Single-Phase PV Power Injection Limit due to Voltage Unbalances Applied to an Urban Reference Network Using Real-Time Simulation
Open accessAbstract
As photovoltaic (PV) penetration increases in low-voltage distribution networks, voltage variation may become a problem. This is particularly important in residential single-phase systems, due to voltage unbalances created by the inflow of points in the network. The existing literature frequently refers to three-phase systems focusing on losses and voltage variations. Many studies tend to use case studies whose conclusions are difficult to replicate and generalise. As levels of residential PV rise, single-phase PV power injection levels, before voltage unbalances reach standard limits, become important to be investigated. In this study, an urban European reference network is considered, and using a real-time digital simulator, different levels of PV penetration are simulated. PV systems are connected to the same phase (unbalanced case), and are also evenly phase-distributed (balanced case). Considering a 2–3% unbalance limit, approximately 3.5–4.6 kW could be injected in every bus in an unbalanced scenario. With a balanced PV distribution, the power injected could reach 10–13 kW per bus. Buses closer to the power transformer allow higher power connections, due to cable distances and inferior voltage drops. Feeder length, loads considered during simulation, and cable shunt capacitance reactance influence the results the most.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The impact of PVs on VUF in the LV urban distribution reference network does not present a problem, since VUF does not exceed the 2-3% boundaries.
“The impact of PVs on the VUF in the LV urban distribution reference network does not present the problem, since the VUF does not exceed the 2-3% boundaries [30].”
From A Comprehensive Analysis of the Voltage Unbalance Factor in PV and EV Rich Non-Synthetic Low Voltage Distribution Networks (2020) · cites this paper as [30]
In Results and Discussion (page unavailable), the paper reports that voltage-unbalance limits of 2% and 3% are reached at PV injections of 3.5 kW and 4.6 kW, respectively, and adopts the conservative 2% limit for further analysis. It therefore treats PV-induced unbalance as a constraint, contrary to the unqualified claim that it presents no problem. Section 2.2 also says the study uses a magnitude-based measure rather than VUF. (LLM, conf=0.82)
Checked by a reasoning model — may be wrong.
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Power Quality Enhancement Using Custom Power Devices
Ghosh, A., & Ledwich, G. F. (2002) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-1153-3 · Cited by 1,367 · see citing works
Summary of Distributed Resources Impact on Power Delivery Systems
Walling, R. A., Saint, R., Dugan, R. C., Burke, J., & Kojovic, L. A. (2008) · IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery · doi:10.1109/tpwrd.2007.909115 · Cited by 1,024 · see citing works
Voltage rise: the big issue when connecting embedded generation to long 11 kV overhead lines
Masters, C. L. (2002) · Power Engineering Journal · doi:10.1049/pe:20020101 · Cited by 653 · see citing works
Impact of high PV penetration on voltage profiles in residential neighborhoods
Tonkoski, R., Turcotte, D., & El-Fouly, T. H. M. (2012) · IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy · doi:10.1109/tste.2012.2191425 · Cited by 557 · see citing works
Solar PV Integration Challenges
Katiraei, F., & Agüero, J. R. (2011) · IEEE Power and Energy Magazine · doi:10.1109/mpe.2011.940579 · Cited by 551 · see citing works
Definitions of voltage unbalance
Pillay, P., & Manyage, M. J. (2001) · IEEE Power Engineering Review · doi:10.1109/39.920965 · Cited by 363 · see citing works
Haque, M. M., & Wolfs, P. (2016) · Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.rser.2016.04.025 · Cited by 331 · see citing works
Photovoltaic Generation Penetration Limits in Radial Distribution Systems
Shayani, R. A., & de Oliveira, M. A. G. (2010) · IEEE Transactions on Power Systems · doi:10.1109/tpwrs.2010.2077656 · Cited by 297 · see citing works
Distribution System Voltage Performance Analysis for High-Penetration PV
Liu, Y., Bebic, J. Z., Kroposki, B., de Bedout, J. M., & Ren, W. (2008) · doi:10.1109/energy.2008.4781069 · Cited by 271 · see citing works
Steady-State Analysis of Maximum Photovoltaic Penetration Levels on Typical Distribution Feeders
