Line Losses and Power Capacity in Low Voltage AC and DC Distribution Systems: a Numerical Comparative Study

The insertion of renewable and distributed energy resources and the use reduction of fossil-fuel-based ones have been in the spotlight of studies of the scientific community in general. Aiming at an efficient connection interface for these resources and at the reduction of distribution losses, the employment of a Low Voltage Direct Current distribution system (LVDC) is considered in this study. For this purpose, the modification of a pristine Low Voltage Alternate Current distribution system (LVAC) to a DC one is proposed without network’s rerouting and with minimal adaptations. Both systems were implemented in the electric power distribution system simulator, OpenDSS (open-source code), and compared to their losses, energy transferred to the loads, voltage drops along the line, as well as number of conductors required for their operation.