Eclipse openK Niederspannungscockpit

Eclipse openK Niederspannungscockpit visualizes technical data of an electrical distribution network such as current, voltage, power, etc. imported as time series. This data is used to evaluate the state of the grid and derive measures in order to avoid overloading the equipment. The measurements from network equipment, such as transformers and feeders, are integrated using connectors. The connectors are out of scope of the project. The measurements from prosumers are imported from a measurement management system, which is also out of scope of this project. 

“Niederspannungscockpit” is the German term for low voltage cockpit, which summarizes the goal of this project: a software to monitor and, to a limited extent, control assets of the low voltage electric network. This means the focus is set on the distribution network with a nominal voltage of 400 V, which supplies electricity to consumers. 

The Eclipse openK Niederspannungscockpit addresses two main aspects of network control systems: 

• Transparency for better short-term decision making and planning: the Niederspannungscockpit visualizes measurement data of the low voltage network, such as voltage, current, active and reactive power.
  
   
• State Assessment and Control of assets for continuous grid operation and accelerated electrification: the Niederspannungscockpit can assess the state of the low voltage grid. When technical constraints are reached, a low voltage controller identifies measures to resolve the constraints and sends instructions for power reduction to controllable loads in the network. 
   

The regulatory framework was adapted in 2023, making it mandatory for German distribution system operators (DSOs) to prepare a system able control specific loads such as heatpumps, EV-chargers, cooling devices and electric storage systems. The main goal is the acceleration of the electrification process of consumers, in order to reduce carbon emissions. Since the electrification is gaining traction, the limited capacities of the low voltage grid are seen as a bottleneck. The Niederspannungscockpit is one part of the solution to resolve this bottleneck, through digitalisation of the (low voltage) grid operation. 

The quantity structure of the low voltage grid requires a scalable system, able to process millions of data points, for which typical network control systems where not designed.