Computer Sciences and Information Technology
Title : | An AI-based control system for energy resiliency of critical facilities in remote areas |
Area of research : | Computer Sciences and Information Technology |
Principal Investigator : | Prof. Prabir Barooah, Indian Institute Of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, Assam |
Timeline Start Year : | 2024 |
Timeline End Year : | 2027 |
Contact info : | pbarooah@iitg.ac.in |
Equipments : | function generator
10 kWh battery with charge controller
DC power supply
3 kW solar PV system with inverters
Oscilloscope
Water heater
air conditioner
Diesel generator |
Details
Executive Summary : | Climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events, leading to increased outages in power grids. This poses a significant threat to critical facilities like military bases and hospitals, which currently rely on diesel generators for resilience. However, in a future with more extreme climates, relying solely on diesel is risky due to potential transportation loss. A better option is to use on-site solar generation and energy storage, in addition to diesel, to supplement grid supply. Solar energy is intermittent and weather-dependent, making it costly to install large PV systems and batteries. Intelligent control can bring down the cost of resiliency to grid-supplied electricity loss. An artificial intelligent (AI) control system can exploit the flexibility of electric demand from loads like air conditioners and water heaters to ensure critical loads are serviced longer at the expense of non-critical loads. AI can also optimize the balance between battery and diesel generator usage to maximize service quality based on solar generation forecasts and available diesel stock.
This proposal proposes designing and prototyping a Resiliency-focused Energy Management System (REMS) with low-cost commercially available components. The decision-making part of the system uses techniques from AI and control theory, particularly Reinforcement Learning, while the sensing and actuation will be developed using low-cost commercially available components. |
Total Budget (INR): | 47,77,270 |
Organizations involved