Modified adaptive perturb and observe maximum power point tracking algorithm for higher effiency in photovoltaic system

Due to the continuous variation in temperature and solar irradiance, P–V characteristics curve of a photovoltaic (PV) system exhibit a non-linear, time-varying Maximum Power Point (MPP). Furthermore, the tracking becomes more complicated when the PV array is partially shaded due to the presence of multiple peaks. This work proposes a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithm named Modified Adaptive Perturb and Observe (MA-P&O) to address two main limitations of the conventional Perturb and Observe (P&O), namely the steady state oscillation and the divergence from the MPP. At the same time, it locates the global peak during partial shading. The MA-P&O is equipped with an intelligent mechanism to detect the steady state oscillation, and then deploy an adaptive perturbation procedure to reduce it to the minimum. Furthermore, to avoid operating voltage from diverging from its locus, a dynamic boundary condition is imposed. For partial shading, an effective checking mechanism to precisely detect partial shading occurrence is suggested. In addition, an improved set of equation is developed to detect the exact position of local peaks under partial shading. To assess its feasibility, the proposed ideas are simulated using comprehensive PV simulator. For practical validation, the algorithm is implemented in hardware using a buck-boost converter in conjunction with dSPACE DS1104 DSP board. It is demonstrated that under the dynamic irradiance and partial shading test, the MA-P&O ensures the MPPT efficiency is 99.5%. Furthermore, when evaluated against the European Standard EN 50530 test, the MA-P&O records a 98.6% efficiency; this is up to 18% higher than the conventional and other adaptive P&O. Finally, MA-P&O is tested with a tropical daily irradiance and temperature profile. It is found that MA-P&O successfully ensures 99.2%, which is on average 3% higher than the other P&O based algorithms

Basic Home Automation Using Smart Sockets with Power Management

The power generated in today’s time is dominated using fossil fuels that may get exhausted within the coming decades. Monitoring and management of the energy consumption hold a prime standing due to the discrepancy between power demand and production. Power meters are a part of every household, which provides us with a measurement of the overall power consumed in units. The problem with them is that they do not provide us with the individual consumption of an electrical appliance leaving customers unsatisfied with the electricity bills. This paper presents the design and application of a smart power management system (SPMS) using a variety of sensors combined with an Arduino microcontroller. This will be replacing conventional home sockets with smart sockets, allowing us to cover the monitoring, control and safety aspects of any individual appliance in the house. This system is based on a newly evolving field worldwide, called the Internet of Things (IoT). The SPMS will be measuring the current, voltage, power factor and power consumed. Along with these measurements, it can also control the power state of the device and help protect against overvoltage and overcurrent. This is basically a home automation system, in combination with smart power management, all controlled and monitored by our smartphones. The edge this device has over conventional energy monitoring systems is that it allows the user to have an exact idea of individual power consumption plus the billing on a daily basis and take measures to reduce it

Modified Series-Parallel Photovoltaic Configuration to Enhance Efficiency under Partial Shading

Partial shading is a phenomenon where photovoltaics (PV) array experiences irregular level of irradiances. Such mismatch can cause a significant reduction in power yield. To mitigate the effect of partial shading, PV modules in an array are connected in various configurations namely Series-Parallel (SP), Total-Cross-Tied (TCT), Bridge-Linked (BL) and Honey-Comb (HC) etc. However, all these techniques introduce redundancy and complexity while improving the performance by very little. In this paper, a new PV configuration is proposed to solve the limitations of the existing PV configurations. The proposed configuration is a modified version of SP, hence referred as MSP configuration. To justify the performance of the proposed scheme, several experiments have been carried in MATLAB Simulink. Total 14 partial shading cases are simulated to compare the output performance between generic SP and proposed MSP configuration. The proposed MSP configuration is validated to be superior compared to normal SP configuration under majority of the cases. Depending on shading pattern, the efficiency of the PV array can be enhanced up to 37%, if MSP configuration is implemented

A comprehensive review on PV configurations to maximize power under partial shading

