  With the increasing penetration of the roof-top solar PV and the rising
interest in net-zero energy homes concept, there is a need of balancing the
performance of intelligent controllers, their cost-effectiveness and over-all
sophistication of the microgrid systems in order to manage the bi-directional
power flow in the small as well as large size microgrids. This paper proposes
solutions to efficiently manage power flow and to achieve peak shaving in a
renewable-source fed microgrid system. The paper details the design and
simulation of a photovoltaic source fed microgrid system that achieves peak
shaving and efficient power flow management using advanced metering and a smart
control unit. The proposed system enables microgrid to maintain the power
consumption within limits during peak hours by shedding luxurious loads
automatically. Under the grid-connected mode of the microgrid, the system feeds
the excess power available to the utility grid during lower load requirements
and withdraws the power deficit from the grid during high demand hours when
photovoltaic power generation is not sufficient to fulfill the load
requirement. The proposed system exhibits desirable power flow management
performance and is capable of functioning with distributed generation sources
other than PV.
