Claims:I/we claim,
1. I/We Claim,
A shadow mapping device comprising:
plurality of photosensors to generate an output data of 0V to 3V from sunlight radiation; and
a data logger unit to capture shadow incidents throughout the day and process the data file to establish the effective shadow free area and hence determine maximum solar panel capacity and energy harness at roof level/surface,
wherein the plurality of photosensors and the data logger unit are coupled with each other by using multiple connectors and the shadow movements are interpreted by the help of image processing technique which are further processed by analytics to determine an ideal versus actual estimation of solar generation.
2. The shadow mapping device of claim 1, wherein the data logger unit further comprising:
plurality of connectors coupling the photosensors to an electronic circuit board of the data logger unit;
a microcontroller to perform plurality of data structuring operations and generate a digital output/file;
plurality of connectors for transferring the data from photosensors to the
microcontroller in the electronic circuit board;
a display panel for displaying the digital output of instantaneous measurements ;
a memory unit to store the digital data obtained from the processor;
a compass to assist the direction in which the data logger device to be placed on roof;
an in-built battery with a battery charge level indicator providing power;
and a mounting plate to maintain the device at elevated level protecting from water and to avoid displacement of unit during extreme windy conditions.
3. The shadow mapping device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of photosensors are mounted on a radial collapsible belt to map the shadow area.
4. The shadow mapping device of claim 1, wherein the usage of rechargeable Lithium Ion battery pack to energise the device upto 3 days of measurement with full charge and not requiring to source power locally for the device.
5. The shadow mapping device of claim 1, wherein the data logger device further comprises a local memory with a SD memory card enabling the data transfer to plurality of external devices.
6. The shadow mapping device of claim 1, wherein the image processing helps in determining shadow movements interpreted by the help of visual graphics and establish shadow free region for a particular time instant from photosensors located across a grid of measured area.
7. The shadow mapping device of claim 1, wherein the solar panel installation configuration and layout is determined for optimal usage of shadow free roof area based on measurement of the effective shadow free location information.
8. The shadow mapping device of claim 1, wherein with usage of analytics to extrapolateand establish the shadow aspect over a larger area from information of measured area to enable install larger capacity of solar panels and define the height for which the solar panel structure should be designed.
9. The shadow mapping device of claim 1, wherein an ideal height of the solar panel is determined for maximum energy generation required for specific site installation with the help of analytics.
10. A method, system and apparatus providing one or more features as described in the paragraphs of this specification.
, Description:FIELD OF INVENTION
[0001] For maximized solar energy,installations should be in shadow free area.For residential rooftop installations its crucial to identify shadow free area.Since the shadow parameters are site specific,shadow mapping is essential for realistic estimation
RELATED ART
[0002] Any kind of shading is detrimental to the performance of entire solar PV plant . A shadow falling on the solar panel can reduce the energy generation upto 50% . A thorough roof area study can avoid the installation of panels under shadow areas thus improving the energy harness. It also gives an indication to height at which the solar panels
should be installed to increase the yield.
[0003] Generally, a customer site survey is conducted by a technical team to evaluate the impact of shadow on the roof. This is usually performed by two techniques : Photographic & Non-photographic . In photographic tools, on-site panoramic images are created which can be rapidly converted into a percentage loss of radiation and ultimately
into digital shading files. After creating the model, a software is used to calculate the shading losses. Whereas, Non-photographic tools are used to produce a simple visualization of shading across the sun's path. Both these methods requires well trained technical surveyors to study the roof space, sun path , shadow and decide the system configuration.
[0004] Manual examination of shadow region is difficult as shadow pattern not only changes throughout the day but also varies at different times of the year. Nevertheless, there are programmed tools available for locating panels which use coordinates as input and work with Google to get a detailed survey of the area including different objects which can create shadows. These shadow detection methods use latest, high end technologies which are very expensive . One limitation in the above techniques is a non-technical person cannot be able to collect or interpret the data on site . Thus there is a need for user-friendly tool to collect the data on roof without any technical or manual brilliance .
SUMMARY
[0005] Every site survey involves – getting the site information like longitude, latitude,altitude, sun path , photos & software simulation of the data to represent the shadow on the given roof area. This being a technically involved and expensive method , it is not practical for estimating solar potential for smaller residential installations (especially in India where Google mapping is not done with high resolution imaging) . Hence there is a need for simplified method of calculation by reducing the involvement of technical resources for analyzing each case. Our invention makes it simpler, easier and quicker to analyze the
roof in just two steps: Step 1 : Place the tool on a rooftop (fig.4) having an area that represents for solar installations of minimum 4kW and above , which often is the typical residential installation sizes. The measurement is made for 2-3 days to collect the data & simulate.
Step 2: Analytical tools for image processing and provide graphical representation of shadow-instantaneous & average over the day & season. Also to meet the energy demand the height of installation can be established.
