M. Reyasudin Basir Khan

Data from renewable energy assessments for resort islands in the South China Sea.

Renewable energy assessments for resort islands in the South China Sea were conducted that involves the collection and analysis of meteorological and topographic data. The meteorological data was used to assess the PV, wind and hydropower system potentials on the islands. Furthermore, the reconnaissance study for hydro-potentials were conducted through topographic maps in order to determine the potential sites suitable for development of run-of-river hydropower generation. The stream data was collected for 14 islands in the South China Sea with a total of 51 investigated sites. The data from this study are related to the research article “Optimal combination of solar, wind, micro-hydro and diesel systems based on actual seasonal load profiles for a resort island in the South China Sea” published in Energy (Khan et al., 2015) [1].

Optimal combinations of PV, wind, micro-hydro and diesel systems for a seasonal load demand

This paper proposes multiple optimal combinations of hybrid renewable energy systems for a resort island based on actual generation-side energy auditing, assessment of seasonal renewable energy resources availability versus load profiles, and techno-economic analyses. Tioman Island is selected for this study as it represents the typical energy demands of many resort islands in the South China Sea. The island depends primarily on diesel-fuel for electricity generation. As a result, the generating company is exposed to diesel fuel volatile market prices and high operation and maintenance costs. Moreover, the diesel power plant poses possible risk of fuel spills and environmental degradation. Hence, to mitigate the diesel fuel dependence, an optimal combination of hybrid diesel and renewable energy is proposed. The study starts with an actual generation-side auditing, which includes distribution of loads, seasonal load profiles, and types of loads as well as an analysis of local development planning. Subsequently, surveys of available renewable resource potentials such as solar, wind, and hydro have been conducted that involved collection and analysis of meteorological data. Finally, HOMER software was used to perform techno-economic analyses for different combinations of hybrid energy system. Results of the analyses include the optimal hybrid system configurations, cost of the hybrid system, fuel saving, and CO2 emission reduction.

Micro-hydropower potential assessment and generation volatility due to seasonal climate

This paper proposes hydropower potential sites for a resort island located in the South China Sea. Furthermore, the effects of seasonal climate to hydropower generation are also discussed. The resort island selected is Tioman, as it represents the typical energy requirements of many resort islands in the South China Sea. The island relies mainly on diesel-fuel for electricity generation. However, diesel is subjected to high and volatile market prices, high operation and maintenance costs, and poses environmental risks. Therefore, to mitigate diesel fuel dependency, reconnaissance studies were conducted through topographic maps and hydrological studies in order to determine the potential sites or locations available for the development of a micro-hydropower plant in Tioman Island. The result shows that a total of 10 sites identified to have micro-hydro potential from 26 investigated sites. From the monthly estimated river flow, it can be seen that the hydropower in Tioman Island varies seasonally, having the highest potential during the northeast monsoon season.

A new fuzzy self-tuning PD load frequency controller for micro-hydropower system

This paper presents a new approach for controlling the secondary load bank of a micro-hydropower system using a fuzzy self-tuning proportional-derivative (PD) controller. This technology is designed in order to optimize the micro-hydropower system in a resort island located in the South China Sea. Thus, this technology will be able to mitigate the diesel fuel consumption and cost of electricity supply on the island. The optimal hydropower generation for this system depends on the available stream flow at the potential sites. At low stream flow, both the micro-hydropower system and the currently installed diesel generators are required to feed the load. However, when the hydropower generation exceeds the load demand, the diesel generator is shut down. Meanwhile, the system frequency is controlled by a secondary load bank that absorbs the hydropower which exceeds the consumer demand. The fuzzy rules were designed to automatically tune the PD gains under dynamic frequency variations. Performances of the fuzzy self-tuning PD controller were compared with the conventional PD controller. The result of the controller implementation shows the viability of the proposed new controller in achieving a higher performance and more robust load frequency control than the conventional PD controller.

