Research Transcripts in Energy

Experimental Studies on Developed Direct Solar Dryer for Conversion of Grapes into Raisins with Temperature Control

2022-01-29T19:05:48+00:00

This chapter presents the experimental studies of the temperature variations in developed direct solar dryer while conversion of grapes into raisins. Optimum temperature of solar drying of grapes is in the range 28^oC to 55^oC so a small DC fan and speed control device running with solar PV panel is attached to the dryer to control the temperature in the dryer. The solar dryer is a flat plate solar collector with an aperture area as 2972.65cm². Experiments were performed without and with load, and the temperature profiles are reported. During load experiments with the developed solar dryer, the weight of 1kg of grapes reduced to 0.260 kg in five days and raisins were developed. The efficiency of the system was found to be in the range 4% to 7%. The efficiency of the system can be further improved with load optimization and slight modifications to make it suitable for households and cottage industries.

Design and Analysis of Solar Water Pumping System

2022-01-29T19:26:17+00:00

According to the current state of the art, stand-alone photovoltaic installations are increasingly intended for water pumping, and have become a very competitive solution for remote areas. Indeed, photovoltaic pumping systems can offer the advantage of the lowest maintenance and the opportunity to save energy. Therefore, the simplest solar water pumping systems are the ones that operate directly when the sun is shining, but the performance of these systems depends on climatic conditions including solar irradiation and ambient temperature. However, in a remote area these installations do not require electrical storage systems despite the various climatic conditions. This work concerns the design, modeling and functional analysis of a photovoltaic water pumping system operating under the sun, with a view to its installation in an isolated area so that the water stored in a tank is consumed in real time or in case of need even if the pumping operation is not operational. The simulation is carried out using Matlab/Simulink environment, to evaluate the pumping installation performances. The simulation results show that the pumping system works as desired.

Study of Thermal Comfort for Office / Institute Buildings Based on CARBSE Tool and Suggestive Passive Measures for Kota

2022-01-30T08:07:20+00:00

The chapter presents a study of thermal comfort conditions and suggestions for passive measures for naturally ventilated daytime operated buildings which serve as offices and institutes. The study is reported for Kota, Rajasthan, India. For the study, weather and comfort analysis tool developed by Centre for Advanced Research in Building Science and Energy (CARBSE) has been used to estimate the distribution of operating hours in terms of too hot, warm, comfortable, cold and too cold hours. Temperature and humidity distribution with the operating hours are presented. The estimated requirement for operation modes of the buildings in form of natural ventilation, heating, mild cooling, cooling, cooling-dehumidification and dehumidification is reported and on basis of their analysis suggestive passive measures suitable for Kota region are discussed to enhance thermal comfort and reduce energy consumption. Major requirements in Kota are for natural ventilation (28%), mild cooling (27%) and cooling (22%). Thus, the passive measures such as light paint, shading, roof gardens, high reflective coating, low emissivity coating on windows, improving ventilation etc. would be suitable for Kota.

Industrial Waste Water Treatment Using Natural Filtration and Solar Distillation Methods

2022-01-30T08:23:43+00:00

The need of fresh water is vital for human survival and fulfillment of demand has become serious concern in countries having limited water resources. Large amount of water from industries is wasted daily all over the world, which can be reused by proper water treatment. This present work discusses the methods of waste water treatment using filtration and solar distillation methodology. The samples of industrial waste water were collected from chemical and fertilizer industry in Kota, Rajasthan. The pH, TDS and dissolved oxygen values of waste water samples and water after treatment was tested and results of different waste water samples are reported. Ammonia, cement and carbide waste water samples having TDS 310,510 and 268 PPM were treated using filtration and solar distillation methods. The treated water after filtration had TDS 274,460 and 208 PPM respectively. The treated water after solar distillation had TDS 107, 288 and 98 PPM. The obtained values of TDS, pH, and dissolved oxygen after combined treatment of filtration and distillation are close to standard values required for potable water.

Experimental Study of Electrical Outputs for Air-Blower Cleaned, Water Cleaned and Unclean Solar PV Panels

2022-01-30T09:27:49+00:00

This article reports the experimental study of the electrical output of the solar PV panels in the form of current and voltage values with and without cleaning of the panels. Experiments were performed with three identical 40 watt solar PV panels placed on the rooftop for on-field observations. One panel was not cleaned, second was cleaned with an air blower and third was cleaned with water. Current, voltage and temperatures of the panels were recorded along with the ambient air temperature and global solar radiation. Results show that the current and voltage values are higher for the water cleaned panel, followed by the air cleaned panel. The temperatures are generally higher for the unclean panel, followed by blower cleaned and then the water cleaned panel. There is a difference of about 2W power output between the water cleaned and unclean panel, with water cleaned panel on the higher side. This accounts for about 5% of the power capacity of the panels.