[0006] Shadow mapper offers several advantages over other shadow analyzing devices like: Collection of Real time data using photosensors instead of standard theoretical calculations . Non invasive measurement by any semi-skilled site surveyor .Stand alone unit with built in backup power enabling measurements free from any electrical cable connections .Local storage of data in SD card avoids the dependency on Internet connection for communication . Light weight, collapsible radial belt design .Calculate effective rooftop area to install PV panels . Visualize the instantaneous shadow map .Solar generation graph of Ideal vs realistic with information of extent of losses in energy harness
.Recommendation of height of installation to increase the system performance .Visualization of Shadow map at different heights and time. Optimise Solar system configuration to estimate actual Solar potential on the roof and system performance
[0007] Several aspects are described below, with reference to diagrams. It should be understood that numerous specific details, relationships, and methods are set forth to provide a full understanding of the present disclosure. One who skilled in the relevant art,
however, will readily recognize that the present disclosure can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, etc. In other instances, well-known structures or operations are not shown in detail to avoid obscuring the features of the present disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG.1 Representation of the product
[0009] FIG.2 Data logger unit of the device
[0010] FIG.3 Belt of the product
[0011] FIG.4 Product placed on a roof
[0012] FIG.5 Layout of shadow free area for Solar panel installation at roof level
[0013] FIG.6 Reduction in shadow aspect over larger area
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] The novel feature of the product is the array of photosensors & the data logger unit . This product can analyse a minimum roof area of 36sqmt (equivalent to 4kW of Solar installation ) and above. The data flow from input to output is as follows: Each LDR (photosensor) on the belt generates an output of 0V to 3V based on the Sunlight radiation at that point.The voltage level from all the 40 LDRs are given to an electronic circuit inside the data logger unit through a connector mounted on the box . These signals are processed,displayed and stored in a SD card with a time stamp for 72 hours. In intervals of 5 to 10 minutes (settable parameter). The data will be saved in an encrypted format in the SD card. The 3 days file is transferred to a PC and decrypted to CSV file using a software. The data from the CSV file is analysed by a custom developed program to get the results specific to
the site . The readings at every instant is analysed and categorized as LDRs below and above a threshold value . The LDRs which has low values then the threshold value represents the point is under shadow .Thus the readings from 40 LDRs at every instant indicates the part of roof area under shadow .The overall roof area is represented as blocks under shadow or sunlight where the LDR is placed . The intermediate blocks where the LDRs are not placed are interpolated and decided whether they are under shadow or sunlight .From the information of LDR voltage we establish the shadow points covering the measurement area .The total measurement area is divided into 11 row * 11 column grid matrix .Wherever the sensor represents the cell of the matrix the voltage measurement of the sensor decides whether the cell is in shadow or not .For cells which does not have a sensor in its area an appropriate logic is established referring to the status of the sensor at
an adjacent cell of its corresponding row and column , to decide the shadow status .Further to identifying the shadow status of each cell the minimum shadow free area at that time instant is established .By overlapping the shadow map of each time instant across the day
the final , usable shadow free area for installing the solar panels is inferred .The analytics program will be used to estimate the maximum possible energy generation with solar panels installed on the roof area .In case need for a larger solar capacity installation the information from the measured area is extrapolated to know the height at which the larger solar installation can be accommodated. A visual graphics of reduction in shadow at that height of installation is also shown.
[0015] The above procedure gives an over all performance of the product . Whereas each component in the product plays a prominent role in making the tool more reliable and accurate . Array of sensors (fig.3) / Radial belts : The radial belt is designed such that they
capture more data on east , west and south . The belts must be placed such that they are facing towards the sun .i.e., to effectively capture the shadow regions . The belts are built in modular design each of 3mt length . These bets are connected on all three sides of the box . i.e., one each on east, west , south , south-east & south-west . Each belt is 3mt long with 5 LDRs placed on it at every 0.6mt interval . The connections of the belts to the unit is engineered for easy and quick installation . Following are the features of the belts : The radial belt design is compact, fold able , weather proof & robust which makes it easy to pack and carry . Angles at which the belts are connected to the box : 0 , 45 ,90 ,135 & 180 degree . The belts have a hook & loop fastener (velcro) at the ends which makes it easy to fix the belts on the box or to interlink the belts also. They can be placed on both horizontal
& sloped roof which makes it ideal for all types of roof
[0016] Data logger unit of the device (fig.2) : This is the point of convergence from all the radial belts . There are 5 connectors on 3 sides of the box which links the belts with the box . The signals from the connector pins is given to the electronic circuit boards which gives the appropriate voltage value for storage . The following are the components and their purpose : Electronic circuit boards with a micro-controller which can process 40 channels / LDRs . 5 no.s of 15 pin DB connectors on the box , to connect the belts . An LCD to display the real time clock with day , month and year , 40 channel readings & user settings .An SD card slot to insert the card to save the data from the 40 channels with a time stamp .Compass to find the directions which guides the right direction in which the product should be placed . Inbuilt Li-ion battery, 20Ah to get uninterrupted data till 3 days without any external power supply . Up & Down scroll buttons to read the channel values . Battery status indication- Low is red LED , active is yellow LED , Full is Green LED. Charger port to charge the battery from 230V ac supply. An UART port to set the parameters like time/date/month/year , capture interval , calibration factor and edit the channel name on
LCD . A fuse of 5A for protection. A rocker switch of 5A to ON or OFF the box. A mounting plate to maintain the minimum level from the base to protect the unit from water and to avoid toppling . Hook & loop fastener on the top of the base plate to fix the belts firmly on
the box and to maintain the inclination angle which is unique for each belt. The unit is compact , light weight and rugged.
[0017] Analytics : The CSV file from the SD card is the input to the software . This data is analysed , interpreted which gives all the possible results related to the PV system. It is a single input multiple output analyser . The views from the analysis is as follows:
1. Time-lapse view of shadow
2. Ideal location for panel placement at roof level (fig.5)
3. Reduction in shadow at a height for panel install (fig.6)
4. Height vs solar output
[0018] While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-discussed embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.