PowerPulse

Inspiration

What it does

PowerPulse turns home batteries into automated energy traders. A Raspberry Pi or similar controller fetches real-time electricity prices. Based on your setup—battery size, charge rate, inverter specs—it sends optimal 'buy' and 'sell' commands to your inverter.

How we built it

We leveraged a trio of technologies: Front-end: A user-friendly interface to collect system specifications. Back-end: Hosted on Vercel, an API interfacing with a PostgreSQL database, crafted via Prisma. Controller: Any micro-controller with capability to connect to the internet and provide output via a USB interface to allow us to connect it to the inverter. The algorithm ingests data from a web scraper, optimized in TypeScript, to pull real-time energy prices every day at around 15:30.

Challenges we ran into

Complex Algorithmic Logic: Crafting a system that doesn't just buy and sell but buys and sells wisely. Profitable trading required intricate calculations. Unfamiliar Tech Stack: We chose to step out of our comfort zone, embracing technologies we weren't versed in, for the sake of robust development. Real-time Data Sync: Ensuring data integrity while fetching real-time energy prices and creating a scalable backend solution.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Holistic Integration: We've married software, hardware, and financial logic into one seamless entity. User-centric Design: Easy input and straightforward UI. Eco-Financial Harmony: Maximizing green energy usage while enabling profit.

What we learned

Tech Adaptability: The necessity and value of quickly learning and implementing unfamiliar technologies for a more robust system. Multidisciplinary Complexity: The importance of integrating diverse disciplines—engineering, finance, and software development—into a cohesive solution. User-Centric Design: How vital it is to keep the end-user in mind, ensuring that interface and experience are not afterthoughts but at the core of development.

What's next for PowerPulse

Machine Learning: To adapt to user habits and fine-tune our trading algorithms for even better profitability. Open Market: Scaling our proven model to broader energy markets, offering everyone a chance to become an energy trader.

Built With

• nestjs
• nextjs
• postgresql
• prisma
• python
• shadcn-ui
• tailwind
• typescript