A heavy duty vehicle looses approximately 30-40 % of the energy in the fuel as waste heat through the exhaust system. Recovering this waste heat would make the vehicle meet the legislative and market demands of emissions and fuel consumption easier. This recovery is possible by transforming the waste heat to electric power using a thermoelectric generator. However, the thermoelectric generator electric characteristics makes direct usage of it unprotable, thus an electric power conditioner is necessary. First a study of dierent DC-DC converters is presented, based on that the most suitable converter for thermoelectric application is determined. In order to maximize the harvested power, maximum power point tracking algorithms have been studied and analyzed. After the investigation, the single ended primary inductor converter was simulated and implemented with a perturb and observe algorithm, and the incremental conductance algorithm. The converter was tested with a 20 W thermoelectric generator, and evaluated.The results show that the incremental conductance is more robust and stable compared to the perturb and observe algorithm. Further on, the incremental conductance also has a higher average eciency during real implementation.

This thesis aims to increase photovoltaic (PV) panel power efficiency by employing a cooling system based on water circulation, which represents an improved version of water flow based active cooling systems. Theoretical calculations involved finding the heat produced by the PV panel and the circulation water flow required to remove this heat. A data logger and a cooling system for a test panel of 20W was designed and employed to study the relationship between the PV panel surface temperature and its output power. This logging and cooling system includes an Arduino microcontroller extended with a data logging shield, temperature sensing probes, current sensors, and a DC water pump. Real-time measurements were logged every minute for one or two day periods under various irradiance and air temperature conditions. For these experiments, a load resistance was chosen to operate the test panel at its maximum power point. Results indicate that the cooling system can yield an improvement of 10% in power production. Based on the observations from the test panel experiments, a cooling system was devised for a PV panel array of 640 W equipped with a commercial charge controller. The test data logger was repurposed for this larger system. An identical PV array was left uncooled and monitored simultaneously to compare the effect of cooling, demonstrating that the cooled array provided up to an extra 132W or 20% of maximum power for sunny weather conditions. Future expansion possibilities of the project include automated water level monitoring system and water filtration systems.

No description available.

Electrical energy is used at approximately the rate of 15 Terawatts world-wide. Generating this much energy has become a primary concern for all nations. There are many ways of generating energy among which the most commonly used are non-renewable and will extinct much sooner than expected. Very active research is going on both to increase the use of renewable energy sources and to use the available energy with more efficiency. Among these sources, solar energy is being considered as the most abundant and has received high attention. The mobile phone has become one of the basic needs of modern life, with almost every human being having one.Individually a mobile phone consumes little power but collectively this becomes very large. This consideration motivated the research undertaken in this masters thesis. The objective of this thesis is to design a model for solar power based charging circuits for mobile phone using Simulink(R). This thesis explains a design procedure of solar power based mobile charger circuit using Simulink(R) which includes the models for the photo-voltaic array, maximum power point tracker, pulse width modulator, DC-DC converter and a battery. The first part of the thesis concentrates on electron level behavior of a solar cell, its structure and its electrical model.The second part is to design an array of solar cells to generate the desired output. Finally, the third part is to design a DC-DC converter which can stabilize and provide the required input to the battery with the help of the maximum power point tracker and pulse width modulation. The obtained DC-DC converter is adjustable to meet the requirements of the battery. This design is aimed at charging a lithium ion battery with nominal voltage of 3.7 V, which can be taken as baseline to charge different types of batteries with different nominal voltages.

