OpenDSS Tech Note ExpControl for PV Inverters

This is an alternative to the InvControl element for PVSystem. It is based on the autonomously adjusting
reference voltage option from the latest version of Clause 5.3.3 (Voltage-reactive power mode) in IEEE
Standard 1547 [1]. In Figure 1, the set-point or reference voltage, Vref, is not a constant value but rather
tracks the grid voltage, Vsys, with a time constant, τref, that is adjustable between 300s and 5000s. Vref is
still limited to the range 0.95 to 1.05 pu of the nominal voltage, VN, as required in the standard. There is
another time constant in Figure 1, τOL, for the open-loop response time that is adjustable up to 90s. Qhi
and Qlo are now defined to give preference to reactive power over real power [1].

The gain value, K, offers a simplified version of the piecewise linear volt-var curve from the standard. For
ExpControl, there is no deadband, so the piecewise linear curve simplifies to the example shown in
Figure 2. For more details and examples, see [2].

1.05 pu Qbias Qhi(Srated,Pout)

+
Vref + ∆V ∆Q Qnew Qout 1 Q Vsys
1 Σ K Σ 1 1 + sτ OL G(s,t)
+
-
Vsys
1 + sτ ref 0.95 pu
1
-Qlo(Srated,Pout)

Figure 1: Control block diagram of the autonomously adjusting Vref with time constant τref.

Reactive
Power [pu]
Q1B -0.44 Category B
Injecting K=22
Q1A -0.25 Category A
K=12.5

Q2,Q3
0.98 1.02 Voltage
[pu of Vref]
Q4A 0.25
Absorbing
Q4B 0.44
V1 V2,V3 V4

Figure 2: Translating K to the parameters of Figure H.4 of the standard [1], using passive sign convention on Q.

Key Parameters of ExpControl

The ExpControl does not require linkage to a piecewise linear curve. Its most important parameters are:

• Slope – the gain, K, in Figure 1. The default value of 50 is usually stable, but higher than the
maximum allowed value of 22 for Category B inverters [1].
• VregTau – the time constant, τref, in Figure 1. The default value of 300s is recommended.

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 OpenDSS Tech Note ExpControl for PV Inverters

• DeltaQ_factor – still under investigation; this reactive power “acceleration factor” may need to
be specified at 0.2 to 0.3.
• Tresponse – with reference to Figure 1, this is the time for the change in Qsys to reach 90% of the
commanded change in Qout. Defaults to 0 for backward compatibility, but should otherwise be
set to 10s for Category A inverters or 5s for Category B inverters. Tresponse = 2.3 τOL. (The
InvControl LPFtau attribute is similar, but defined for 95% response instead of 90% response.)
• PreferQ – if required, curtail P to meet the commanded Qout. Defaults to false for backward
compatibility, but new models should specify true, as required in [1].
• Qbias – an optional steady-state dispatch of reactive power, indicated in Figure 1. In per-unit of
each controlled PVSystem kva rating. Negative to absorb Q, positive to inject Q. Defaults to 0. If
linked to an external reactive power dispatcher, this would be the signal input connection.

The following parameters are less commonly specified:

• Vreg – initial Vref in per-unit of the PVSystem’s voltage rating; this is less important because it
will dynamically adjust to each PVSystem’s terminal voltage early in the simulation.
• VregMin – leave at the default 0.95 pu
• VregMax – leave at the default 1.05 pu
• QmaxLag – prefer use of PVSystem kvarLimit, unless the absorption and injection capabilities are
different.
• QmaxLead – prefer use of PVSystem kvarLimit, unless the absorption and injection capabilities
are different.
• PVSystemList – usually left blank to control all PVSystem components in the model
• Basefreq – as with other OpenDSS components
• Enabled – as with other OpenDSS components
• Like – as with other OpenDSS components
• EventLog – used to debug control actions in the case of non-convergence

The circle-diagram limits on Q, as depicted in Figure H.2 of [1], have not yet been implemented. The
ExpControl was initially developed before [1], and it keeps the name Vreg in place of Vref.

Example
The test circuit in Figure 3 was analyzed in [2] and distributed with OpenDSS under the sub-directory
Examples/ExpControl. You can run the following example by pasting lines 1-26 into an OpenDSS script
window. Note that line 3 should be modified to match the example installation directory on your own
computer, so that OpenDSS can find the included Hours.csv, VshapeHi_dss.csv and pcloud.csv.

285 kW

Figure 3: Single-phase test circuit representing one phase of a utility-scale PV about 15 miles from the substation

1 Clear
2 New Circuit.CloudAdap

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3 cd c:\opendss\distrib\examples\expcontrol
4 New Loadshape.Vshape npts=1441 interval=0
5 ~ hour=(file=Hours.csv) mult=(file=VshapeHi_dss.csv)
6 New Loadshape.Cloud npts=86401 sinterval=1
7 ~ csvfile=pcloud.csv action=normalize
8 New Vsource.Vth1 bus1=2a basekv=.240 R1=0.0083 X1=0.0215 phases=1
9 ~ daily=Vshape
10 New line.line1 bus1=2a bus2=3a switch=yes phases=1
11 New PVSystem.PV1 bus1=3a phases=1 kV=.240 irradiance=1 pmpp=285 kVA=300
12 ~ daily=Cloud %cutin=0.1 %cutout=0.1 varfollowinverter=true kvarlimit=132
13 new monitor.pv1v element=line.line1 terminal=2 mode=96
14 new monitor.pv1pq element=PVSystem.PV1 terminal=1 mode=65 PPolar=NO
15 new monitor.pv1st element=PVSystem.PV1 terminal=1 mode=3
16 set controlmode=static
17 set maxcontroliter=1000
18 set voltagebases=[.415692]
19 CalcV
20 New ExpControl.pv1 deltaQ_factor=0.3
21 ~ vreg=1.0 slope=22 vregtau=300 Tresponse=5 // EventLog=Yes
22 solve mode=daily number=86400 stepsize=1s
23 plot type=monitor obj=pv1pq channels=[1,2] bases=[300,300]
24 plot type=monitor obj=pv1st channels=[5]
25 plot type=monitor obj=pv1v channels=[1] bases=[240]

