SOLAR SYSTEM OPTIMIZATION

PROBLEM STATEMENT:

Most of the people in Ghana with solar systems use them only when there is power outage, and it is my view that this is an under use of the solar power considering that we have abundant sunlight in Ghana. Solar panels are usually fixed and do not rotate to optimize the amount  of solar radiation hitting them.

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS:

   1. Splitting up the load in the house, so that some loads such as lighting would be on
       solar, while other loads would be fed by the grid, with control systems to easily  transfer 
       loads between the two.
  
   2. Synchronizing the solar supply with the grid supply, and put in place control systems to
       kick in the grid supply when solar energy cannot support the load.

I plan to design and implement both solutions, and in both cases the panel would be setup to align with the sun for maximum radiation to hit its surface.

   3. Alternative solutions are WELCOME!!

I am looking for a team to collaborate and work with, as my current job would prevent me from executing this project as fast as I usually do.

STAR-DELTA STARTER WITH VOLTAGE MONITORING USING PIC16F877

Note:

• Use variable resistors to simulate voltage errors
• Contactor Coils replaced with LAMPS

Features:

• Starts Motor on Star to reduce starting current and switches Delta after some time
• Monitors voltages and stops Motor when there is an Over-voltage or Under-voltage

Download Design files and Source code HERE!

SINGLE PHASE PREVENTER SYSTEM

FEATURES:
Switches of three phase supply when any Phase voltage dips below 200v
Switches of three phase supply when any Phase voltage rises above 280v
Switches system back on when voltages normalize
LCD to display STATE of system
Note*
Variable resistors in series with AC phases are to help simulate under and over voltages
Download Files Here!

AUTOMATIC BOOM GATE FOR TRAIN/ROAD INTERSECTION

FEATURES:
Shuts gate, turns traffic light red, sounds buzzer at start
Has four sensors all tied to the same 555timer
Uses PWM from Microcontroller for IR emitter
Has upper and lower limit switches to prevent gate from over shooting(these have to be activated manually during simulation)
Verifies to ensure that intruption is actually caused by a train(shortest train at highest speed determines shortest time that a train could possibly interrupt the sensor. Set to 5 seconds)
On detecting a train, Red traffic light comes on, buzzer sounds, gate closes
Note*
Red LED used in place of IR emitter(not available in ISIS)
Push button switch used in place of IR detector(not available in ISIS will have to be activated during simulation)
Download files Here!

DATA LOGGER

FEATURES:
Measures Voltage and Current values and logs them to EEPROM(bad idea)
Logs time and date together with measured values
 SETUP:
 At startup press INC key to set date, DEC key to set time
 In Date setup mode, press INC key to set year, DEC key to set month, AUX key to set day
 In Time Setup mode, press INC key to set hour, DEC key to set minute, AUX key to set second
 Use INC, DEC keys to increase or decrease values
Note*
Time may not be so accurate
Download Files HERE!

Automatic switch for indoor light(using human detection) and outdoor light(using photo resistors)

Component List:

• Resistors(3)
• AC source
• 5v battery/source
• Push button switches(2)
• Buzzer
• Light bulbs
• LED red
• LM044L display
• PIC16F877
• 1K  potentiometer
• RTD14005F miniature pcb DPCO relay
• DPDT switch
• Light dependent resistor
• ULN2003A

Features:

• System can be engaged or disengaged via start and stop buttons
• Implements a two way switching system with already existing switching system
• Immediately turns off outside light when the outside is bright enough, and on when place is dark.  Sensitivity can be carried with the potentiometer
• Automatically turns on light when person is detected in the room. 
• Sounds buzzer when person is not detected, and prompts person to move, just in case the PIR failed to detect person
• Turns of light after 10 seconds if no human is detected. This time can be varied in the code.

Download ISIS design file and code(.gcb, .hex,   .lst, .asm) here!

