Representative Load Profiles and Low-Voltage Grid Simulations for Austria

Abstract

In the course of the energy transition, the issue of availability of load profiles is still a serious obstacle. Especially in Europe, where the handling of private data is regulated under GDPR and data such as load profiles can be and are interpreted as worthy of protection, the need for reliable alternative sources is evident for future research. In this paper, we present a representative semi-urban low-voltage grid for Austria that was defined based on the current status of social household compositions, for which load profiles were created, and actual rollout of photovoltaics, heat-pumps and battery electric vehicles. The generated behavior-based load profiles are assigned to an electric grid, which is analyzed and compared to reference values displaying differences in monthly and weekday load patterns. We compare and discuss also selected results of the grid simulations, which exhibit significant differences in the load distribution of the simulated 400 kVA transformer.