The Usage Of Solar Energy To Reduce The Warm Temperature In The Car.
i
‘I/We approve that we have read this thesis thoroughly and in my/ our opinion, this thesis has fulfilled the criteria covering all the aspects of scope and quality and satisfied to be awarded for Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Thermal-Fluid).’
Signature :………
Supervisor I :……… Date :...
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THE USAGE OF SOLAR ENERGY TO REDUCE THE WARM
TEMPERATURE IN THE CAR
MD SALIM BIN MD YUNOS
This report is written as a partial fulfillment of terms in achieving the award for
Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Thermal-Fluid)
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka
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ii
“I admit that this report is all written by myself except for the summary and the article
which I have stated the source for each of them.”
Signature :………
Writer :………
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iii
DEDICATION
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iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
In this great opportunity, I would like to thank Allah for providing me strengths to finish up this project and finally it was completed. Here, I would like to acknowledge and appreciate all those people who helped and guided me till the completion of this project.
In a particular, I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, En Suhaimi Misha for giving me a chance to do the project under his guide and attention. I also would like to forward my thanks to Dr Yusoff, En.Azmi, En Nazim,and En Syakir for giving me lots of guides and advices during implementation of this project. I would also want to forward my thanks to all those who directly or indirectly helped me through, who gave me advices and supports.
Hopefully this report would become a reference for related future studies. Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to everyone especially to all my friends and family who helped and supported me. Thanks for your guidance and cooperation. May Allah bless all of you. Amin..
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ABSTRAK
Apabila sebuah kereta diletakkan di bawah matahari selama beberapa jam, ruang dalaman kereta itu akan menjadi panas. Keadaan ini disebabkan oleh rekabentuk kereta yang tertutup dimana ia mengakibatkan udara panas terperangkap. Hal ini akan menyebabkan ketidakselesaan apabila seseorang memasuki kereta. Selain itu, udara panas yang terperangkap ini mendatangkan banyak permasalahan lain, antaranya memendekkan jangka hayat komponen dalaman kereta, merbahaya kepada manusia dan haiwan peliharaan di dalam kereta dan menyebabkan pembaziran kerana pengguna akan menghidupkan penghawa dingin pada paras maksimum bagi mengurangkan udara panas. Tujuan projek ini adalah untuk mencari penyelesaian bagi permasalahan ini. Idea utama adalah untuk menggunakan tenaga solar bagi menghidupkan motor/kipas seterusnya menyedut udara panas keluar dari kenderaan melalui saluran penghawa dingin kereta. Pada akhir projek, adalah disasarkan untuk menyiapkan sebuah produk berkonsepkan aksesori. Produk yang akan dihasilkan adalah sebuah sistem pengudaraan dan bukanlah sistem penghawa dingin. Kajian mengenai perbezaan dan perubahan suhu dijalankan menggunakan peralatan Data logger dan Thermocouple.
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ABSTRACT
Park a car under the sun for a couple of hours and it gets very hot. It would be too hot to get into. This is due to the design and the material of the car which is closed thus trapping hot air. Due to the hot air in car it is not comfortable to sit in the car. On top of that, many other problems also occur such as decreasing the lifespan of the car interior, dangerous to pets or human in car and wastage of air condition as the user would switch it to maximum level to get rid of the hot air. This project is done to find solution to overcome these problems. The main idea is to use solar panel which would power a blower/fan to suck the hot air out of the car by harnessing the power of solar. The result would be to come out with a product which would fit as an accessory. What this product will/won't do: This is not an air conditioner, it is a ventilation system, and it will reduce the interior temperature of the vehicle, but not cool it (like an air conditioner would). The study of temperature difference in the car is done by using thermo couples and data logger. This is done to prove the effectiveness of the product.
