Concept 3

DERMS Control Strategies

All strategies try to solve the same problem. The difference is how much coordination they use and how much solar they waste along the way.

Volt-VAR First response: use reactive power before curtailing energy

970 kWh Heuristic curtailment in the sample day

1.2 kWh Optimization curtailment for the same feeder

0 min Violation minutes under optimization

Absorb reactive power to reduce voltage rise without wasting active energy.

Best for: First-line correction when inverter headroom is available.

Reduce real power output directly when voltage must come down fast and hard.

Best for: Last resort when Q support is not enough.

Coordinate Q and P across devices to hit compliance with the minimum possible waste.

Best for: System-wide DERMS with communications and good feeder models.

Performance Comparison

Voltage Comparison: Baseline vs Heuristic vs Optimization

This is the whole DERMS argument in one figure: optimization stays below the limit while heuristic still grazes it and baseline clearly breaks it.

KPI Comparison

Metric	Baseline	Heuristic	Optimization
Violation Minutes	355	205	0
Max Voltage (p.u.)	1.0747	1.0570	1.0499
Curtailment (kWh)	0	970	1.2
Avg Q Dispatch (kvar)	0	168	4.4

Decision Pattern

Q
Use reactive power first because it does not discard solar energy.
P
Only curtail active power if voltage still cannot be controlled.
OPT
Optimization determines which devices should act, instead of asking every inverter to react aggressively.

What to Study Next

System-Level Impact

Once control strategy is clear, the next step is hosting capacity: how much more solar can the feeder accept once these controls exist?

Next: Hosting Capacity