Greener: the energy-independent house

Abstract
The main purpose of our work was to recycle solid domestic waste in order to
obtain pure, clean and low-cost energy. In this respect, the prototype for an energyindependent house was built, which uses a hybrid solar system. In this system, heat is
obtained through thermosolar conversion, while electricity is produced through the
photovoltaic effect.
For our work, two sources of green energy were constructed, installed and put into
use in parallel. A photovoltaic panel dedicated to producing energy for operating all the
electrical items and appliances in a house, respectively a solar convertor for heating the
house and producing domestic hot water.
Both technologies are viable and highly efficient. They represent the ideal
solution for locations that do not have connections to the national gas and electricity
networks. In addition, such systems can help consumers by reducing their bills for
different utilities, respectively, obtaining short damping time in the case of domestic
water systems heating.
There are numerous advantages to using these systems: independence from the
national electricity and gas suppliers; immunity against the increasing price of these
utilities; the installation of such systems does not require any authorization; long-term
operation at low maintenance costs; protecting the natural resources; reducing the CO2
emissions; recycling waste products in exchange of their storage and reducing the costs
of the energy used for recycling.
The prototype of the photovoltaic panel we developed contains 28 solar cells with
an in series connection. The panel is connected to a battery and an inverter. The inverter
was used to convert the 12 volts generated by the panel to a voltage of 230V, needed to
power any electrical devices or appliances in a home.

For the realization of the solar heater (RADEF), 48 recycled aluminum pop cans
were used. The cans were painted in matte black to absorb solar radiation. An adjustable
thermostat is attached to the converter (to set the desired temperature the panel operates
at), a heat exchanger and a water pump for the production of hot water. To determine the
effectiveness of this system, the input and the output temperatures were measured every 2
hours, for 24 hours.
The results obtained showed significant increases in temperature for every
measurement made. The most significant increases in temperature were registered in the
afternoon, when air temperatures reached maximum rates. The biggest difference
between the temperatures registered was 60 C around 4 P.M. (when the registered input
temperature was 22 C and the output 82 C).
The energy-independent house prototype realized in this project wants to promote
the idea of approaching similar systems but on a larger scale, that can serve larger
buildings, such as private enterprises, institutions, holiday homes in rural zones where
there is no access to the national electricity gas networks etc.
The hybrid solar system proposed by us satisfies the needs of the beneficiaries
through: internal space heating at the desired temperatures, space lightning and household
powering, making all the processes that use various forms of energy to run properly.
Reference
ExxonMobile (2012): The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040. Annual Report p.1-51
Countryman, K. (2012): The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040. EHSJournal.
Analysis, News and Notes, No.7.