PeopleSuN Off Grid Planning Tool

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As part of the research project PeopleSuN, the browser-based tool for planning off-grid systems was developed, which can be accessed at the website https://offgridplanner.org. The tool allows for both spatial optimization of an electrical grid and optimization of the design and unit commitment of the available energy converter technologies.

The tool offers the option to enter the positions of individual consumers on an integrated map or to mark areas using drawing tools, within which buildings can be automatically identified as consumers. Once the geolocation of consumers is defined, a demand estimation is carried out for each consumer. For the households demand estimation statistical methods are used, employing different distribution functions for household tiers depending on the respective regions. For businesses, additional user-provided information is necessary, such as categorizing them to enable demand estimation.

With the user's further input on technical and economic parameters and the selection of technology options (PV systems, battery systems, diesel engines, inverters, converters), the optimization of the mini-grid takes place. Optionally, consumers with high connection costs can be identified for whom a solar home system is preferable to grid connection.

The demand database constitutes an integral part of the PeopleSuN off-grid planner tool. For more detailed information regarding the calculations and methodologies used to construct the demand database that was used for developing the off-grid planner, please refer to the method publication.

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