A micro-hydropower system model with PD load frequency controller for Resort Islands in the South China Sea

A model of high-penetration micro-hydropower system with no storage is presented in this paper. This technology is designed in order to reduce the diesel fuel consumption and cost of electricity supply in a resort island located in the South China Sea. The optimal hydropower generation for this system depends on the available stream flow at the potential sites. At low stream flow, both the micro-hydropower system and the currently installed diesel generators are required to feed the load. However, when the hydropower generation exceeds the load demand, the diesel generator is shut down. Meanwhile, the system frequency is controlled by a secondary load bank that absorbs the hydropower which exceeds the consumer demand. This paper also presents a discrete frequency control system using proportional-derivative (PD) controller. The controller is employed in order to manipulate the system frequency by controlling the secondary load system. The simulation results indicate that a variety of load conditions can be satisfactorily controlled by the PD controller. Hence, this particular type of controller is suitable to be implemented in micro-grid systems for remote areas that require low cost and easy-to- maintain controllers.

Energy audit data for a resort island in the South China Sea

The data consists of actual generation-side auditing including the distribution of loads, seasonal load profiles, and types of loads as well as an analysis of local development planning of a resort island in the South China Sea. The data has been used to propose an optimal combination of hybrid renewable energy systems that able to mitigate the diesel fuel dependency on the island. The resort island selected is Tioman, as it represents the typical energy requirements of many resort islands in the South China Sea. The data presented are related to the research article “Optimal Combination of Solar, Wind, Micro-Hydro and Diesel Systems based on Actual Seasonal Load Profiles for a Resort Island in the South China Sea” [1].

Seasonal Wind Power Potential for a Resort Island in the South China Sea

This paper presents a wind energy assessment for a resort island in the South China Sea that has a seasonal climate contributed by the monsoon seasons. The resort island selected for this study is Tioman, as it denotes the typical energy requirements of most resort islands in the South China Sea. The island depends primarily on diesel-fuel for electricity generation. However, diesel is subjected to expensive and unpredictable market values, high operation and maintenance costs, and poses environmental threats. Therefore, the potential for wind energy conversion system development is conducted in order to reduce the island’s diesel fuel dependency. The study starts with energy auditing and meteorological data collection. Subsequently, the wind energy potential is evaluated using Weibull distribution function. The results indicate that the wind speed vary according to seasons, where higher wind power can be generated during the northeast monsoon season than any other seasons.

Friction measurement system using load cell for Tribotronic system on Pin-On-Disc (POD) tribometer

This paper discusses part of Tribotronic system on Pin-On-Disc (POD) Tribometer focusing on friction measurement using load cell. The analysis conducted using MATLAB software to measure Coefficient of Friction (CoF) of 2 sample types in order to prove the validity of the measurement. The 2 samples are lubricant (Shell Helix Fully synthetic oil) and lubricant (Shell Helix Fully synthetic oil) with additive. It is revealed that the measurement of the lubricant with additive shows better CoF (0.006) than lubricant without additive, CoF of 0.02.

Energy efficiency monitoring and economic analysis for energy saving potential in UNITEN

This paper discusses on energy efficiency survey for typical buildings in Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN). Undeniably, wastage of energy will cause the increase of operation cost and depletion of fossil fuel resources which contributes to the climate change issue in the world. UNITEN was commenced in the late 1990s and most of the buildings in this university are not equipped with energy management system. Such system is the solution to reduce energy use while maximizing the comfort levels of the occupants. Disregard to the energy management system, the implementation of other energy saving measures is the main objective of this paper. By taking the right measures, the energy wastage in the buildings of this university can be reduced.

Building automation: Photovoltaic assisted thermal comfort management system for energy saving

Building automation plays an important key role in the means to reduce building energy consumption and to provide comfort for building occupants. It is often that air conditioning system operating features ignored in building automation which can result in thermal discomfort among building occupants. Most automation system for building is expensive and incurs high maintenance cost. Such system also does not support electricity demand side management system such as load shifting. This paper discusses on centralized monitoring system for room temperature and photovoltaic (PV) output for feasibility study of PV assisted air conditioning system in small office buildings. The architecture of the system consists of PV modules and sensor nodes located at each room. Wireless sensor network technology (WSN) been used for data transmission. The data from temperature sensors and PV modules transmitted to the host personal computer (PC) wirelessly using Zigbee modules. Microcontroller based USB data acquisition device used to receive data from sensor nodes and displays the data on PC.