Research and innovation in power electronics systems applied to energy management

The Power Electronics Systems Group (GSEP) at University Carlos III de Madrid (Spain) offers its wide experience and background in consultancy, R&D projects with private and public funding and pre-industrial prototype building in four main topics: energy conversion (design, modelling and prototyping of equipments and systems), magnetic components modelling and design, photovoltaic systems and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)

The introduction of space technology power systems into developing countries

Between 1978 and 1984, NASA-Lewis was responsible for the design, fabrication, installation and operational support of 57 photovoltaic power systems in 27 countries. These systems were installed in locations not served by a central power system and ranged in size from 40 W for powering street lights to 29 kW for providing power to a complete village. Several of the system projects had socio/economic studies components that provided for an assessment of how the introduction of both electricity and a novel high technology power system affected the users and their society

Solar Photovoltaic System

The history of solar cell development is briefly outlined, and the properties of the sun and solar radiation are reviewed. Properties of semiconductor materials that are important in the design and operation of solar cells are reviewed. The physical mechanisms involved in the generation and recombination of excess carriers are discussed and the basic equations of device physics are given. Both the dark and illuminated properties of p-n junctions are analyzed. Energy conversion efficiency limits are discussed for the photovoltaic process as well as the effects of various nonidealities on efficiency. Techniques for measuring the efficiency of photovoltaic devices are also described. The standard technology for making silicon solar cells is reviewed, and improved silicon cell technology is discussed. Considerations relevant to the detailed design of silicon cells are discussed. Several alternative device concepts are outlined and the structure and properties of solar cells made on some of the more developed alternatives to single-crystal silicon are discussed. Concentrating systems and photovoltaic systems components and applications are described. The design of stand-alone, residential, and centralized photovoltaic power systems is discussed. Solar photovoltaic modules are where the electricity gets generated but are only one of the many parts in a complete photovoltaic (PV) system. In order for the generated electricity to be useful in a home or business, a number of other technologies must be in place

Concentrated photovoltaic thermal systems:A component-by-component view on the developments in the design, heat transfer medium and applications

The need of the hour in present world scenario is to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and environmental pollution whilst satisfying the world energy demands. The most promising and readily available source of energy over the whole world is solar energy. One of the ways of taping this energy into useful energy is using Concentrated Photovoltaic Thermal systems. The paper presents the advanced comprehensive review on the design components of Concentrated Photovoltaic Thermal, heat transfer medium, recent application area such as Tissue Dyeing, domestic hot water, Organic Rankine Cycle, and the economic aspect of the Concentrated Photovoltaic Thermal system. Furthermore, the review paper simplifies the classification into two systems namely thermally coupled and thermally decoupled systems. Concentrated Photovoltaic Thermal shows potential to deliver better gains compared to Concentrated Photovoltaic, Photovoltaic and Photovoltaic Thermal. But matching the different components like the heat transfer component and the medium for specific use is an area that requires research. Therefore, this review concentrates more on the advantages and limitations of using different heat transfer components and heat transfer medium. The benefits of this paper would be the understanding of the components of the heat transport system like fins, microchannel, storage tank and underground heat exchangers and the fluid used in the Concentrated Photovoltaic Thermal integrated system like water, air, nanofluids, Phase Change Materials. It is found that the heat transfer device performance is limited due to its large area, thermal losses, mirror effect on the thermal and electrical efficiencies, and the temperature difference between the sink and device. Likewise, the performance of the heat transfer fluid is dependent on the mass flow rate, thermal mass, viscosity, density, time and the required temperature. Finally, for economic feasibility of the Concentrated Photovoltaic Thermal system requires the need for a grid connected system with properly sized system with feed-in-tariff and carbon incentives. Furthermore, the recommendation for heat transfer device, medium and economic aspect is also presented. However, more experimental research is required to further understand the compatibility of each components with Concentrating Photovoltaic Thermal System as presented in way forward

Energy Efficient Photovoltaic Systems using Thermoelectric Cooling System

Dual thermoelectric-photovoltaic (TE-PV) systems are a type of solar energy technology that combines two different technologies to generate electricity by concentrating solar radiation. These systems use a solar concentrator to focus sunlight onto a photovoltaic cell and a thermoelectric generator. The aim of this paper is to develop a dual thermoelectric-photovoltaic system with a water-cooled heat sink to generate electricity from concentrated solar radiation through Fresnel lenses.In addition, the detailed design for the components that will be integrated into an experimental prototype of the dual system on a laboratory scale is carried out and its functionality is determined. Finally, its functionality is evaluated and achieved an estimated maximum power of 1.5 Watts

