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SIZING OF DG UNIT OPERATED AT OPTIMAL POWER

FACTOR TO REDUCE LOSSES IN RADIAL DISTRIBUTION.
A CASE STUDY
A. Lakshmi Devi1 and B. Subramanyam2

1Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, SVUCE, Tirupati, India

2Narayana Engineering College, Gudur, India
E-mail: energylak@yahoo.co.in

ABSTRACT

Distributed generators are very much beneficial in reducing the losses effectively compared to other
methods of loss reduction .In this paper optimal size of DG unit operated at optimal power factor is dealt.
DG unit placement using fuzzy logic and sizing of DG at any power factor is calculated using analytical
method . Voltage and power loss reduction indices of distribution system nodes are modeled by fuzzy
membership functions. Fuzzy inference system containing a set of rules is used to determine the DG unit
placement. DG units are placed at buses with the highest suitability index. Simulation results show that
optimal DG unit placement and sizing at 0.8 power factor is very efficient. Single DG unit of optimum size
operated at 0.8 power factor is sufficient in reducing losses and improving voltage regulation effectively
within the specified voltage constraints.

KEYWORDS : Distributed generation (DG)unit, ,Power loss, Loss reduction, Voltage regulation

ACRONYMS

I --- Branch Current KVA-Kilo volt Ampere

Ia --- Active part of branch current KW - Kilo Watts
Ir --- Reactive Part of branch Current K Var-Kilo Volt ampere reactive
R --- Resistance of the branch
X --- Reactance of the branch
PL --- Total Power Loss
V --- Voltage
PL a --- Total Power Loss due to active component Current
PL r --- Total Power Loss due to reactive component Current
TAPLBC --- Total Active Power Loss before Compensation
TRPLBC --- Total Reactive Power Loss before Compensation
TAPLAC --- Total Active Power Loss after Compensation
TRPLAC --- Total Reactive Power Loss after Compensation
APLR --- Active Power Loss Reduction
RPLR --- Reactive Power Loss Reduction
%APLR ---Percentage Active Power Loss Reduction
%RPLR ---Percentage Reactive Power Loss Reduction
VRBC ---Voltage Range before Compensation P.U
VRAC ---Voltage Range after Compensation P.U
VBC AT CB ---Voltage before Compensation at the Compensated Bus
VAC AT CB ---Voltage after Compensation at the Compensated Bus
%VI --- Percentage Voltage Improvement

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1. INTRODUCTION 3.1DG UNIT INSTALLATION

Distribution system provides a final link The problem of DG unit placement

between the high voltage transmission system and consists of determining the locations and sizes
the consumers. A radial distribution system has and number of DG units to install in a
main feeders and lateral distributors. The main distribution system such that maximum benefits
feeder originates from substation and passes are achieved while operational constraints at
through different consumer loads. Laterals are different loading levels are satisfied.
connected to individual loads. Generally radial
distribution systems are used because of their Distribution losses
simplicity. Power loss in a
distribution system are high because of low The total power loss in a distribution
voltage and hence high current. There are many system having a ‘n’ number of branches is given
methods of loss reduction techniques used like by
Feeder reconfiguration, capacitor placement, n
P = ∑ I i2 Ri (1)
i =1
Ii is the current magnitude and Ri is the
high voltage distribution system, conductor resistance. Ii can be obtained from load flow
grading and DG unit placement. All these study. The branch current has two components
methods are involved with passive elements .active (Ia) and reactive (Ir)
except DG unit placement .Both DG Units and The loss associated with these two components
capacitors reduce power loss and improve voltage can be written as
regulation. The over all efficiency can be
improved using DG units. Earlier studies show
that with capacitors [1]-[3] loss reduction is P = PLa + PLr
possible. Recently attention shifted to DG units
which can be used for loss reduction and also in n n
improving voltage profile of the system [18]-[20]. P = ∑ I ai2 Ri + ∑ I ri2 Ri (2)
i =1 i =1
2. METHODS OF REDUCING LOSS USING For a given configuration of a single source
DG UNIT radial network the loss PLa associated with the
active component of branch currents cannot be
Many methods have come in recent minimized because all the active power must be
times on DG unit placement. [18] proposed a supplied by the source at the root bus. This is
method to calculate the size of DG Units not true if DG units are to be placed at different
analytically by using exact loss formula which nodes for loss reduction that is real power can
requires lot of computation compared to the be supplied locally by using DG units of
proposed analytical method. Many authors like optimal size to minimize PLa associated with the
[15] mentioned the allocation of DG units using active component of branch currents [19].
Genetic algorithm. They have not considered the
optimum size; they have addressed the problem in 3.2 PLACEMENT OF DG UNITS AT
terms of cost. [7] They have iteratively increased OPTIMUM LOCATIONS USING FUZZY
size of the DG at all buses and then they LOGIC
calculated the losses, based on loss calculation
they ranked the nodes. Top ranked units are There are many uncertainties in
selected for DG unit placement. Here optimum various power system problems .Because of this
sizes of the DG units are calculated using a new it becomes very difficult to stick to
analytical method. A new of method of mathematical formulae alone. To over come
minimizing the loss associated with the absolute this, fuzzy set theory has been applied to many
value of branch currents by placing optimal DG power system problems. Using fuzzy expert
units operated at any power factor at proper system a set of heuristic rules is used to
locations. Here cost function is not considered. determine the DG unit placement suitability
Considering the cost function involves the index at each node in the distribution system
deviation of exact size of the DG unit at suitable .Rules are defined to determine the suitability of
point.

