Program Requirements

Alternative Energy Supplement DesignAlternative Energy Supplement Design

Finances without a System

Financial Inputs

Program Outputs

Finances with a System

Production Inputs

Energy Output

Calculator

Comparison Page

Wind Turbine

Solar CellsDC

Control Panel

InverterAC

LoadsAC Control

Panel

Storage

Requirements

Problem Statement

Testing

Economic Analysis

Energy System

Program Requirements• Calculate net present worth of each system• Calculate break even year• Account for changes in energy usage• Account for cost increase of energy• Include loan options• Estimate system production• Determine optimal system• User friendly interface

Program TestingSystem TestingPre-installation• Power quality• Power usage

Post-installation• Track financial savings• Actual power output• Proper Installation -Grounding -Automatic disconnect if utility power is lost -Structural stability -Starting and stopping of turbine• Monitoring system performance

• Reduce client’s energy bill• Use alternative energy systems -Wind -Solar• Projections -Energy use -Energy production -Future building plans• Determine mode of operation • Economic analysis program

Modes of Operation• Stand alone system -Independent of the grid -Always meets full load -Stores energy• Primary -Connected to grid -Provides more than half of consumed energy• Backup -Connected to grid -Provides less than half of consumed energy• No change

Client:Mary Elizabeth and Colin Chinery

Advisors:Professor John W. Lamont and Professor Ralph Patterson III

Team Members:Matthew Kelly, Aaron Kulow, Daniel Rathe, and Joshua Riley

Project website: http://seniord.ece.iastate.edu/dec0704

System Requirements

Wind Power Calculation

Input Page

Output Page

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Dec07-04

The input page is part of the user interface where the user is able to enter estimates for future power usage and costs. A list of systems and towers are available for the user to analyze. Data for financing the system is also entered on this page. The information is then run through the program calculations to return the output page below.

The output page displays economic savings and energy production values for the selected system. The “Cost vs Time” graph displays the overall lifetime costs of installing and not installing a system. The payback period is at the intersection of the two lines. The “Revenue” graph shows the difference between the two options. The system starts to save the client money when the graph reaches a positive value and the payback period is when the line crosses zero. The “Monthly Energy Output” chart simply visualizes the table of energy output to show the client production of the system. The “Cost Comparison” graph shows the net costs of each option as well as the net present worth of purchasing the selected system.

The wind power calculator uses the Rayleigh probability distribution to estimate wind speed frequencies each month. The power curve for each wind generator is given by the manufacturer. The wind power calculator multiplies the Rayleigh distribution for each month by the power curve to calculate the power output for each month. The area under the power output curve is the total energy output for that month in kilowatt-hours.