DEMKit: a Decentralized Energy Management Simulation and Demonstration Toolkit

Abstract

The energy transition requires simulators that aid the research on and validation of energy management systems. Hereby, these systems not solely focus on electricity, but involve the optimization of multiple energy carriers in a multi-energy system. This paper presents DEMKit, an open-source toolkit with device, grid and control components for such a multi-energy management solution. The modular design allows DEMKit to test different optimization algorithms on the same scenario. Device components can be replaced by adapters to control real hardware in a deployment or hardware-in-the-loop simulation. Results of a demonstration setup of DEMKit in a smart home show the potential of using DEMKit to bridge the gap between scientific research and test new solutions in practice.