J.I. Bilbao

Stand alone solar energy harvesting and storage systems in off-grid applications

The following is an implementation of a stand-alone system for solar energy harvesting and electrical energy storage systems for use in off-grid housing applications. The principal aim of this project was to construct a compact and affordable system for an off-grid house and to monitor its efficiency along the year.

Whole System Design of an Energy Efficient Residential Pool System

The impact of low-speed filtration on the performance of salt water chlorinators, pool cleaners, and the pool water quality, based on experimental and modelled data, is investigated. Results show that a typical salt water chlorinator and pressure pool cleaner do not work well for flow rates of less than 1 litre s and 1.3 litre s respectively. With the implementation of a robotic pool cleaner, energy savings of more than 70% can be obtained by operating the filtration system at around 1 litre s with a correctly adjusted chlorinator setting. This does not compromise the system performance and achieves a largely improved water quality. Furthermore, it is shown that a small photovoltaic system can provide nearly all the energy required by such energy efficient pool system. This PV powered pool filtration system achieves a discounted payback period (DPP) of 5.4 years in comparison to the grid supplied pool filtration system (the Business as Usual (BAU) scenario).