Hoke, A., Butler, R., Hambrick, J. C., & Kroposki, B. (2012) · IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy · doi:10.1109/tste.2012.2225115 · Cited by 268 · see citing works
Effects of unbalanced voltage on the operation performance of a three-phase induction motor
Lee, C.-Y. (1999) · IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion · doi:10.1109/60.766984 · Cited by 258 · see citing works
Accommodating High PV Penetration on Distribution Feeders
Baran, M. E., Hooshyar, H., Shen, Z., & Huang, A. Q. (2012) · IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid · doi:10.1109/tsg.2012.2190759 · Cited by 192 · see citing works
Voltage imbalance analysis in residential low voltage distribution networks with rooftop PVs
Shahnia, F., Majumder, R., Ghosh, A., Ledwich, G. F., & Zare, F. (2011) · Electric Power Systems Research · doi:10.1016/j.epsr.2011.05.001 · Cited by 151 · see citing works
Overview of Single-phase Grid-connected Photovoltaic Systems
Yang, Y., & Blaabjerg, F. (2015) · Electric Power Components and Systems · doi:10.1080/15325008.2015.1031296 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
Ruiz-Rodriguez, F. J., Hernández, J. C., & Jurado, F. (2014) · International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems · doi:10.1016/j.ijepes.2014.07.071 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Sensitivity analysis of voltage imbalance in distribution networks with rooftop PVs
Shahnia, F., Majumder, R., Ghosh, A., Ledwich, G. F., & Zare, F. (2010) · IEEE Power Engineering Society General Meeting · doi:10.1109/pes.2010.5590149 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Integration challenges of photovoltaic distributed generation on power distribution systems
Agüero, J. R., & Steffel, S. (2011) · IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting (PESGM) · doi:10.1109/pes.2011.6039097 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Steady state analysis of high penetration PV on utility distribution feeder
Solanki, S. K., Ramachandran, V., & Solanki, J. M. (2012) · doi:10.1109/tdc.2012.6281716 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Alam, M. J. E., Muttaqi, K. M., & Sutanto, D. (2012) · Research Online (University of Wollongong) · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Maximum PV generation estimation method for residential low voltage feeders
Heslop, S., MacGill, I., & Fletcher, J. (2016) · Sustainable Energy, Grids and Networks · doi:10.1016/j.segan.2016.06.003 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
The impact of distributed photovoltaic generation on residential distribution systems
Mitra, P., Heydt, G. T., & Vittal, V. (2012) · North American Power Symposium (NAPS) · doi:10.1109/naps.2012.6336330 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Heslop, S., MacGill, I. F., Fletcher, J., & Lewis, S. (2014) · Energy Procedia · doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2014.10.025 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Impact of distributed generation on voltage profile in 38kV distribution system
Caples, D., Boljevic, S., & Conlon, M. F. (2011) · International Conference on the European Energy Market (EEM) · doi:10.1109/eem.2011.5953069 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Parmar, D., & Yao, L. (2012) · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Analysis of voltage unbalance due to rooftop PV in low voltage residential distribution system
Pansakul, C., & Hongesombut, K. (2014) · International Electrical Engineering Congress (iEECON) · doi:10.1109/ieecon.2014.6925883 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Photovoltaics in distribution systems — Integration issues and simulation challenges
Schoene, J., Zheglov, V., Houseman, D., Smith, J. C., & Ellis, A. (2013) · IEEE Power Engineering Society General Meeting · doi:10.1109/pesmg.2013.6672879 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Voltage unbalance measurement in three-phase smart meter applied to AMI systems
Tangsunantham, N., & Pirak, C. (2013) · International Conference on Electrical Engineering/Electronics, Computer, Telecommunications and Information Technology (ECTI-CON) · doi:10.1109/ecticon.2013.6559601 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
1 of the 28 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Hoke, A.; Butler, R.; Hambrick, J.; Kroposki, B. Maximum Photovoltaic Penetration Levels on Typical Distribution Feeders. IEEE Trans. Sustain. Energy 2013, 4, 350-357.
