Adopting DC Power for BuildingsPier MarzoccaMechanical & Aerospace Engineering Dept., Clarkson University, Potsdam NY 13699

IEEE EnergyTech 2012 Conference, May 29-31, 2012Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)

GREEN DISTRIBUTED POD CLOUD COMPUTING DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

• Network of Modular Performance Optimized Datacenters (PODs)

• Geographically Distributed to exploit the availability of renewable energy for their operation

Intelligently redistribute computational load and maximize uptime

Minimize transmission and conversion losses

2011: 1.7 - 2.2% US electricity consumption by Data Centers

Energy Utilization Chain

Green POD

Conventional

Architectures for AC and DC Servers

DC

AC

CENTER FOR THE EVALUATION OF CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES (CECET)

• The expansion of PV cells and wind markets is creating an influx of new products, additional demands for testing of PV and wind components and systems

• PV and wind systems are not performing as expected and more data are needed to better understand why

• PV and wind systems performance in real-life situations• Predicting and understanding the

resource• Documenting and understanding

the technology• Understanding how the resource

and the technology interact in real-life situations and environments

• Develop testing capabilities to serve end-users • New PV technologies with different performance,

reliability, durability and lifetime characteristics• Small wind testing standards and turbines

increase need for small wind testing capabilities

• Public/private coalition• Product quality assurance & improvement,

certification standards, accreditation • Product Test for Certification• Laboratory and Field Testing• Research and Workforce

CENTER FOR THE EVALUATION OF CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES (CECET)

SUSTAINABLE CITY TRANSPORTATION ECO-SYSTEM DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

• Network of modular optimized stowable Battery-Electric Vehicles (BEV) and green energy charging station and storage containers

• Geographically distributed for optimized usage and to exploit the availability of renewable energy sources for its operation

• Sustainable transportation, energy and civil/transportation infrastructure and traffic, city planning, carbon emissions

• Energy efficiency, economics, reliability, security, and overall performance of the urban transportation

SUSTAINABLE CITY TRANSPORTATION ECO-SYSTEM DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

• Minimizing losses associated with power transmission and removing the need of expensive electrical and transportation infrastructures by placing the green charging stations in strategic locations, some of which could be grid-connected

• Optimizing the use of existing parking by replacing two parking spaces with a container each storing and charging 7-10 BEVs

Adopting DC Power for Buildings

• Lower (Manufacturing Cost / PV Efficiency) ratio

• Manufacturing • Lowering module manufacturing costs, reduction of material volume and

purity requirements, new material systems based on abundant elements • Reducing pure raw material use and expensive processing techniques

such as high vacuum or temperatures

• PV Efficiency• Use of copper-nitride abundant elements, low-cost flexible substrates,

reduced material thickness, solution-based processing• High-efficiency modules (>25%) using low-cost high-throughput

techniques

Is the DOE's SunShot goal of $1/watt installed cost for PV obtainable in a reasonable time frame?

• Growth of solar installations, a $100 billion industry worldwide

• NREL’s PV Technology Incubator program, private sector R&D

• Rapidly lowered costs through vertical integration and holistic projects

• Economies of scale the driving cost reductions

• Disruptive technologies to increase efficiency and ultimately lower costs

• Utility companies, municipalities and media to encourage solar-friendly policies /permitting processes for distributed systems via feed-in tariffs

• Building Integrated PV (BIPV) aims to build solar functionality directly into building materials instead of installing panels as add-ons

How can we make DC installation plug and play?

• Cost• Reduce costs for homeowners and simplifying installations and grid

connectivity, building Integrated technologies • Reduce non-hardware, or “soft” costs, such as installation, permitting,

and interconnection (e.g. >50% total cost of PV residential systems)

• Design and Reliability• Development of DC “plug-and-play” systems that can be purchased,

installed and operational in one day• Drive innovations to fundamentally change the design and installation

of residential systems, NYSERDA advanced building concepts

Adopting DC Power for Buildings

• P&P systems already in wide use in the computer and automotive industries

• Make the process of buying, installing, connecting systems faster, easier, less expensive, potentially unlocking major cost reductions

• Bring down costs through more efficient installation and permitting processes, new ways to affordably and effectively connect DC systems to the grid

• Installed without special training or tools, and simply plugged into a PV-ready circuit with automatic detection system between solar energy system and utility.

• DC system efficiency and their reliability

How can codes and standards be simplified to an extent that we can install DC power very quickly?

Adopting DC Power for Buildings

• Standardizing the requirements for interconnecting DC systems• Barrier to grid-connected DC system, the lack of common standards for

interconnecting the facility's system with the utility's system• Different utilities, often have different policies and requirements for

connecting on-site distributed generation to their systems

• IEEE Standard established practices for interconnecting distributed generation technologies with the electric grid

• Make it flexible, to promote the use of alternative energy sources and make connecting to the utility grid economical for the building owner

• Development and deployment of new standards and energy management electronics for DC installations in buildings

• Eliminate conversions AC/DC and DC/AC and use of inverters

• The electrical equipment industries do not advertise or widely distribute equipment suitable for DC use that meets NEC requirements

• DC renewable technologies equipment manufacturers need testing and listing by approved testing laboratories like Underwriters Laboratories or ETL

• Improve installers and dealers experience installing residential and/or commercial DC power systems.