Energy Saving Scheme for Grid Connected Pico-Hydro Energy Conversion System Supplying Hybrid Loads

The hydro-energy conversion system with constant power output is constrained to maintain power balance at the generator terminals failing which increases the voltage and frequency of the generator. Using a dump load or other consumer loads like water heating, cooking, etc., at the generator terminals with an electronic load controller has been a commonly used solution for constant voltage and frequency operation of Pico Hydro Energy Conversion (PHEC) system. However, the utilization of power by the consumer loads depends on the availability of the loads. In this paper, an energy saving scheme for Grid Connected Pico Hydro Energy Conversion (GC-PHEC) system employing a Self-Excited Induction Generator (SEIG) is proposed along a load controller. The GC-PHEC system is also facilitated to supply hybrid loads namely, 3-phase AC load, DC load, and grid simultaneously. By this way, the system turns out to be an economical alternative to the conventional configurations with dump load. The effective operation of the proposed system along with the control scheme has been determined both in steady-state and dynamic conditions. The performance of the GC-PHEC system is validated in simulation using MATLAB/Simulink and an extensive experimentation is carried out on a prototype system of 3.7 kW capacity developed in the laboratory.