- Cooper, H.; Markiewicz, D.A.; Wroclaw, A. Voltage Disturbances. Power Qual. Appl. Guid. 2004, 5, 4-11.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Kharrazi, A., Sreeram, V., & Mishra, Y. (2020) · Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.rser.2019.109643 · Cited by 193 · see citing works
Impact of Rooftop Photovoltaics on the Distribution System
Alboaouh, K., & Mohagheghi, S. (2020) · Journal of Renewable Energy · doi:10.1155/2020/4831434 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Solar PV Grid Power Flow Analysis
Alsafasfeh, Q., Saraereh, O. A., Khan, I., & Kim, S. (2019) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su11061744 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Chihota, M. J., Bekker, B., & Gaunt, T. (2021) · International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems · doi:10.1016/j.ijepes.2021.107598 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Srivastava, A., Manas, M., & Dubey, R. K. (2024) · Electric Power Systems Research · doi:10.1016/j.epsr.2024.110572 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Antić, T., Capuder, T., & Bolfek, M. (2020) · Energies · doi:10.3390/en14010117 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
“Both in [29,30] authors propose and encourage the three-phase connection, but they do not include the analysis of the impact of battery storages and EVs.”
BackgroundInfluentialA Study of Load Imbalance Influence on Power Quality Assessment for Distribution Networks
Ciontea, C. I., & Iov, F. (2021) · Electricity · doi:10.3390/electricity2010005 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Control optimization of PV powered electric storage and heat pump water heaters
Clift, D. H., & Suehrcke, H. (2021) · Solar Energy · doi:10.1016/j.solener.2021.08.059 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Wajahat, M., Khalid, H. A., Bhutto, G. M., & Bak, C. L. (2019) · Energies · doi:10.3390/en12152964 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Renewable Energy Integration to Electric Power Grid: Opportunities, Challenges, and Solutions
Purkait, P., Basu, M., & Nath, S. R. (2024) · Energy, environment, and sustainability · doi:10.1007/978-981-97-1406-3_3 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Hrouda, J., Čerňan, M., & Procházka, K. (2024) · IEEE Access · doi:10.1109/access.2024.3410374 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Enhanced Quasi Type-1 PLL-Based Multi-Functional Control of Single-Phase Dynamic Voltage Restorer
Ahmed, H., Biricik, S., Kömürcügil, H., & Benbouzid, M. (2021) · Applied Sciences · doi:10.3390/app12010146 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Test Grids for the Integration of RES—A Contribution for the European Context
Traupmann, A., & Kienberger, T. (2020) · Energies · doi:10.3390/en13205431 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Mienski, R., Wasiak, I., & Kelm, P. (2023) · Energies · doi:10.3390/en16083479 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Technical assessment of the impacts of distributed energy resources on distribution feeders
Chihota, M. J., Bekker, B., & Gaunt, C. T. (2020) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-820491-7.00012-8 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Chihota, M. J., & Bekker, B. (2020) · International Conference on Probabilistic Methods Applied to Power Systems (PMAPS) · doi:10.1109/pmaps47429.2020.9183657 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Active Power Management for PV Systems under High Penetration Scenario
Medina, F. S., Vázquez, N., Vaquero, J., Arau, J., Estrada, L., & Rodriguez, E. (2021) · International Journal of Photoenergy · doi:10.1155/2021/9940862 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Janiga, K., Miller, P., Małkowski, R., & Izdebski, M. (2024) · Energies · doi:10.3390/en17225749 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Impact of Household PV Generation on the Voltage Quality in 0.4 kV Electric Grid—Case Study
