What's needed?

In microgrids, we implement a crucial safety measure called "Precharging" when connecting batteries to inverters. Precharging involves gradually ramping up the DC voltage to prevent any potential damage to sensitive electrical components like capacitors. To achieve this, a precharge circuit operates in parallel to the DC bus.

The process begins by activating the precharge circuit, allowing the voltage to rise gradually. Once the voltage stabilizes at an acceptable level, the main connection is closed, and the precharge circuit is subsequently opened.

While many inverters and batteries come equipped with in-built precharging mechanisms, some may lack this feature. In such cases, we need to ensure full support for external precharge modules within our APIs. This support enables seamless integration and control of external precharge modules, safeguarding electrical components and contributing to the overall reliability and efficiency of the microgrid system.

Proposed solution

We propose adding a new variant COMPONENT_CATEGORY_PRECHARGE to the existing ComponentCategory enum. This new category will enable us to represent and handle external precharge modules.

In the Microgrid API, these components will be placed between an inverter and its corresponding battery. This component should support reading data, and controls to trigger it.

Use cases

No response

Alternatives and workarounds

No response

Additional context

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