Supercapacitors for distributed energy storage in DC microgrids and loads

Abstract

Internal DC buses are used within many common electrical appliances. 12 V LED lamps are a group of common example where a DC bus is used to power the LED array and its driver. Inverter driven white-goods and air conditioners are other examples which encourages us to use a DC microgrid at home. In the case of a home DC bus, one can use localized SC based energy storage for individual appliances, in order to combat short term voltage fluctuations and/or blackouts due to renewable energy source fluctuations. This paper provides some practical insight into the advantages of using SC based localized energy storage with few selected practical examples.