Rosstek Energy Management And Intelligent Distribution System.
Introduction
These days renewable energy is being integrated more and more in our planet's infrastructure. We have many ways of harvesting renewable energy, most common being electro solar Photovoltaics, salt based thermal solar, wind powered turbines, sea tides underwater flow collectors. All these renewable energy generators have one thing in common: they produce electrical energy directed at immediate consumption. The ability of temporary storing the energy for future use is an additional system which adds to the total cost of the system and it is rarely cost efficient.
The general solution to the existing energy consumption specific hours-based needs involves connecting all the renewable energy generators into the existing electrical power grid. The energy then can be passed to locations where the energy is required from locations where it is being produced at the peak power but is it not consumed more than it is required. This was once a good solution to overcome time zones and accommodate to the hour-based consumption habits of consumers.
Today we face a new problem that is the result of the very same solution. The production of the renewable energy is growing and so does its energy power output. Because of the increase of traffic in the electrical power grid the power grid is less and less able to coop with it. Generally speaking it is diagnosed that the electrical power grid can no longer handle the excessive electrical energy transfers. A cruel temporary measure is laid upon the manufacturers of the equipment that feeds the electrical power grid. Electrical power generators are obligated to be designed in such a way that they deliberately suppress their production as a response to an overloaded electrical power grid. Consequently this results in lower production annually, essentially it is a waste of resources and general losses. Nevertheless, the prognosis is that if we do not take more elaborated actions soon the electrical power grid as a system will collapse. Attempts of installing GRID-ON battery banks together with GRID-ON inverters at home are getting some ground, but unfortunately their limitations and temporal intermediate solution is not long term.
Proposition
It may sound like a good solution to limit the production of the renewable energy generators to the point where it does not pull a strain on the electrical power grid. Unfortunately, if we want to switch our energy production to the sustainable renewable energy solution we can not allow ourselves to limit its production simply because it is still not being produced in adequate proportions in order to satisfy all our energy consumption needs.
We need a control system that is being able to control the energy consumption directly as it is being produced, but also eliminate the need for the energy transit through the electrical power grid. We need a system that is being able to control our household devices when the energy is available but we ourselves are not present to supervise it. The system should be able to have the potential to control household climate control systems, such as air conditioning in the hot season, heating in the cold season, should be able to turn on the dish or clothes washing machine it it is loaded with dishes or clothes respectably, should be able to turn on and off a hydro pump, be it a swimming pool hydro pump or a water well hydro pump. The list of devices fro full automation can go on and on. The main point is to be able to switch to the renewable energy self-sustaining culture painlessly and with ease of mind.
The system must prevent the generated energy from traveling through the electrical power grid in order to relief the traffic strain on the electrical power grid and force the generated energy to be used as close to the generator as possible, namely the house the renewable energy generator is stationed at.
Solution
Rosstek Limited has developed such Energy Management and Intelligent Energy Distribution System to be used in private households with existing renewable energy installations. The system can be incorporated into wide range of renewable energy systems, grid connected or not grid connected (autonomous). The system is designed for intelligent control of your house in full automation without the need of human supervising. Functionalities range from monitoring of the energy production and consumption, to automatic or scheduled household appliances control. For convenience the system provides manual overwrite protocols and web-based interface. You are able to check upon the system or control it from anywhere in your house or from anywhere in the world with any stationary or mobile devices (that has a network or Internet connection with any web browser, provided that the system is given network access or Internet connection). System provides multi-point access to all its features. Dedicated LCD screens, computer interface, mobile devices interface, web access interface.
Rosstek Energy Management and Intelligent Distribution System
With today progression of renewable energy sources it come to a point where the Grids can no longer coop with the distribution of traffic. The ideal situation is to use the energy as soon as it becomes available. There is nothing wrong with storing it for future use, but the price of energy storage and the downside of potential losses during conversion to storage medium is the main prevention factor for mass spread acceptance.
Rosstek Energy MAID System is designed to ease the stress on the grid where the produced energy is used as close to the source as possible. Rosstek Energy MAID System is custom tailored to take all the necessary measurements in real time and present them to the System in comprehensive terms. In any single moment the Rosstek Energy MAID System is able to give information about the energy being produced by the renewable energy source or multiple sources, energy being consumed by the household or any other entity, and in case of Autonomous Renewable Energy Installation with batteries, how much energy is being stored or taken out.
Rosstek Energy MAID System consists of several dedicated components that acquire the information, process the information and then take decisive action based on the information. With the majority of people using energy on specific hours mornings and evening, it is easy to see a pattern of energy flows within the grid systems. Having a sizeable sample provides a very good overview of user habits, such as daily consumption, peak hours, inactivity hours or days, et cetera. Having such knowledge the System is able to determine the patterns in which it should operate to enable certain devices, when to store the energy, or when to feed it in the grid out of necessity.
Rosstek Energy MAID System is controlling your home appliances as the energy comes. By using the energy on the devices as soon as it is produced we skip the need of stressing the grid. The system monitors and utilizes the produced energy from your renewable energy source. Advanced monitoring, history, and forecast mechanisms intelligently manipulate your household appliances with such a seamless streamlined approach that gives the owner the needed peace of mind and comfort that the owner can forget of any hassle involved in manual overview of energy production, consumption and any possible losses involved. The System is easily programmable and configurable, completely customizable for any setup. The System incorporates many protocols and control mechanisms that gives the system the ability to be universal and be able to communicate with wide range of equipment.
The core of the system is based on Allen-Bradley Technologies micro-controller (PLC), whose industrial quality and trustworthiness proved itself in many applications.
Possibility of controlling broad range of appliances, swimming pool pumps, water heating, household heating, A/C, climate control, dedicated sockets, programmable with hours of operation, time of the day, or proportionally to the energy generation.
Oblovatskiy Alexander
Rosstek Limited