Ambient Temperature Control in General Coaches using Re-Utilized Photovoltaic Cells

Abstract

For a tropical nation like India, the temperature shifts from 480 C during summer to 20 C during winter. Travelers in a railway travel are unfavorably influenced. Air-conditioning of railway coaches is therefore, necessary for the utmost comfort and well-being of passengers. Not everyone is able to afford AC charges. Therefore, general coaches are made for providing economy travel mode for common public and it is not practicable to levy more charges on ticket to provide extra systems for controlling the ambient temperature and humidity in general coaches. Hence a re-utilized solar photovoltaic is integrated on the roof top of general coaches. It can be assumed that every solar panel is capable of reducing the temperature due to solar radiation below to it by 15%. Thus, it is enhancing the thermal insulation of railway coaches using released solar cells. Commercially available solar panel is able to produce 250 W/sq.m on an on an average but the efficiency of the solar panel diminishes to 80% in 10 years and 70% in 15 years, thus the life span of solar panel of thin film type solar panel is 20 years and thus these solar panels are discarded and they become an e-waste. The average electricity produced by the codal life ended solar panel is about 10.5 kW, a general coach is having an electrical load of 6kW (lighting, fans), the remaining co-generated electricity from the codal life ended solar panels (10.5kW) after meeting the full load of the coaches (6kW) can be used to lower the temperature by cooling the air up to 4 deg Celsius. Thus, the power generated by this method meets the full load current of coaches at day time and therefore energy dependency is lowered from engines. Hence it is proposed through this project to re-utilize the codal life ended solar panels for controlling the ambient temperature in the least expensive way instead of scrapping it.