Design, Development and Experimental Study of Solar PV Air Cooler

2022-01-30T09:42:00+00:00

The article describes the design-development and experimental studies of a solar PV based evaporative air cooler. The solar air cooler has been designed with a DC pump (36 W) and DC motor (36 W). Experiments have been conducted with different wattage solar panels (75W, 100W and 115W) connected to air cooler. Solar charge controller and battery are added to the system for reliable operation. Several experiments were conducted on the developed solar air cooler to assess its performance with different solar panels, with and without battery and with and without tracking. The combination of 40 W and 75 W panel (115 W) with manual tracking without battery backup worked well for the developed solar cooler for 7-8 hours during clear summer days. The solar cooler worked from 10 a.m. in the morning to 5:00 p.m. in the evening. Experiments indicate that a solar panel of power higher than 115 W would work well for the solar air cooler. The cooler can run for around 7-8 hours without battery and battery can provide back up for around 3-4 hours.

Design and Implementation of MPPT Based Boost Converter Topology for Photovoltaic System

2022-01-30T09:49:17+00:00

The analysis and study of photovoltaic system is gaining utmost popularity since a decade. Unlike Conventional source of energy, solar energy is considered more beneficial because it’s renewable in nature, clean source of energy, abundantly available and can easily be generated. There is an increase in demand for generation of electricity even now, due to which researchers are looking for new implementations in the generation of electricity. The output of Solar Photovoltaic is highly dependent on quantity of irradiance dropping on the solar cell. Solar energy holds many applications amongst which Solar Photovoltaic power generation exhibits efficient utilization of solar energy. Since the efficiency of a solar cell is lesser, MPPT is employed in Photovoltaic power generation system to track maximum output power irrespective of irradiance, temperature and electrical load characteristics. In this chapter, MPPT based step-up(boost) converter topology is implemented. The output of the Photovoltaic is fed to boost converter as a connection between Photovoltaic and the load to step up the voltage. The entire operation of step-up converter for Photovoltaic system with MPPT algorithm is analyzed using MATLAB Simulink Software.

A Novel PID Using A Genetic Algorithm to Track The Maximum Power Point of The PV System

2022-01-30T09:58:19+00:00

Incremental demand for electrical energy and the resulting increase in environmental problems are the main reasons forcing managers in the energy sector to expand the use of renewable energy sources in the production of electricity. In the future, the use of renewable energy systems will be increased and will play a very important role in the economic indices of power systems. The hybrid energy systems use two or more renewable energy sources, to increase the reliability and profitability of the installation. This article proposes a new application of the proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller based on genetic algorithms and the P&O method to effectively reach the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) of solar panel. To evaluate the efficiency and profitability of the proposed methodology, a comparison study of this method with the classical P&O method was carried out.

Photovoltaic Generation System and Grid Source Connected to Load Using qZ Source

2022-01-30T10:07:03+00:00

The consumption of fossil fuels is increasingly necessary because of the need for electric power despite the fact that the emission of gas increases pollution and global warming of our planet. Therefore, renewable energies such as solar, wind, hydraulic, etc. are promising solutions that help to overcome the problems with which our world is confronted. In this work, we will present a power structure to harvest the maximum possible amount of energy from a photovoltaic system as a main source of renewable energy. The topology used for the adaptation between the power source and the load is based on qZ source because of its advantages, mainly this type of adapter is used to interface the low direct voltage to high direct voltage to reduce the stages of converters and semiconductor components. The validity of the proposed technique is proven by the analysis of the results obtained from the MatLab / Simulink simulation.

Control and Management of a Photovoltaic System Equipped with a Storage Battery

2022-01-30T10:15:02+00:00

Solar-powered electricity production systems require the use of storage systems in order to ensure continuity of service when the irradiation and temperature do not allow sufficient power production for the load. However, the functioning of the storage system is coordinated by a specific installation specification. This work deals with the modeling and control of photovoltaic system used a storage battery on an isolated site. The solar conversion chain considered as well as the converter and fuzzy MPPT strategy commands were programmed under the MatLab / Simulink environment and the simulation results agree with the theories regardless of the variations in meteorological conditions.