Convolutional Neural Network for Dust and Hotspot Classification in PV Modules
20th IEEE International Conference on Environment and Electrical Engineering, EEEIC 2020, online, 9 Jun 2020 - 12 Jun 2020; Energies : open-access journal of related scientific research, technology development and studies in policy and management 13(23), 6357 (2020). doi:10.3390/en13236357 special issue: "Special Issue "Selected Papers from 20 IEEE International Conference on Environment and Electrical Engineering (EEEIC 2020)" / Special Issue Editor: Prof. Dr. Rodolfo Araneo, Guest Editor"
Analisys on the feasibility to modulate lighting systems load: the case study of Palermo
The feasibility to shift and/or modulating the loads that characterize buildings can be useful to improve the performance of smart grids. As known, it is not possible to shift in the time the operating time of the lighting system, but it is possible to modulate the needed electric power. In this paper, the first set of data and a preliminary analysis conducted in the Solarlab of the University of Palermo are presented. The innovative lighting system was designed, sized and installed with the aim of evaluating the consumption of an island user that can be controlled by the DSO or an aggregator. In order to do this, the lighting system load was modulated by applying different strategies: vary…
Methods to Predict Energy Use for Lighting Systems: An Overview and an Application on a Real Case Study
The study of Demand Response strategies application is widely related to the evaluation of the energy consumption. It is fundamental to optimize the design and management of the plants in the smart buildings. During the design steps, it is necessary to predict the above-mentioned energy consumption. This paper reviews some methods that can be applied to predict energy consumption related to lighting systems. In particular, three categories of methods have been analysed: methods proposed by technical standards, methods based on mathematical indices for daylight assessment, and methods based on simulation models. These methods have been described and applied by calculating the energy consumpt…
MODELLING, OPTIMIZATION, AND 3E-ANALYSIS OF DISH-STIRLING CONCENTRATING SOLAR POWER SYSTEMS
raggiungimento degli obiettivi del precedente Accordo di Parigi, tutti i Paesi sono stati invitati a impegnarsi a garantire l'azzeramento globale entro la metà del secolo e a mantenere l'aumento della temperatura media globale significativamente al di sotto dei 2 °C, rispetto ai livelli preindustriali, entro il 2050, e più precisamente entro il limite superiore di 1,5 °C. Tutti i Paesi stanno concentrando le loro politiche su una transizione energetica globale che consiste nell'aumento dell'uso di fonti rinnovabili per la generazione di elettricità e nell'uso diretto di calore e biomassa rinnovabili, nell'uso diretto di elettricità pulita nei trasporti e nelle applicazioni termiche, nel mig…
A methodology for optimisation of solar dish-Stirling systems size, based on the local frequency distribution of direct normal irradiance
Abstract In geographical areas where direct solar irradiation levels are relatively high, concentrated solar energy systems are one of the most promising green energy technologies. Dish-Stirling systems are those that achieve the highest levels of solar-to-electric conversion efficiency, and yet they are still among the least common commercially available technologies. This paper focuses on a strategy aimed at promoting greater diffusion of dish-Stirling systems, which involves optimizing the size of the collector aperture area based on the hourly frequency distributions of beam irradiance and defining a new incentive scheme with a feed-in tariff that is variable with the installed costs of…
Development of Neural Network Prediction Models for the Energy Producibility of a Parabolic Dish: A Comparison with the Analytical Approach
Solar energy is one of the most widely exploited renewable/sustainable resources for electricity generation, with photovoltaic and concentrating solar power technologies at the forefront of research. This study focuses on the development of a neural network prediction model aimed at assessing the energy producibility of dish–Stirling systems, testing the methodology and offering a useful tool to support the design and sizing phases of the system at different installation sites. Employing the open-source platform TensorFlow, two different classes of feedforward neural networks were developed and validated (multilayer perceptron and radial basis function). The absolute novelty of this approac…
Assessing the Energy-Saving Potential of a Dish-Stirling Concentrator Integrated into Energy Plants in the Tertiary Sector
Energy consumed for air conditioning in residential and tertiary sectors accounts for a large share of global use. To reduce the environmental impacts burdening the covering of such demands, the adoption of renewable energy technologies is increasing. In this regard, this paper evaluates the energy and environmental benefits achievable by integrating a dish-Stirling concentrator into energy systems used for meeting the air conditioning demand of an office building. Two typical reference energy plants are assumed: (i) a natural gas boiler for heating purposes and air-cooled chillers for the cooling periods, and (ii) a reversible heat pump for both heating and cooling. For both systems, a dis…
Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of a dish-Stirling Concentrating Solar Power Plant in the Mediterranean area
Abstract Among the different renewable energy sources, solar energy shows the highest exploitation potential to satisfy a substantial portion of the worlds’ future energy demand, guaranteeing at the same time lower emissions than conventional energy providers. Much of this potential is usable thanks to Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies, of which the dish-Stirling concentrator is the most efficient. Nevertheless, the production and installation phases of the dish-Stirling technology can have an environmental impact which motivated the assessment of the plant in the three dimensions of sustainability (environmental, economic and social). The present publication evaluated an existin…
Empirical BAC factors method application to two real case studies in South Italy
Abstract The application of Building Automation and Control (BAC) systems has many advantages. One of these is the reduction of the end-user electricity consumption and, if applied to lighting systems, the achievement of well-acknowledged benefits from daylight, such as productivity, health, visual comfort and well-being. Concerning the first aspect, the international Standard EN 15232 proposes the so-called BAC Factors (BF) method to assess the impact of BAC systems on the final energy consumption. The method provides a simplified estimation of the energy savings due to automation in buildings and questions arise on its applicability in some situations. For this reason, the authors have ca…
A dish-stirling solar concentrator coupled to a seasonal thermal energy storage system in the southern mediterranean basin: A cogenerative layout hypothesis
Abstract In the future, renewable energy sources will increasingly represent an efficient energy source capable of meeting the demands of residential and industrial buildings avoiding the emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In this paper, a heat and electric power cogeneration plant implementing a field of dish-Stirling collectors, a seasonal geothermal storage and a system of water-to-water heat pumps is proposed for the first time. The cogeneration plant has been designed both to supply thermal energy to the heating system of Building 9 of the Department of Engineering in Palermo and to produce electricity. The operation of the plant has been tested by means of hourly-based…
Environmental and energy performances of a newly installed Dish-Stirling Concentrating Solar Power plant based in Palermo
n the last decade there has been a significant increase globally in solar based electricity production, like those produced from Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants. One of the most efficient CSP technologies today is the Dish-Stirling characterized by an efficiency greater than 30%, which may become highly competitive by 2030 according to the International Energy Agency. On one hand, the Dish-Stirling is responsible for high environmental impacts, caused during its production and installation due to their energy consumption and use of energy intensive raw material. On the other hand, no direct emissions are released during its use phase. However, only a careful analysis of the entire li…
Energy and Environmental Assessment of a Hybrid Dish-Stirling Concentrating Solar Power Plant
Although the 2019 global pandemic slowed the growing trend of CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere, it has since resumed its rise, prompting world leaders to accelerate the generation of electricity from renewable sources. The study presented in this paper is focused on the evaluation of the energy and environmental benefits corresponding to the hypothesis of hybridizing a dish-Stirling plant installed on the university campus of Palermo (Italy). These analyses were carried out by means of dynamic simulations based on an accurate energy model validated with the experimental data collected during the measurement campaign that occurred during the period of operation of the reference plant. As…
Deep learning strategies for automatic fault diagnosis in photovoltaic systems by thermographic images
Abstract Losses of electricity production in photovoltaic systems are mainly caused by the presence of faults that affect the efficiency of the systems. The identification of any overheating in a photovoltaic module, through the thermographic non-destructive test, may be essential to maintain the correct functioning of the photovoltaic system quickly and cost-effectively, without interrupting its normal operation. This work proposes a system for the automatic classification of thermographic images using a convolutional neural network, developed via open-source libraries. To reduce image noise, various pre-processing strategies were evaluated, including normalization and homogenization of pi…