Optimal Battery Scheduling for Self-Sufficiency in Energy Communities: A Case Study on the PVZEN Microgrid

This paper presents a centralized energy management strategy aimed at maximizing the self-sufficiency of a real microgrid, developed and tested within the PhotoVoltaic Zero Energy Network (PVZEN) laboratory at Politecnico di Torino. A non-linear optimization algorithm is implemented to determine the optimal charging and discharging profiles of the battery systems. The strategy allows energy sharing among users and ensures coordinated operation of the storage units as a virtual aggregated battery. The strategy is tested through simulations based on hourly data and results compared with a baseline case reflecting conventional inverter behaviour. Simlulation results demonstrate a significant increase in energy self-sufficiency (from 58% to 72%) and self-consumption (from 70% to 87%) together with improved battery availability and reduced grid dependence.