Track: Energy and Resource Efficiency

Abstract

In order to reduce energy consumption and the environmental impact of fossil fuel, a hybrid system which combines solar panel and wind turbine can assist to provide a reliable and fully customized power to operate street light. The system uses photovoltaic solar cells that directly convert solar energy into electrical energy, combined with a horizontal wind turbine generator which converts wind power into electrical energy. This electrical energy is stored in a battery. During day time electricity is generated using the solar panel, while the wind turbine is used to generate electricity in cloudy and rainy days, as well as at night. Solar and wind energy combine to provide enough energy to power the light system for 10-hours, without connected to the grid. The project aims to design a portable and low cost power system that combines both wind electric and solar electric technologies. This system will be designed in efforts to develop a power solution to minimize the cost of lighting the streets. For this reason, it is imperative to design a hybrid system that will deliver a minimum of 1 kWh of continuous power which is enough to power a wide range of appliances especially the lights of the streets.