Energy Management Group
Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering
Merchant Venturers Building
Woodland Road
Bristol BS8 1UB
United Kingdom
T +44 117 954 5499
F +44 117 954 5206
E energy-management
@bristol.ac.uk
More-electric technologies |
Low power systems |
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The 2007 Stern Review recommends decarbonisation of the entire UK energy infrastructure, including power stations, industrial processes, transport and energy use in buildings. Variable renewable energy sources requiring new and innovative electrical energy management schemes will replace stored-fuel (e.g. nuclear, fossil, hydro) generation methods. Constant electrical loads will be replaced by smart energy consumption and integrated power management. Increased energy efficiency will be required of vehicles, buildings and industrial processes. Key to achieving these goals are bidirectional energy flow, effective storage of intermittently supplied energy, and the integration and management of multiple and diverse energy sources.
Successful commercialisation of these low-carbon solutions requires understanding of complex system-level interactions of the many components in these new energy schemes so that the most effective and intelligent energy management/harvesting solutions are realised, and there is an inherent requirement for the capability to test the function and effectiveness of new hardware elements as part of the larger low-carbon system.
The Electrical Energy Management Group researches, designs, builds and tests advanced energy conversion systems containing renewable energy, power electronic and electro-mechanical conversion systems and energy storage elements, in order to optimise efficiency or power/energy density. New electrical energy management and control techniques are developed, and demonstrated on systems subjected to realistic load regimes and environmental conditions. Where possible, testing is carried out using fully representative, ‘real-world’ operating scenarios; therefore test methods such as ‘hardware-in-the-loop’ and ‘sub-structuring’ are developed in order to avoid the need for constituent system elements to be physically present in a single laboratory. This enables complex system interactions to be understood, leading to the evaluation of optimal control methods and development of new energy conversion technologies.
An emerging strand of activity addresses the design synthesis and system-level modelling of vibration energy-harvesting devices, and power electronic circuits for the managing of energy at levels of microwatts for miniature energy harvesters, and at kilowatts for small renewable sources. The development of full-scale prototype demonstrators working closely with industrial partners is an essential and highly rewarding aspect of these activities.
From 2005 to 2010 the Group members have published over 120 papers in peer-reviewed engineering conferences and journals.
The Group was one of four groups submitted by the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering for the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). Results at Group level are not returned, however 64% of the research publications of the Department were categorised as internationally leading (3*or 4*), which is consistent with the previous RAE where the Department was graded 5 (International excellence in up to half of the research activity submitted, national excellence in virtually all of the remainder).
Our research turnover for 2010 is £840,000 and has risen steadily from £600,000 five years ago. This is funded from a variety of sources, including research councils (EPSRC, NERC), the Technology Strategy Board, the European Union and directly from industry. Around 70% of the group’s research funding arises from industry collaborative grants. The development of full-scale prototype demonstrators working closely with these industrial partners is an essential and highly rewarding aspect of these activities.
