In most parts of the world, a significant number of people are still facing tough times with unreliable electricity. We know that in certain isolated villages in quite backward countries, they have nothing but candles or kerosene lamps to be utilized as lighting during night hours. However, due to the advancement of technology, an energy solution known as “hybrid power system” is quietly changing the fate of these places.
What is a hybrid system?
A Hybrid Power System is composed of two or more disparate sources of energy. Such as solar + diesel power generation, or solar + wind power, and battery energy storage, different sources of energy work together, exercise their own advantages, not just energy conservation and environmental protection, but also stable and reliable.
For example, when the sun is shining in the daytime, the hybrid can run on solar energy; At night or where there is no sunlight on rainy days, the diesel motor will run to generate electricity; Spare electricity is stored in batteries to be used during the night or in emergency cases. The integration saves fuel and increases the reliability of the consumption of electricity.
Why is it more required in remote locations?
In urban areas, electricity is readily available by plugging into the grid. But in certain remote locations, not only is it costly to run wires and pylons, but also challenging to set up. A mini hybrid power system is similar to establishing a “micro power station”, which can power independently and feed power at any time, which is very well suited for these “island” electricity situations.
Further, economic circumstances within many isolated villages are bleak. With the utilization of solely diesel power generation, fuel is expensive, and easy to switch off in inconvient traffic flows. Wind and solar energy of the hybrid plant are free-of-cost and shall be utilized for decades as long as properly maintained, dramatically reducing the economic cost.
Light? Light what
In a number of African nations with comparatively poor infrastructures, most villages have purchased hybrid power systems. Solar panels rest quietly on the roof, diesel engines are concealed in the cabin, and energy storage batteries hum quietly. The production of hybrid electricity has made great transformations to these villages.
The first one is children’s study. In the period of unstable power supply, I must retire as soon as night falls. Now I am able to study and read books at night by the light, and my school grades have improved significantly. On the medical side, small clinics are able to store vaccines and provide simple first aid at night; TV sets, rice cookers, mobile phone chargers, the quality of life has also significantly improved.
More importantly, with electricity, some villages began to develop processing industries. For example, grain-shucking machines, small electric welding kits, and even people opened up refrigerators to sell cold drinks. Life gets richer and more interesting.
Naturally, hybrid power systems have some drawbacks as well, e.g., initial investment in the system, maintenance of equipment, battery replacement and so on. But with technology developing, solar panels become more efficient. Batteries are longer lasting, intelligent control system becomes more user-friendly, simple to use, and easy to maintain.
Now, there are some systems that can be controlled remotely through mobile apps. Remote monitoring of the operation of equipment, record his information parameters and data, and some also have “modular design”, according to the power consumption at any time to install new components, convenient and flexible.
The hybrid system is an intelligent and adaptive “energy dispatcher.” It can integrate different sources of energy and maximize people’s electricity consumption. For cities, it is a low-carbon and green solution; For companies, it is an advanced tool for energy saving and cost reduction. And for rural villages, it is a real “light.”.
With this energy conversion path, hybrid power systems are coming into more lives. It’s not a technology, but a hope, a power to change destiny.
Perhaps in the future not too distant, no corner of the world will be kept in darkness because of isolation.