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Final Paper
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This project addresses one of the major issues in the power engineering industry where power generation and distribution companies are often faced with situations where the consumer power demand is very high, thus resulting in temporary blackouts or the re-scheduling of a unit’s maintenance which increases the risk of the unit’s sudden failure. Several transitions have been made in the power industry to try matching today’s growing power grid demand. Recently several municipalities converted their street lights from HPS lights to LED as a result of the heavy consumption. The proposed capstone project, if fully integrated in several cities, will remove a large load from the power grid mainly through the use of wind and solar energy. The prototype will optimize power output by utilizing a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) and a photovoltaic polycrystalline solar panel that will provide necessary energy for a LED light bulb. The choice of exploiting wind energy and solar energy is counteractive since wind energy is available at days where solar energy is missing. An IES type III Lighting distribution will be used to meet the minimum illuminance and luminosity that is set by the National Department of Transportation. The team will attempt to include an Arduino programmed dual-axis solar tracker that is expected to increase the solar panel’s electricity output by more than 25%. The team will try to overcome the complexities posed by the integration of this automated system, however a study has been done on optimizing power output by accurately calculating and positioning the solar panel in a way that it meets the exact altitude angle (α) and azimuthal angle (β) that are desired for a maximum energy output by the panel. Undergoing research will determine the specific type of polycrystalline panel, battery, controller, pole material, stepper or servo motors, and VAWT that will be featured in the system.
Due to the mobility of the prototype, this lighting system could potentially be the ultimate solution to reach certain remote areas in third world countries that do not have electricity or lighting in the areas concerned because power companies and governments do not want to spend a large sum of money to set up transmission lines.
Author(s):
Yazid Amrani
Mechanical Engineering
West Virginia University Institute of Technology
United States
Gaetan Tchewa
Mechanical Engineering
West Virginia University Institute of Technology
United States
Farshid Zabihian
West Virginia University Institute of Technology
United States