Socially usefull electrical projects

As you are in Bangalore you must be aware of the struggle for power (electrical not Eddy and BJP). How about taking up something similar in size to a solar water heater to generate some back up power to each house. It should not cost more than the currently much used inverters.

That would be an interesting project for sure.

xanderrocks

i'm a final year electrical student.....i always wanted to make such a project which will be useful for the society....i.e comes into effect immediately...i need some ideas to start with.....any suggestions???

Hey Xander, we love the fact that you want your project to help the society. We see that the society needs innovation to produce electricity by cheaper and greenermeans.

How about developing an efficient hydro-electric generator?
It might be a mini-project. A small hydroelectric generator, about the size of a shoebox can be put at gutter downspouts, so that when it rains, you can direct the flow of water to spin a turbine, which in turn is connected to a generator.

You will have to design a compact system and feed the electrical output to storage batteries. Later, you can demonstrate how to place large generators inside storm sewers to create electricity.

bioramani

As you are in Bangalore you must be aware of the struggle for power (electrical not Eddy and BJP). How about taking up something similar in size to a solar water heater to generate some back up power to each house. It should not cost more than the currently much used inverters.

when i visited IISC,bangalore few months ago i saw some projects based on piezoelectric....but the output voltage is considerably less as i have seen there.......can i use it for making back up to power houses, i mean after somehow try to increase the output voltage then.....is it possible??? if it is possible then how to increase the output voltage???

AbraKaDabra

Hey Xander, we love the fact that you want your project to help the society. We see that the society needs innovation to produce electricity by cheaper and greenermeans.

How about developing an efficient hydro-electric generator?
It might be a mini-project. A small hydroelectric generator, about the size of a shoebox can be put at gutter downspouts, so that when it rains, you can direct the flow of water to spin a turbine, which in turn is connected to a generator.

You will have to design a compact system and feed the electrical output to storage batteries. Later, you can demonstrate how to place large generators inside storm sewers to create electricity.

its a nice idea but i'm looking for my final year project......i want it to be innovative.....i will surly do this as my mini project in this semester.....
thank you,

xanderrocks

when i visited IISC,bangalore few months ago i saw some projects based on piezoelectric....but the output voltage is considerably less as i have seen there.......can i use it for making back up to power houses, i mean after somehow try to increase the output voltage then.....is it possible??? if it is possible then how to increase the output voltage???

The problem is not the voltage but power. What are you planning to use as the pressure source for the piezo transducer. If you are planning to use people walking on a piezo mat or tiles, you will never get substantial power.Either a mini wind generator or a solar photovoltaic panel charging a battery and converting to line voltage of 220 VAC seems to be the best bet.
With the kind of solar radiation available in Bangalore on a clear sunny day, you can expect about 1 KWHr/6 hrs between 9 AM to 3 PM almost throughout the year.

bioramani

The problem is not the voltage but power. What are you planning to use as the pressure source for the piezo transducer. If you are planning to use people walking on a piezo mat or tiles, you will never get substantial power.Either a mini wind generator or a solar photovoltaic panel charging a battery and converting to line voltage of 220 VAC seems to be the best bet.
With the kind of solar radiation available in Bangalore on a clear sunny day, you can expect about 1 KWHr/6 hrs between 9 AM to 3 PM almost throughout the year.

sir i have done vocational training in south western railway, so from there i came to know that the output voltage of regenerative braking i.e 3phase AC locos is fed back to the OH lines through pantograph.....still there is no such instrument to measure the voltage produced by regenerative braking.....if any other locomotive comes through that way it uses the produced voltage or else it goes back to power grid....so is it possible to make a meter to measure the voltage produced and it should also be able to measure voltage before it goes to OH line???

bioramani

The problem is not the voltage but power. What are you planning to use as the pressure source for the piezo transducer. If you are planning to use people walking on a piezo mat or tiles, you will never get substantial power.Either a mini wind generator or a solar photovoltaic panel charging a battery and converting to line voltage of 220 VAC seems to be the best bet.
With the kind of solar radiation available in Bangalore on a clear sunny day, you can expect about 1 KWHr/6 hrs between 9 AM to 3 PM almost throughout the year.

Thank you sir.....

xanderrocks

sir i have done vocational training in south western railway, so from there i came to know that the output voltage of regenerative braking i.e 3phase AC locos is fed back to the OH lines through pantograph.....still there is no such instrument to measure the voltage produced by regenerative braking.....if any other locomotive comes through that way it uses the produced voltage or else it goes back to power grid....so is it possible to make a meter to measure the voltage produced and it should also be able to measure voltage before it goes to OH line???

The HQ of SWR used to be at Vizag. As part of our Chem E course we also underwent some training on locomotive boilers in 1959. I even drove a steam locomotive engine for about a mile!

Voltage is voltage any voltmeter should be able to measure it at the generator out put. Were the drive motors themselves working as generators? There is no time lag between generation and feeding the current to the grid. There is no way of measuring the voltage before going to the OH line unless the line is isolated, the voltage checked and then it is switched on to the line. This can be done easily.