Hey all! I am happy to say that I have finally finished my research and will be presenting in less than 2 weeks! This has been a wonderful experience and I am so glad to have been able to share it with you all! Here is a link to the google slides that I will be presenting. It will continually update as I edit it as well, but the final presentation will be done before May 7, as that is when I am presenting! Thanks for all of your time in the past few months!

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1i9VVSdbDeSmUIB2t5gMRRlnheTNkx4bVbELEMi1If9w/edit?usp=sharing

Signing off,
Kayvon Tadj

Hey all, thanks for dropping in again this week! I'm happy to announce that I have finally finished up my market research this week! With this comes some great and not so great news. I'll start with the good news first! Since I have finished my market research, I am able to somewhat accurately describe the state of the market and the different its different costs, from production to retail to use. I have also calculated the approximate number of solar inverter sales world wide (and within the United States) as well as the approximate energy they collect and amount they cost. Unfortunately, I am not able to discuss these exact digits on this blog; however, they bring me to my conclusion (which I can and will share).

Along with my conclusion, comes the aforementioned bad news. Since the market is relatively new and continuing to advance (with much room for competitors), it is saturated. Due to this market saturation and excessive competition, selling price is rapidly decreasing while cost of advancement, production, and distribution stay steady. Therefore, I have concluded that Intel should NOT invest nor participate in the current market (as it is a bad idea to join a market while the price is decreasing). Although at first the realization was a bit disheartening, I kept a few thoughts in mind: the research was still necessary and would have eventually been need to be conducted by somebody; secondly, the information I acquired can still be used in years to come as competitors and consumers stay constant; finally, the experience I gained from doing hands on research is a prize in itself, regardless of if the conclusion was undesirable.

That's about it for this week! Thanks again and stop by next week for my wrap up/summary!

Signing off
Kayvon Tadj

I did absolutely nothing this week and this is the end of my post... APRIL FOOLS! Sorry, I couldn't resist!

Hello all and welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful week! As I mentioned in the last blog,  I focused on market research throughout this week. This involved looking at potential consumers and competitors in the market.

Let's start with the consumers; these are the companies that currently produce the basic solar inverters. Intel's job is to convince them (which should not be too difficult as they always want to improve their products) to employ microcontrollers and microprocessors produced by Intel within these solar inverters. Through my research, I have found specific models from each company (listed in my previous post) and which purpose they serve: resident, industry, or utility. Then, I downloaded the data sheets of each inverter in order to understand its composition. Sure enough, not a single inverter had any complicated or advanced parts integrated into them. Tomorrow morning, my adviser and I will be deciding which types of inverters can Intel help create (hopefully all of them)! This research, in a way, helped with the research on competitors as well: after studying a data sheet, I was able to see which microchip companies (for example, Texas Instruments) were involved.

Studying the competitors was really the most difficult part of the market analysis as their role is so minor as of now. Aside from knowing about their involvement, I was not able to find a shred of information on the specific types of chips the companies used or their prices. My adviser had predicted this would happen; luckily, he has a good idea of the companies' roles as he has worked at a good number of them. Although the marketing/business side of the project is a bit more bland than the engineering part, I love that I am learning how to conduct research in this field (although not 100% successful). Lastly, at our meeting tomorrow, we will be discussing the market size of inverters and microchips, so I should be able to give a thorough explanation of it once I understand it more.

That's it for this week! Thanks again for reading!

Hello fellow bloggers, hope you all had a great week! I was finally able to wrap up all my interviews and get the tour of the solar facility at Intel. I have now finished researching current inverters and all the ways to modernize them into smart inverters. The next step is to analyze the inverter and microprocessor/controller markets and figure out how Intel can get involved. So far, I have identified the main competitors to Intel (AKA microprocessor manufacturers): Texas Instruments, FreeScale, Microchip, NXP, Renesas Technology Corp, STMicroelectronics. Each of these companies produces their own designs and models that set them apart from the rest. It is my job to identify these unique qualities and report these innovation to Intel, who can then build on them. I have also isolated the inverter manufacturers (the companies that Intel would sell their microchips to): ABB, Delta Energy Systems, Enphase Energy, General Electrics Energy, Huawei, Schneider Electric, SMA, SolarBridge Technologies (SunPower), and Sungrow. Of course, both the competitors and consumers lists are not complete, but they rather contain the major companies.

