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Title: Performance characteristics of solar-photovoltaic flywheel-storage systems

Conference ·
OSTI ID:6518419

A solar photovoltaic energy flywheel storage and conversion system for residential applications was designed, built and tested. Performance and efficiency measurements were conducted on the system, which utilizes low-loss magnetic bearings, maximum-power-point tracking of the photovoltaic array, integrated permanent magnet motor-generator, and output power-conditioning sections of either the stand-alone cycloconverter or utility interactive inverter type. The overall in-out electrical storage efficiency of the flywheel system was measured along with the power transfer efficiencies of the individual components and the system spin-down tare losses. A round-trip storage efficiency of 82% in the utility interactive mode and 74% in the stand-alone mode was found. This compares favorably with systems involving batteries and an inverter, which typically exhibit a round trip efficiency less than 70%.

Research Organization:
Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Lexington (USA). Lincoln Lab.
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-76ET20279
OSTI ID:
6518419
Report Number(s):
DOE/ET/20279-134; CONF-810526-23
Resource Relation:
Conference: 15. IEEE PV specialists conference, Orlando, FL, USA, 11 May 1981
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English