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TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER TITLE PAGE
DECLARATION ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv
ABSTRAK v
ABSTRACT vi
CONTENT vii
LIST OF TABLE x
LIST OF FIGURE xi
LIST OF APPENDICES xv
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Problem Statement 2
1.2 PSM Flow Chart 3
1.3 Scope and Objective 4
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 5
2.1 Photovoltaic module 5
2.1.1 Theory and construction 6
2.1.2 Rigid thin-film modules 7
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viii
CHAPTER TITLE PAGE
2.2 Solar cell 8 2.2.1 How do solar panels work? 9 2.2.2 How Silicon Makes a Solar Cell 11 2.2.3 Anatomy of a Solar Cell 13 2.3 Pros and cons of solar energy 15 2.3.1 Solar panel efficiency 17 2.4 Solar panel advantages 19 2.4.1 No or low maintenance benefits 20 2.4.2 Advantages of being environment 20 friendly and independent
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 21
3.1 Introduction 21
3.2 Collecting information 22
3.3 Design 22
3.3.1 Design Concept 22
3.4 Acquiring the Temperature Data 23 3.5 Installing and Operating Data Logger 24
USB TC08
3.5.1 Installing the driver 24 3.5.2 Connecting the USB TC-08 24 3.5.3 How a thermocouple works 28 3.6 Temperature distribution in car 28 3.6.1 Temperature distribution with sun 30 reflector
3.6.2 Temperature distribution without 34 sun reflector
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ix
CHAPTER TITLE PAGE
CHAPTER 4 RESULTS 39
4.1 Introduction 39
4.2 Device 40
4.3 Temperature distribution for car without sun 41 reflector and with device
4.4 Temperature distribution for car without sun 43 reflector and without device
4.5 Temperature distribution for car with sun 45 reflector and with device
4.6 Temperature distribution for car with sun 47 reflector and without device
CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS 49
5.1 Introduction 49
5.2 Analysis for condition without sun shade. 50 5.2.1 Analysis by point (Without shade) 50 5.2.2 Analysis by time (Without shade) 51 5.2.3 Analysis of comparison of average of 52 temperature (Without shade)
5.2.4 Analysis of average temperature 53 difference (Without shade)
5.2.5 Analysis of comparison of average 54 percentage based on initial value
(Without shade)
5.2.6 Analysis difference of average percentage 55 based on initial value. (Without shade) 5.3 Analysis for condition with sun shade. 56
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x
5.3.2 Analysis by time (With shade) 57 5.3.3 Analysis of comparison of 58 average of temperature (With shade)
5.3.4 Analysis of average temperature 59
CHAPTER TITLE PAGE
difference (With shade)
5.3.5 Analysis of comparison of average 60 percentage based on initial value
(With shade)
5.3.6 Analysis difference of average 61 percentage based on initial value.
(With shade)
CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION 62
CHAPTER 7 RECOMMENDATION 63
REFERENCES 65
BIBLOGRAFI 66
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xi
LIST OF TABLES
NO. TITLE PAGE
3.1 Temperature distribution of eight points in car with sun 30 reflector for three hour period
3.2 Temperature distribution of eight points in car without sun 34 reflector for three hour period
4.1 Temperature distribution of eight points in car for six hours 41 period. Shade NO/ Device YES
4.2 Temperature distribution of eight points in car for four hours 43 period. Shade NO/ Device NO
4.3 Temperature distribution of eight points in car for four hours 45 period. Shade YES/ Device YES
4.4 Temperature distribution of eight points in car for four hours 47 period. Shade YES/ Device NO
5.1 Average temperature for experiment without shade. Analysis is 50 based on points.
5.2 Data analysis for experiment without shade. Analysis is based 51 on time.
5.3 Average temperature for experiment with shade. Analysis is based 56 on points.
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xii
LIST OF FIGURES
NO. TITLE PAGE
1.1 PSM flow chart 3
2.1 Photovoltaic module 5
2.2 Solar cell 8
2.3 The effect of the electric field in a PV cell 13
2.4 Operation of a PV cell 14
2.5 Basic structure of a generic silicon PV cell 14
3.1 Methodology chart 21
3.2 Position of thermocouples in car 23
3.3 Experimental Proton Perdana car without sun reflector 29
3.4 Experimental Proton Perdana car with sun reflector 29
3.5 Temperature distribution of eight points in car with 32 sun reflector for three hour period
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xiii
NO. TITLE PAGE
3.6 Temperature distribution of eight points in car without 36 sun reflector for three hour period
3.7 Air intake port 38
3.8 Position of air intake port in Proton Perdana 38
3.9 Air circulation control switch 39
3.10 Blower clipped on air-conditioning passage on the dashboard 39
4.1 Device 40
4.2 Device attached to air conditioning outlet 40
4.3 Temperature distribution of eight points in car for four hours period. 41 Shade NO/ Device YES
4.4 Temperature distribution of eight points in car for four hours period. 43 Shade NO/ Device NO
4.5 Temperature distribution of eight points in car for four hours period. 45 Shade YES/ Device YES
4.6 Temperature distribution of eight points in car for four hours period. 47 Shade YES/ Device NO
5.1 Comparison of average temperature for experiment without shade. 52
5.2 Average temperature difference for experiment without shade. 53
5.3 Comparison of average percentage based on initial value for 54 experiment without shade.
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xiv
NO. TITLE PAGE
5.4 Difference of average percentage based on initial value for 55 experiment without shade.
5.5 Comparison of average temperature for experiment with shade. 58 (Source: Author)
5.6 Average temperature difference for experiment with shade. 59 (Source: Author)
5.7 Comparison of average percentage based on initial value for 60 experiment with shade.
5.8 Difference of average percentage based on initial value for 61 experiment with shade.
7.1 Suggestion of design for future work 64
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xv
LIST OF APPENDICES
NO. TITLE PAGE
A Position of sun reflector on dashboard 67
B Position of data logger in car 67
C Laptop connected to data logger 68
D Position of thermocouple number eight 68
E Position of thermocouple number five 69
F Position of thermocouple number four 69
G Position of thermocouple number one and seven 70
H Position of thermocouple number two and six 70
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xvi
NO. TITLE PAGE
J Position of Car A and Car B for experiment without sun shade. 72
K Position of Car C and Car D for experiment with sun shade. 72
L Venue of the experiment. 73
M Apparatus used during experiment. 73
N Device and apparatus used during experiment. 74
O Position of solar panel and blower in experimental car. 74
P Records of Meteorological Data for 15/3/2009 75
Q Records of Meteorological Data for 15/3/2009 76
R Results for experiment without sun shade /with device 77
S Results for experiment without sun shade /without device 79
T Results for experiment with sun shade /with device 81
U Results for experiment with sun shade /without device 84
V Data analysis for experiment without sun shade. Analysis is 87 based on time
W Data analysis for experiment with sun shade. Analysis is 89 based on time
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1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Already in 2008 there have been at least thirty-eight deaths of infants and children after being left inside a hot vehicle. Last year there were a total of at least thirty-five such fatalities in the United States due to hyperthermia after they were left in hot cars, trucks, vans and SUV's. This sadly followed 42 and 30 child deaths in 2006 and 2005 respectively. Since 1998 there have been at least a total of 364 of these needless tragedies. These are among the problems which occur due to hot air in car.
The atmosphere and windows are relatively “transparent” to the sun’s shortwave radiation and are warmed little. The shortwave energy does however warm objects that it strikes. A dark dashboard or seat can easily reach temperatures in excess of 60°C. These objects (e.g., dashboard, steering wheel, child seat) heat the adjacent air by conduction and convection and also give off longwave radiation which is very efficient at warming the air trapped inside a vehicle.
Current ventilation product available in market such as Auto Cool has received many complaints of its poor performance. The design does not satisfy the need of customer as of the lack ness of security as it is fixed on the car window and this would damage the product and causes water to drip in if it rains.
As solution for these problems, this project would use solar panel which would power a blower/fan to suck the hot air out of the car by harnessing the power of solar. The hot air would be channeled out of the car through the air conditioning
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2
manifold. The result would be to come out with a product which would fit as an accessory
1.1 Problem Statement
This project has been carried out to reduce the hot stuffy air on scorching unbearable days. It should reduce the interior temperature, protecting and prolonging the life of the cars interior and equipment such as the stereo system. The heat also makes passengers not comfortable to sit in the car. Normally lot’s of power is wasted as the driver would switch the air cont to a high level to get rid of the hot air.
Another major problem is that sometimes parents leave their kids in the car while doing some groceries or so. This act puts danger to the life of the children. Heatstroke occurs when a person's temperature exceeds 40°C and their thermoregulatory mechanism is overwhelmed. Symptoms include: dizziness, disorientation, agitation, confusion, sluggishness, seizure, hot dry skin that is flushed but not sweaty, loss of consciousness, rapid heart beat, hallucinations. A core body temperature of 41.7°C is considered lethal as cells are damaged and internal organs shut down. Children's thermoregulatory systems are not as efficient as an adult's and their bodies warm at a rate 3 to 5 times faster than an adult’s.
The result from data obtained shows that the interior temperature easily reaches 45°C by just after 18 minutes parked. And it can reach as high as 60°C after two hours.
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3
1.2 PSM flow chart
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4
1.3 Scope and Objective
Objectives:
• To identify the suitable photovoltaic solar panel to run a small fan/blower. • To study the effect of the blower to the temperature in the car.
• To come out with a product which is silent and the ventilator fan runs directly on energy harnessed by the solar panels.
Scopes:
• To investigate the capability of photovoltaic solar to power a small fan/blower.
• The blower will absorb the heat in the car space during hot weather and release to the outside through air-conditioner ventilation.
• To use data logger and thermocouple to study the effect of the blower to the temperature in the car.
• To investigate the difference of temperature of a car that uses sunshade protector compared to a car which doesn’t use a sunshade protector.
