PIC hydro system controller

Posted on Jun 2, 2012

The ELC presented here has some flexibility, thanks to being software-controlled, but also has its limitations: It's intended for microhydro systems that employ a single-phase synchronous alternator, working at 220-240V, 50Hz, in a power range up to 25 kilowatts, and using up to eight dump loads, some or all of which can be `useful` loads, such as water boilers or room heaters. It can be built for 120V systems too, simply by using the proper power transformer, but then it will be limited to half the power. It can also be configured for 60Hz (or any other reasonable frequency) simply by setting a parameter in the software. In the form presented here, four of the outputs are used in prioritized fashion, with the other four having all the same (last) priority, with power being distributed among them.

Click here to download the full size of the above Circuit.

This can be changed in the software too, allowing any combination from fully sequentially prioritized, to fully "democratic" among all outputs. This ELC uses a quartz crystal for reference, and in normal operation it locks the generator/turbine speed to this quartz, resulting in highly accurate frequency control. The software allows fine tuning of the frequency. However, if a heavy load change momentarily pulls the system out of lock, the resulting missing or surplus cycles will not be recovered; instead the system will try to recover the correct speed as quickly as possible. For this reason, in the presence of such transient loads it might not be stable enough to accurately run clocks that use the line frequency for reference, despite having quartz control. I have no line-frequency-dependent clock, so I haven't tested how accurate such a clock is with this ELC. The core of this ELC is a PIC microcontroller. I used a 16F628, which is one of the most common PICs, inexpensive, easy to get, and quite powerful and versatile. It also has just about the right number of pins for this application. The whole ELC consists of little more than this PIC, the power supply, and the power circuit built around eight TRIACs. The power transformer has two secondaries. One of them is used to power the circuit, by means of a totally conventional circuit using a bridge rectifier, filter capacitor, and three-terminal regulator. The other...

Visit page

Leave Comment

characters left:

New Circuits

Zero consumption Anti-theft High power Code Switch for E-Bike Batteries

This project fits more for custom made battery casing that can have more space to hide things inside. This switch with few alterations can be used for any other project as well but is designed based on e-bike needs! This project use a clever functionality of....
Ultrasonic distance finder circuit

The circuit described here uses ultrasonic oscillations and operates based on the propagation velocity of these oscillations in the air. Thus, we can easily determine the distance of two points if the time within which the wave travels this distance is....
Simple Metal detector circuit with CD4030

Sometimes the precious metals are hidden too deep and are not detected except with complicated devices. In many cases, however, small pieces of precious metal buried near the surface can be detected by relatively simple means. Everyone is very attractive to....
Fully automatic watering circuit for flower pots

Many times for various reasons we forget or can not water the plants that we have in our homes. And many humidity sensors units just notify us with a beeping sound or with a flashing light, that the pot needs watering. But what if we are away from home? This....
Simple deep searching metal detector circuit

The principle behind a metal detector is really very simple. Proof of this is the circuit that follows, in which it proves that the construction of a metal detector can be done in the minute, with few components that we find very easily everywhere. With the....
Sub-Harmonic Bass Converter for Electric Guitars

The sub-harmonic bass generator is a sound producing unit for guitars. The sound it produces looks very much like that of the bass guitar. The octave generator is sometimes quite unusual since it does not produce any of the usual ways of coloring the sound,....
Echo Depth Sounding Sonar for Boats

In the past the sounding (sea bottom measurement) was done with the "bullet", that is, with a heavy lead object that the seamen plucked into the sea hung from a calibrated rope. As soon as the "bullet" reached the bottom, the depth appeared directly from the....
100W HiFi Audio Amplifier Circuit

This Amplifier was designed to have the following specifications: Distortion less than 0.1% at full power of 100W even at 20KHz. Power has to be attributed to an extended bandwidth. The output transistors must be protected against short circuits. The power....
Plant-Pot Water Level Indicator Circuit

A series of LEDs serve to alert the gardener when plants need water. Using two conventional digital integrated LEDs and a series of LEDs, we make a very useful device for gardening. The device detects the amount of water in the pot and alerts the grower.....

Create NOW your QR MENU for your Restaurant / Hotel / Bar / Caffe,

Comprehensive ordering/paying features. fully personalized to suit your Business.

Update Anytime! Easy and Simple!

Popular Circuits

Tin Can Waveguide WiFi Antenna

Got no dough for a commercial WiFi antenna? Looking for an inexpensive way to increase the range...

Long range AM transmitter

Here is the circuit diagram of an easy to build long range AM transmitter circuit based on three...

Opto Isolated Emulation For The Debugwire

Power circuit Reset circuit USB connection ABDAC sound DAC Interface JTAG and Nexus debug ports...

FM Receiver Circuit

Sometimes I can find a station and sometimes I can`t find any stations. Probably the main problem...

TiDiGino the Arduino-based GSM remote control

Using an ATmega 2560 and therefore the heart of Arduino, we have developed a universal remote...

100W AM Valve Transmitter circuit

For our strong construction with the two 807 we do not need words. We all know the performance of...