1. GridLAB-D and OpenDSS: Better Together
5 September 2019
About the Image: PNNL Aerial Photo
Aerial photo of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory campus from the west.
Thomas E. McDermott

2. GridLAB-D originated to handle buildings, controls, grid and markets.
OpenDSS
Domains
September 5, 2019

3. OpenDSS originated from harmonics analysis and DER siting optimization.
Auto-adding DG at yellow sites to defer
feeder and substation upgrades
Injecting harmonic currents into a grid model
September 5, 2019

4. OpenDSS solves time-series power flow with two loops; power flow (fixed point) and controls (queue).
Note: phases are numbered and flexibly connected
September 5, 2019

5. Which one is better? It depends…
GridLAB-D
OpenDSS
Main Developers
PNNL, SLAC
EPRI, PNNL
Programming Language
C/C++
Delphi/Free Pascal
Total Downloads to 9/2/2019
89,362
88,086
Strong Suit
Cross-domain, multi-agent
Fast and robust power flow
Unique Features
Weather
Harmonics
Building Thermal Models
Protection
Microgrid with Frequency
Flexible Phasing
Rotating Machines
Any Transformer Connection
Thermostats and Schedules
Ease of Parallel Processing
Time Stepping
Variable
Fixed (w/ pause and change)
Automation
HTTP, FNCS, HELICS
Windows COM, FNCS
Platforms
Linux, Windows, Mac
Windows (GUI), Linux, Mac
September 5, 2019

6. Example 1: feeder model conversions between CYMDIST, OpenDSS, CIM and GridLAB-D
An SCE circuit layout
in OpenDSS
September 5, 2019

7. Example 2: automates OpenDSS via Framework for Network Cosimulation (FNCS), as with GridLAB-D
Total Feeder Load with Switching and PV
Add
285 kW PV
Open
At Noon
opendsscmd
fncs_broker
fncs_player
September 5, 2019

8. Example 3: linking OpenDSS power flow to GridLAB-D houses and weather over FNCS
irradiance
power
voltage
September 5, 2019

9. References
Downloading GridLAB-D:
Downloading OpenDSS:
Downloading OpenDSSCmd:
Chassin, Fuller, Djilali, “GridLAB-D: An agent-based simulation framework for smart grids”, , doi: /2014/492320
Dugan, McDermott, “An open source platform for collaborating on smart grid research” , doi: /PES
Ciraci, Daily, Fuller, Fisher, Marinovici, Agarwal, “FNCS: a framework for power system and communication networks co-simulation”, 2014,
Model Converters:
CIM Schema: index.html#cim-documentation
September 5, 2019