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5
CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Photovoltaic module
Figure 2.1: Photovoltaic module
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photovoltaic_module)
In the field of photovoltaic, a photovoltaic module is a packaged interconnected assembly of photovoltaic cells, also known as solar cells. An installation of photovoltaic modules or panels is known as a photovoltaic array or a solar panel. Photovoltaic cells typically require protection from the environment. For cost and practicality reasons a number of cells are connected electrically and packaged in a photovoltaic module, while a collection of these modules that are mechanically fastened together, wired, and designed to be a field-installable unit, sometimes with a glass covering and a frame and backing made of metal, plastic or fiberglass, are known as a photovoltaic panel or simply solar panel. A photovoltaic installation typically includes an array of photovoltaic modules or panels, an inverter, batteries (for off grid) and interconnection wiring. [1]
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6
2.1.1 Theory and construction
The majority of modules use wafer-based Crystalline silicon cells or a thin film cell based on cadmium telluride or silicon (see photovoltaic cells for details) crystalline silicon, which is commonly used in the wafer form in photovoltaic (PV) modules, is derived from silicon, a relatively multi-faceted element.
In order to use the cells in practical applications, they must be:
• connected electrically to one another and to the rest of the system
• protected from mechanical damage during manufacture, transport and installation and use (in particular against hail impact, wind and snow loads). This is especially important for wafer-based silicon cells which are brittle. • protected from moisture, which corrodes metal contacts and interconnects,
(and for thin film cells the transparent conductive oxide layer) thus decreasing performance and lifetime.
• electrically insulated including under rainy conditions • mountable on a substructure
Most modules are rigid, but there are some flexible modules available, based on thin film cells.
Electrical connections are made in series to achieve a desired output voltage and/or in parallel to provide a desired amount of current source capability. Diodes are included to avoid overheating of cells in case of partial shading.
Since cell heating reduces the operating efficiency it is desirable to minimize the heating. Very few modules incorporate any design features to decrease temperature, however installers try to provide good ventilation behind the module, New designs of module include concentrator modules in which the light is concentrated by an array of lenses or mirrors onto an array of small cells. This allows the use of cells with a very high cost per unit area (such as gallium arsenide) in a cost-competitive way.
Depending on construction the photovoltaic can cover a range of frequencies of light and can produce electricity from them, but cannot cover the entire solar spectrum. Hence much of incident sunlight energy is wasted when used for solar
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7
panels, although they can give far higher efficiencies if illuminated with monochromatic light. Another design concept is to split the light into different wavelength ranges and direct the beams onto different cells tuned to the appropriate wavelength ranges. [1] This is projected to raise efficiency to 50%. Sunlight conversion rates (module efficiencies) can vary from 5-18% in commercial production.
A group of researchers at MIT has recently developed a process to improve the efficiency of luminescent solar concentrator (LSC) technology, which redirects light along a translucent material to PV-modules located along its edge. The researchers have suggested that efficiency may be improved by a factor of 10 over the old design in as little as three years. 3 of the researchers involved have now started their own company, called Covalent Solar, to manufacture and sell their innovation in PV-modules. [2]
2.1.2 Rigid thin-film modules
In rigid thin film modules, the cell and the module are manufactured in the same production line.The cell is created directly on a glass substrate or superstrate, and the electrical connections are created in situ, a so called "monolithic
integration". The substrate or superstrate is laminated with an encapsulant to a front or back sheet, usually another sheet of glass.
The main cell technologies in this category are CdTe, amorphous silicon, micromorphous silicon (alone or tandem), or CIGS (or variant). Amorphous silicon has a sunlight conversion rate of 5-9%. [1]
2.1.3 Flexible thin-film modules
Flexible thin film cells and modules are created on the same production line by depositing the photoactive layer and other necessary layers on a flexible
(1)
manifold. The result would be to come out with a product which would fit as an accessory
1.1 Problem Statement
This project has been carried out to reduce the hot stuffy air on scorching unbearable days. It should reduce the interior temperature, protecting and prolonging the life of the cars interior and equipment such as the stereo system. The heat also makes passengers not comfortable to sit in the car. Normally lot’s of power is wasted as the driver would switch the air cont to a high level to get rid of the hot air.
Another major problem is that sometimes parents leave their kids in the car while doing some groceries or so. This act puts danger to the life of the children. Heatstroke occurs when a person's temperature exceeds 40°C and their thermoregulatory mechanism is overwhelmed. Symptoms include: dizziness, disorientation, agitation, confusion, sluggishness, seizure, hot dry skin that is flushed but not sweaty, loss of consciousness, rapid heart beat, hallucinations. A core body temperature of 41.7°C is considered lethal as cells are damaged and internal organs shut down. Children's thermoregulatory systems are not as efficient as an adult's and their bodies warm at a rate 3 to 5 times faster than an adult’s.
