Diagrams, templates and import

Diagram Templates

Templates are ready single-line diagrams. Create a new file and pick one instead of drawing the network from an empty page. The dialog groups them by category. The diagram file is downloaded when you select a tile, so the rest of the app stays the same size.

Many templates are public benchmark networks drawn from pandapower, the open-source power-system library. Electrisim draws the single-line diagram. The network data, and the credit for it, stay with pandapower and the authors named in each row. Transmission cases use pandapower’s power system test cases. CIGRE, MV Oberrhein, Kerber, Dickert, the synthetic low-voltage grids, and the IEEE European LV feeder use the matching pandapower network pages linked below.

Those networks were prepared so Load Flow converges with the dialog defaults: Newton-Raphson, voltage angles Auto, initialization Auto. Very large cases (about 1,000 buses and above) take longer to open because the diagram itself is large. Choosing a category does not download every file in it.

Basic

Renewables

Transmission

Most of this category is a pandapower test case drawn as a single-line diagram. Two diagrams come from elsewhere: the IEEE 118-bus drawing, and the 10-bus Italian Hypergrid study.

Distribution

CIGRE

The earlier Distribution template “Cigre MV network” is now CIGRE MV all DER in this category, together with the HV, plain MV, PV-and-wind, and LV benchmarks. All five are the CIGRE Task Force C6.04.02 systems as provided by pandapower.

Low voltage

German and European low-voltage benchmarks, again from pandapower. Kerber’s open-ring grids assume a homogeneous load and are a weak short-circuit model.

Tutorials

These diagrams are worked examples for one study. The IEEE 118-bus and IEEE 300-bus tutorial cards are short guides to the public pandapower cases. The full single-line diagrams of those networks are under Transmission.

Testing with other software

Importing Network Models

If you already have a pandapower script or an OpenDSS circuit file, import it instead of redrawing the network. Electrisim builds the single-line diagram from the file, then you can edit parameters and run studies as usual.

How to import

1. Save a pandapower .py file that defines a net object, or an OpenDSS .dss circuit file.
2. In Electrisim, choose File → Import from → Device....
3. Select the file. Buses, lines, transformers, loads, generators, and (for OpenDSS) capacitors/reactors are placed on the canvas.
4. Check rated voltages and names, then run Load Flow.

Import native files in Electrisim

Supported native formats:

• Pandapower (.py) — Python scripts that define a net object. The network will be converted to a diagram with buses, lines, transformers, loads, generators, and other elements.
• OpenDSS (.dss) — OpenDSS circuit definition files. Buses, lines, transformers, loads, generators, capacitors, and reactors (including harmonic filters) are imported and displayed as a single-line diagram.

After import, the diagram is created automatically on the canvas. You can then run simulations, modify parameters, or export the model.

Component Data

Component Data is a spreadsheet of every element on the diagram. Use it when you need to change many parameters at once, or to review ratings without opening each dialog.

How to use it

1. Open Component Data.... Each element type has its own tab (buses, lines, loads, generators, wind turbines, and so on).
2. Filter or sort a column, then edit cells directly.
3. Click Apply to write values back to the diagram, or Cancel to discard.

The Line tab includes thermal limit max_loading_percent for OPF (0 = no limit). The Bus tab includes min_vm_pu and max_vm_pu for OPF voltage bounds.

Maps

The Map Editor lets you design networks on a geographic map. Place buses and equipment at real coordinates, draw cables, and get line lengths from geography instead of typing kilometres by hand.

Map Editor tutorial

Watch on YouTube

How to use the Map Editor

1. Open the Map Editor from the application menu.
2. Place nodes — Pick an element (Bus, Wind Turbine, External Grid, Transformer, …) and click the map.
3. Draw cables — Use Draw Cable: click start, optional intermediate points, then the end node. Length in km comes from the coordinates.
4. Click Generate Electrical Model to create the schematic with those line lengths, then run Load Flow as usual.

When to use a map

The Maps feature is especially useful for:

• Offshore wind farms — Model turbine arrays, offshore substations, and export cables with realistic distances.
• Distribution networks — Build models from geographic layouts where line lengths matter.
• Transmission planning — Place substations and lines on a map and get correct line lengths for power flow and short-circuit analysis.

After generating the model, you can run load flow, short-circuit, and other analyses as usual. The diagram can be edited further in the standard Electrisim editor.