Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

An Economic Analysis Of Residential Photovoltaic Systems With And Without Energy Storage, Rodney Moses Kizito

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Residential photovoltaic (PV) systems serve as a source of electricity generation that is separate from the traditional utilities. Investor investment into residential PV systems provides several financial benefits such as federal tax credit incentives for installation, net metering credit from excess generated electricity added back to the grid, and savings in price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) from the PV system generation versus the increasing conventional utility price per kWh. As much benefit as stand-alone PV systems present, the incorporation of energy storage yields even greater benefits. Energy storage (ES) is capable of storing unused PV provided energy from daytime periods of …

Micro-Grid Implementation Of A Rooftop Photovoltaic System, Pranav Nitin Godse

Masters Theses

"In recent years, solar power has been a popular form of renewable energy. This research conducts a cost analysis in implementing a rooftop photovoltaic system as part of an energy management schema for a university campus. The proposed system would be installed on the roof of one of the largest buildings on campus at Missouri University of Science and Technology, Toomey Hall; the objective function of the research involves reducing dependence on conventional energy sources on campus. Toomey Hall houses the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) and is the largest academic unit on campus. Considering the vast expanse …

Photovoltaic Cooking In The Developing World, Tyler Watkins, Christopher O'Day, Omar Arriaga

Mechanical Engineering

The challenge of clean cooking is faced by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. We present a cooking technology consisting of a solar panel directly connected to an electric heater in a well-insulated chamber. Assuming continued decrease in solar panel prices, we anticipate that in a few decades Solar Electric Cooking technologies will be the most common cooking technology for the poor. Appropriate use of insulation reduces the power demand making low-power Insulated Solar Electric Cooking systems already cost competitive.

Life Cycle Assessment Projection Of Photovoltaic Cells: A Case Study On Energy Demand Of Quantum Wire Based Photovoltaic Technology Research, Shilpi Mukherjee

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With increasing clean-energy demand, photovoltaic (PV) technologies have gained attention as potential long-term alternative to fossil fuel energy. However, PV research and manufacture still utilize fossil fuel-powered grid electricity. With continuous enhancement of solar conversion efficiency, it is imperative to assess whether overall life cycle efficiency is also being enhanced. Many new-material PV technologies are still in their research phase, and life cycle analyses of these technologies have not yet been performed. For best results, grid dependency must be minimized for PV research, and this can be accomplished by an analytical instrument called Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

LCA is the …

Optimal Design Of A Pv/Fuel Cell Hybrid Power System For The City Of Brest In France, Dr. Adel A. Elbaset

Dr. Adel A. Elbaset

This paper deals with the optimal design of a stand-alone hybrid photovoltaic and fuel cell power system without battery storage to supply the electric load demand of the city of Brest, Western Brittany in France. The proposed optimal design study is focused on economical performance and is mainly based on the loss of the power supply probability concept. The hybrid power system optimal design is based a simulation model developed using HOMER. In this context, a practical load demand profile of Brest city is used with real weather data.

Design, Modeling And Control Strategy Of Pv/Fc Hybrid Power System, Dr. Adel A. Elbaset

Dr. Adel A. Elbaset

This paper describes development of a general methodology of an autonomous PV/FC system composed of photovoltaic (PV), electrolyzer, hydrogen storage tank and fuel cell (FC). The aim of this paper is to determine optimum design, control strategy, economic and performance of a PV/FC hybrid power generation system without battery storage taking into account all losses in the system. The paper also presents a computer program based on Matlab software to determine optimum design, control strategy, economic and performance of an autonomous PV/FC hybrid power generation system. The computer program develops to size system components in order to match the load …

Determining A Reliability Factor For Photovoltaic's In San Luis Obispo, Ryan S. Roach

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This project will analyze raw photovoltaic (PV) solar panel performance data in order to determine a reliability factor for solar panels in San Luis Obispo. This project is a subset of a larger project being performed by SLO RESCO, which is funded by a grant from the California Energy Commission. Their project will explore the use of solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass renewable resources. The scope of this project is limited to a small section of RESCO's analysis of solar panel technology and implementation in which a reliability factor will be generated.

The objective is to determine a reliability factor …