Honors Thesis Work In Renewable Energy For An Undergraduate Student

Day
kWh Generated
Figure 2. Calculated daily energy generated from a 1.5kW wind turbine in Erie, PA 
Proposal of a basic electronic system with a cost goal of $10,000 
 
The basic design of the hybrid solar/wind system is provided in Figure 3. It includes, in addition 
to the solar panel and wind turbine, the following components: 
•
a rectifier for converting ac to dc from the wind generator,
•
a battery for backup energy when there is both minimal solar and wind energy available
•
a dc bus to integrate the system 
•
various loads
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age 8.640.4

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Session 2433 
“Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual 
Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2003, American Society for Engineering Education” 
Figure 3. A basic system design for supplying solar and wind energy to a residential home
Unfortunately, the student had not yet taken a course in power electronics prior to devising this 
system, so components such as dc-dc converters and dc-ac inverters were not included in this 
design. The dc-dc converter would likely be needed to ensure that power from both the solar 
panel and the wind generator was at the same voltage as the dc bus. The inverter would be 
needed to convert power from the dc bus to ac to supply the necessary loads in the home.
However, the system of Figure 3 provided the student a basic understanding of how one might 
integrate the energy generated by the hybrid power system. 
The student then used a spreadsheet program to attempt to size the system based on the 
12,000kWh value determined from 
[4]
. In this spreadsheet, the student looked at different 
manufacturers of solar panels to identify both the cost and power density of solar cells (see 
[9]
for 
some examples of cell power density and cost). Sizing of the solar panel and wind turbine was 
based on whether the associated battery banks would be forced to discharge more than 50% at 
any time. Unfortunately, a potentially viable system would require the following components: 
•
A 15,000in
2
solar panel, at an estimated minimum cost of $3,900 
•
A 1.5kW wind turbine with a supporting structure, at an estimated cost of $6,200 
•
A battery bank capable of storing 1,500kWh, at an estimated cost of $1,800 (see 
[8]
). 
•
Extra costs for inverters, rectifiers, connectors, wire, and other miscellaneous 
components (not totaled) 
Wind Turbine
Solar Panel
Rectifier 
Dc Bus
Battery 
Load
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age 8.640.5

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