Analysing Smart Energy Systems With The Agent-Based Simulation Framework i7-AnyEnergy

Because of the increasing complexity of energy systems and their interconnectedness with other urban and industrial infrastructures, simulation is essential for their design and optimized operation. We present i7-AnyEnergy as a stand-alone simulation framework that enables rapid modelling and simulation of the entire system. It combines concepts from software engineering, agent-based and distributed simulation, and cellular energy systems. Key concepts include the abstraction of energy, information, and other commodity flows, as well as a component-based design with an interface and filter concept that avoids explicit navigation through the model structure. This enables the development of cellular energy systems with hierarchical and neighbourhood relationships. Local load compensation at all levels is available as an integrated mechanism, but can be replaced by any other centralized, decentralized or mixed control strategy. We demonstrate the modelling using an illustrative example and outline studies in which the framework has been used.