Author

Edson Manyumbu

Title

Energy Efficiency Remote Laboratory Development At CUT

News

Why Energy Efficiency?

Power supply is currently being greatly surpassed by demand leading to long hours of power blackouts in the country. Energy efficiency can significantly reduce demand and thereby bring about supply-demand matching.

Energy Efficiency Remote Laboratory Development at Chinhoyi University of Technology

Through funding from EU under the EU-ZW project, Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT) has taken noteworthy steps towards the development and implementation of an Energy Efficiency Remote Laboratory (EERL). A low cost EERL is under development and most of the required equipment has since been procured.

The EERL enables students and teachers to explore smart load management for improved energy efficiency. Through IoT-based monitoring and control, users can analyse and optimize energy consumption in real time. This remote platform supports learning and research demand-side management, grid stability and sustainable energy utilization.

Design Process and Progress

Design process took the following stages:

1.       Identification of learning outcomes

2.       Determination of measured parameters

3.       Determination of sensors and outputs

4.       Identification and design of the communication protocol

5.       Design of the circuit board

6.       Verification of experimentation system functionality

7.       Deployment of refined circuitry into EASY EDA PCB design software and setting of fabrication parameters

8.       Procurement of the components

9.       System integration and deployment (in progress)

10.   Refining and documentation (in progress)

 

 

Benefits

Accessible to students remotely and less investment towards laboratory equipment. Shortage of laboratory equipment can easily be addressed through remote laboratories, these can be shared across institutions and regions around the world. 

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