THE PROBLEM
.png)
SOLAR PANELS
Solar panels are still not effective enough, they require a large area to generate enough electricity.
.png)
BATTERIES
.png){kind=spacer}
NON-RENEWABLE ENERGY
RESPONSIBILITY
The population is not really aware of the consumption it generates every day, there is no energy responsibility.
THE SOLUTION
Our aim is to improve energy consumption habits with a smart and active management system. The objective is to give everyone access to solar energy and to reduce the waste of it by teaching people.
With our system the efficiency of the energy in use is greatly improved while giving those people freedom to reach their objectives. This will be even more useful in the future when there is more energy being harvested from the sun.
Core
Hardware that monitors the energy generated from the solar panels and detects what devices are in use at any moment in the house and the amount of energy they use.
Predictor
Smart algorithm developed to asses the generated energy for a given day depending on the weather forecast.
Board
The webapp that monitors everything and glues it together. It includes the Dashboard and an internal API.
Predictor
We will use this estimate to be able to effectively organize the consumption of each household appliance throughout the week in Amper Board.
To calculate the energy prediction, we have had to use the Armstrong equation, which allows us to know the radiation in a particular place.
The radiation value must be altered with weather forecasting. We have calculated the impact of weather on radiation using regressive equations with the data provided by NASA for this challenge.
These calculations are performed and stored by the server, which was quickly made during SpaceApps Weekend.
Core
The electronics for this are based on the Arduino Nano v3 board with several current meters. We are able to roughly differentiate which machine is in use.
Several basic electronic modules were used for this project:
Arduino Nano v3 -> Very resourceful developement board with a Atmel 328p CPU.
2 x ACS712 -> Current sensor module. Used for measuring both generated and consumed current.
ESP8266 -> Wi-Fi interface module, so that data could be sent to the cloud via a Wireless Network.
220v AC to 5v DC -> Ordinary power transformer so that all the electronics could be supplied without the need of a different battery. Just like the one you use for your cellphone.
For a better prototype we would change these with others more precise, as well as several voltimeters. In this way we'd be able to study every singular waveform induced in the system by plugged in devices to precisely differentiate the machines signatures.
The enclosure was printed with a Stereolithography 3D printer. It was designed in-house. The next step for production would be to make the appropriate molds and produce it in mass with plastic injection.
AmperCore is meant to be connected in a solar panel installation, between the battery and the solar panel (so that generated energy can be measured) and right after the battery, before any othe device is connected (so that all consumed energy can be measured).
Once properly installed by a qualified technician AmperCore will automatically sync and start sending data so that the user can begin to use it right after installation.
PLATFORM
The board is a web platform that handles the user interaction with the rest of the components. It is intuitive and its two main functions are informative and for management.
HISTORICAL
PLANNING
The screen planning is there for people to be able to organize next week according to their energy needs and production. It will show next week's daily available energy based on the prediction made from the weather forecast and the user can fill them with the different machines. Furthermore, there is a button that makes the AI to automatically organize them based on your habits and predictions.
It all started in the Space Apps Challenge
