Multi-Agent Microgrid Management System for Single-Board Computers: A Case Study on Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading

Smart grids concept benefits and leverage distributed management systems while allowing its players to actively participate in the smart grid. This paper merges the concepts of microgrid and transactive energy. The proposed model is tested in an office building with multiple tenants. An agent-based platform, running in single-board computers, for microgrid intelligent management with a peer-to-peer energy transaction model is proposed in this paper. This paper describes the peer-to-peer transaction auction model and the deployment of the platform in an office building. The results regard a one-week period where the use of peer-to-peer transactions is compared with a scenario where no transactions among agents are performed. The results are promising, showing the energy price inside the microgrid dropping for the majority of players/agents. The presented work demonstrates how smart grid players can decrease their energy costs using simple approaches that do not require load shifting, consumption optimization nor the acquisition of new equipment.