TU Dublin engineering students win the EirGrid CleanerGrid competition
Congratulation to our TU821/4 students Alexsandra Dozorova, Jack Brady and Ugochukwu Uzoukwu who recently won the EirGrid CleanerGrid competition’s first prize of €2,000 for their project to help optimise domestic electricity usage during periods of high wind generation and low demand.
The team used data from EirGrid’s Smart Grid dashboard and from the Single Electricity Market Operator's (SEMO) website to create their own user-centric, data-driven, web enabled dashboard to educate and encourage citizens to be more mindful of their energy use at times of peak demand and to encourage them to flexibly adapt this usage. The TU Dublin team's submission included a user-friendly gauge, supported by their own algorithm, enabling users to determine the optimal times for utilizing their household appliances to maximize green energy consumption during low electricity demand times.
Congratulating all the competing teams on an engaging series of presentations and questions and answers session, EirGrid's Chief Innovation and Planning Officer, Liam Ryan, said: “It was fantastic to see such enthusiasm from teams of third level students around the country putting forward thought-provoking solutions that can help citizens make the best energy usage choices both for themselves, and for society as a whole”.
Reflecting on the work done, Alexsandra noted that "the journey to winning the competition provided profound insights for the team members, into the operation of the Irish grid and on effective ways to educate the public on their energy consumption." On behalf of the team she thanked the lecturers involved, Paula Kelly, Dr. Damon Berry, Frank Duignan and Michael Core and further remarked that "winning this competition is not just a personal triumph for each of the team members but a testament to the excellence of TU Dublin”.