A difficulty that has arisen in regards to the marketing research is that we have no clue which microcontrollers companies are used by the inverter manufacturing companies. For example, does ABB use Texas Instrument’s or FreeScale’s or Microchip’s etc microcontrollers. After learning the specifics of each inverter company and their components, I will evaluate the current national and global market  size in order to advise Intel on how many to create and at what price to sell.

Aside from inverter manufacturing and market analysis, I am also focusing on energy storage in regards to the solar energy generated by solar panels and converted by inverters. In order to do so, I have to study the background of different types of batteries (for example, Lithium ion vs. Nickel Cadmium) and recommend which are more efficient for different residences and industries. Something amazing about harnessing the sun for solar energy is that when you have an excess of energy, you can sell it back to the utility at market price. Furthermore, if you would rather not sell the energy, you can store it and use it when there is no energy source (such as night time or during a storm).

That’s it for today and thanks for stopping by! I only have a few more weeks of research before I should be able to finalize my presentation!

Hello all! Hope you've all had wonderful weeks (and spring breaks if applicable). I am very happy to say I celebrated my 18th birthday this week and had an amazing time. I also celebrated Chaharshanbe Soori (Festival of Fire). This festival, which is held on the last Tuesday before Persian New Year (tomorrow), promotes bring good fortune and spirits into your life while casting away the bad ones. We all come together with food and joy and jump over fires. Jumping over the fires symbolizes giving away bad spirits from the past year while gaining the bright spirits from the fire for the year to come.

I don't have too much to talk about since my adviser has been out of town this week and I have been working on translating all my information into my presentation, which I will be presenting at the end of the year. I will use this post to explain more of Intel's role in the process of smart inverter production. Intel itself is not manufacturing the smart inverters. They will be providing specific parts (microprocessors and micrcontrollers) that aren't required by the inverter, but will improve them.

Currently, inverters have one profile: constant-leveled AC-DC conversion. The microcontrollers and microprocessors will allow inverters to have multiple profiles, meaning that the inverter will have different commands throughout the day. The ideal profile transitions would occur at different time periods based on the family. For example, energy conversion would be completely minimized after people go to work/school. Families with children can have energy conversion increase when their kids come home and continue to rise for when they come home from work. Moreover, the profiles can change on day to day bases (i.e., weekend days would keep energy conversion constant).

The other functionality of the microprocessors/controllers is the convenience they can bring to their customers. Customers will be allowed to connect to the inverters through the cellphones, tablets, computers, etc to control the energy levels. So if someone decides to take a sick day, the homeowner does not have to reset the controls, but instead can manually adjust the energy conversion for the day. These new devices are what will lead technologies beyond inverters to a new "smart" generation.

That's it for this week and thank you for reading the summary of my project. My adviser will come back next week and I will conduct more interviews and have a tour of the solar facility at Intel. Have a wonderful week!

Signing off,
Kayvon Tadj

Hello! Hope everyone had a wonderful week!

Before I start speaking about what I've learned about inverters, I would like to share a valuable lesson I learned about the real world. I had 5 interviews lined up for this week, but only two of them happened (the other three postponed to next week). My supervisor didn't seem bothered by it and said it happened, but I had never considered this. Not a huge deal though! I have just had to improvise my week to week plan some in order to stay on track! I've learned that plans get changed and it's much easier to adapt than to attempt to stick to the original plan.

Concerning inverters, I learned a lot from my interviews. Last week I mentioned a problem with grid tie inverters: I haven't been able to find a way for a batteryless inverter to work while the grid shuts down. However, I learned that his does not have to do with a manufacturing or electrical problem. The reason I had a difficult time finding a solution is that there was no problem to begin with. It is completely possible to do this, but there is no point. If the grid shuts down and there is no battery backup, the ENTIRE house must then run on solar energy. At this point in time, most houses are not efficient enough to use such an inverter, and therefore, we must have a battery backup.

The main goal of the new generation of smart inverters need to be connectable and commutative. And this is exactly where Intel comes in. Intel is a microprocessor/microcontroller company, so their role would not be to create the actual inverter, but rather give processors and controllers to the manufacturer. The goal is to have inverters that can be monitored by both the energy consumer (resident) and producer (energy company). This will allow both to minimize energy waste during off-peak hours, and spread energy more efficiently during peak hours (meaning cheaper energy). Intel can also provide software that can connect the inverter to your phone, computer, tablet, etc. so you can have a constant control of it.

