Solar Charging Station for Education and Research

Fred Chiou

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Conference: 2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Seattle, Washington
Publication Date: June 14, 2015
Start Date: June 14, 2015
End Date: June 17, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-692-50180-1
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Subjects in Renewable Energy and ET
Tagged Division: Engineering Technology
Page Count: 12
Page Numbers: 26.1380.1 - 26.1380.12
DOI: 10.18260/p.24717
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/24717
Download Count: 861

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Paper Authors

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Fred Chiou Electronics Engineering Technology at Weber State University

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Dr. Fred Chiou is an Assistant Professor of Electronics Engineering Technology at Weber State University. He obtained a Ph.D. degree and a Master degree both in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Chiou teaches Digital systems, FPGA design, Embedded controllers, Renewable energy and Solar PV systems at Weber State University. His research interests are in renewable energy, solar PV (Photovoltaic) systems and embedded systems. Dr. Chiou has over 20 years of industrial experience specializing in digital circuits design and telecommunications before he works in the academia. Dr. Chiou is a Solar Professionals Trainer of Solar Instructor Training Network (SITN) program funded by The U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative. He is also a member of IEEE and the member of American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE).

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Abstract

Solar Charging Station for Education and Research AbstractMany energy efficiency projects has been performed on our university campus in the past years.The achievement is remarkable. This paper will address the design of a pilot project, SolarCharging Station, through student’s senior project for education and research. Students will learnthe theory of solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems and to design build an experimental solar chargingstation to charge the electric bikes. The integrated system will be used as the demonstration forthe two new courses, Renewable Energy and Solar PV Systems, at the University. The project issupported by the Energy and Sustainability Office of the university. If the pilot project issuccessful, many more solar charging stations will be installed on campus. The goals of thisproject are to educate the students of the University with the concept of sustainability, the theoryand hands-on experience of solar energy applications and to promote the sustainability oncampus by utilizing renewable energy.Through the project, students will be able to learn the theory of how the solar PV systems work,how to design the system (capacity and the specification) for PV modules, charge controller,inverter and the battery bank with hands-on experience. Besides charging the electric bikes, thesolar charging station can also be designed to charge electric cars. By monitoring the systemperformance, collecting data and conducting performance analysis, students will also learn howto improve the solar charging system. This paper will demonstrate the system design andperformance analysis as well as how the system will be used in the classes for students’ learning.Project MotivationOur university is encouraging all faculty, staff and students to utilize the public transportationand bikes for their transportation between the Transit Station and the university campus to reducethe use of automobiles. However, the long uphill from the Transit Station to the campus will be achallenge to the bikers. Riding electric bike will be helpful to alleviate the burden and encouragethe utilization of the public transportation and the bikes. But if the electric bike is charged fromthe outlet on the wall, it is not sustainable because the power from the outlet is generated byburning the fossil fuel such as coal at the power company (not green energy).The idea of the project is to build a "Solar Charging Station" that will provide free electricity thatis generated by the solar Photovoltaic (PV) system for charging the electric bikes on campusinstead of charging from the wall outlet. If the electric bike is charged with the electricitygenerated from solar energy, then it will fit into the theme of sustainability because therenewable energy (green energy) is used.

Citation
Format

Chiou, F. (2015, June), Solar Charging Station for Education and Research Paper presented at 2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Seattle, Washington. 10.18260/p.24717

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -                  Solar Charging Station for Education and Research                                             AbstractMany energy efficiency projects has been performed on our university campus in the past years.The achievement is remarkable. This paper will address the design of a pilot project, SolarCharging Station, through student’s senior project for education and research. Students will learnthe theory of solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems and to design build an experimental solar chargingstation to charge the electric bikes. The integrated system will be used as the demonstration forthe two new courses, Renewable Energy and Solar PV Systems, at the University. The project issupported by the Energy and Sustainability Office of the university. If the pilot project issuccessful, many more solar charging stations will be installed on campus. The goals of thisproject are to educate the students of the University with the concept of sustainability, the theoryand hands-on experience of solar energy applications and to promote the sustainability oncampus by utilizing renewable energy.Through the project, students will be able to learn the theory of how the solar PV systems work,how to design the system (capacity and the specification) for PV modules, charge controller,inverter and the battery bank with hands-on experience. Besides charging the electric bikes, thesolar charging station can also be designed to charge electric cars. By monitoring the systemperformance, collecting data and conducting performance analysis, students will also learn howto improve the solar charging system. This paper will demonstrate the system design andperformance analysis as well as how the system will be used in the classes for students’ learning.Project MotivationOur university is encouraging all faculty, staff and students to utilize the public transportationand bikes for their transportation between the Transit Station and the university campus to reducethe use of automobiles. However, the long uphill from the Transit Station to the campus will be achallenge to the bikers. Riding electric bike will be helpful to alleviate the burden and encouragethe utilization of the public transportation and the bikes. But if the electric bike is charged fromthe outlet on the wall, it is not sustainable because the power from the outlet is generated byburning the fossil fuel such as coal at the power company (not green energy).The idea of the project is to build a &quot;Solar Charging Station&quot; that will provide free electricity thatis generated by the solar Photovoltaic (PV) system for charging the electric bikes on campusinstead of charging from the wall outlet. If the electric bike is charged with the electricitygenerated from solar energy, then it will fit into the theme of sustainability because therenewable energy (green energy) is used.
AU  - Fred Chiou
CY  - Seattle, Washington
DA  - 2015/06/14
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Solar Charging Station for Education and Research
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/24717
DO  - 10.18260/p.24717
ER  -