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a node for DG unit installation. Those rules are by the DG unit.The new active component of
expressed in the following form. current
IF premise (antecedent), THEN conclusion
(consequent). For determining the suitability of I ainew = I ai + Di I DG (3)
Dg unit placement at a particular node, a set of
multiple antecedent fuzzy rules has been
established. the inputs to the rules are the voltage Di =1 if branch iε β
and power loss indices. =0 otherwise.
The fuzzy variables, power loss index, voltage
and DG unit suitability are described by the fuzzy Iai is the active component of current of ith
terms high, high-medium/ normal, low- branch in the original system obtained from the
medium/normal or low. These fuzzy variables are load flow solution.
described by membership functions. DG units are The loss PLacom is associated with the active
placed at the nodes with the highest suitability. component of branch currents in the
Voltage and power loss reduction indices of compensated system.
distribution system are modeled by fuzzy member For a DG unit (upf) placed at node ‘k’, the
ship functions. system losses are
FIS editor receives inputs from the load flow
k n n
program. Several rules may fire with some degree
of membership. FIS is based on Mamdani max- PCom = ∑(Iai + DI
i DG) Ri +∑Iai Ri +∑Iri Ri
2 2 2
(4)
i=1 k+1 i=1
min and max-prod implication methods of
inference. These methods determine the
aggregated output from the set of triggered rules.
The max-min method involves I DG is the DG unit current
truncating the consequent membership function of
each fired rule at the minimum membership value Subtracting Eqn. (4) from Eqn. (2), loss
of all the antecedents. A final aggregated reduction due to the introduction of DG unit at
membership function is achieved by taking the node ‘k’ is obtained.
union of all the truncated consequent membership k k
functions of the fired rules. For the DG unit ΔPk = −2 I DG ∑ Di I ai Ri − I DG
2
∑ Di Ri (5)
placement problem, the resulting DG unit i =1 i =1
suitability membership function μd of node i for k Assuming no significant change in the
fired rules are given by node voltage after placing the DG unit
Μd(i)max[min[μp(i), μv(i)]] where μp(i) and μv(i) Power that can be generated at upf is
are the membership functions of the power loss PDG = I DGVk (6)
index and voltage respectively.
After calculating the suitability membership The idea is to place a DG unit (upf)
function, it is to be defuzzified in order to with a size and at a location such that the system
determine the node suitability ranking. the loss reduction is maximized using Eqn. (5). For
centroid method of defuzzification is used. system loss reduction to be maximum the DG
unit is to be placed at node ‘k’,
4. DETERMINATION OF OPTIMUM SIZES
OF THE DG UNITS
∂Pk
=0 (7)
Size of the DG unit purely operated at upf ∂I DG
Considering a single source distribution
k
system with ‘n’ branches .Let a DG be placed at
bus ‘m’ and ‘β’ be a set of branches connected ∑DI i ai Ri
between the source and DG unit buses. If the DG I DG = − i =1
k
(8)
unit is placed bus ‘x’ the ‘β’ consists of branches
x1, x2, xn. The DG unit supplies real component ∑DR
i =1
i i

of current Ia and for radial network it changes

only the active component of current of branch set
‘β’. The current of other branches is not affected

