SMARTY
Smart optimized loads for photovoltaic hybrid storage system
Scheda del progetto
The spread of homes or facilities equipped with a photovoltaic system calls for special attention to be paid to solar energy storage systems in relation to cost and battery life. In normal households, it frequently happens that there are imbalances between the power delivered by solar panels and the power absorbed by household loads. These imbalances are counterbalanced by the storage system, which leads to natural ageing of the chemical batteries.
SMARTY envisages the introduction of a set of supercapacitors alongside the main chemical battery that can take over these imbalances. The advantage of supercapacitors is that they can withstand far more charge/discharge cycles than any chemical battery without a substantial degradation in performance. The aim is to reduce chemical battery turn-over.
Contact:
Gianni Lisini, g.lisini@ticinumaerospace.com
SMARTY wants to manage the continuous 'mini' charge/discharge due to imbalances below a certain energy level thanks to supercapacitors. In this way, a considerable amount of energy does not pass through the chemical batteries, reducing the number of equivalent charge/discharge cycles and thus extending their service life.
SMARTY's innovation is based on the joint use of supercapacitor-battery chemistry, which makes it possible to reduce charge/discharge cycles and increase longevity.
There is currently no commercially available hybrid supercapacitor/battery system designed for the purpose of extending battery life. Supercapacitors are used as real batteries due to their ability to cope with an extremely higher number of charge/discharge cycles.
Every home equipped with a photovoltaic unit with a storage system (in this case hybrid storage) will also optimise its energy production/consumption according to the energy demands at the neighbourhood grid level, city level and so on. The advantage provided by SMARTY is therefore the lower operating cost of a photovoltaic storage system and the lower disposal of spent batteries.