Partial shading is the condition where PV array experiences different level of irradiances on it which results significant reduction in output power. To handle that issue, PV modules are connected in various configurations as reported in the literature. Different connection schemes of the PV modules provide alternative paths to current flow that eventually improve power attainment under partial shading. A comprehensive study of literature shows that PV modules are connected under different schemes namely simple series (SS), parallel (P), series-parallel (SP), total-cross-tied (TCT), bridge-linked (BL) and honey-comb (HC). In this paper, a comprehensive review is performed to highlight the advantages and limitations of each scheme. To validate the findings from literature review, several experiments are carried out on various configurations in MATLAB Simulink. Three different cases namely unshaded, corner shaded and centre shaded conditions are used in the experiments to analyse the output characteristics. The superiority of various configurations in distinct operating conditions is demonstrated by comparing their maximum power output, relative power loss and fill factor. Based on the results, several recommendations are made on how to handle partial shading by using different PV configurations

Design and implementation of a quadruped amphibious robot using duck feet

Roaming complexity in terrains and unexpected environments pose significant difficulties in robotic exploration of an area. In a broader sense, robots have to face two common tasks during exploration, namely, walking on the drylands and swimming through the water. This research aims to design and develop an amphibious robot, which incorporates a webbed duck feet design to walk on different terrains, swim in the water, and tackle obstructions on its way. The designed robot is compact, easy to use, and also has the abilities to work autonomously. Such a mechanism is implemented by designing a novel robotic webbed foot consisting of two hinged plates. Because of the design, the webbed feet are able to open and close with the help of water pressure. Klann linkages have been used to convert rotational motion to walking and swimming for the animal’s gait. Because of its amphibian nature, the designed robot can be used for exploring tight caves, closed spaces, and moving on uneven challenging terrains such as sand, mud, or water. It is envisaged that the proposed design will be appreciated in the industry to design amphibious robots in the near future

A review of available hybrid renewable energy systems in Malaysia

The utilization of conventional sources of energy releases harmful pollutants to the environment causing global warming and acid rain. For that reason, it becomes necessary to use a non-depletable, sustainable and eco-friendly renewable energy as a mean of producing electricity. Malaysia is tropical country rich in resources beneficial in electricity generation as it is in equatorial region therefore it has an abundance of solar irradiance of average annually. In addition, Malaysia’s demand in electricity is increasing to 124,677 GWh by 2020. Therefore, the electricity generation from renewable sources in Malaysia is anticipated to grow in the future alongside the government endorsement due to its clean, eco-friendly and free source of energy which can highly reduce the dependency on oil and gas that emits harmful pollutants to the environment. This paper gives a comprehensive review on the renewable projects and researches in Malaysia, challenges that affect popularity of renewable energy in Malaysia and available and successful renewable energy system in Malaysia

Wind Power Integration with Smart Grid and Storage System: Prospects and Limitations

Wind power generation is playing a pivotal role in adopting renewable energy sources in many countries. Over the past decades, we have seen steady growth in wind power generation throughout the world. This article aims to summarize the operation, conversion and integration of the wind power with conventional grid and local microgrids so that it can be a one-stop reference for early career researchers. The study is carried out primarily based on the horizontal axis wind turbine and the vertical axis wind turbine. Afterward, the types and methods of storing this electric power generated are discussed elaborately. On top of that, this paper summarizes the ways of connecting the wind farms with conventional grid and microgrid to portray a clear picture of existing technologies. Section-wise, the prospects and limitations are discussed and opportunities for future technologies are highlighted. It is envisaged that, this paper will help researchers and engineering professionals to grasp the fundamental concepts related to wind power generation concisely and effectively

A comprehensive scientometric analysis on hybrid renewable energy systems in developing regions of the world

