2 answers
Aakilah
Student
Tampa, Florida
1
Question
Asked
364 views
How can electrical engineering drive the development of efficient and accessible renewable energy system for the next generation??
I would imagine as I pursue my career that I would frequently come across a way to make energy more sustainable. I'm especially interested in helping homeowners become more energy-efficient and reduce their environmental impact through accessible technology.
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2 answers
Teklemuz Ayenew Tesfay
Electrical engineer, researcher and Software Developer
204
Answers
Ethiopia
Updated
Teklemuz Ayenew’s Answer
Hey,
If you're studying electrical engineering with a passion for renewable energy and sustainable living, you're in a prime position to make a meaningful impact. You can work on technologies like smart grids, solar power systems, battery storage, and energy-efficient home devices—solutions that help homeowners lower their bills and carbon footprint. To prepare, focus on key areas such as power electronics, embedded systems, and IoT. Learn coding languages like Python and C++, and familiarize yourself with communication protocols like MQTT, Zigbee, and Z-Wave, which are essential for smart home integration.
Building hands-on projects, such as solar setups, smart energy trackers, or battery management systems, will deepen your practical skills. Explore tools like MATLAB, LTspice, OpenHAB, and PVsyst, and get involved in open-source platforms and maker communities. Earning certifications like North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners(NABCEP), LEED, or Certified Energy Manager(CEM) can further boost your credibility. Joining professional networks such as IEEE Power & Energy Society, Solar Energy International (SEI), or online forums like r/renewableenergy will help you stay connected with industry experts. Whether you pursue a career with utilities, clean-tech startups, or develop your own sustainable products, your goal should be to make renewable energy simple, affordable, and accessible to everyday homes. Good luck!
If you're studying electrical engineering with a passion for renewable energy and sustainable living, you're in a prime position to make a meaningful impact. You can work on technologies like smart grids, solar power systems, battery storage, and energy-efficient home devices—solutions that help homeowners lower their bills and carbon footprint. To prepare, focus on key areas such as power electronics, embedded systems, and IoT. Learn coding languages like Python and C++, and familiarize yourself with communication protocols like MQTT, Zigbee, and Z-Wave, which are essential for smart home integration.
Building hands-on projects, such as solar setups, smart energy trackers, or battery management systems, will deepen your practical skills. Explore tools like MATLAB, LTspice, OpenHAB, and PVsyst, and get involved in open-source platforms and maker communities. Earning certifications like North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners(NABCEP), LEED, or Certified Energy Manager(CEM) can further boost your credibility. Joining professional networks such as IEEE Power & Energy Society, Solar Energy International (SEI), or online forums like r/renewableenergy will help you stay connected with industry experts. Whether you pursue a career with utilities, clean-tech startups, or develop your own sustainable products, your goal should be to make renewable energy simple, affordable, and accessible to everyday homes. Good luck!
Brian Somes
Engineer
2
Answers
Richardson, Texas
Updated
Brian’s Answer
Hi Aakilah,
I like your question because it shows you may already have a goal and purpose in mind to apply your studies in electrical engineering to ! And this will help drive you ahead getting your degree and in your career ahead.
In your studies, keep in mind that efficiency is the key !
And that's BOTH the Production side, as well as the Consumption (homeowners) side.
It's important to study and learn about both.
On the production side...even the best commercial cost-effective solar panels are only a pitiful 22-24% efficient at converting light to electricity. Perfect day solar irradiance gives us 1,000W/m2, so there is a long way to go to be able to convert more than 24% of this to electrical power. When I got involved in solar energy way back in the 70's as a young person (yes I'm old-ish LOL), there was a big "1970's oil crisis" and the beginnings of effort into solar energy... the cells back then were only 10% efficient (yes 90% of sun's energy not converted . I still have one of those big round cells that produced very little power...and it was produced by BP Shell Oil company if you can believe that ! Now decades later, and billions of research dollars later, we are still only to 22-24% (and many panels being produced today are actually less).