Development of a software solution for solar-PV power systems sizing and monitoring

Power systems sizing and monitoring are very important design components in determining the overall performance of solar-photovoltaic (PV) systems. These design components represent the pre-installation and post-installation stages of solar-PV systems planning respectively, and paying adequate attention to them can go a long way to increasing the working life of solar-PV system installations. The SolarHelper developed in this work is a small software solution package that monitors and records vital system variables that will give the state and performance of an existing solar-PV installation at any given time; and it is able to accurately provide a simulated output of the required battery storage capacity, and PV array size based on load demands

Towards the Energy Transition of the Building Stock with BIPV: Innovations, Gaps and Potential Steps for a Widespread Use of Multifunctional PV Components in the Building Envelope

The scenario that emerges from scientific research on the use of BIPV systems in architecture shows that photovoltaic technologies and systems have reached a significant development in production and installation, becoming a strategic approach in the field of energy efficiency and enabling a progressive decarbonisation of the building stock. Still, knowledge and methods of architectural integration are not fully developed, especially in Italy. The present paper reports the results of a research activity that, systematising the main criteria and indicators for assessing the integrability of BIPVs in architecture, has led to the development of BIPV Product and Case Study Catalogues that define an up-to-date state of the art on aspects of design and technological innovation using BIPV systems and components. Catalogues have been created with the objective of contributing to the growth of knowledge on the most up-to-date methods of design by implementing a ‘technology transfer’ from good practice, in which photovoltaic systems are an integral part of the design concept and construction techniques of the architecture. The analysis related to the production of BIPV systems and components and their application in architectural projects allows one to highlight the main critical factors in the diffusion throughout the country and to identify the main research demand arising from the specific national situation

DESIGN AND SIMULATION OF A RESIDENTIAL PV-BATTERY SYSTEM

This thesis provides the design and simulation of a stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) system to ensure the load demands for a single residential in Houghton (MI) and Tucson (AZ). The fundamental activities of this study aim to model for particular stand-alone photovoltaic of components. Entire stand-alone design stages for used load data sets are carried out. Daily irradiance and load data are taken into consideration throughout the design stages. The Simulink program is developed to obtain simulation results to observe PV system and battery behaviors regarding various months which have most various irradiances throughout 30 days. Sizing of PV systems is conducted for Tucson and Houghton separately

Design of a Rooftop Photovoltaic Array for the George C. Gordon Library at Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Structural, Thermal, and Performance Analysis

In 2009, WPI formed a Presidential Task Force to engage the WPI community in sustainability research, thought, and action. One of the Presidential Task Force\u27s specific objectives is to improve campus environmental performance, which includes energy conservation. Several new buildings such as the Bartlett Center and East Hall have utilized new green building techniques and materials. Older buildings at WPI which were built before new green building techniques and materials were developed can be equipped with photovoltaic systems to reduce the environmental impact and increase clean energy use. This thesis presents a rooftop photovoltaic array design for the George C. Gordon library at WPI which is expected to produce over 27,000 kWh and offset over 56,000 lbs of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The materials science and engineering of the photovoltaic system components are an important part of the design process. Structural and thermal modeling of photovoltaic components during the initial phase of array design is critical to the success of the PV system and maximizing the energy from the system. This thesis presents how differences in photovoltaic materials and mounting systems result in changes in lifetime and reliability. Using common wind, ice, snow and hail loads for the Worcester, MA area ANSYSâ„¢ structural simulations show that an attached mounting system is more structurally stable than a ballasted system. Using local weather data and thermal cycling, ANSYSâ„¢ thermal simulations show that silicon PV modules outperform other technologies at lower temperatures while cadmium telluride PV modules outperform other technologies at higher temperatures. It is recommended that WPI install poly-silicon PV modules, such as Evergreen Solar PV modules, to maximize power output

Optimal Design and Simulation of a Grid-Connected Photovoltaic (PV) Power System for an Electrical Department in University of Tripoli, Libya

This paper presents the optimal design and simulation of a grid-connected Photovoltaic (PV) system to supply electric power to meet the energy demand by Electrical Department in University of Tripoli Libya. Solar radiation is the key factor determining electricity produced by photovoltaic (PV) systems. This paper is designed to develop a novel method to calculate the solar photovoltaic generation capacity on the basis of Mean Global Solar Radiation data available for Tripoli Libya and finally develop a system design of possible plant capacity for the available roof area. MatLab/Simulink Programming tools and monthly average solar radiation data are used for this design and simulation. The specifications of equipments are provided based on the availability of the components in the market. Simulation results and analyses are presented to validate the proposed system configuration