Project overview
This proposal outlines a scheme for integrating renewable energy sources in a domestic context. A key difficulty in integrating small energy sources in a conventional distributed generation scheme is the requirement for a connecting to the existing utility. This requires matching the output of all the generators to the current utility supply, without adversely affecting the power quality or safety. This type of approach has difficult engineering problems to be addressed and is costly, both in terms of the engineering involved but also with regard to the regulatory framework. Intelligent control of the flow oi power from the energy sources, whether from the existing utility or from renewable generators, without the need for network protection or synchronisation. The idea behind this proposal is to use a local supply to drive local loads, without connecting directly to the existing utility. Intelligent control of the generation of power, energy storage and its supply to single or groups of electrical appliances is used to optimise the efficiency of the renewable generators and its delivery to the loads. Environmental monitoring and load analysis help to automatically control the supply and demand profiles for optimum electrical and economic efficiency by taking into account load usage and weather conditions. Simulations of typical scenarios have been carried out to illustrate the concept. and the research is intended to verifv and refine these oreliminarv results in a practical context.
Research outputs
Suleiman Abu-Sharkh, RJ Arnold, J Kohler, R Li, Tomas Markvart, J.N. Ross, K Steemers, Peter R. Wilson & R Yao,
2006, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 10(2), 78-127
Type: article