"Wisdom begins in wonder" – Socrates
Category: Engineering
The Shark Curve
06/03/18
“What is the duck curve like in developing countries?”
Developed countries with high solar penetration rates have become very familiar with the infamous duck curve. But people in developing countries are forced to use electricity in different ways, namely, they have less access to energy efficient appliances and technologies. This leads to a sharp almost vertical rise later in the day known as the Shark Curve.
Kalman Filters
06/01/18
“How can we analyze data when we can’t directly measure data?”
Scientists love to analyze data. However, sometimes we may not be able to directly obtain data. For example, when NASA studies the temperature near their rocket thrusters, they can’t place a sensor directly connected since the heat of the flame will burn it up. So instead, how about we indirectly look at this data through other means, such as the surrounding temperature of space and infer the engine’s temperature with interpolation. This technique is known as a Kalman FIlter and is used by scientists and engineers from all over the world.
Zero Variance
05/28/18
“What happens when all of the data in a set is the same?”
Data usually has some variation. However, occasionally everything actually turns out to be the same. This Zero Variance usually is a result of the thing being measured having no measurable change with the input.
Air Pollution Sensors
05/26/18
“How can we detect air pollution?”
Air pollution is one of the most harmful side effects of industrialized activity. Whether it be shipping in the Port of Los Angeles, manufacturing in Shenzhen, or vehicular smog in Delhi, air pollution can seriously destroy public health. But how can we use our engineering mindset to quantify this? Well, we know that sensors are commonly used for detection, engineers have created Air Pollution Sensors to solve this crisis. Air Pollution Sensors can be configured to detect five types of pollutants: ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrous oxide.
Fast-Charging EV Infrastructure
05/25/18
“How can we make Electric Vehicle charging faster?”
Electric vehicles are seeing an exponential adoption rate. But in spite of their myriads of benefits, they have one serious bottleneck, charge times. Specifically, it can take upwards of 12 hours to charge a single model! Because of this, researchers are working day and night to create Fast-Charging EV Infrastructure that can bring this charging time down to a half hour!
Gigawatt-Hour-Scale Storage
05/24/18
“What is the largest possible scale of energy storage with modern day engineering?”
Companies such as Tesla Motors are investing in energy storage like there is no tomorrow. The current frontier is Gigawatt-Hour-Scale Storage. Just to put things into perspective, one gigawatt-hour is enough to power the average California home for over 92 years!
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
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!
Energy Arbitrage
05/19/18
“How can we purchase electricity when it is cheap and sell when it expensive?”
Just like real estate and stocks, electricity is cheaper when it is in less demand and more expensive with more. Automatically purchasing and selling electricity during optimal times is known as Energy Arbitrage.
