[22] - ENGIE Solar Performance

Inspiration

Though we are students of technology, we are not blind to the impacts of our craft on the world. Computer science as a field has long held interest in efficiency, and at this intersection we find developers creating solutions to more efficiently generate and store electricity. However, the question remains as to which solution is most viable, and this question has become the challenge the University of Iowa and Engie have proposed in determining the advantages and disadvantages of different variations of solar power technology.

What it does

Using over a decade of available data on solar irradiance and the University of Iowa's solar panel arrays, the program computes, compares, and visualizes each array's conversion efficiency rate from sunlight into electricity across both time and varying weather conditions.

How we built it

Our project was primarily built in Python, making great use of the PL-Web-API for data collection and the matplotlib library for data visualization.

Challenges we ran into

As physics tells, the hardest aspect of any task is to start it. Indeed, our team lacked much of the necessary technical and non-technical knowledge associated with this project before accepting it. Likewise, we generally lacked organization or proper planning. Yet, like a snowball racing down a mountain, we have learned much about ourselves and our craft to make steady progress thus far.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud to be developing a program as dedicated as ourselves to efficient sustainability, to the university and to the planet we call home. Furthermore, we are proud be offered the opportunity to test and refine our skills as well as learn new ones along the trail.

What we learned

The hackathon provided many experiential learning opportunities of coding best practices, team coordination, project management, and quickly learning new skills and technologies. Indeed, none of our teammates had yet engaged with an API of any kind, yet as diligent students we have made much progress in rapidly learning, understanding, and applying such new knowledge.

What's next for ENGIE Solar Performance

We plan to complete level 1 of the challenge soon, and waist no time in tackling the various aspects of level 2. Despite the roadblocks, we are making steady progress and we are confident in our abilities to deliver a quality outcome come the deadline.

Built With

• matplotlib
• pi-web-api
• python