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∑ε β I R ai i 5.1 RADIAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

= i LOAD FLOW ANALYSIS

∑ε β R
i
i Conventional load flow studies like
Gauss-seidal and fast decoupled load flow and
Substituting Eqn. (8) in Eqn. (6) Newton raphson methods are not suitable for
distribution system load flows because of high
The expression for maximum loss reduction is R/X ratio. A new radial load flow method for
distribution systems that offers better solution
was proposed in [4].
k The main features of this method are
(∑ Di I ai Ri ) 2 1) The initial voltage at all nodes is assumed to
ΔPmax = i =1
(9) be the voltage specified at the source node.
k
2) No complicated calculations are involved
∑DR
i =1
i i 3) Loads are represented by constant power.
4) Convergence is obtained by, even for ill
It is noted that the loss reduction is always conditioned system.
positive.
5.2. SIMULATION ALGORITHM
Size of the DG unit operated at any power
factor There are many computational steps
involved in finding the optimal DG size and
With the introduction of DG unit ‘at any power location to minimize losses in a radial
factor’ distribution system. These are
n n
PCom = ∑ ( Ii + Di I DG )2 Ri + ∑ Ii2 Ri (10) 1) Run the load flow program. Select the bus
i =1 i =1
where the maximum loss and low voltage is
Subtracting eqn. (10) from (2) using fuzzy logic tool box. Corresponding DG
k k
size is calculated using eqn. (6) and eqn. (13)
ΔPk = −2I DG ∑ Di Ii Ri − I DG
2
∑ Di Ri (11) for DG operated at upf and DG operated at any
i =1 i =1
power factor respectively.
Repeat this for all the buses except the source
∂Pk bus. Identify the bus using the fuzzy logic that
=0 (12)
∂I DG provides highest loss saving.
2) Compensate the bus with the highest loss
S DG = I DGVk (13) with the corresponding DG unit found from eqn
k (6) and eqn. (13) respectively.
∑DI R i i i
3) Repeat the steps 1 and 2 to get the next DG
size and hence sequence of buses to be
I DG = − i =1
(14)
k compensated.
∑DR i i 4) Once the sequence of buses is known
i =1 determine the optimum DG unit sizes and the
corresponding loss saving.
The expression for maximum loss reduction is Since the system load is time variant and load
k duration curve of the system can be
(∑ Di I i Ri ) 2 approximated .It is assumed that load level is
ΔSmax = i =1
k
(15) constant. The above algorithm provides the
optimal DG sizes and locations for a given load
∑DR i =1
i i level for DG operated purely at upf and DG
operated at any pf.

6. SIMULATION RESULTS
The process can be repeated for all the
buses to get the highest possible loss saving for a The proposed method of loss reduction
singly located DG unit. by DG unit placement was tested on a

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Distribution system consisting of 33 buses. The With the help of FIS editor optimal
single line diagram is shown in Fig.1. location of the DG unit is found where real
power loss is more and voltage is low. Using
analytical method the sizes of the DG unit are
obtained and placed at optimal location, power
loss and voltage improvement is observed. The
optimal sizes of DG units at upf and DG units at
any pf are shown in Fig. 2 and 3 respectively.
The total loss reduction is minimum at 0.8
power factor. This can be observed from Fig. 4.
Voltage variation with and without DG at upf is
shown in Fig.5. Voltage variation with and
without DG at 0.8 pf are shown in Fig. 6. The
results are tabulated for both the cases in Tables
Fig. 1 Single line diagram of IEEE 33-Bus Test System
3 and 4.

