Fossil fuels and Nuclear power is responsible for about 82% of the current Energy Production in the US. While a small part is still being met by renewable energy sources, engineers are working hard on finding new sources of Energy. Another approach to the global clean energy crisis is that instead of looking for a new energy source, we should become Energy Efficient. Road power generation is a new technology where the wasted energy of a moving vehicle can be extracted and converted to useful work done. This paper presents such a technology which when employed at the corner of a road can send power directly to the grid or run streetlights depending on the mode of operation. This is done by constructing a Savonius Wind Turbine and then converting the wasted wind energy produced by a moving vehicle. In addition, a solar panel can also be placed on the top of the turbine and produce more energy. A microcontroller decides how Energy is to be sent to the grid or stored to be used for street lighting load. While the power production may vary depending on the traffic and conditions of the city, the S-rotor and solar panel have a maximum voltage of 19.1 V and 19.65 V respectively.

Roadside vertical solar-wind energy tower

Renewable energy sources have been researched for more than a century now. Wind energy; which is often characterized as an unreliable source of energy, is not unreliable if placed at places with smooth wind currents. Savonius rotor as Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) can be used as a standalone power generation device because of its low cost, low cut-in speed and the fact that it can accept wind from any direction. S-Rotors when compared to other types of rotors have a lower Power Coefficient but factors like Overlap ratio, Aspect Ratio, Number of Blades and Blade shapes can affect its efficiency. This paper discusses the Design and construction of a Savonius wind turbine by studying how the factors above influence the rotor’s performance. Finally, a Single-stage, Two blade conventional Savonius rotor with an Overlap Ratio of 0.1 and Aspect Ratio of 3.3 has been constructed and discussed below. Studies for choosing the best material have also been conducted and PolyVinyl Chloride (PVC) has been selected to prepare the blades from. According to the study conducted, the voltage output recorded at 5.4 m/s wind speed was 19.1 Volts.

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Mirsad Hyder Shah

Papers

Roadside vertical solar-wind energy tower

Design and construction of Savonius rotor