Space Apps Challenge 2017

OUR SOCIETY IS DEVELOPING RAPIDLY.

ANNUALLY THE RESOURCES OF OUR PLANET ARE SHRINKING.

WE SHOULD USE ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES.

OUR PROJECT WILL HELP OPTIMIZE AND GET THE MAXIMUM BENEFIT FORM THE USE OF SOLAR PANELS.

Problem

Many people, especially in Europe and the US, use solar panels, but unfortunately receive only about 12% of the possible energy. Because of its high cost, the solar battery pays off for a period of 5 to years. If the battery is installed correctly, the efficiency rises to 60-70% and the payback decreases to 1-2 years. But how to install it correctly?

Solution

• We created an application that can scan your house and give you instructions for selecting specific models of solar panels and for installation that are ideal for your home.
• If you already have solar panels, we can recommend to you how to use the received energy: you need to specify in the application a list of devices that consume energy in your home, and the application will help you optimize energy costs.
• Our application works on all platforms, in addition, we also made a website where you can get recommendations on choosing a solar panel and the place of its installation, taking into account the energy consumed by the user per day.

Method

We built a paper house and used Kinect to scan the object. As a result of scanning a house, we get its exact 3D model and can correlate it with the data on the position of the sun. As a result we get the angle at which our sun will fall on each part of the roof and find the area with the highest intensity. To clarify the result, we analyze the data on weather, cloudiness, wind, pressure during the period (month) and calculate the amount of solar radiation that the battery will receive from the above location.

User guide

• log into our app and your coordinates will be uploaded on the server.
• press SCANN button and you will send a request to DJI drone to scan your house and build detailed 3D model for further data analysis.
• select the electrical gadgets that you use in the house and indicate how many hours per day they consume energy .
• application calculates and builds the most sun intensity vector to provide best energy consumption by solar panels(90 degree between sun vector and panel is required).
• application will recalculate the data every month and adjust the position of the panels.
• application will collect data to calculate real energy consumption of house and then it offer a list of different solar panels providing important information about how much energy that panels cover, prices and seller links.

Creativity

This app has a great potential.

• Firstly, it can be used not only for solar panels installation. Also it can be useful for installation solar collectors for water heating.
• Secondly, with some refinements it will be possible to do an energy audit — a complex of measures, which will help the experts to identify and detect the problem of energy consumption during the construction or repairing of buildings. Are the windows, the walls or the roof lose heat? In the future the App will give an answers.

These things will help save money and natural resources. Unleashing the potential and opportunities such apps we simplify complex mechanisms and make our society more sustainable.

List of used resources

• http://pvwatts.nrel.gov/pvwatts.php
• http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/real-time-solar-wind
• https://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/archive.html
• http://www.helios-house.ru/on-line-kalkulyator.html
• https://developer.nrel.gov/docs/solar/pvwatts-v5/
• http://b-eco.ru/articles/calc_power1/
• https://www.dropbox.com/sh/g0gf1awqqaumyqt/AAB1G07...
• http://www.iowaenergycenter.org/resources/solar-ca...