2021/2022

Electrical Machines Drives

Application 2 : Sizing of a hybrid System

We are studying the power supply of a small medical dispensary located in west Africa. The building is far from the
national electricity distribution network and has, as only energy sources, a gas oil tank and a photovoltaic
installation. The power generator, consisting of a diesel engine coupled to a permanent magnets synchronous
alternator (brushless), can only operate during the "cold" hours of the night (to keep the operating temperature
within an acceptable range).
The power of the diesel engine of the power generator and the battery size must be determined to meet the
specifications given below.
Fuel is periodically delivered by truck, thus, the average diesel refueling time must also be calculated.

Basic technical data and specifications :

The dispensary (D) :

Average power required for the dispensary (it will be assumed to be almost constant) : PD2 = 1140W.
Operation : 24h a day, 7 days a week.

Optimized operation of the power generator (PG) :

The generator set should operate only at night (for proper cooling) from 9 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. Diesel consumption
will be optimized by only operating the engine at full power (point of maximum efficiency for the diesel engine) or
not at all. There should be only one cycle, so only one start-up to optimize the power generator's lifespan and
minimize start-up losses. The output voltage of the power generator is 3x230V at 50Hz. The alternator has a setting
such that the power factor cosϕ = 1.

Battery (BAT) :
Voltage of lead-acid batteries : UB = 48V
Note : to simplify the calculations, it will be assumed that the batteries are charged at constant current (in reality
the current is reduced during the end of charging).
We will work on a range limited to 50% of SOC (State Of Charge) of the battery capacity in order to optimize its
lifespan (except in the exceptional case of an empty fuel tank). The batteries will be considered perfect (without
losses) in the calculations.

Equipment already present on site :

A tank with a diesel storage volume : Vtank = 1000 liters

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Poly-cristallin Silicon Photovoltaic solar panels (S) (not expensive) whose efficiency for a reference sunshine
«1000W/m² - spectre AM1,5» is about 12%. The useful surface of the onsite panels is : S = 15m², south oriented
and an angle of 5°.

1) Complete installation diagram :

PPG1 PPG PD PD2

IPG1
IPG

Fuel Tank

Photovoltaic
Panels

The system consists of the power generator (formed by the tank, the diesel engine and the synchronous generator),
photovoltaic panels and the dispensary (this is the 230V-50Hz installation). These three elements are connected by
what is called a continuous bus (part of the continuous circuit). A battery is connected to that bus to allow more
availability to our electricity supply. To obtain this DC bus, three power electronic converters are used, whose
efficiencies are as follows:
 1 rectifier (R) that we will consider with an efficiency of 97%
 1 chopper (C) that we will consider with an efficiency of 95%
 1 inverter (I) that we will consider with an efficiency of 90%

 Why have we connected the three elements on a DC part of the circuit and not on an AC part ?
If we connect AC elements, we need to ensure the synchronization of the voltages. In DC mode, we no longer have this
problem, we just have to connect and disconnect the different DC systems.

 Describe the role of each converter with these input and output voltages.
The rectifier transforms the three-phase AC into DC voltage. Its input voltage is 3x230V at 50 Hz and its DC output voltage is
48V.
The inverter converts DC voltage to single-phase AC voltage. Its DC input voltage is 48 V and its AC output voltage is 230V
at 50 Hz.
The chopper allows you to switch from one DC voltage to another DC voltage, here the input DC voltage is 24 V and the
output DC voltage is 48 V. We need to have a boost type chopper.

 What is the main security risk for this installation (the failure is not considered as a security
risk)?
The main risk to the installation is overcharging the battery, which may, due to overheating, burn up or explode. To avoid this
we use a regulator that monitors the charge rate of the battery and disconnects it when it is charged.

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2) System sizing :

The system sizing is done without considering the contribution of solar panels to
improve the robustness of our installation (it operates without sun or in the event of
failure or maintenance of the panels)

 Calculate PD and ID, the continuous quantities absorbed by the

dispensary :
𝑃𝐷2 1140
𝑃𝐷 = = = 1267 𝑊
𝜂𝐼 0.9
𝑃𝐷 1267
𝐼𝐷 = = = 26 𝐴
𝑈𝐵 48

 Calculate ED, the continuous energy required per day by the dispensary in kWh :
The dispensary operates 24 hours a day so :
𝐸𝐷 = 𝑃𝐷 × 24 = 30.4 𝑘𝑊ℎ

 Calculate PPG and PPG1, respectively the direct output power of the rectifier and the
alternating output power to be supplied by the power generator :
The power generator operates between 9pm and 7.30am so, for 10,5h :
𝐸𝐷 30400
𝑃𝑃𝐺 = = = 2895 𝑊
𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 10.5
𝑃𝑃𝐺 2895
𝑃𝑃𝐺1 = = = 2985 𝑊
𝜂𝑅 0.97

 Deduce the corresponding IPG and IPG1 currents (necessary information for the choice of
cables used for the installation) :
On the DC side, we have :
𝑃𝑃𝐺 2895
𝐼𝑃𝐺 = = = 60.3 𝐴
𝑈𝐵 48
On the 3 phase AC side, we have :
𝑃𝑃𝐺1 2985
𝐼𝑃𝐺1 = = = 7.5 𝐴
√3𝑈𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜑 √3 × 230 × 1

 Choose a power generator among the following existing PPG values and justify:

2500W 2750 W 3000 W 3250 W

We choose the 3000 W generator because it is enough to fill the energy supply when the photovoltaic panels are not working.
If we take below, we will not be able to compensate for a failure of the panels and if we take above we will underuse our
equipment.

 Calculate the maximum estimated operating time tM of the power generator :

𝐸𝐷 30400
𝑡𝑀 = = = 10.13 ℎ
𝑃𝑃𝐺𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 3000

 Remind the physical values used to choose each of the converters :

The transformation ratio (Uoutput/Uinput) and the power.

