Alternate Energy and Conducting a Load Analysis

I am one for supporting renewable energy sources. I believe that the pricing strategy practiced today of the available renewable energy sources will become more affordable for the general public. Especially with governments in support of *Green* energy.

The use of a wind, solar or hybrid system (both sun and wind) is very cost effective and can literally take you off the power distribution grid. In Canada, you can even earn discounts if you maintain a connection to the grid because your surplus energy is fed into the grid.

A load analysis requires a collection of various data and must be conducted to calculate the energy and power supply requirements for your alternate energy system. This can be easily started with the following ;

I – Data Collection, record and track the daily load of all household appliances. This chart will provide the consumption numbers that will determine the size for the battery bank, inverter and wind generator you will need. Record the following in a chart format:

Appliance | Quantity | Watts | Hours/Day | Daily Demand (Wh)

– Write down all AMP or WATTS that each appliance uses.

– Write down the number of hours each appliance is used.

– Use a WATTMETER to determine a value in hours per day of the actual use of appliances like the fridge, freezer or water pump that turn off and on. You can refer to "Home Power" magazine for specifics regarding the types of available wattmeters specific to each appliance.

– Sum up all the daily appliance demands.

II – Weekly Data Collection, follow the same steps as in step one with the following chart ;

Appliance | Quantity | Watts | Hours per day | Days per Week | Daily Demand (Wh) |

– List all appliances and anything else that uses power in the home.

– List the number of each appliance in the house including light bulbs and their wattages.

– List the number of hours each appliance is used.

– Calculate how many days per week the appliance is used.

– Sum up the weekly demand.

Calculate the daily AMP hours (Ah) load use with this equation ;

Daily Load (Ah) = (AC Daily TOTAL (Wh) / Inverter Efficiency x Input DC Voltage) + Daily DC Loads (Ah)

Calculate the weekly load with the following equation ;

Weekly Load (Ah)= (AC Daily TOTAL (Wh) / Inverter Efficiency x Input DC Voltage) + Weekly DC Loads (Ah)

The designer will require this data to determine the correct size of the system and should also accommodate for future load growth. He or she will factor in the seasonal peak load profiles and wind speeds for that particular season. Sizing of the wind turbine can then be done for the wind and energy load.

This task can be done by yourself for a exercise and personal experience but is one of the required steps of the Renewable Energy designer. These steps are the initial steps and are only a small part of the overall steps taken and does require a trained designer.

I learned that it is mainly appliances with motors that use a lot of energy due to the power surges that elevates the level of power it draws upon when they turn on and off. Therefore I plan on getting a wind turbine to handle my appliances with motors like the fridge, freezer, furnace, air conditioner and washer and dryer. What are your plans? what would you like to plan for?

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