List of topics:

1. Power monitoring system for a house
2. Constructive re-use of waste energy
3. Intelligent Sensors
4. Efficient electrical distribution
5. Power consumption by computers connected on a network

Consider a house today. It has several points of energy outlets (sockets, lights, fans and other appliances). Normally for every outlet there is a switch. For the entire house we have a certain set of MCBs (Miniature circuit breakers) which individually function as protection for a group of energy outlets mentioned above.

Imagine a system of monitoring/measuring power that can be installed at each of the switches or integrated with the switch. By this system we refer to a very small device which can be installed behind every switch without difficulty or can be integrated with the switch. Next, imagine that this device (probably connected to the power line and the home computer) can communicate to a central system through the power line network (no separate network for communication). This would allow real time measurement/monitoring of the energy being consumed in the house.

The basic advantage intended out of this system is that via a software program the daily usage of electricity in the households can be displayed on a PC along with relevant statistical information about the usage pattern. This will help the user to monitor closely and be conscious about the energy expenditure in the household and thus enable him/her to use the energy in an efficient manner.

Objective: An innovative approach for obtaining information about power consumption by different electrical appliances in a household and develop simple software to tabulate and make statistical analysis of this data to help the user optimize his energy consumption

Special emphasis to be given about how intelligently the data collected from this system can be used to monitor and save energy.

In our day to day life we use energy in different forms for varied applications. More often than not the effective energy usage is a low percentage of the actual energy consumed. There are innovative solutions possible for re-using the waste energy from any system in such a manner that it can be re-converted into useful energy.

A few examples of this approach are:

• Use of speed breakers to generate electricity due to the force exerted on them by the passing vehicles.
• Use of rice husk for generation of electricity in rural areas where there is a high volumes of rice is cultivated
• Use of organic waste in different food processing units for electricity generation

Thinking on these lines there can be umpteen unexplored possibilities for significant energy savings.

Objective: Identify systems in which the energy is not being well utilized and come up with innovative ways of converting this waste energy into useful energy

A sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument.

Sensors find a wide variety of applications in the field of motion detection. From a simple bottling industry to complicated traffic control systems motion detecting sensors have been deployed to ensure error free and efficient processes.

The basic types of sensors used for motion detection are:

1. Electromechanical limit switches
2. Inductive proximity sensors
3. Capacitive proximity sensors
4. Photoelectric sensors
5. Ultrasonic sensors

To learn more about the different types of sensors click here.
Despite all technological advancements in this field there are a wide variety of unexplored mediums of sensing, ranging from simple mechanical systems to MEMS technology.

Also, there numerous untapped applications for which sensors are not being used today.

Objective:

Step 1: A system needs to be identified where detection can be deployed to improve its efficiency.

Step 2: An innovative detection medium to be deployed on this system. The new mode of detection should be chosen in such a manner that it offers significant advantage over the existing modes of detection. The advantage can be of any type (cost, size, efficiency, accuracy … etc.)

In an electrical distribution system, it is known that the “transmission and distribution losses” are approximately 66%, which results in only 1/3rd of the energy produced at the power station reaching the end user. There are numerous factors which contribute to this inefficiency and there is a wide scope of improvement of the exsiting system.

Electrical power is transmitted over high voltage transmission lines, distributed over medium voltage, and used inside buildings at lower voltages. At every stage of the distribution system there are losses incurred and measures are put in place in an attempt to optimize them. For example, long distance transmission (typically done with overhead lines) the distance between adjacent poles is carefully calculated to minimize losses.

Objective:  Suggest innovative improvements in the system of power transmission and distribution to minimize the energy losses.

A major amount of energy is wasted in the modern day offices due to the power consumed by the computers when they are not being used. An ideal way of minimizing this loss is to ensure that when the computers are not in use their monitors should be switched off and the system should be in sleep/hibernate mode.

Normally there is no way to remotely monitor this information (CPU and/or Monitor status) of all the computers in an office.

Every computer in an office today is connected to a central network. Imagine simple software installed in all the computers which would have the capability of logging information about the power consumed by each computer on the computer itself and on the server. The power consumed will depend on the states of the computer like sleep, standby, hard disk on/off, monitor on/off, CPU usage, etc. Such a system can easily be deployed in any office comprising of a network of computers and report their consumption.

Objective: Development of an intelligent software to centrally monitor the dynamic power consumption status of all the computers in an office.