Advanced Collaborative Research Organization for Smart Society (ACROSS)Waseda University

About ACROSS

EMS Shinjuku R&D Center

Background of the establishment of the EMS Shinjuku R&D Center

The electric power supply crisis that followed the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 triggered a major change in the way we think about power resilience. Traditionally, the perception of power supply has been based on a unidirectional flow of power, where the amount of power generated was adjusted according to the amount of power used. However, considering the electric power supply crisis, bidirectional power supply and demand adjustments—whereby the amount of power demand on the demand/load side is managed and controlled according to the amount of power supply—have become an essential technology. Therefore, there is an urgent need for implementing a framework that achieves demand response according to the amount of supply.

Waseda University is the member of the METI sponsoring national project “Research project for connection and control in standardization of energy management system” since 2012. In particular, the University has been working on demonstration projects on the theme of “Advanced research regarding the global standardization to realize the demand response.” The EMS Shinjuku R&D Center was established based on considerable cooperation from 25 leading companies in Japan to promote this demonstration.

Demonstration examples and spread of use

To date, the facilities at the EMS Shinjuku R&D Center have been involved not only in the METI demonstration project but also in many other projects, such as solar power output control and VPP demonstrations, as well as the following demonstrations and tests in response to joint research with private companies.

  • Demonstration of comprehensive control by seamlessly connecting smart meter, HEMS and other devices
  • Tests for interconnecting between demand response command and HEMS
  • Demonstration of islanding operations by using storage batteries during power failure
  • Tests of coordination between smart houses and distribution systems
  • Connection tests for standardization of demand–response communication protocols
  • Demonstration of photovoltaic output control
  • VPP demonstrations (demonstrations as simple command system)
  • Demonstrations of connection and control of electric vehicles with consumers/grids (V2H/V2G demonstration)

We will continue to use fundamental facilities for system and algorithm developments, as well as other various applications, including those pertaining to the currently ongoing research on the correlation between light and sleep.

Introduction of facilities

The facilities at the EMS Shinjuku R&D Center can be broadly divided into three categories.

  • Smart houses equipped with smart meters and appliances with communication functions
  • Demand Response Automated Servers (DRAS)
  • Simulators to verify the state of the power system (distribution system)

Smart House

Three small houses are completely contained within a large room, and first-time visitors are sometimes surprised. This small house is not just an ordinary house but is packed with the latest energy facilities. Specifically, it includes smart meters with two-way communication functions between the utility company and home, air conditioners, EcoCute (heat pump water heater), storage batteries, photovoltaic generation systems, electric vehicles, EneFarm (fuel cells), and others. The HEMS, which is at the center of these devices, acts as the “brain” and controls all these devices. ECHONET Lite is used as the communication standard that allows the interconnection of HEMS with each device. Additionally, devices from multiple companies are freely connected, with their operations demonstrated on the same network.

Photovoltaic power generation can be simulated with a direct current power simulator in addition to an actual photovoltaic panel. Therefore, it is possible to conduct experiments based on actual photovoltaic power generation but can also concurrently conduct a broad range of tests by simulating power generation conditions in various parts of the world and in each season if the data are obtained. This process is not affected by the actual weather and can be evaluated even at night.

The household load can be simulated not only with the actual devices but also with an inverter and electronic load device to ensure that the power load can be simulated in any setting. These simulations include all types of resident patterns, such as singles, couples only, couples and children, cases in which three generations live together, households with pets, and special patterns, such as houses with a store.

Furthermore, with the specially designed distribution board, which uses a device that can measure the power of each circuit, we can conduct tests, such as islanding operations, in which power from multiple power supply facilities, such as storage batteries, cover the household load in the event of a power outage.

An actual smart meter is installed and connected to utility system simulator (GridEMS) through a communication network (commonly known as “Route A”), enabling various tests by using Route A, such as automatic meter readings.

VPP Servers/Demand Response Automated Servers (DRAS)

Currently, a communication protocol called OpenADR2.0 is adopted as a standard for commands from utility companies to aggregators that control distributed energy resources (DER). The EMS Shinjuku R&D Center has played a major role in the adoption of this protocol by implementing theOpenADR2.0 at an early stage worldwide. It has been used for various events, such as the OpenADR Alliance in the United States, which gathers vendors in Japan to confirm interconnection. It had been subsequently used as the center of many demonstration tests until the current communication protocol was put into practice. Even today, we have many facilities, such as servers for utility companies and servers for aggregators, and we have been continuously conducting demonstration tests.

Distribution system simulator

This simulator reproduces a distribution line spanning several kilometers in a single room by simulating an actual distribution line that is operated at a voltage of 6.6 kV with a voltage of 400 V and constructs an equivalent electric circuit. Equipment that measures and switches the voltage of the distribution line, and equipment that adjusts the voltage, have been installed with specifications equivalent to those of actual distribution lines; these installations have enabled highly accurate and realistic simulations of distribution systems according to actual electrical phenomena.

Power can also be supplied to smart houses from this system simulator, and the device control in smart houses can also be evaluated for its effects on the distribution system.

Page Top
WASEDA University

Sorry!
The Waseda University official website
<<https://www.waseda.jp/inst/across/en>> doesn't support your system.

Please update to the newest version of your browser and try again.

Continue

Suporrted Browser

Close