The result from data obtained shows that the interior temperature easily reaches 45°C by just after 18 minutes parked. And it can reach as high as 60°C after two hours.
(2)
1.2 PSM flow chart
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1.3 Scope and Objective
Objectives:
• To identify the suitable photovoltaic solar panel to run a small fan/blower. • To study the effect of the blower to the temperature in the car.
• To come out with a product which is silent and the ventilator fan runs directly on energy harnessed by the solar panels.
Scopes:
• To investigate the capability of photovoltaic solar to power a small fan/blower.
• The blower will absorb the heat in the car space during hot weather and release to the outside through air-conditioner ventilation.
• To use data logger and thermocouple to study the effect of the blower to the temperature in the car.
• To investigate the difference of temperature of a car that uses sunshade protector compared to a car which doesn’t use a sunshade protector.
(4)
CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Photovoltaic module
Figure 2.1: Photovoltaic module
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photovoltaic_module)
In the field of photovoltaic, a photovoltaic module is a packaged interconnected assembly of photovoltaic cells, also known as solar cells. An installation of photovoltaic modules or panels is known as a photovoltaic array or a solar panel. Photovoltaic cells typically require protection from the environment. For cost and practicality reasons a number of cells are connected electrically and packaged in a photovoltaic module, while a collection of these modules that are mechanically fastened together, wired, and designed to be a field-installable unit, sometimes with a glass covering and a frame and backing made of metal, plastic or fiberglass, are known as a photovoltaic panel or simply solar panel. A photovoltaic installation typically includes an array of photovoltaic modules or panels, an inverter, batteries (for off grid) and interconnection wiring. [1]
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2.1.1 Theory and construction
The majority of modules use wafer-based Crystalline silicon cells or a thin film cell based on cadmium telluride or silicon (see photovoltaic cells for details) crystalline silicon, which is commonly used in the wafer form in photovoltaic (PV) modules, is derived from silicon, a relatively multi-faceted element.
In order to use the cells in practical applications, they must be:
• connected electrically to one another and to the rest of the system
• protected from mechanical damage during manufacture, transport and installation and use (in particular against hail impact, wind and snow loads). This is especially important for wafer-based silicon cells which are brittle. • protected from moisture, which corrodes metal contacts and interconnects,
(and for thin film cells the transparent conductive oxide layer) thus decreasing performance and lifetime.
• electrically insulated including under rainy conditions • mountable on a substructure
Most modules are rigid, but there are some flexible modules available, based on thin film cells.
Electrical connections are made in series to achieve a desired output voltage and/or in parallel to provide a desired amount of current source capability. Diodes are included to avoid overheating of cells in case of partial shading.
Since cell heating reduces the operating efficiency it is desirable to minimize the heating. Very few modules incorporate any design features to decrease temperature, however installers try to provide good ventilation behind the module, New designs of module include concentrator modules in which the light is concentrated by an array of lenses or mirrors onto an array of small cells. This allows the use of cells with a very high cost per unit area (such as gallium arsenide) in a cost-competitive way.
Depending on construction the photovoltaic can cover a range of frequencies of light and can produce electricity from them, but cannot cover the entire solar spectrum. Hence much of incident sunlight energy is wasted when used for solar
(6)
panels, although they can give far higher efficiencies if illuminated with monochromatic light. Another design concept is to split the light into different wavelength ranges and direct the beams onto different cells tuned to the appropriate wavelength ranges. [1] This is projected to raise efficiency to 50%. Sunlight conversion rates (module efficiencies) can vary from 5-18% in commercial production.
A group of researchers at MIT has recently developed a process to improve the efficiency of luminescent solar concentrator (LSC) technology, which redirects light along a translucent material to PV-modules located along its edge. The researchers have suggested that efficiency may be improved by a factor of 10 over the old design in as little as three years. 3 of the researchers involved have now started their own company, called Covalent Solar, to manufacture and sell their innovation in PV-modules. [2]
2.1.2 Rigid thin-film modules
In rigid thin film modules, the cell and the module are manufactured in the same production line.The cell is created directly on a glass substrate or superstrate, and the electrical connections are created in situ, a so called "monolithic
integration". The substrate or superstrate is laminated with an encapsulant to a front or back sheet, usually another sheet of glass.
The main cell technologies in this category are CdTe, amorphous silicon, micromorphous silicon (alone or tandem), or CIGS (or variant). Amorphous silicon has a sunlight conversion rate of 5-9%. [1]
2.1.3 Flexible thin-film modules
Flexible thin film cells and modules are created on the same production line by depositing the photoactive layer and other necessary layers on a flexible