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 3) Sizing of the batteries :
The losses in the batteries will be neglected in the calculations (correct approximation for Lithium batteries but
not really recommended for Lead batteries indeed these batteries have a non-negligible auto-discharge rate
because of their leakage resistance)

 Calculate EBAT, the daily energy that the batteries must provide :
The batteries must provide electricity during the entire period when the power generator is not in operation, thus,
during 24h - 10.13h
𝐸𝐵𝑎𝑡 = 𝑃𝐷 × (24 − 10.13) = 17.568 𝑘𝑊ℎ

 Deduce the battery charge current IBatC and discharge current IBatD :
The battery is charged during 10.13h under 48 V :
𝐸𝑏𝑎𝑡
𝐼𝐵𝑎𝑡𝐶 = = 36 𝐴
10.13 × 𝑈𝐵

The battery gets discharged during the rest of the time, always under 48 V :
𝐸𝑏𝑎𝑡
𝐼𝐵𝑎𝑡𝐷 = = 26 𝐴
(24 − 10.13) × 𝑈𝐵

 Then deduce the size of the batteries (capacitance C in Ah) for the given discharge rate (ie :
we need to take into account the SOC of 50%) :
𝐸𝑏𝑎𝑡
𝐶= = 732 𝐴ℎ
𝑆𝑂𝐶 × 𝑈𝐵

If we did not introduce the SOC, we would need only 366 Ah, but it would mean that or batteries would be completely
discharged after their operating period !

 Compare IBatC with the often recommended C/10 value for charging :
C/10 = 72,3 A >> 36 A, we will not over use the batteries. (it would not be the case if we did not take into account the SOC
and C/10 would not be greater than the battery charge current).

4) First Power statement :

For the selected power generator, we estimate the gas-oil consumption to Q = 1,5L/h at full power.

 Deduce the daily gas-oil consumption QD (with no sun) and ND, the autonomy of the tank in
days.
𝑄𝐷 = 𝑄 × (10.13) = 15.2 𝐿/𝐷𝑎𝑦
𝑉𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑘
𝑁𝐷 = = 65.7 𝐷𝑎𝑦𝑠
𝑄𝐷

5) Average system operation with the photovoltaic panel :

We consider a typical day of average sunshine estimated from the local annual sunshine.

 Peak power per m² : PPV1 = 1000W/m² x ηPV = 120 W/m²

 Peak power for the available surface S : PPVS = PPV1 x S = 1800 W
 The efficiency is estimated in the region at around EPVA1 = 1600 kWh
per year for 1kW peak installed. Taking into account the efficiency of
the chopper, what would be the mean energy supplied per day <EPV> ?
𝑃𝑃𝑉𝑆 1600 1800 1600
〈𝐸𝑃𝑉 〉 = × × 𝜂𝐶 = × × 0.95 = 7.5 𝑘𝑊ℎ/𝑑𝑎𝑦
365 1000 365 1000

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 1800 × 1600
1000𝑊  1600𝑊 𝑠𝑜 1800𝑊  / 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟 365 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒 𝜂𝐶
1000

 Give the balance of power when the photovoltaic panels operate at full power ?
At maximum power, 1800W are produced for a requirement of 1267W, thus, it is possible to power the dispensary only with
the panels when they are at full power.

 What is the average energy <ED’> that must be supplied daily to the dispensary by the power
generator ?
〈𝐸𝐷 ′〉 = 𝐸𝐷 − 〈𝐸𝑃𝑉 〉 = 30.4 − 7.5 = 22.9 𝑘𝑊ℎ/𝑑𝑎𝑦

 Then calculate the average operating time <t’> of the chosen power generator :
Our power generator will therefore operate for a shorter period of time:
〈𝐸𝐷 ′〉
〈𝑡′〉 = = 7.6 ℎ
𝑃𝑃𝐺𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑

 Calculate EBAT’, the daily energy that the batteries must provide :
′
𝐸𝐵𝑎𝑡 = 〈𝐸𝐷 ′〉 − 7.6 × 1267 = 13.27 𝑘𝑊ℎ

 Deduce the new charge and discharge currents IBatC’ and IBatD’ of the battery :
The battery is charged during 7.6h under 48 V :
𝐸𝑏𝑎𝑡 ′
𝐼𝐵𝑎𝑡𝐶 ′ = = 36.4 𝐴
7.6 × 𝑈𝐵

The battery gets discharged during the rest of the time always under 48 V :
𝐸𝑏𝑎𝑡 ′
𝐼𝐵𝑎𝑡𝐷 ′ = = 16.8 𝐴
(24 − 7.6) × 𝑈𝐵

 Calculate the new value of the SOC of the battery :

𝐸𝑏𝑎𝑡 ′
𝑆𝑂𝐶 ′ = = 37.76%
C × 𝑈𝐵

We will then use the battery only from 100% of its charge until 100- 37.76% thus 62.2% of its charge.

6) Final balance :

 Deduce the new gas-oil daily consumption Q’D and the new tank autonomy N’D then compare
these results to the previous ones.
𝑄𝐷 ′ = 𝑄 × (7.6) = 11.4 𝐿/𝑑𝑎𝑦
𝑉𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑘
𝑁𝐷 ′ = = 87.7 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠
𝑄𝐷 ′
We have gained 20 days of autonomy thanks to the panels !

Conclusion :

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  What improvements or simplifications could you recommend concerning the
situation/diagram proposed here?

Wind turbine ? Not enough wind in that region

Increase the photovoltaic panels surface, too expensive
Use better efficiency photovoltaic panels.
Geothermal energy for ventilation
Heat pump for domestic hot water ….

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