Month: May 2018

Almonds and Water Use

Almonds and Water Use

Almonds and Water Use

05/22/18

“How much water do Almonds use?”

 

One of the most popular crops in my home state of California is the Almond. Almonds are loved around the world for their nutritional benefits and plant-based protein. However, like any bit of produce, they also require resources to grow. Popular sources have stated that each nut requires a whopping 1.1 gallons (around 4.16 liters) to grow! However, that only tells a part of the story. It turns out that Almond trees have multiple uses such as removing pollution from the air and being turned into firewood. In fact, the Almond industry has grown by 60% in California since the 90s while its water consumption has remained flat. Therefore, when reading about information online, be sure to always check empirical facts.

How Tesla’s Big Australian Battery Might Become a Monopoly

How Tesla’s Big Australian Battery Might Become a Monopoly

How Tesla’s Big Australian Battery Might Become a Monopoly

05/21/18

“Why might there be no more ancillary service players in South Australia after Tesla?”

 

California based Tesla Motors recently made headlines by supplying 100 MW of their batteries to the South Australian Hornsdale Power Reserve to help control ancillary services. This project was so efficient that it absorbed 55 percent of all FCAS revenues in South Australia as well as cutting ancillary services pricing by 90 percent. Analysts say that this has been so efficient that it is possible that there will be no more room for competition in South Australia.

Onsite Renewable Energy Monitoring

Onsite Renewable Energy Monitoring

Onsite Renewable Energy Monitoring

05/20/18

“How can we monitor the energy consumption levels of Renewable Energy?”

 

Renewable Energy is one of the fastest growing sectors of all time. However, because of its distributed nature, monitoring the energy consumption levels without an interface can be a great difficulty. Because of this, engineers have developed Onsite Renewable Energy Monitoring to analyze distributed resources in real time!

Nuclear Proliferation

Nuclear Proliferation

Nuclear Proliferation

05/18/18

“How can nations acquire nuclear weapons?”

 

Although not talked about much anymore, nuclear weapons are still a serious part of international agreements. Only a select number of countries are allowed to possess these weapons of mass destruction (France, the United States, the United Kingdom, the People’s Republic of China, and the Russian Federation). If a nation outside of these signatures obtains Nuclear Weapons, then Nuclear Proliferation is said to have occurred.

Multiplexers

Multiplexers

Multiplexers

05/17/18

“How can we have multiple inputs control a single output?”

 

Circuit technology can be found in all aspects of our lives nowadays, whether it be in the smartphones we carry or the airplanes that carry us. However, one problem that we keep on running into is how to take logic from multiple inputs and have it govern a single output. Well, if we can apply our engineering mindsets, then we can find that combining everything with sequential logic, we can invent a machine known as a multiplexer which can accomplish our goal. An example schematic of a multiplexer can be seen in the image above.

MPPT Charge Controllers

MPPT Charge Controllers

MPPT Charge Controllers

05/16/18

“What is the most efficient solar tracker?”

 

PWM Solar Charge Controllers are definitely a step up from On/Off Solar Controllers. However, they’re definitely not the most efficient models. MPPT Controllers (Maximum Power Point) can maximize the output by changing the current and voltage delivered while doing the best to keep power constant. Because of this, they are the most highly valued systems on the market.

PWM Solar Controllers

PWM Solar Controllers

PWM Solar Controllers

05/15/18

“What is the current industry standard solar controller?”

 

On/Off Solar Controllers are great for simple and inexpensive projects. But sometimes we need to have more efficient solar control. One way to accomplish this is to vary the power of the battery depending on how full the battery is. The more empty a battery is, the more power it will receive, and the opposite when it is near full. This setup is known as a PWM Solar Controller and is the Greentech industry standard.

On/Off Solar Controllers

On/Off Solar Controllers

On/Off Solar Controllers

05/14/18

“What is the simplest type of Solar Controller?”

 

Solar Controllers come in all different types of varieties. But if we are strapped on finances, what is the simplest one that we can make? Well, wouldn’t it be a solar controller that simply turned on when there was sunlight and the battery was not full and off when not? This is the basics behind On/Off Solar Controllers, which are commonly used for inexpensive setups.