And this is where YOU come in...maybe your studies and Engineering degree work you will put you in a position to help discover a new or better way? Maybe there will be a different way of thinking on how to more efficiently convert the sun's amazing power to what we need it for. Maybe an advancement in software will lead to the production of better cells or more efficient use of the energy they do produce? Speaking of software: Note that most solar controllers now have MaxPowePoint software/firmware built in that actually helps the solar panel operate significantly more efficiently . In real-time it calculates the voltage and current at which point (i.e. "MPP") the panel will produce its highest wattage specification, and adjusts the parameters of the controller to achieve that voltage and current combination).
Imagine if solar was even just 50% efficient? ... what a game changer that would be! And the homeowners would then need only a few smaller panels! (with less waste, less materials, to manufacture these smaller highly efficient panels).
But this isn't the whole story...And until you help the industry create a much better solar panel :) we must look at the consumption efficiency.
The consumption side is really the key part of this (And even more important to the question you asked). "Everyone" wants to sell homeowners solar panels, but few talk about the more important part of how efficiently the energy is going to be consumed. Imagine trying to power households or businesses using "old school" 100W filament lightbulbs using solar panels, vs. the newer equivalent 10W LED bulbs? The efficient use of power that is engineered into LED lighting (and many other products) is really is what helps solar be practical for the price. Very simplified example: In one case you can power only the one "old school" bulb with one 100W panel, in other case you can power 10 ! And you did not have to change anything with that expensive, not very efficient, solar panel. You changed the consumption side. The households (and business) you speak of will always get a bigger return on investment by concentrating on their consumption efficiency! The price per watt savings of upgrading efficiency of light/appliance/HVAC/etc. is a lot more that the price per watt you would spend on buying additional solar panels to basically power the inefficiency of old/inefficient devices. Of course the best of both worlds is using solar with the most efficient devices.
You can play a part here in your education ....learning how to develop or engineer more efficient components and circuits and applying knowledge in software to control, monitor, and regulate energy use. Or as a designer, creating practical systems for homeowners and businesses by doing "energy audits" on usage with a keen eye on the efficiency of their lighting, appliances, systems. Upgrading the systems that use the electricity may indeed be the first step to make a solar installation truly successful!
Engineering has had much better success making the things that use/convert electricity more efficient (which is awesome)... such as the LED lighting example using >90% power that the conventional. This then uses less power overall whether supplied by solar, wind, gas, coal, etc. This type of engineering is a win-win as it both makes solar energy more possible and practical, and doesn't squander the world's fossil fuels on needless waste heat generation (heat=the penalty for not being efficient!).
This is all such a huge part of the Engineering that has been ongoing on to create new chips, components, magnetics, and system designs software that use very little power themselves to do what we need them to (along with the all-important software that controls and monitors) .
AND there is much more to be done...and the baton is passing to you and your generation to continue this work!
Learn as much as you can, do the hard work to get an Engineering degree, and then go for what really inspires you!
Alternative energy education and career opportunities go across such a wide spectrum from material sciences to software, to chip design and fabrication...application design...system design...consumer homeowner and business architecture... sales...installation...High-power grid transmission line and electronics design, Civil engineering and planning.....
It is such and interesting area of study and career !
I hope you keep inspired and it gives you goal to shoot for and a purpose you can be proud of !
brian (B.S. EE and Comp Sci)
I like your question because it shows you may already have a goal and purpose in mind to apply your studies in electrical engineering to ! And this will help drive you ahead getting your degree and in your career ahead.
In your studies, keep in mind that efficiency is the key !
And that's BOTH the Production side, as well as the Consumption (homeowners) side.
It's important to study and learn about both.
