The yellow power

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iV3-h-bxYu2GamvMoEkfeXv2bJ87WAKi?usp=sharing

https://github.com/mohamedsalem-eng/The-yellow-power

Methodology:

We started with comprehensive research about the variables needed to calculate the power output from a solar panel system. They are:

• Number of solar panels (provided by the owner)
• Max Power at STC (in a second) (provided by the owner from solar panel specification sheet)
• STC Solar irradiance= 1000 W/m2 ,T= 25°C, AM= 1.5
• Actual temperature (NASA POWER)
• Actual solar irradiance (NASA POWER)
• Solar panel tilt (provided by the owner)
• Solar panel orientation (Provided by the owner)
• Cable length from solar system to inverter DC input (we multiply it by 2 as there are two cables) (provided by the owner)
• Inverter efficiency (provided by the owner)
• If the solar panels are rotatable on an axis to be perpendicular to the sun at all times or not. (provided by the owner)

For the sake of our demo we used the following numbers:

• Number of solar panels= 1
• Max Power at STC= 150W
• STC Solar irradiance= 1 kW-hr/m2 ,T= 25°C, AM= 1.5
• Actual temperature= 28.43 °C
• Actual solar irradiance= .646 kW-hr/m2
• Total daily solar irradiance= 6.46 kW-hr/m2/day
• Solar panel area= 1 m2
• Solar panel tilt= 30° (assuming it could be fixed but here it is rotatable so the tilt isn’t a constant)
• Number of sunlight hours= 10 hours
• Is the solar panel rotatable to be perpendicular with sunlight at all times? yes
• Solar panel orientation= 180 (true south)
• Cable length from solar system to inverter DC input= 1m (multiplied by 2 as we have two cables)
• Cable size= 1.5mm² (11A max)
• Inverter efficiency = 95%
• Solar panel efficiency=20%

The actual data was extracted from NASA POWER. The solar panel information, the cable information as we are assumed for the purpose of the demo. 

Reference for solar panel specifications: https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/2000-watt-solar-panels-200-panel_62068476499.html?spm=a2700.7724857.normal_offer.d_title.55e6227aioZtuY 

Reference for actual NASA POWER data:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZE0sbWVIhW94cLrmP20BX-2l1NqMOTLA/view?usp=sharing 

Calculator for cable size:

https://www.solar-wind.co.uk/info/dc-cable-wire-sizing-tool-low-voltage-drop-calculator 

. Inverter efficiency:

https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/8/10/1225/pdf#:~:text=In%20the%20case%20of%20DC,DC%20input%20power%20and%20voltage 

Then we started working on the application as a demo to integrate NASA’s API within the application, we fetched the map from google maps. The sunshine hours have been calculated specifically for the location for now, but we intend on implementing a whole API for sunlight hours. 

The website used for the specific number of sunlight hours that day is:

 https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-hours-Sunshine,Cairo,Egypt 

The calculations on the application are all relatively simple mathematics but they will be mentioned in full in our documentation once we test the statistics several times and make sure they are all valid. We are using these website for the advanced mathematics:

https://www.pveducation.org/pvcdrom/properties-of-sunlight/solar-radiation-on-a-tilted-surface

(This will be used when sunlight hits the solar panel with an angle and the solar panel is fixed.)

https://www.alternative-energy-tutorials.com/solar-power/solar-irradiance.html

https://www.8msolar.com/what-is-a-peak-sun-hour-psh

We also created a mind map for the app itself (it only includes the demo app):

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13nbocq2YgAe5mlK3qfIO6nhFzhPCvVxO/view?usp=sharing 

for the coding we used flutter and created an application that works for android and IOS

We used NASA POWER as the source of information about solar irradiance and temperature on a location as well as humidity and wind speed. We then integrated the API into our application to provide the daily and weekly calculations about solar irradiance and solar panel output.

https://power.larc.nasa.gov/data-access-viewer/

We definitely tried to achieve as much as possible for our project. Our main setback was the lack of time and the knowledge of the many features and possibilities to be added. For example:

•  Option to manually enter and integrate user provided measurements and compare with the NASA parameters, within reasonable limits.
• Ability to inform homeowners about the most recommended solar panel type in their area based on other homeowners’ responses to a survey that measures their satisfaction with the type of solar panels they have. Provided that their “area” is the land within a 2.5 kilometer radius from their home . 
• Ability to input different specifications for different solar panel models in the same location, calculate their separate output and total output.
• Option to monitor the rotation of automatically rotating solar panel models.
• Option to enter and monitor solar panel systems on several locations at a time.
• compare my home's intake with output already provided before solar panels and output from solar panels.
• We plan on installing a feedback unit after the current has run through the inverter to estimate the actual inverter efficiency and where the most loss of power occurs in the system. Then, the system automatically informs the owner and recommends a replacement for the faulty prop in the system, the recommendation is based on other homeowners’ responses to our surveys and the data collected by other feedback units connected to our application. 

1. We would describe the experience as phenomenal, we wish it would last longer! we learned a lot about solar panels and it definitely tested our mental limits and understanding of the subject.
2. There are many reasons behind our choice for this particular challenge. The first reason that come to mind is the cruciality of the solution and the urgent demand for it. Another reason is the urge to deliver NASA data and make the general public more informed, leading to them making better decisions and actively contributing to protect our environment. The third reason comes from a logistic point of view, this challenge and our solution to it, is the perfect balance between a strong and accurate scientific background and data base and the applicability vs cost and efficiency problem that we normally faced in other challenges before. There's also a huge space and market for development in this application and challenge in general, the ideas that we came up with in such a short period of time are endless, which made us love this challenge even more.
3. we would definitely like to thank our mentors who helped us greatly through our journey and each other for the great work and experience.

• “Sustainability-11-02016.Pdf.” Google Drive, Google, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dtpT4qdI2Nik4H4k5Jbla-xio0vyoBw0/view?usp=sharing. 
• “DC Cable Sizing Tool - Use the Correct Sized Cables - FREE CALCULATOR.” Wind.co.uk,
•  “Average Monthly Hours of Sunshine in Cairo (Cairo Governate), Egypt.” World Weather & Climate Information, 25 Sept. 1970, https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-hours-Sunshine,Cairo,Egypt#:~:text=*%20Data%20from%20weather%20station%3A%20Cairo,of%20sunshine%20with%20198%20hours. 
• “Solar Radiation on a Tilted Surface.” PVEducation, https://www.pveducation.org/pvcdrom/properties-of-sunlight/solar-radiation-on-a-tilted-surface. 
• “Solar Irradiance Calculator.” Solar Electricity Handbook, http://www.solarelectricityhandbook.com/solar-irradiance.html.

#POWER #API #SOLARPANELS

This project has been submitted for consideration during the Judging process.