The additional functions of smart inverters

As a result of the rapid rise of distributed generation (DG) from Renewable energy sources, the grid becomes more vulnerable. Therefore, DG systems are needed to be controlled with high flexibility and reliability to get rid of those vulnerabilities. At the same time the power quality is also needed to be developed. To help this process the traditional solar inverters are also should be advanced with some additional smart functions as "Smart Inverters". In order to standardize this process, IEEE has introduced a series of standards called IEEE 1547. At the beginning of this paper, these issues are discussed which are listed under smart inverters. Then the supporting functions are summarized, under two categories as power system support functions and user-friendliness improving functions. The advantages, along with the disadvantages, are given in order to better understanding of these functions.