Department - Author 1
Electrical Engineering Department
Degree Name - Author 1
BS in Electrical Engineering
Date
6-2011
Primary Advisor
Taufik
Abstract/Summary
The purpose of this project is to introduce a cost efficient alternative in converting wind into energy for third world countries. Currently there are approximately 1.6 billion people who have limited access to electricity. As part of the DC House project, we hope to develop a solution for them as the use of electricity is becoming an essential part of life. One of the natural energy resources to provide power to the DC House is wind. The components used for the project are a DC motor and DC-DC converter to translate wind into power and produce DC voltage and current, with the output being 24V DC. In testing this system, a variable speed drive and electronic load were used to simulate wind speeds and loads by adjusting RPM speeds of the motor and controlling the amount of current outputted by the boost converter. In addition to regulating the output voltage and current, we also monitored the output power and efficiency of the system. We observed the efficiency of the system to be estimated at 80% when the motor is operating at medium to high speeds, 300-600 RPM. However, the maximum output power of our proposed system is approximately 24W at 600RPM. This is due to the limited amount of current that the system is outputting, which is less than 1A for speeds at or less than 600RPM. Due to these results, the current system is not effective for the proposed use, but can be improved to become of use. One suggestion, should this system be used again, is to implement the use of gears onto the motor to generate faster speeds for it to run, thus allowing more current to be created.
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/eesp/78