Presented by:

(Group #10)

Paul Munnings
Nadira Farooqui

Supervisor:
Course:

Home
Home Energy
Energy System
System

Basis for the Home Energy System

Overall Model Logic

Project Objectives

Sustainable Development
A push toward sustainable development and better
utilization of resources has illustrated the need for
progressive and innovative changes to the power
supply model.
Rather than the current model of power production
and distribution from power plants, the optimal
method will utilize fuel cells to supply smaller
communities and homes.
Fuel Cell Performance
A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts
the chemical energy of a reaction to electrical energy.
Hydrogen fuel cells are more efficient than combustion
engines, which are governed by the Carnot cycle.
cycle

The energy system for a small home was designed to operate

efficiently and reliably with minimal environmental impact, and
was modeled in MATLAB/SIMULINK.
The system required energy sources, power output and storage,
as well as load management.
This model will form the basis of a future control system.

Model Questions

Overall Control System

The main control module for this integrated home
energy system is the Overall Control System (OCS).
The OCS determines the optimal allocation of resources.
The model logic is as follows:

1) What is the size requirement of the Fuel Cell?

2) How much Hydrogen Storage is needed?
3) What should the size and capacity of the Solar Panels be?

Excess of
solar energy?

4) Are the heat load and energy balance load met?

Model Response Results

Ye
s
Charge
Battery

Create Hydrogen
in the
Electrolyzer

Power Request
to Battery
(if needed)

Daily Power Demands

Hydrogen Status

Daily power demands vary with a number of factors.

For a typical Spring week day, the following results
were obtained from the Model:

Hydrogen Status (6kW Solar Array)

100.00

Spring
Winter
50% Sun- Winter
No Sun- Winter

Volume (L) @ 5 kpsi

Spring Power Consumption

1400

Battery

70.00

1200

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

Time (h)

Heat & Energy

Heat is produced by the Electrolyzer and Fuel Cell
Energy is lost to the Compressor and Hydrators
Cumulative Heat and Energy Loss (Winter)
60000

Energy Lost

30000

20000

10000

Solar Power

800

600

400

200

0
0

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

Time (h)

For a typical Winter week day, the following results

were obtained from the Model:
Winter Power Consumption Breakdown
1800

1600

Battery
Fuel Cell

1400

Solar Power

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

Time (h)

24

23

22

22

21

21

20

19

19

18

18

17

16

16

15

15

14

13

13

12

12

11

10

10

0
0

Energy (J)

2) Hydrogen Regulation:
Electrolyzer
Compressor
3) Other Components:
Overall Control System (OCS)
DC/DC Converter
AC/DC Converter

Heat Produced

40000

1) For Energy Production:

Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell
Solar Panels
Battery

Power (W)

40.00

Fuel Cell

1000

Power (W)

Major Model Components

60.00

50.00

50000

No
Fuel Cell
Provides
power for load

Power Demand Response

Throughout the course of a day, Hydrogen is produced

and consumed. The following graph shows
cummulative Hydrogen status:

80.00

Solar energy is
first allocated
to home loads

Load is generated
in the Home

Battery is
charged

90.00

Dr. M. Fowler
ChE 047

10

11

12

Time (h)

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24