Finally, smart inverters must have more than one profile. Currently, an inverter simply converts DC to AC, all day every day. However, by implementing multiple profiles, the inverter can convert more or less energy when required. For example, the inverter can be programmed to not convert as much energy while nobody is home so energy is not constantly consumed.

I have already made so much progress through just 2 interviews, I cannot wait for the remaining ones. Thanks for stopping by and see you soon!

Signing off
Kayvon Tadj

Hello all! This week has been absolutely amazing! I've been going to Intel's energy department in Chandler this week and have had an amazing time! The food court is wonderful: there is Korean barbecue, Indian food, American grill, Italian food, and free coffee and fruits! I am also getting a tour of one of their six solar installments and the Intel product room! I can't wait for these tours and to share my experience with all of you!

My supervisor, Dr. Godart, and I have discovered a significant issue with grid tie inverters (the type of solar inverter mentioned in my last post). As I mentioned, a grid tie inverter, by definition, is intertwined with the grid. This means that when the utility grid shuts down (i.e., power outage, blackout), the inverter shuts off (meaning one cannot use their solar energy). This is due to safety protocols: if an inverter continued to function and provide energy to the house, some might be sent to the grid (like net metering) and shock a line worker sent to fix the problem. A solution to this problem is to add what is called a battery backup system. In this case, a set of rechargeable batteries is connected to the inverter and utility grid. Either the AC from the circuit or from the inverter recharges these batteries as they discharge, so in the case of a power outage, the inverter disconnects from the grid (this is known as anti-islanding protection) and relies on battery power. Furthermore, only priority appliances are powered by these batteries during the blackout.

So what exactly is the problem if we solved the issue with the battery backup system? The problem with the battery backup system is  three: it is inefficient, costs more money to buy and maintain, and only powers primary appliances during power outages. This will idealy be a capability of a smart inverter: to allow solar power to be used at full capacity during a blackout and not endangering line workers. I will be asking this among many other questions in my interviews! Too look at the questions I have prepared, please click on the link "Interview Questions" under "Related Links" in the right column. I would strongly appreciate any feedback on the questions I have or suggestions on other questions!

Thanks for stopping by this week and I hope you enjoyed! Next week I will be conducting my interviews with people from Intel, APS, SRP, and Siemens. Fingers crossed all goes well! See you next time!

Signing off,
Kayvon Tadj

Greetings to all my readers,

It has been another week of skimming through different articles and books to fill my brain with inverter, grid, and solar technology. Although this background phase will be the driest of my project, I am thoroughly enjoying every moment of it!

This week I have studied specific types of inverters, rather than just a general power inverter, and analyzed them for their strengths and weaknesses. Of the many that inverters that exist and are used, I will be focused on solar inverters. Although the name suggests that these are the only inverters used for to convert solar energy to AC, there are many other inverters that preform this function; however, soalr inverters are the most popular/useful. In this post, I will be focusing on a specific kind of solar inverters, grid tie inverters (GTI).

The GTI is one of the only, and most efficient, methods of connecting to the power grid. To do so, the GTI synchronizes with the frequencies of the grid using an oscillator and limits its output voltage with that of the grid's voltage. The more advanced GTI's have fixed unity power factors (output voltage and current are perfectly synced). The downside to the modern GTI's is that they are almost too perfect! Shocking, right? The problem with perfectly syncing the voltage with the current is that we get rid of reactive power (the byproduct of current and voltage being out of phase). Usually, we supply the grid with this reactive power; however, by getting rid of it, we now create too much power for the grid to handle at peak times (i.e., noon) and we break our aforementioned limitations. One other downfall to using a grid tie inverter is that it must be connected to the main power grid. In other words, a grid tie inverter cannot be used to convert DC solar energy to AC electrical energy to power an appliance directly; it must first be connected to the grid, which can then power the appliance. This indirect route is less efficient as it provides more time and space for friction losses.

