Implementation of Load Control for Smart Metering in Smart Grids

The conventional energy meters are not suitable for long operating purposes as they spend much human and material resources. Smart meters, on the other hand, are devices that perform advanced functions including electrical energy consumption recording of residential/industrial users, billing, real-time monitoring, and load balancing. In this chapter, a smart home prototype is designed and implemented. Appliances are powered by the grid during daytime, and a photovoltaic panel stored power during the night or in case of an electricity outage. Second, consumed power from both sources is sensed and further processed for cumulative energy, cost calculations and bill establishment for different proposed scenarios using LABVIEW software. Data are communicated using a USB data acquisition card (DAQ-USB 6008). Finally, a simulation framework using LABVIEW software models four houses each equipped with various appliances. The simulator predicts different power consumption profiles to seek of peak-demand reduction through a load control process.

Photovoltaic Module Electrical Efficiency Enhancement Using Nano Fluids and Nano-Paraffin

Today, photovoltaic modules have become accepted by the public and scientists in the production of clean electricity and as a possible alternative to electricity produced from fossil fuels. These modules suffer from a deterioration in their electrical efficiency as a result of their high temperature. Several researchers have proposed the use of high-efficiency hybrid photovoltaic (PV/T) systems that can cool PV modules and also produce hot water. Improving the PV modules’ electrical efficiency increases the investment attraction and commercialization of this technology. The possibility of restoring the electrical efficiency of the photovoltaic panel that was lost due to its high temperature was investigated in this study. A PV/T system designed to operate with a paraffin-filled thermal tank attached to the PV module was used. Inside the paraffin is a heat exchanger that circulates inside a nanofluid. This design is adopted to cool down the PV module temperature. The study was carried out in the climatic conditions of the month of May in the city of Baghdad - Iraq. The proposed PV/T system’s electrical efficiency was compared with similar systems from the literature. The proposed system has achieved an obvious enhancement as its electrical efficiency was 13.7%.

Simulation study of the photovoltaic panel under different operation conditions

<p>An increase in the temperature of the photovoltaic (PV) cells is a significant issue in most PV panels application. About 15–20% of solar radiation is converted to electricity by PV panels, and the rest converts to heat that affects their efficiency. This paper studies the effects of temperature distribution on the PV panel at different solar radiation values, temperatures under different operation conditions in January and July. A 3D model of the PV panel was simulated with ANSYS software, depending on the various values of temperatures and solar radiation values obtained using mathematic equations. The simulation results indicate that PV panel temperature lowered with solar radiation values lower in January, and the temperature was homogeneous on the PV panel surface. An increase in the solar radiation value and temperature in July led causes heating of the PV panel with observed a convergence of the maximum and average temperature of the panel. Thus, the PV panel temperature increase is directly proportional to the solar radiation increase that causes lower performance. Cooling the PV panel by passive or active cooling represents the optimum option to enhance their performance and avoid increasing the PV cells' temperature at temperature increase.</p>

A New SEPIC-Based DC-DC Converter with Coupled Inductors Suitable for High Step-Up Applications

In this paper, a new hybrid SEPIC dc-dc converter with coupled inductors suitable for photovoltaic applications is presented. First, how the new topology was derived will be presented, continuing with its analysis and design equation as a standalone dc-dc topology. The analysis will consist of a steady-state equations derivation, a static conversion ratio calculation based on which the semiconductor voltage and current stresses are evaluated and states the continuous conduction mode (CCM) operation conditions. The converter will then be simulated as a first validation of the theory using the dedicated Caspoc power electronics package. To finally validate the theoretical design, a prototype will be built in order to practically demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed solution and to reveal its main practical features and limitations. A comparative study to several other similar topologies will be carried out to identify its most desirable feature. Finally, an application of the new hybrid converter will consist of a complete solar energy conversion system using a photovoltaic panel. The maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm will be elaborated. The solar system together with the MPPT will first be modeled, then simulated and practically implemented and tested.

PI CONTROLLER FOR CONTROLLING A THREE-PHASE INVERTER OF A PV SYSTEM CONNECTED TO THE ELECTRICAL NETWORK

In order to improve the efficiency of photovoltaic panels it is necessary to introduce the technique of Maximum Power Point (the technique of the MPPT). In the literature, several strategies are mentioned, among which the perturbation and observation (P&O) algorithm. The aim of this work is to a simulation study in MATLAB of a photovoltaic panel connected to the network using DC-DC and DC-AC converters. DC Boost converter is checked by the MPPT command to adjust the output voltage of the photovoltaic panel and maximize the power produced by the photovoltaic panel. The PI controller is used to control the inverter three-phase to make the connection of the photovoltaic panel to a three-phase electrical network.