Recent research conducted at the SGILab towards an efficient and interoperable smart grid

This paper presents recent research conducted at the JRC Smart Grid Interoperability Lab and analyses key parameters that should be taken into consideration for the development of interoperable and sustainable electricity systems. Increasing energy efficiency aims at reducing the overall energy consumption and consequently lower the stress on the environment by using less energy. The first research activity illustrated is on the use of Advanced Metering Infrastructure as a gateway to improve Demand Response/Demand Side Management. The second one focuses on the use of photovoltaic in a low voltage distribution network and studies the effect of penetration in voltage unbalances. The last one addresses the power quality performance of electric vehicle chargers under low temperature conditions and provides hints for improvements. The paper underlines several factors that could affect the efficiency of systems towards making improvements that increase the stability of the relevant operations.