Updates from Mr Battul: There would be waterproofing and possibly other reconstruction works on the rooftop of T-22. As such, we might have to concentrate our efforts on T-12 instead. Not too good news considering that a battery room has to be specially constructed. This might mean additional delays for the team.
Another site visit would be scheduled for the T-12 rooftop and to discuss about the proposed battery room.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
Initial Assessment
We visited Singapore Polytechnic to meet Mr Dilip Battul, principal lecturer and our designated point of contact for the Solar Lab. Our first step was to decide on a good location for our off-grid solar installation. Mr Battul had two possible site locations in mind: the rooftops of T-12 and T-22.
During the site visit, we would be considering these several points:
The existing 20kWp solar installation at T-22 was known as the Solar Energy Farm. There were about 300 PV panels, 6 solar trackers and also 2 wind turbines on that rooftop. Interestingly, this solar installation had been constructed since 1998 and must have been one of the first few major PV projects in Singapore!
The rows of PV arrays. They were built facing north, but its not much of an issue since we're sitting so near the equator:
The Siemens Solar 75-watt modules used:
Module specifications:
The battery room, and housing for all the peripheral equipment. We might also be able to use some space inside the room for our system:
T-22 seemed quite promising since there was still ample roof space for additional PV systems to be installed. The photo below was facing east, which meant that the sun's path throughout the day would run parallel to the building featured. This was ideal since the shading posed by the neighbouring building is minimised if we located the panels in the centre:
The second possible site was at T-12, the School of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. The total area was less than that of T-22 but more than enough for what we would need for the telecom testbed.
The building was one of the tallest in the vicinity, which was a good thing. This meant that shading from other buildings can be avoided. However, we still had to prevent shading from the taller sections of the rooftop, especially the high parapet walls surrounding the roof area.
Unfortunately, the problem with the T-12 roof was that it didnt have a sealed room where we could store our batteries and equipment. This made the site less appealing in terms of practicality.
Our first choice is the T-22 rooftop. The next step forward is now to get official clearance from the SP Estates Department for the solar project, which Mr Battul would be helping us with.
During the site visit, we would be considering these several points:
- Insolation and shading effects
- Indoor location for battery room
- Grounding and lightning protection
The existing 20kWp solar installation at T-22 was known as the Solar Energy Farm. There were about 300 PV panels, 6 solar trackers and also 2 wind turbines on that rooftop. Interestingly, this solar installation had been constructed since 1998 and must have been one of the first few major PV projects in Singapore!
The rows of PV arrays. They were built facing north, but its not much of an issue since we're sitting so near the equator:
The Siemens Solar 75-watt modules used:
Module specifications:
The battery room, and housing for all the peripheral equipment. We might also be able to use some space inside the room for our system:
T-22 seemed quite promising since there was still ample roof space for additional PV systems to be installed. The photo below was facing east, which meant that the sun's path throughout the day would run parallel to the building featured. This was ideal since the shading posed by the neighbouring building is minimised if we located the panels in the centre:
The second possible site was at T-12, the School of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. The total area was less than that of T-22 but more than enough for what we would need for the telecom testbed.
The building was one of the tallest in the vicinity, which was a good thing. This meant that shading from other buildings can be avoided. However, we still had to prevent shading from the taller sections of the rooftop, especially the high parapet walls surrounding the roof area.
Unfortunately, the problem with the T-12 roof was that it didnt have a sealed room where we could store our batteries and equipment. This made the site less appealing in terms of practicality.Our first choice is the T-22 rooftop. The next step forward is now to get official clearance from the SP Estates Department for the solar project, which Mr Battul would be helping us with.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Project Objectives
The following entries are progress updates for the installation of a renewable energy lab at Singapore Polytechnic. This initiative is an on-going collaboration between Conergy Singapore and the Polytechnic.
The objectives of this lab:
The objectives of this lab:
- To set up small off-grid systems for the testing of components
- To serve as a platform for demonstration purposes
- To involve students (especially from the Clean Energy Diploma course) in a more hands-on learning approach towards renewable energy systems
Background
1366 is the Earth's Solar Constant, which is the average amount of solar radiation in Watts per square meter just above the atmosphere. We've named our weblog after this Solar Constant, because it is symbolic of the consistent and huge potential in harnessing the Sun's energy.
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