Design, Development, and Characterization of a Low-Voltage Network Monitoring Unit

In the last few years it has been confirmed that the monitoring is not an exclusive of the transmission network (TN) anymore. In fact, the distribution network (DN) is experiencing a significant deployment of intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) capable of enabling the monitoring and control of both the medium and low voltage sides (MV and LV) of the DN. Such a network revolution is strongly supported by the fact that renewable energy sources are spreading among the DN, introducing problems likes (i) voltage unbalance, (ii) degradation of the power quality, (iii) frequency deviations and inertia reduction, etc. In light of the above, this paper presents the design, development, and characterization of a low-cost network monitoring unit. The device, specifically developed for LV networks, has been designed according to the requirements defined by the utilities. In the paper, the design choices, the device characteristics and the metrological characterization are described. From the results it can be clearly concluded that the device may become an affordable key asset to be deployed in LV networks. In fact, it enables system operators to fully monitor, control, and promptly intervene on their networks.