Emonic

Emonic is an open-source software framework designed to support the monitoring, optimization, and control of distributed energy resources (DERs) within microgrids and commercial facilities. The project pursues a modular architecture that enables real-time data collection from sensors and smart devices, scenario modeling, and automated dispatch of generation, storage, and demand-side resources.

Emonic emphasizes interoperability, with support for standard interfaces and protocols such as OpenADR, IEC 61850, MQTT, and RESTful APIs, enabling integration with third-party energy management systems and hardware. The core of Emonic consists of a data ingestion layer, a time-series database, a policy-driven decision engine, and a visualization/monitoring frontend. The event-driven design allows components to react to grid conditions, price signals, and weather forecasts. It includes a forecasting module for solar, wind, and load, a unit commitment and economic dispatch module, and a demand response module. The software is containerized and supports deployment in on-premises data centers, edge devices, or cloud environments.

Historically, Emonic originated as a collaborative effort among researchers, engineers, and industry partners in the early 2020s. The first stable release appeared in 2021, with ongoing improvements through community governance and periodic industry contributions.

In practice, Emonic has been used in pilot microgrid projects and university research to prototype optimization strategies and compare control approaches under varying scenarios. Limitations include performance at large scale and the need for standardized data models. It is released under an open-source license and maintained by a community of developers and institutional partners.

See also Open energy management; Microgrid.