4/24/2007iowa state university program to evaluate alternative energy sources ee / cpre 492 may...

4/24/2007 Iowa State University

Program to Evaluate Program to Evaluate Alternative Alternative

Energy SourcesEnergy SourcesEE / CprE 492

May 07-03May 07-03

Team MembersTeam Members Christina Erickson Daniel Harkness Matt Kuker Parker Lohrenz

Joe Moeller

Faculty AdvisorsFaculty AdvisorsMr. Tom Baird Dr. John Lamont

Prof. Ralph Patterson III Dr. Greg Smith

ClientClientSenior Design


Project Overview


Outline

Introductory material Problem statement Intended users and uses Assumptions and limitations

Project activity description Present accomplishments Approaches considered Research and design Implementation and testing

Resources and schedules Closing materials

Project evaluation Future work Lessons learned


Purpose

An economic comparison is currently unavailable for use

Educate users about alternative energy sources

Website to evaluate economics of alternative energy sources

Educate users about process of economic evaluation


Definitions

Alternative energy source: A source of energy which supplements or replaces natural gas, propane, or utility-provided electricity.

Availability: The desired output of an alternative energy source.

Criticality: The amount of reliability that is required by the user’s load.


Acknowledgements

Dr. John LamontProfessor Ralph Patterson IIIMr. Tom BairdDr. Greg Smith


Problem Statement

General problem statementLack of centralized locations to find

alternative energy source information

No easy way to evaluate the economic effectiveness of sources for a given situation

Need a unified location to research and evaluate alternative energy sources


Problem Solution

General solution-approach statementPublicly accessible website

Research was completed for a set of alternative energy sources

A web-based program was designed to input electrical needs and output possible alternatives sources and their cost effectiveness


Operating Environment

The website resides on a server that is not owned or operated by the project team.

It is understood that the server is in a controlled environment.

The operating environment of users is unknown.


Intended Users and Uses

Intended users Property owners

Use alternative as a primary sourceUse alternative as a supplemental source

Hobbyists Dissatisfied utility customers

Intended uses Obtain the most cost effective

recommendations Allow user to research alternative sources Offer other suggestions for energy-conscious

improvements.


Assumptions

Web user can read English

Electric rates will not change after implementation of the recommendation

User will have access to all necessary information

The user will have basic computer skills


Limitations

Multiple energy sources will not be evaluated together

No special software will be required for the user

Biomass is not being considered as an alternative energy source

The weather databases will only be considering a small amount of cities to be evaluated.


End Product

Allows users to input specific energy needs and information about their environment.

Return a set of recommendations List of possible sources Installation cost Alternative source power rating Expected annual output Expected payback time

Online help system to assist users through the process.


Present Accomplishments

Publicly available websiteEducational componentExample scenarioEconomic calculatorOnline help

DatabasesWeather data for 205 citiesEquipment data for complete

implementation

Framework for future refinement


Approach

ConsideredStraight HTMLJava AppletsASP.Net

UsedPHP

Economic calculator

Plain HTMLAll other pages


Project Definition

Alternative sources considered

Inputs

Outputs

Limitations and assumptions


Research

Sources Wind, solar, fuel cell, hydro, microturbines,

biomassSetupInstallation costPower rating

Modes of operation Stand-alone or grid-tied

SetupEquipment cost

Weather data 205 cities in 50 states

Wind speed, temperature, solar absorptionMonthly and annual averages


Design

Data processing flow

Economic analysis

WebsiteSite mapPage layoutCalculator design


Design


Testing

TestingDeveloped 5 test scenariosChecked design with 3Checked implementation with 1

ResultsDesign was solidImplementation minimally

functionalAssociated modification activities

None


Implementation

None


Other Activities

Attended alternative energy conference at University of Minnesota

Toured MidAmerican Energy wind farm in Blairsburg, Iowa


Estimated Resources - Personnel

Task 8 Total

1a 1b 1c 2a 2b 2c 2d 3a 3b 3c 4a 4b 4c 5a 5b 5c 5d 5e 6a 6b 7a 7b 7c 7d 8a 8b 8c 8d 8e

