RENEWABLE ENERGY SOLUTION FOR ELECTRONIC WORKSHOPS: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A SOLAR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM FOR TECHNICAL COLLEGES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study focused on the design and implementation of a solar power supply system as a renewable energy solution for electronic workshops in technical colleges in Gombe State. The study adopted a Research and Development (R&D) design involving system design, component selection, construction, preliminary testing, assembly and performance evaluation. The system comprised a 300-W monocrystalline solar panel, 30-A PWM charge controller, two 12-V, 100-Ah batteries, and a 2,000-W pure-sine-wave inverter, supported by a dsPIC30F2010 microcontroller-based sinusoidal pulse-width modulation (SPWM) control circuit. The system was designed to provide 220–230 V AC at 50 Hz for electronic workshop applications. Performance testing was conducted by measuring output power, voltage, frequency, total harmonic distortion (THD) and overall efficiency. The findings revealed that the constructed system delivered 1,950 W, representing 97.5% of the 2,000-W design target. The output voltage was 228 V AC, while the output frequency was 50.0 Hz. The measured THD was 4.2%, while overall system efficiency was 87.3%, exceeding the design target of 85%. The results indicate that the developed system was capable of supplying stable and suitable electrical power for electronic workshop activities. The study concluded that solar energy can provide a technically viable and environmentally sustainable alternative to unreliable conventional electricity supply in technical-college electronic workshops in Gombe State. The developed system also provides an opportunity for practical exposure of students to solar photovoltaic, power-electronic and renewable-energy technologies.