METER ADAPTER AND SYSTEMS
A microgrid comprises a meter adapter for interconnection to the electric grid, facility loads, and renewable energy resources using connectors, bus bars, and switches. Adapter connectors and internal bus bars and can be stressed with excessive heat rise from heat losses that arise from carrying high currents due to constraints in the physical size and airflow restrictions. Exhaust ports and/or vents are arranged to achieve a chimney cooling effect in such conditions to meet stringent UL requirements against resultant heat rise within a meter adapter.
1 . A microgrid system to control a microgrid, the microgrid system comprising:
one or more switches configured to connect and disconnect a connection between the microgrid and an electric grid that supplies a grid AC signal;
an adapter in communication with the electric grid and the one or more switches, the adapter comprising:
a housing;
a grid-side AC busbar in communication with the one or more switches, the grid-side AC busbar configured to conduct the grid AC signal when the connection between the microgrid and the electric grid is connected;
a load-side busbar in communication with the one or more switches, the load-side bus bar configured to conduct inverted power signals from secondary energy sources when the connection between the electric grid and the microgrid is disconnected, the load-side bus bar further configured to conduct the grid AC signal and the inverted power signals from the secondary energy sources when the connection between the electric grid and the microgrid is connected;
wherein heat is generated when at least one of the load-side busbar and the grid-side busbar is conducting;
one or more exchange ports located in the housing; and
one or more exhaust ports located in the housing, the one or more exhaust ports located above the one or more exchange ports, the one or more exhaust ports configured to vent the heat from the adapter, the one or more exchange ports configured to permit cooler air from outside the adapter to enter the adapter; and
a power controller in communication with the load-side bus bar, the power controller comprising frequency and/or voltage variable AC power electronics in communication with electrical loads of the facility, the frequency and/or voltage variable AC power electronics configured to convert, responsive to one or more control signals, an output of the load-side bus bar into a second AC signal having variable frequency and/or variable voltage, and to provide the second AC signal to the electrical loads of the facility.