Generating,
storing and consuming energy
The key
idea of the project as a whole is to consistently utilise
the most important sources of energy available at
sea.
Since this project is likely to be initially realised using a yacht,
which for
most of the year would lie at anchor, great stress is to be placed
on storing energy.
Wind and solar energy,
in the least, are continuously available during mooring periods, and
these can
be converted into a form able to be stored. Compressed
hydrogen gas is planned to be used for storage; the
reasons
for deciding on this medium are presented in the annex in the section
entitled
“Andere
Speichermöglichkeiten” (at present only in German). In order
to
obtain concrete results, we proceed as outlined in the following.
First, the amount of energy able to be generated on
the vessel from the sun, wind and waves is determined. To do this, an
operating
scenario for the vessel is required, i.e. assumptions regarding: the
proportion
of |
mooring time to
travel time;
the average number of daily operating
hours of
the ship’s motors during voyages; and the areas where the vessel is
likely to
operate, since there is a great amount of variation among marine areas
with respect
to sun, wind and wave conditions.
Based on a survey of individuals
familiar
with the practical operation of large yachts, it is
assumed that our vessel will be travelling an average of 42
days per year, while the rest of the
time it will either be moored at a pier or lie at anchor near a beach.
Such
assumptions can be verified when large used yachts are sold. In such
cases the
number of hours of operation accumulated thus far by the ship’s motor
is made
public, and this figure can then be divided by the number of years of
operation. Mooring periods then need to be further broken down
into phases during which crew or passengers are on board. For a
generous
estimate of energy needs, the period
withouta
crew (i.e. non-use of the
vessel) has, at 50 days per
year, been intentionally
assumed rather conservatively. All of the calculations presented below
are
based on
|
a proportion of 50 : 273 : 42
days (mooring time without crew
:
mooring with crew : travel time) with 6
hours of motor operation on each day of travel.
Once the
amount of available energy has been determined, energy requirements
need to be calculated.
First,
requirements are ascertained, i.e. energy necessary for the crew’s
comfort
(heating, air conditioning, lighting, kitchen appliances etc.) as
well as
energy needed for other equipment on board (electronic and electrical
steering
components, bilge pumps, position lights etc.). The energy
surplus, i.e. the difference between available energy and board energy
requirements, is consumed by the ship’s
motor during travel and stored
while
mooring. During voyages the motors can thus run on the energy produced
directly
and additionally on stored energy. |
Engineering
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