Apse-Apsītis, P., Krievs, O., & Avotiņš, A. (2023) · Energies · doi:10.3390/en16062554 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Kelm, P., Mienski, R., & Wasiak, I. (2024) · Energies · doi:10.3390/en17071594 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Leou, R., Teng, J., Li, Y., Lin, W.-M., & Lin, Y.-H. (2020) · Energies · doi:10.3390/en13081996 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Recent research conducted at the SGILab towards an efficient and interoperable smart grid
Kotsakis, E., Lucas, A., Andreadou, N., Fulli, G., & Masera, M. (2018) · AEIT International Annual Conference · doi:10.23919/aeit.2018.8577412 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Self-citationForecasting of Energy Balance in Prosumer Micro-Installations Using Machine Learning Models
POPŁAWSKI, T., Dudzik, S., & Szeląg, P. (2023) · Energies · doi:10.3390/en16186726 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Calculation Methods of Voltage Unbalance Factor
El-Bashbishi, A. M., & El‐Fergany, A. A. (2023) · International Middle East Power Systems Conference (MEPCON) · doi:10.1109/mepcon58725.2023.10462408 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Угли, Р. М. Ф., Ugli, Q. A. A., Ashurov, A. V. O., & qizi, K. M. M. (2025) · International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications (ICRERA) · doi:10.1109/icrera66237.2025.11283714 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Correa, H. P., Vieira, F. H. T., & de Almeida, M. L. S. (2020) · IEEE Access · doi:10.1109/access.2020.3034178 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Real-time power flow control using DVR-based hybrid transformers
Park, S., Baek, J.-W., Kim, H., & Cha, H. (2025) · Journal of Power Electronics · doi:10.1007/s43236-025-01055-9 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Bot, Y., Naama, B., Yousfi, A., Allalı, A., & Denai, M. A. (2022) · Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy · doi:10.1063/5.0085359 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Chelaru, E., Grigoraş, G., Noroc, L., Neagu, B.-C., & Scarlatache, F. (2021) · International Conference on Electromechanical and Energy Systems (SIELMEN) · doi:10.1109/sielmen53755.2021.9600425 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Impact assessment of high penetration of rooftop PV in municipal electrical networks
Tsholoba, M. T. (2019) · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Stochastic Analysis of Transformer Loading Due to Single-Phase Distributed Energy Resources
Chihota, M. J., & Bekker, B. (2024) · International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Technologies (SpliTech) · doi:10.23919/splitech61897.2024.10612465
Stoyanov, L., & Bachev, I. (2025) · International Conference on Energy Efficiency and Agricultural Engineering (EE&AE) · doi:10.1109/eeae65901.2025.11273477
Eid, A. (2025) · International Journal of Emerging Electric Power Systems · doi:10.1515/ijeeps-2025-0258
Maataoui, Y., Dankir, S., Chekenbah, H., Puig, V., & Lasri, R. (2026) · Electrical Engineering · doi:10.1007/s00202-025-03406-y
Iweh, C. D., & Gyamfi, S. (2026) · Sustainable Energy Research · doi:10.1186/s40807-025-00198-4
- Authors
- Lucas, A.
- Affiliations
- Joint Research Centre (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Lucas, Alexandre
- ORCID
- Lucas, Alexandre
- Venue
- Applied Sciences
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2018-08-09
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1333
- ISSN
- 2076-3417 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2886331164
- Cited by
- 35
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 1.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- dx.doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Applied Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Joint Research Centre (European Commission) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Optimal Power Flow Distribution
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Power Quality and Harmonics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Control and Systems Engineering › Microgrid Control and Optimization
- Keywords
- single-phase photovoltaic systems, voltage unbalance, low-voltage distribution networks, real-time digital simulation, feeder length, voltage drop
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
