Developed as a project of the School of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton, Enspect aims to predict the power output of an energy harvesting system. It features a data colleciton unit which logs environmental data, and an analysis tool which processes this data to make predictions. Currently, an advanced photovoltaic cell model and simple thermoelectric generator model are provided.
Data Collection Unit
Envrionmental data is collected via sensor modules collected to a central logger unit. Sensor modules were developed to allow light irradiance modelling for solar cells and temperature sensors for thermoelectric generators. Data is logged in CSV format to a standard SD card.
- Controlled wirelessly via Bluetooth.
- Long battery life.
- Modular plug-and-play design allows new sensors to be developed.
Analysis Tool
Complementing the data collection unit is an easy to use graphical simulation tool, able to predict power outputs from harvesters and take into account the power profile of the consuming device and any battery storage.
- Developed in MATLAB.
- Able to compare any number of system configurations.
- Models photovoltaic cells and thermoelectric generators.
- Gives a range of graphical and tabular outputs.
Contributors
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Nick Tinsley
ntinsley@ecs.soton.ac.uk
LinkedIn -
Stuart Witts
switts@ecs.soton.ac.uk
LinkedIn -
Jacob Ansell
jansell@ecs.soton.ac.uk
LinkedIn -
Emily Barnes
ebarnes@ecs.soton.ac.uk
LinkedIn -
Simeon Jenkins
sjenkins@ecs.soton.ac.uk
LinkedIn -
Dhanushan Raveendran
draveendran@ecs.soton.ac.uk
LinkedIn -
Dr. Alex Weddell
asw@ecs.soton.ac.uk
ECS Profile -
Dr. Geoff Merrett
gvm@ecs.soton.ac.uk
ECS Profile
If you have any questions about the project, be sure to get in touch!