On the production side...even the best commercial cost-effective solar panels are only a pitiful 22-24% efficient at converting light to electricity. Perfect day solar irradiance gives us 1,000W/m2, so there is a long way to go to be able to convert more than 24% of this to electrical power. When I got involved in solar energy way back in the 70's as a young person (yes I'm old-ish LOL), there was a big "1970's oil crisis" and the beginnings of effort into solar energy... the cells back then were only 10% efficient (yes 90% of sun's energy not converted . I still have one of those big round cells that produced very little power...and it was produced by BP Shell Oil company if you can believe that ! Now decades later, and billions of research dollars later, we are still only to 22-24% (and many panels being produced today are actually less).
And this is where YOU come in...maybe your studies and Engineering degree work you will put you in a position to help discover a new or better way? Maybe there will be a different way of thinking on how to more efficiently convert the sun's amazing power to what we need it for. Maybe an advancement in software will lead to the production of better cells or more efficient use of the energy they do produce? Speaking of software: Note that most solar controllers now have MaxPowePoint software/firmware built in that actually helps the solar panel operate significantly more efficiently . In real-time it calculates the voltage and current at which point (i.e. "MPP") the panel will produce its highest wattage specification, and adjusts the parameters of the controller to achieve that voltage and current combination).
Imagine if solar was even just 50% efficient? ... what a game changer that would be! And the homeowners would then need only a few smaller panels! (with less waste, less materials, to manufacture these smaller highly efficient panels).
But this isn't the whole story...And until you help the industry create a much better solar panel :) we must look at the consumption efficiency.
The consumption side is really the key part of this (And even more important to the question you asked). "Everyone" wants to sell homeowners solar panels, but few talk about the more important part of how efficiently the energy is going to be consumed. Imagine trying to power households or businesses using "old school" 100W filament lightbulbs using solar panels, vs. the newer equivalent 10W LED bulbs? The efficient use of power that is engineered into LED lighting (and many other products) is really is what helps solar be practical for the price. Very simplified example: In one case you can power only the one "old school" bulb with one 100W panel, in other case you can power 10 ! And you did not have to change anything with that expensive, not very efficient, solar panel. You changed the consumption side. The households (and business) you speak of will always get a bigger return on investment by concentrating on their consumption efficiency! The price per watt savings of upgrading efficiency of light/appliance/HVAC/etc. is a lot more that the price per watt you would spend on buying additional solar panels to basically power the inefficiency of old/inefficient devices. Of course the best of both worlds is using solar with the most efficient devices.
You can play a part here in your education ....learning how to develop or engineer more efficient components and circuits and applying knowledge in software to control, monitor, and regulate energy use. Or as a designer, creating practical systems for homeowners and businesses by doing "energy audits" on usage with a keen eye on the efficiency of their lighting, appliances, systems. Upgrading the systems that use the electricity may indeed be the first step to make a solar installation truly successful!
Engineering has had much better success making the things that use/convert electricity more efficient (which is awesome)... such as the LED lighting example using >90% power that the conventional. This then uses less power overall whether supplied by solar, wind, gas, coal, etc. This type of engineering is a win-win as it both makes solar energy more possible and practical, and doesn't squander the world's fossil fuels on needless waste heat generation (heat=the penalty for not being efficient!).
This is all such a huge part of the Engineering that has been ongoing on to create new chips, components, magnetics, and system designs software that use very little power themselves to do what we need them to (along with the all-important software that controls and monitors) .
AND there is much more to be done...and the baton is passing to you and your generation to continue this work!
Learn as much as you can, do the hard work to get an Engineering degree, and then go for what really inspires you!
Alternative energy education and career opportunities go across such a wide spectrum from material sciences to software, to chip design and fabrication...application design...system design...consumer homeowner and business architecture... sales...installation...High-power grid transmission line and electronics design, Civil engineering and planning.....
It is such and interesting area of study and career !
I hope you keep inspired and it gives you goal to shoot for and a purpose you can be proud of !
brian (B.S. EE and Comp Sci)