Open-Source Power Flow Tools Benchmarked Against PowerFactory
The scientific article “Open Source Module for the Investigation of the Impact of Electric Vehicles in a Low Voltage Grid”, authored by Luca Giorgi, Artjoms Obushevs and Petr Korba from the Institute of Energy Systems and Fluid Engineering at Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), presents a rigorous comparison of three open-source power system analysis tools: pandapower, PyPSA and OpenDSS.
In that study, the authors compare these open-source tools against the commercial reference software PowerFactory. Their conclusion is clear: all three open-source tools are capable of reproducing PowerFactory results with high fidelity, achieving an average error below 2% across the tested scenarios. This confirms that modern open-source tools are mature enough for serious engineering work in distribution network and EV integration studies.
Why This Matters for Electrisim
At Electrisim, we have implemented both pandapower and OpenDSS under the hood of our web-based application. By building on the same engines validated in the ZHAW study, we bring state-of-the-art load flow and time-series capabilities into an accessible browser environment – without requiring local installations, scripting expertise or commercial licenses.
Our goal is to make professional-grade power system analysis available to more engineers, students and researchers worldwide. Whether you are exploring EV integration, planning grid reinforcements or teaching power system fundamentals, Electrisim lets you leverage the strength of these open-source tools through an intuitive graphical interface.
Read the Original Research
For full technical details, methodology and validation results, we encourage you to read the original ZHAW paper, available via the ZHAW digital collection:
Support Accessible Power System Analysis
At Electrisim, we believe advanced analysis tools should not be locked behind expensive desktop licenses. By combining validated open-source solvers with a cloud-native interface, we are building a platform that lowers the barrier to high-quality power system studies.
Want to support the future of accessible power system analysis and follow our progress?
- Subscribe to Electrisim updates and follow our development journey.
- Try the app in your browser and experiment with load flow and EV integration scenarios.