Finally, grid tie inverters, like many, can use different kinds of transformers, or none at all. This differentiation may seem insignificant; however, getting rid of a transformer not only reduces the production cost of an inverter, it also makes the inverter more efficient. Many European countries have taken the first step towards smarter inverters and primarily use transformerless inverters. The U.S.'s reluctance to follow Europe stems from a safety concern: would the lack of a transformer lead to faulty DC energy to leak into the AC side. However, since 2005, the NFPA's NEC has allowed the use of transformerless inverters and regulations have even been amended in order to encourage their use. Hopefully, the U.S.'s reluctance eventually fades as they observe the lack of danger that transformerless inverters pose.

That's it for this week! Next week I will begin working at Intel itself and cannot wait to start my journey! I will also be finishing my background phase of my project and entering phase 2 by the end of the week! See you then and thanks for stopping by!

Signing off,
Kayvon Tadj

Hello all! I am currently in Phase 1 of my research project, which, consists of me absorbing as much about solar, grid, and inverter technology as possible. My supervisor has provided me with a couple of books: Reinventing Fire and Solar Power Your Home for Dummies. Furthermore, I have pulled sources from slideshare.com, nrel.gov (the National Renewable Energy Lab), smartgrid.gov, and energy.gov (the Department of Energy).

Now that I have began researching, I can give a more detailed description of my research project. As I mentioned, my goal is to come up with a smart inverter for Interl. But what exactly is an inverter? And what makes it smart? An inverter converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). Their most important application, on which I will be focusing, is to solar energy. When a solar panel converts the energy of the sun to electrical energy, it stores that electrical energy in a battery, which is DC. However, the power grid that the outlets are connected to are all AC; so the inverter is the bridge that connects the solar energy captured from the sun to the appliances in your home.

Current inverters fulfill their function of converting energy from DC to AC, but poorly. Many problems that current inverters pose include fluctuating power levels, dirty power, and weather-dependency. These three problems can be intertwined and can lead to serious problems. For example, after a week of changing weather (from cloudy to sunny), the power levels will spike and drop repeatedly, providing dirty power, which includes low power, power surges, changes in frequencies, etc., to the system. In the case of a hospital, for example, this dirty power can corrupt all the machines it is funneled to. A smart inverter, among other capabilities, would stabilize the power, voltage, and frequency levels while being more efficiently converting energy.

My next post (February 19) will further the background on inverters, grids, and solar energy that I uncover in the  next few day. Next week, I will be going to Intel for 2 weeks every day in order to work more closely with other solar engineers. Furthermore, I will be finishing Phase 1 of 4 next week and beginning the more interesting, hands-on research! As I mentioned, I will be interviewing workers from the DOE, Intel, SRP, and APS! I will keep you informed on how each interview goes and what I learn. Thanks for reading!

Signing off,
Kayvon Tadj

Hello fellow bloggers and welcome! My name is Kayvon Tadj and I am a senior at BASIS Scottsdale. Us seniors are given a rather unique and amazing opportunity to spend our third and final trimester of high school on a research project in place of going to school. The focus of my project is engineering, but I have many non-academic hobbies as well. I have played rugby since the 5th grade and plan to continue through college; contrarily, I have attend a Zumba class at least once a week for the past year and a half! I absolutely love doing both and I feel that they are two way different modes of my expression. I also absolutely love to travel! I have family in Iran, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, France, and Canada. I have visited all those countries except Australia and Switzerland (which I plan to go to on my Europe backpacking trip this summer)! Speaking of which, if any of you fellow Internet wanderers have experience with European travels and would recommend strategies, cities, or places to go, I’d love to hear about it.

Starting early February, I will begin my Internship with Intel under the guidance of Thierry Godart. My research is focused on developing a new wave of smart inverters, which will, ideally, be considerably more advancements than any smart inverters on the market. I have been tasked with researching current inverters, creating new ones, providing Intel and its consumers with a proper application for them, and creating a marketing strategy to distribute them. The project is definitely overwhelming and I would surprise myself, and my supervisor, if I were able to finish everything in the allotted 10 weeks.

I absolutely love math, physics, engineering, and anything related to them, so this Research Project perfectly matches my interests and will help me improve my skills. I will be spending most of my time researching with my supervisor and developing new models while making occasional stops at Intel labs. I am super excited to begin the first chapter of my life after high school and will be making weekly posts to keep you all up to date! Furthermore, any time I come across any cool or interesting "Phun Physics Phacts," I will add a link and description for any other Physics enthusiasts like me to see.

Signing off and hope to hear feedback from you all in a few months,

Kayvon Tadj