Impact Assessment of NILM Methods for an Enhanced Observability of Low Voltage Distribution Networks

The migration to low-carbon technologies in secondary (low-voltage) distribution networks relies on high integration of distributed energy resources (DER), including distributed generation and low-carbon loads. The electrification of power and transport sectors has led to an increased deployment of solar photovoltaic systems and electric vehicles causing unconventional dynamics in distribution networks. Thus, distribution network operators are facing new technical challenges such as reverse power flow, higher load peaks, and power quality issues. This has attracted research interest to investigate the implementation of innovative techniques such as non-intrusive load monitoring (NILM) methods. These techniques contribute to an enhanced and scalable monitoring of DER in electrical networks. Current literature based NILM models have achieved significantly high performance for both electromobility and photovoltaic systems, which makes them eligible for deployment from a technical standpoint. However, a critical analysis of the considerations for a feasible implementation of these methodologies has not been covered. Thus, this work studies the techno-economic implications for the large-scale implementation of NILM methods at the customer level and low voltage side of distribution transformers. While a substantial investment is associated with a better monitored low voltage distribution network, there are multiple benefits related to technical, economic, social, and environmental aspects.