Energy crises, increasing electricity prices, and having no access to the grid electricity are the leading issues in developing countries of Asia, the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Developing hybrid renewable energy systems in off-grid or grid-connected modes is the best way to overcome developing countries' economic and energy crises. However, the development of hybrid renewable energy systems faces severe technical and related economic challenges. This article provides an updated and comprehensive resource and economic overview of developed hybrid renewable energy systems in different locations in these aforementioned regions. The resource assessment shows that for economical hybrid energy system the average annual wind speed and average annual solar radiation should be 5 m/s and 5 KWh/m^2 respectively. This paper also provides a big picture of renewable energy impacts, challenges in the architecture of hybrid systems, and key organizations working in this domain in the developing regions. According to our review, hybrid optimization model for electric renewable, particle swarm optimization and genetic algorithm are frequently used tools for the optimization and sizing of hybrid energy systems. The map of hybrid renewable energy system research in developing regions is not available. Our study gives energy scenario and clear map of hybrid energy in developing regions of the world. The scientometric review of 2000 bibliographic data obtained from the Scopus database to perform co-author and co-occurrence analysis in this study. The data is used to trace the research pattern and thus to identify the most impactful authors, institutions, and countries in the hybrid renewable energy systems domain to obtain recommendations and make policies for the future uninterrupted and carbon dioxide emission free energy systems. The results of scientometric analysis shows that the Wang X. is the most prolific author, while India and Tanta University are the most productive country and institution in this domain. The scientometric analysis result will be beneficial in determining the future research directions in the hybrid renewable energy systems field

Comprehensive review on the feasibility of developing wave energy as a renewable energy resource in Australia

The facts are that increasing energy demand, depletion of fossil fuel, and greenhouse gas emissions have increased the world's interest in renewable energy. Out of all RE options, Wave Energy (WE) is the least harnessed one despite the availability of WE Resource (WERs) in many countries and with the potential to cover a significant proportion of the world's energy needs. Australia, mainly in the southern part of the country, has plenty of this resource. Although recently, the Australian Government has started to focus on WERs as a Renewable Energy Source (RES) to cope with the energy crisis, research suggests that the country's progress in the WE generation to meet the energy demand is well below the potential generation capacity. However, insufficient research and studies address the issues and technologies in detail. This study examines the viability of further developing WE as a renewable energy source in Australia by evaluating the current constraints and challenges to achieving a satisfactory level of WE generation in the country. As a result, this study emphasizes the trustworthiness of WE in terms of several criteria. The availability of WERs within Australia and the status of producing WE are reviewed in this study. It also highlighted certain Australian technologies and devices that are now being tested or deployed in real-time. Moreover, this review is expanded by comparing the key developers in the WE sector to Australia to uncover some of the contributing elements in other countries that may have contributed to the growth of the WE generation in other nations. Finally, some of the barriers identified are lack of high-resolution data and social & environmental challenges. Some recommendations are given in the latter part of the review to accelerate WE production in Australia

Sizing and economic analysis of stand-alone hybrid photovoltaic-wind system for rural electrification: A case study Lundu, Sarawak

Energy Consumption has been increasing at an alarming rate due to the growing energy need. More and more non-renewable sources are harvested to fulfill the energy demand resulting in and rising environmental health issues. However, harvesting Solar and Wind energy is considered as the best alternative in generating energy as these resources are renewable. Hybrid Renewable Energy System (HRES) has been grabbed the attention recently, as it involves with renewable, environmentally friendly sources to generate energy. The limitation of single Renewable Energy (RE) system is overcome by systems such as HRES. Even though it has been introduced different sizing and optimization techniques, due to the lack of system function, it had posed issues in calculating the optimized cost of a hybrid system considering the solar, wind resources and load demand as the optimization of the system cannot be predicted accurately. The aim of this research was to obtain optimization of a Hybrid PV-wind system in term of sizing and cost over the 20 years of the period of interest. The simulation of the PV-Wind Hybrid system using MATLAB for the verification purpose. This work includes detailed calculation using the Life Cycle Cost method for identifying all possible combinations. The combination of eleven Solar Panels, one Wind Turbine and nine Batteries was identified as the optimal Combination with LCC of RM 221,329.97 and has been verified using simulation results. Lastly, a sensitivity test was carried out using the exiting results of verified by the simulation to identify the most deterministic system in affecting LCC of the Hybrid system. Further, total Cost distribution for the Optimized hybrid PV-Wind system was conducted and identified that 50% of system cost was contributed by the Wind turbine. Determination of LCC, was done as a combination of Component and Operation costs. It was identified that Replacement cost contributed the highest while Wind turbine showed the highest Operation cost from the system cost. Thus, this work was included with the sensitivity test assuming 10% price increment for each component and it was concluded that price changes in Wind turbine results the greatest difference in LCC while further verified with the results of the simulation