Realizing an integrated system for residential energy harvesting and management

A new power conversion architecture for a residential power router is reported. In comparison to previously published architectures, this one offers higher efficiency and performance, and is more amenable to production for the emerging mass consumer market for systems to manage energy harvesting, storage, and consumption. The integrated system includes the hardware for dc-to-ac power conversion and system level controls for power flow and load management. For the hardware, the tracking resonant frequency (TRF) and direct-quadrature (D-Q) controls are respectively implemented in dual-half bridge (DHB) to increase the system efficiency, and in the inverter to reduce the voltage error. For the system level controls, the power flow management is developed based on a rule-based algorithm using real-world time-of-use (TOU) electricity pricing data parsed from the Internet through the LabVIEW™-based communication interface. The simulation and experimental results reported in this paper verify the efficient dc/ac power conversion and the optimized performance of the integrated residential energy harvesting and management system.