UTSA researchers have proposed the development of islanded structures or homes that operate independently on solar microgrids without the need to tap into the central power grid.
(June 13, 2019) – More than 3400 lightning strikes and damaging winds interrupted power to approximately 57,000 residents in San Antonio, TX on June 6, 2019. On the same weekend, California’s largest utility warned tens of thousands of people that they should prepare for extended blackouts due to extreme fire risk. Researchers at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) have proposed the development of islanded structures or homes that operate independently on solar microgrids without the need to tap into the central power grid.
Their patent was granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, following research supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Associate Professor Brian Kelley in the UTSA Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is behind the effort that proposes an infrastructure based on a liquid-battery energy storage system that permits homes to operate with continuous energy using solar power.
“It’s a much harder problem than you think,” said Kelley. “The sun shines. The clouds come out and the solar illumination intensity changes. We run specific algorithms to optimally manage anticipated energy storage use, real-time power generation, and conversion. These systems enable the smart grid of the future.”
The microgrid operates based on a home's particular sunlight profile. Run on Vanadium redox batteries, the electrolyte-based energy storage is reusable, low cost and has a low environmental impact.
Since the power generated at a particular home would be used in that same location, approaching homes and buildings as individual centers of power generation is a bottom-up approach. It also offers the added benefit of reduction in transmission loss. The device operates with sensors, advanced power meters, and power converters that modify the intermittent generation from the sun to a form that is reliable and easily integrates with A/C power appliances.
Kelley envisions that every home and new construction could have a pool of batteries that supplies and transfers the solar power. His independent microgrid would be part of a wider approach to fully integrate smart cities—where interconnected technology improves the quality of life for residents by maximizing resources.
“We have to make homes and buildings carbon neutral,” said Kelley. “This frees up homes from dependency on a single power source, lowers cost, and helps make us energy independent.”
Solar energy is abundant in fast-growing metropolitan centers such as San Antonio, which have an appetite for alternative energy. According to the latest figures on solar panel adoption by cities, San Antonio ranked 7th in the nation.
Leveraging smart technology is not new to the university, recently UTSA captured global attention for using solar energy to create smart stop signs in order to prevent vehicle fatalities. The university is also home to the Texas Sustainable Energy Research Institute where work on microturbines is under development.
According to Kelley, innovations in technology make it difficult to predict what the future of a smart city looks like. However, homes as power islands is part of the ecosystem.
“Services in the cloud will manage smart power meters, renewable power flows between a city’s electric vehicle batteries, home energy storage pools, and home appliances. Autonomous cars will chauffeur us to work and back home for family dinner after pit-stops at fast, electric vehicle charging stations. We are going to love the future!” said Kelley.
Learn more about the Texas Sustainable Energy Institute.
Learn more about Brian Kelley’s work.
Learn more about the technology.
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Now that some employees are back in the office, others may still be telecommuting. Meetings may be a combination of virtual and face-to-face. This situation can cause challenges within the work environment. Through presentation, scenarios and discussion participants will learn easy strategies to address incivility in their area.
Virtual EventOctober is Domestic Violence Prevention Month and PEACE Center is asking you to pledge to not use your hands for hitting by putting a handprint on our canvas! All supplies will be provided!
McKinney Humanities Building Portico, Main CampusDr. Phillip W. Schnarrs is the founder of the UTSA Pride Faculty Staff Association. He is an Associate Professor of Population Health at The University of Texas Dell Medical School and was a 2017 to 2020 Interdisciplinary Research Leaders Fellow with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
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Virtual EventDr. Yoojin Muhn and David Waterland conduct this concert. More details to come. The Fall 2021 concert schedule is subject to change. Please continue to monitor our website and social media for updates.This concert will be live-streamed via the UTSA Music Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/UTSAMusic
UTSA Recital Hall, Main CampusThis town hall will include remarks from campus leadership and a presentation of the Campus Climate survey results by Rich Boyer, founding partner of ModernThink, LLC. There will be time for faculty and staff to ask questions and learn more about how the survey data can inform strategies to promote a welcoming and inclusive environment for working, teaching and research at UTSA.
Virtual EventThematic voice recitals featuring student performances from the Recital Hall stage and live-streamed via our Facebook page.
Recital Hall, 1 UTSA Circle, Main CampusThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
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We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education.
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to ending generations of discrimination and inequity. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
