At the Powerlab in Arnhem, students work on energy innovations for buildings, in collaboration with companies and lectorates (researchers). In the project rooms, posters with technical designs hang and students from various courses discuss the building of the future. After all, how do you make those buildings sustainable and how do you integrate components into the energy system in a smart way?

Demo set-up

A group of 2nd-year Electrical Engineering students worked on a demo setup with all kinds of energy components. “We were given the task of creating a home situation, but in miniature, with components that you normally have as well. Think of a meter box, an inverter and a home battery,” explains student Lars van Hofwegen. This will eventually be linked to an energy management system, the Solar Edge.

Overload from solar panels

Such a management system is not an unnecessary luxury, the students discovered during their assignment. “I never thought much about the fact that there is a problem with solar panels being poorly utilised and causing problems in a neighbourhood,” says Lars. He is referring to the overload that solar panels can cause. A management system can better match local energy supply and demand so that electricity is used or stored efficiently.

Energy management per house

“In this project, we looked at energy management per house. In the afternoon, households generate a lot. So you want the home battery to be empty before noon so you can charge it. That way, the solar panels are also not switched off because of high grid voltage.”

But systems that manage this properly are not there for the taking. “There are many makers of energy management systems, but they only want you to work with their equipment,” adds student Nils Vorrink. “There needs to be an umbrella system, so you can also connect other brands and choose exactly what you want.”

Technology and algorithms

Algorithms can be used to determine which technology does what at what time. This can include all kinds of parameters. For example, energy prices or weather forecasts, with instructive questions:

• When do you want to charge your battery?
• When exactly do you want to supply to the grid?
• At what times do you want to use electrical appliances?

Control over devices and loads

Energy management systems have a lot of potential in a future where more and more technology is ‘smart’, says student Aaron Stoel. “We are moving towards the internet of things. This means you have more and more control over devices and their load. So you can make the whole management system more intelligent.” For example, a freezer can cool harder when solar energy is high, and then switch back for a while when it is cloudy.

Unfortunately, the Electrical Engineering students did not get around to developing a management system. Because it was very difficult to get energy technology. For instance, the solar panels the students had ordered did not arrive on time, nor did some of the cabling. The group nevertheless built much of the setup. “We can now connect the installation to the grid. And we can connect a car charger, for example, and see what demand that component has.”

Sustainable energy technology

The students have now completed their assignment and are passing on the baton. Other students continue the development and ensure that the demo setup can be used by newcomers to the Powerlab. This will introduce them to renewable energy technology. “That has an energy-technical side and a data-aware side,” says Jan Geurts van Kessel, lecturer researcher at HAN.

Geurts van Kessel wants to stay close to students’ perceptions. He wants to present techniques that anyone can encounter on the street. “Components were chosen that are already available now, but also have potential for the energy system in five years’ time.” The solar system of the electrical engineering students fits in well with this. In addition, a system with a heat pump is being developed by Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Product Design students who are in their 6th semester.

Source and photography: HAN SEECE