SINGLE PHASE AUTOMATIC TRANSFER SWITCH WITH OVER CURRENT PROTECTION USING PIC16F877

 FEATURES:

*May add frequency sensing

• Over current protection
• Over voltage protection
• Under voltage protection

Mode of Operation:
 The default source of power is the utility supply. In a situation where the utility supply voltage is below 210V or above 270V the system would start the generator and cut of the utility supply, provided that the generator voltage is also within the specified range. In a case where both sources are out of range, no power would be supplied until one of them comes into the voltage range.

The current sensor monitors the current drawn. When the current goes above 10A, the system is cut off completely, a message is displayed instructing that the fault be cleared and the reset button press afterwards.

The LCD constantly displays the Voltages of both sources, the current drawn as well as the states of both sources(whether they are on or off)

THE VARIOUS PARTS

Voltage Sensor:

 

Simple step down and rectification is used

Current Sensing:

Current is sensed using an acs712 current sensor from allegro

Power Sources:

Display Unit and Relay Driver:

Microcontroller:

Download Design files and Code here!

Microcontroller Based Automatic Three-Phase Change Over Switch

.......Work in PROGRESS!!

Features
Over voltage protection
Under voltage protection
Protection against Unbalance due to one or more phases going off
Etc etc.

Make your own PIC programmer!!

CLICK here to see more.....

UPCOMING!!..A Simple Smart Distribution Panel

FEELING TOO LAZY TO PROGRAM IT!!..LoLz

FEATURES

• Uses push buttons for switching circuits
• Over voltage and under voltage protection
• Over current protection
• Automatic transfer to alternative power source
• LCD display of which circuits are ON/OFF as well as some circuit parameters

Something SIMPLE!!...REMOTE POWER SUPPLY & PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM

Something SIMPLE!!

REMOTE POWER SUPPLY & PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM

This system senses pressure and power availability from three remote areas. The based station collates the data sent from the remote units, this data can be sent via radio or cables, depending on the distance. The base station formats and displays the data on the LCD....

If all the pressures are within range(in this case less than 20kpa) and there is no power outage in any of the remote areas, The GREEN LED will light up, else the RED LED will.

The Various Partz...

POWER MONITORING UNIT!!

*Some work still to be done read RED TEXT ON PICTURE

Basically, voltage transformation, rectification and filtering.

 

PRESSURE SENSING UNIT!

Implemented  with MPX4250

 

RTUs

Sense Power and Pressure and send data to Base station...

*A waste of microcontrollers I think!!

Base Station & HMI

The Base Station basically controls the HMI(LCD, BUZZER, & LEDs) based on the information it receives.

 Download All Files here

Easy....Simulate Your Microcontroller PROJECTS!!

Proteus Virtual System Modelling (VSM) combines mixed mode SPICE circuit simulation, animated components and microprocessor models to facilitate co-simulation of complete microcontroller based designs. For the first time ever, it is possible to develop and test such designs before a physical prototype is constructed.

This is possible because you can interact with the design using on screen indicators such as LED and LCD displays and actuators such as switches and buttons. The simulation takes place in real time (or near enough to it): a 1GMHz Pentium III can simulate a basic 8051 system clocking at over 12MHz. Proteus VSM also provides extensive debugging facilities including breakpoints, single stepping and variable display for both assembly code and high level language source.

Best Microcontroller Programming Tool.......Well to ME!

Great Cow BASIC is a BASIC compiler for PIC and AVR microcontrollers. It lets you to program in BASIC instead of having to learn assembly. It's also completely free! Great Cow BASIC has been written with three main aims - to remove the need for repetitive assembly commands, to produce efficient code, and to make it easy to take code written for one chip and run it on another. It hides many of the more confusing parts of microcontroller programming, making it suitable for beginners and those who don't like assembly. The syntax of Great Cow BASIC is based on that of QBASIC/FreeBASIC, but with some alterations to suit the vastly different system that it compiles for. Great Cow BASIC will allow you to program most 8 bit PIC microcontrollers (10F, 12C, 12F, 16C, 16F, 18C and 18F chips), and also includes near-complete support for most AVR microcontrollers (Classic AVR, Tiny AVR and Mega AVR).