof

In this interview, Silvan Rummeny from Cologne University of Applied Sciences highlights the development of the advisor and planning tool MiGUEL. It is an open-source-based library which is developed within the EnerSHelF project and later made available online.

You are involved in the EnerSHelF project within work package 3.3a. Can you tell us about your role in the project and the goal of your work package?

On the one hand, our role in the EnerSHelF project is to improve the knowledge of load data of Ghanaian hospitals. On the other hand, we aim to improve the implementability of micro grid projects in the Ghanaian health sector by developing an advisor and planning tool for such micro grids. The tool can be used to design and evaluate Photovoltaic (PV)-diesel-hybrid systems for Ghanaian health facilities. Our goal is to provide users with suitable solutions on how to change the microgrid design and with which planning strategy they can achieve their micro grid development goals and roadmaps in the most cost-effective way. The target groups are project developers, engineering companies, and private as well as public grid operators who want to implement micro or mini grids.

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New working paper published

15/04/2021Allgemein, enershelf newsH-BRS, TH KölnJonas Bauhof

In March 2021, a group of researchers from the EnerSHelF project published a paper in the IZNE Working Paper Series: “PV-diesel-hybrid system for a hospital in Ghana – Connection of a PV battery storage model to an existing generator model”. Matthias Bebber, leading author of the paper, summarizes the working paper in this article. You can access the paper on the H-BRS website.

Summary by Matthias Bebber

In our paper, we present a model of a grid-integrated PV-diesel-hybrid system. The model is based on an existing simulation tool from Cologne University of Applied Sciences and was further developed in the context of this paper. By means of real measurement data of PV yield and electricity consumption of a hospital in Ghana – collected in a period from February 2016 to 2017 – the behaviour of the hybrid system in different scenarios is examined. The influence of power outages and seasonal differences in solar radiation on the use of generator and electricity demand from the public power grid for different battery sizes is considered. Special attention is paid to the meteorological and atmospheric characteristics in Ghana, such as the rainy and dry seasons, as well as the harmattan, a seasonal wind in West Africa that carries a lot of dust.

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How Measurement Data is Used to Derive a Load Model for Ghanaian Health Facilities

14/07/2020enershelf newsInterview, TH KölnEditor

Interview with Prof. Thorsten Schneiders from Cologne University of Applied Sciences – project leader of EnerSHelF’s work package 3.1. He explains the importance of measuring the power demand and load structure to identify the appropriate technology for the implementation at the three health facilities in Ghana.

Work package 3 aims to improve the country- and sector-based forecast of solar power generation (PV) and consumption (health facilities). What is the specific aim of your work package 3.1 “Electricity demand of the Ghanaian Health Sector”?

To supplement existing power supply systems with renewable energy sources, more information about the power demand in a higher resolution is needed. Our aim is to fill these information gaps by long-term measurements of power demand and load structure at several medium-sized health facilities. In a second step, we use the measurement data to derive a load model for Ghanaian health facilities, which can generate synthetic load profiles as close to reality as possible. We have observed that newly installed technology such as LED lights is sensitive to voltage fluctuations occurring in Ghana. These power system transients should also be qualified and quantified by means of the measurements in order to identify the appropriate technology to implement at such sites.

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