Dan Harkness

2 2 2 2 1 2 1 8 3 35 3 26 50 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 10 0 0 1 22 8 25 7 1 216

Joe Moeller

2 2 2 0 0 0 0 10 29 75 6 0 10 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 12 0 0 1 19 2 19 7 14 213

Christina Erickson

2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 28 34 44 0 0 6 3 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 1 9 4 17 6 1 164

Parker Lohrenz

2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 22 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 1 11 2 22 6 1 108

Matt Kuker

0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0 0 0 0 3 20 0 0 50 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 5 0 0 1 2 2 4 6 3 100

Total 8.5 8.5 8.5 2.5 1 2 1 18 85 196 53 26 110 9 5 1 0 0 3 1 37 0 0 5 63 18 87 32 20 801

Estimated Personnel Effort Requirements by Task

Task 2Task 1 Task 3 Task 4 Task 5 Task 6 Task 7


Estimated Resources - Financial

Without Labor With Labor

Item CostPoster $10.00 $10.00

Misc. Printing/Binding $5.00 $5.00Object-Oriented PHP Book $29.95 $29.95

PHP Cookbook, 2nd Ed. Book $44.99 $44.99Dan Harkness $2,376.00

Joe Moeller $2,343.00Christina Erickson $1,804.00

Parker Lohrenz $1,188.00Matt Kuker $1,100.00

Labor $8,811.00Total $89.94 $8,900.94

Total Project Cost


Estimated Resources - Other

Server spacePHPmySQLApache

Survey volunteersMultiple lined up

PHP books


Schedules


Evaluation

Milestones Relative Evaluation Resultant Importance Score Score

Problem Definition 15% 100% 15.00%Research 10% 100% 10.00%Technology selection 5% 100% 5.00%End-product design 15% 70% 10.50%Prototype implementation 15% 80% 12.00%End-product testing 10% 10% 1.00%End-product documentation 5% 35% 1.75%Project reviews 5% 100% 5.00%Project reporting 10% 100% 10.00%End-product demonstration 10% 100% 10.00%

Total 100% 85% 80.25%


Commercialization

Defeats purpose of project


Future Work Recommendations

Web browser compatibility repairs

Input verificationMore robust online helpLoad definitionSite layout definitionCombination of new and

existing loadsIncreased modes of operation


Future Work Recommendations

Multiple alternative sourcesExpand beyond electrical

energyMixture of fuel sourcesFinancial considerations

Labor and maintenance costsLoans and grantsUtility rate changesUtility rate structuresDistribution line costs


Lessons Learned

What went wellWeb designResearchIdentification of future work

What did not go wellScope managementTeam cohesivenessTask distribution and reporting

What technical knowledge was gainedWeb designSite power system layoutmySQL


Lessons Learned

What non-technical knowledge was gainedTime managementCommunication skillsTeamwork

What would be done differently if the project was to be done againNarrow scope soonerDeal with intra-team conflicts

sooner


Risk and Risk Management

Anticipated risksIncomplete dataIncorrect approach

Anticipated risks encountered None encountered

Unanticipated risks encounteredVague project scopeTeam participation

Resultant changesAssumptions and limitations expandedSpecific tasks were assigned and

deadlines given


34

Summary

There was a lack of websites to find information on a variety of alternative energy sources

This project began to remedy the problem

The scope is very broad

Continuation projects have been created

These projects will complete the work began here


Demonstration


Questions

4/24/2007iowa state university program to evaluate alternative energy sources ee / cpre 492 may...

Documents

alternative sources

iowa state university

source of energy

iowa state university

primary source use alternative

greg smith slide

cost effectiveness slide

energyconscious improvements