How Is Converted Electrical Energy Stored and Utilized?

[laclry311]

TL;DR

looking for how energy conversion stores and applies electric current

Hello, I am interested in the circuitry of energy conversion, such as solar, thermal, etc. How does the converted electrical energy get stored, for example, do they use supercapacitors? How does it then get applied for general use? Do you have any documentation or circuit diagrams for this?

 

[phinds]

What research have you done so far? What have you found out?

 

[berkeman]

Welcome to the PF.

Are you familiar with Maximum Power Point Tracking in power conversion like solar and wind? That's an important piece of the puzzle. For more information on your general questions, I'll page @anorlunda -- he has written several Insights Blogs about the power grid and power conversion.

 

[Baluncore]

@laclry311, welcome to PF.

Start here; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grid-tie_inverter
Follow the links.

Then ask more specific questions here in this thread.

 

[anorlunda]

Summary: looking for how energy conversion stores and applies electric current

How does the converted electrical energy get stored

There are several ways to store electric energy.

1. Pumped hydro. Use electric power to pump water to a reservoir on a mountain top. Later let the water run down generating electricity. This is the one and only storage method proven to work on a huge scale. But it can only be used in locations able to hold a large reservoir on a mountain top.
2. Thermal. Your home hot water heater can use electricity to heat the water late at night for use later in the day when people are up. Ditto for house warming/cooling to store for a couple of hours.
   Geothermal systems can store warm/cold water for heating/cooling purposes underground. Some of them store so much that they can be used seasonally. But the number of installations are very small, so I guess the reason must be cost.
3. Batteries. Batteries are great, but so far they are too big, too expensive, or too short-lived for many applicaitions. But that is changing rapidly. Utility scale batteries are a tiny fraction of the grid today, but growing rapidly. Devices such as the Tesla Power Wall are very attractive for houses with solar power.
4. Capacitors store energy very well, for a few milliseconds, but for periods of hours or days, they are very far from being competitive to 1) 2) or 3)
5. Flywheels have been tried, without much success.

So, there is great interest in electric energy storage. The future looks promising, but the status today is that pumped hydro is the only really large scale energy storage system proven to be economically attractive. Wide spread utility battery storage will come hopefully within 5-10 years.