UNAIR NEWS – Universitas Airlangga students in their research innovation found a tool that can be used to maximize electrical energy through a combination of solar cells and Thermoelectric Generator using solar radiation energy.
The students are from Faculty of Science and Technology UNAIR, Mutia R.A Hoesain, Ilham Maulana Putra, and Ananto Ari P. Under the guidance of Franky Chandra S. Arisgraha, ST., MT., a lecturer of FST UNAIR, student proposal on MATRICS (Smart Solar Tracker Thermoelectric System) using a combination of Thermoelectric Generator solar cells to maximize the convertion of solar radiation energy, passed the selection of Dikti (General Directorate of Higher Education).
Therefore, the FST team in Student Creativity Program Invention category (PKM-KC) got funding from Ministry of Research of Technology and Higher Education (Kemenristekdikti) in PKM program 2018.
Described by Mutia RA Hoesain, the leader of the team, that the need for electricity is very fundamental, both for the home industry and the national industry. The demand for electricity in Indonesia continues to increase, therefore optimization of generators growth in Indonesia is deemed necessary in order to establish a balance between the electricity supply and the required amount of demand.
“Thus the electrification ratio in Indonesia should be further improved because the number of people who need electricity is increasing,” said Mutia.
For the problem, the three students conduct a research to increase production and efficiency of electrical energy. The solar radiation energy was chosen using the combination of solar cells and Thermoelectric Generator.
Described by Mutia, the tool is designed to utilize heat collected by solar panels, through thermal heat capturer method, using the arrangement of solar panels placed on the copper plate and thermoelectric generator module underneath. So the heat of the sun absorbed in the panel will not be released into the air but converted into electricity.
The advantages of this tool or MATRICS, according to Mutia, is better flexibility than conventional panels. Conventional panels are static to capture light from only one direction.
While the MATRICS of this creation is flexible, because it is controlled by microcontrollerthat there is a light sensor on the four angular eye directions, so that the sensor will find the direction where the light intensity is big (maximum) and the panel moves in that direction.
“With this tool, we hope that the electrical energy can be efficient and friendly to the environment. In addition, this MATRICS can be a solution to the lack of electricity production in remote areas of Indonesia, and can increase the electrification ratio for the community, “said Mutia RA Hoesain. (*)
Editor: Bambang Bes.
