The Digital Power Networks: Energy Dissemination Through a Micro-Grid

The Digital Power Network (DPN) is an energy-on-demand approach. In terms of Internet of Things (IoT), it treats the energy itself as a 'thing' to be manipulated (in contrast to energy as the 'thing's enabler'). The approach is mostly appropriate for energy starving micro-grids with limited capacity, such as a generator for the home while the power grid is down. The process starts with a request of a user (such as, appliance) for energy. Each appliance, energy source or energy storage has an address which is able to communicate its status. A network server, collects all requests and optimizes the energy dissemination based on priority and availability. Energy is then routed in discrete units to each particular address (say air-condition, or, A/C unit). Contrary to packets of data over a computer network whose data bits are characterized by well-behaved voltage and current values at high frequencies, here we deal with energy demands at highvoltage, low-frequency and fluctuating current. For example, turning a motor ON requires 8 times more power than the level needed to maintain a steady states operation. Our approach is seamlessly integrating all energy resources (including alternative sources), energy storage units and the loads since they are but addresses in the network. Optimization of energy requests and the analysis of satisfying these requests is the topic of this paper. Under energy constraints and unlike the current power grid, for example, some energy requests are queued and granted later. While the ultimate goal is to fuse information and energy together through energy digitization, in its simplest form, this micro-grid can be realized by overlaying an auxiliary (communication) network of controllers on top of an energy delivery network and coupling the two through an array of addressable digital power switches.