To plan and install microgrids correctly, engineering modelling is needed. Multiple simulation tools and optimization tools exist to model the economic and electric effects of microgrids. A widely used economic optimization tool is the Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM) from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Another is HOMER (Hybrid Optimization Model for Multiple Energy Resources), originally developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. There are also some power flow and electrical design tools guiding microgrid developers. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory designed the publicly available GridLAB-D tool and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) designed OpenDSS. A European tool that can be used for electrical, cooling, heating, and process heat demand simulation is EnergyPLAN from Aalborg University in Denmark. The open source grid planning tool OnSSET has been deployed to investigate microgrids using a three‑tier analysis beginning with settlement archetypes (case‑studied using Bolivia).
