The research activities of the Distributed Electrical Systems Laboratory (DESL) refer to the development of smart grid concept solutions in order to efficiently deliver sustainable, economic and secure electricity supply. These solutions aim to integrate intelligently the actions of all users connected to the electrical network whatever they are generators or consumers. They rely on innovative products and services together with intelligent monitoring, control, communication and self-healing technologies to:
- facilitate the connection and operation of generators of all sizes and technologies;
- allow consumers to play a part in optimizing the operation of the system;
- provide consumers with greater information and choice of supply;
- significantly reduce the environmental impact of the whole electricity supply system;
- deliver enhanced levels of reliability and security of supply while accounting for the uncertainty of renewable energy sources, the increase of dispersed generation and storage facilities and the rules inherent to the liberalization of electricity market.
The activities of the DESL are sponsored by the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Swiss Commission for Technology and Innovation, the Swiss Electric Research and Swiss and foreign electrical industries and utilities and the European Union.
The major research topics are:
- dynamic phenomena (modeling and control) in power systems;
- integration within the power distribution networks of the distributed generation and storage technologies;
- power distribution networks monitoring and advanced metering;
- real-time operation and control of electrical grids with special reference to power distribution networks;
- advanced protection techniques;
- ICT integration into smart grids: from generation to appliances.