Optimal sizes of DG units are calculated 4500

at each and every bus for case1 with DG at upf
and case2 with DG at any pf. Optimal location is 4000

obtained using FIS editor. DG unit suitability 3500

index greater than 0.75 are selected to place the 3000

DG unit. From FIS editor it is found that 26th and D G rating in K W
31st buses are the suitable nodes. The ranges of 2500

power loss indices and voltage are shown in 2000

Table – 1. DG unit suitability membership
1500
function details are given in Table – 2.
1000

500
Table-1. Power loss indices and voltage membership
functions. 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
bus number

Descripti Low Hig Fig. 2 DG unit sizes purely at upf for 33 bus system
on of the - Med h- Hig
Low 5000
variables Med ium Med h
ium ium 4500

0.25
4000
Power
< 0- 0.5- 0.75
loss - 3500
0.25 0.5 1 -
0.75
DG rating in K V A

indices 3000
1.25
0.93 2500
0.96 1.03
< - 1.06 2000
Voltage - -
0.94 0.96 -1.2
1.04 1.07
1500

5 1000

500
Table-2 DG Unit Suitability index membership
function. 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
bus number
Descripti Low Hig
Fig. 3 DG unit sizes operated at any pf for 33 bus
on of – Med h- Hig system
Low
the Med ium Med h
variables ium ium
0.25
< 0- 0.5- ≥
DSI -
0.25 0.5 1 0.75
0.75

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Table – 3 Power loss with DG unit placement ‘at

upf’ using Analytical method

Bu D TA TR TA TR A R
s G PL PL PL PL PL P
Nu U BC AC AC AC R L
mb nit kW kV kW kV k R
er Si AR AR W k
ze V
s A
k R
W
26 23 289 194 154 110 13 83
95 .55 .25 .19 .28 5. .1
.6 7 35 7
31 12 289 194 185 130 10 63
90 .55 .25 .96 .74 3. .5
Fig. 4 Variation of total losses with power factor .5 47 59 0
1
before Table - 4 Power loss with DG unit placement ‘at 0.8
0.98
after pf’ using Analytical method

0.96
Bu D T TR TA TR AP R
s G A PL PL PL LR P
Nu Un P AC AC AC k L
v o lt a g e in p . u .

0.94
mb it L kV kW kV W R
er Siz B AR AR k
0.92
es C V
kV k A
0.9
A W R
26 29 28 194 89. 69. 20 12
0.88
08 9. .25 504 63 0 4.
55 7 62
0.86
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
bus number 31 15 28 194 126 93. 16 10
Fig. 5 Voltage variation with and without DG unit (upf) 78 9. .25 .89 311 2.6 0.
at 31st bus 55 27 6 57 93
1
before
after
0.98

0.96
v oltage in p.u.

0.94

0.92

0.9

0.88

0.86
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
bus number

Fig .6 Voltage variation with and without DG unit

(0.8pf) at 31st bus

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Table – 5 Summary of the Results using Analytical [3]. M.H.Haque, “Capacitor placement in radial
Method – 33 bus Test System distribution systems for loss reduction”,
IEEE Proc - Gener. Transm. Distrib., vol.
146,pp.501-505,1999
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DG %A D % [4]. S.Ghosh and D.Das , “Method for load-
B Unit PL % % G A % % flow solution of radial distribution
u Size R R V Un P R V Networks”, IEE Proc.- Gener. Transm.
s s P I it L P I Distrib. vol. 146, no. 6, pp. 641-648, 1999.
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N R
Siz R
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2 29
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6 08
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8 5 5
8 9
Law, A, “Placement of dispersed
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International Conference on system
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sciences, pp.1446 –1454, 2000
good improvement in voltage level and power
loss with DG operated at 0.8pf.
[8]. Fernando L. Alvarado, “Locational aspects
CONCLUSIONS of Distributed generation”, IEEE/PES
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unit operated at 0.8 power factor is very effective “Interaction between Distributed
in reducing the total power loss and in improving Generation and the Distribution Network:
the voltage profile of the system. It is Operation Aspects”, IEEE Transmission
recommended to operate DG at 0.8 pf to improve and Distribution Conference and
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0.8 pf compared to DG at upf with 46%.Similarly distributed generation allocation in MV
reactive power loss reduction is 64.15% at 0.8pf distribution networks”, IEEE PES Intl.
compared to DG at upf with 42.81%.Percentage Conf. on Power Industry Computer
Voltage improvement is 7.7% with Dg at 0.8pf
whereas 5.45% with DG at upf [11]. MASTERS, C.L., “Voltage rise: the
big issue when connecting embedded
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IEEE/PES General Meeting, pp. 662-667, A.Lakshmi Devi.Obtained

2004 her B.Tech in 1991 from
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