Introduction
Renewable technology is moving very
fast, now we have different alternatives to generate clean and efficient
energy. There is solar, wind, hydro, ocean, hydrogen energy. Equally important
is the knowledge to store this energy and use it, has improve significantly.
Edmund Becquerel a French physicist is credited with discovering the photovoltaic effect in 1839. The first practical photovoltaic cell was invented at Bell Laboratories in 1954. The first electricity-generating wind turbine was invented in 1888 in Cleveland, Ohio by Charles F. Brush. As a group we opted to use both solar and wind energy as our renewable energy generators. Living in Puerto Rico close to the Equator we have a high amount of light time that can be used for our photovoltaic system. In recent years thanks to the study of power electronics there’s been an advance in the technology of inverters, now we can transform DC to AC with better efficiency. Also battery storage systems have seen its share of improvements with several new technologies and new types of batteries, for instance the Lithium-Ion batteries. The first commercial lithium batteries appear in 1991. This new battery can store more energy and have a slow loss of charge. Furthermore we must take a look at the best way to charge our battery storage system, with charge controllers we can assure the quickest charge possible and make sure the batteries doesn’t discharge to the point where it’s no longer useful. Home automation is also a growing field, recently becoming more feasible, with a more commercial approach, and a very important part of our design. The study of microprocessors or programmable logic controllers has made it possible to control and monitor certain hardware.
Collaborating with New Energy Consultants, a native Puerto Rican company, has been engaged in the design, installation and sale or lease of solar photovoltaic systems to residential and commercial customers since 2007, together we plan to design a system, where we can bring the customer a way to fully live off-grid but at the same time have the public grid (PREPA) as backup.
Therefore a generating system producing the desired energy will be installed. Our charge controller will charge the batteries and monitor them. Equally important, the inverters transform the DC into AC, so the energy can be used in the house. At the same time a controller will monitor the house energy consumption, operating the house in different modes. While each of these modes will have a specific purpose, to conserve the energy in the batteries and make sure the house is running properly.
Edmund Becquerel a French physicist is credited with discovering the photovoltaic effect in 1839. The first practical photovoltaic cell was invented at Bell Laboratories in 1954. The first electricity-generating wind turbine was invented in 1888 in Cleveland, Ohio by Charles F. Brush. As a group we opted to use both solar and wind energy as our renewable energy generators. Living in Puerto Rico close to the Equator we have a high amount of light time that can be used for our photovoltaic system. In recent years thanks to the study of power electronics there’s been an advance in the technology of inverters, now we can transform DC to AC with better efficiency. Also battery storage systems have seen its share of improvements with several new technologies and new types of batteries, for instance the Lithium-Ion batteries. The first commercial lithium batteries appear in 1991. This new battery can store more energy and have a slow loss of charge. Furthermore we must take a look at the best way to charge our battery storage system, with charge controllers we can assure the quickest charge possible and make sure the batteries doesn’t discharge to the point where it’s no longer useful. Home automation is also a growing field, recently becoming more feasible, with a more commercial approach, and a very important part of our design. The study of microprocessors or programmable logic controllers has made it possible to control and monitor certain hardware.
Collaborating with New Energy Consultants, a native Puerto Rican company, has been engaged in the design, installation and sale or lease of solar photovoltaic systems to residential and commercial customers since 2007, together we plan to design a system, where we can bring the customer a way to fully live off-grid but at the same time have the public grid (PREPA) as backup.
Therefore a generating system producing the desired energy will be installed. Our charge controller will charge the batteries and monitor them. Equally important, the inverters transform the DC into AC, so the energy can be used in the house. At the same time a controller will monitor the house energy consumption, operating the house in different modes. While each of these modes will have a specific purpose, to conserve the energy in the batteries and make sure the house is running properly.