Lines 4-5 and 7-8 implement a grid voltage that varies even in the absence of solar power fluctuations.
The case can be repeated with unity power factor, by commenting out lines 20-21. Figure 4 plots the
PVSystem output and some voltages of interest. To the right, Vref starts at 1 per-unit, and quickly adapts
to the grid voltage, Vsys or Vunity, which is about 1.03 per-unit. The reactive power, Q, is zero during the
initial adaptation of Vref because there is no real power output, P, during this time, coupled with
varfollowinverter=true in line 12. From about 1030 through 1600 hours, P fluctuates and this causes
voltage fluctuation. At unity power factor, the Vunity fluctuations are about 3%. The Vsys fluctuations are
mitigated to about 1% by the ExpControl, with approximately zero net Q integrated over the day. The
Vref signal follows and smooths the Vsys fluctuations by using ExpControl.

PV Output - Passive Convention System and Reference Voltages

0.2 1.06

1.05
0
1.04

-0.2 1.03

1.02
Perunit
Perunit

-0.4
1.01

-0.6 P 1
Q 0.99
-0.8
0.98 Vunity Vsys Vref

-1 0.97
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 0 4 8 12 16 20 24
Hour of Day Hour of Day

Figure 4: ExpControl produces near-zero net reactive power over time (left), while suppressing voltage fluctuations around the
system voltage (right).

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At around 2000 hours, P cuts out, but the value of Q is already close to zero because Vsys is close to Vref.
In other cases, the sudden cut-out of Q may lead to a significant voltage step. This might be mitigated
with varfollowinverter=false, or by ramping Q, which is not currently required in [1].

Comparison to InvControl and CA Rule 21 Smart Inverters

In California’s Rule 21, phase 1 smart inverters have a function comparable to InvControl
mode=VOLTVAR, while phase 3 smart inverters have a function comparable to InvControl
mode=DYNAMICREACCURR [3]. These are denoted VV and DRC, respectively. The VV mode gives
preference to real power, while the DRC mode may give preference to either real or reactive power. The
DRC mode may be used either in conjunction with VV, or exclusively. One difference between DRC and
ExpControl is that DRC uses a windowed moving average, while ExpControl uses the exponential time
delay. The VV mode in InvControl also has the option for a windowed moving average on Vref, but this
option was not adopted in CA Rule 21.

Of the CA Rule 21 options, “Dynamic Reactive Current Support Mode” in phase 3 is the closest to
ExpControl. It should give preference to reactive power, and should not be combined with phase 1’s
“Dynamic Volt/Var Operations”.

Of the InvControl options, uncombined DRC is the closest to ExpControl.

Use with Storage Elements

As is the case with InvControl, the ExpControl cannot be used with Storage, only with PVSystem.
However, the voltage control capabilities it represents from [1] would apply equally well to storage
systems. In a future version, both InvControl and ExpControl may be linked to Storage in OpenDSS. In the
meantime, the following workaround can be used to implement reactive power control of storage
systems:

• Add a parallel PVSystem with negligible real power (Pmpp), but kva rating equal to the storage
system’s reactive power rating, leaving kvarLimit unspecified. Let VarFollowInverter default to
False, so the inverter can supply rated Q throughout the day.
• Attach ExpControl to the fictitious PVSystem to implement voltage/reactive power control on
the storage system.

The same workaround applies to InvControl. A sample input listing fragment follows; it’s part of a larger
model in which a small impedance separates the bess1 bus from the pcc1 bus.
1 new Storage.bess1 bus1=bess1 phases=3 kV=13.2 kWrated=6000
2 ~ kva=7000 kWhrated=48000 kWhstored=24000 dispmode=follow daily=cycle
3 New PVSystem.bess1 bus1=pcc1 phases=3 kV=13.2 irradiance=0.5 pmpp=1
4 ~ kva=3600 varfollowinverter=false
5 New ExpControl.bess1 pvsystemlist=(bess1) deltaQ_factor=0.3
6 ~ vreg=1.0 slope=22 vregtau=300 Tresponse=5

References
[1] IEEE, "IEEE Standard for Interconnection and Interoperability of Distributed Energy Resources
with Associated Electric Power Systems Interfaces," IEEE Std 1547-2018 (Revision of IEEE Std
1547-2003), pp. 1-138, 2018.

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[2] T. E. McDermott and S. R. Abate, "Adaptive Voltage Regulation for Solar Power Inverters on
Distribution Systems," presented at the IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC-46),
Chicago, 2019.
[3] California Energy Commission. (2017). Rule 21 Smart Inverter Working Group Technical
Reference Materials. Available: https://www.energy.ca.gov/electricity_analysis/rule21/

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