Le travail présenté dans cette thèse est une contribution au dimensionnement et à la commande d’un générateur de type Cascade de Machines Asynchrones à Double Alimentation. Le modèle de la machine pour les simulations est basé sur une représentation modulaire qui découle du modèle de Park de deux machines asynchrones doublement alimentées distinctes, en respectant deux systèmes de référence. Le modèle dynamique est ensuite étendu pour décrire la machine dans un repère unifié. Cette représentation est cruciale pour le dimensionnement de la machine et la synthèse de la commande. Le domaine de fonctionnement de la cascade en régime permanent est exploré. Une méthode analytique générique est proposée pour établir les plages de puissances active-réactive. Les courbes limites sont définies par rapport aux grandeurs nominales de la machine. L’étude prend en compte l’effet de saturation du circuit magnétique. Il est prouvé que la capacité en puissance de la machine est déterminée par les valeurs maximales des courants statoriques et peut être soumise à plusieurs limitations. L’approche analytique est testée et validée par des mesures expérimentales. Deux cas sont considérés pour la commande de la cascade : un générateur raccordé au réseau et un générateur autonome. Pour la connexion au réseau l’application visée est les éoliennes de grande puissance. Une nouvelle méthode pour l’extraction de la puissance maximale d’une éolienne à vitesse variable est proposée. Le système est contrôlé dans le but de fournir une puissance maximale quasi-constante indépendamment des fluctuations du vent. En plus de l’optimisation de la puissance, le facteur de puissance est également ajusté selon les normes de raccordement standard imposées par les services système, et les limites de fonctionnement de l’unité intégrée. Une commande vectorielle sans capteur de tension, basée sur une orientation suivant un flux virtuel, est appliquée pour la régulation découplée des puissances active et réactive. Pour le fonctionnement en mode isolé, l’application visée est la génération électrique pour système avionique embarqué. Deux réseaux de distribution sont traités : réseau AC à fréquence fixe et réseau DC. Dans les deux cas, la commande est élaborée dans le but de maintenir une tension de sortie constante. Le fonctionnement de la cascade alimentant une charge triphasée déséquilibrée est également étudié. Des schémas de contrôle servant à la compensation du déséquilibre des tensions statoriques sont développés. Deux méthodes de compensation sont proposées : l’une basée sur le principe de deux repères tournants et l’autre sur un correcteur répétitif. Les approches présentées sont validées par simulation avec Matlab/Simulink et par expérimentation. / This thesis is a contribution to the power sizing and the control of a Cascaded Doubly Fed Induction Generator (CDFIG). The machine model for simulation is based on a modular representation, derived from the Park model of two distinct Doubly Fed Induction Machines expressed in their own reference frames. The dynamic model of the cascaded machine is then extended to be described in a unified reference frame. This representation is convenient for the sizing of the machine and for the design of the controller. The steady state power operating margins of the cascaded machine are investigated. A generic analytic method is suggested to derive the active-reactive power domain. The limit curves are defined in terms of the rated quantities of the machine. The study takes into account the magnetic circuit saturation effect. It is proven that the power capability of the machine is determined by the stator current maximum values and is subject to several limitations. The analytical approach is tested and validated by experimental measurements. The CDFIG is controlled in grid-connected and standalone operation modes. In grid-connected application, the attention is paid to high power wind generation systems. A new maximum power tracking of a variable speed wind turbine is suggested. The generating plant is carried to provide a quasi-constant maximum power regardless wind fluctuations. In addition to active power optimization the power factor is adjusted according to the grid code requirements and the operating domain of the integrated unit. A virtual flux oriented vector control is applied for the decoupled regulation of active and reactive powers, leading to grid voltage sensorless operation. In standalone operating mode, the study treats in particular the embedded aircraft power system generation. Two distribution networks are considered: constant frequency AC network and DC network. In both cases, the control aims to maintain a constant output voltage. The operation of the CDFIG supplying unbalanced three-phase load is further explored. Control schemes to cope with unbalanced stator voltage conditions are developed. Two compensation methods are elaborated: the first dealing with dual rotating frames and the second is based on repetitive controller. Simulations with Matlab/Simulink software and experiments validate the control approaches.

Les principaux défis pour le déploiement de systèmes de conversion de l'énergie éolienne est de maximiser la puissance électrique produite, malgré les variations des conditions météorologiques, tout en minimisant les coûts de fabrication et de maintenance du système. L'efficacité de la turbine éolienne est fortement dépendante des perturbations de l'environnement et des paramètres variables du système, tels que la vitesse du vent et l'angle de tangage. Les incertitudes sur le système sont difficiles à modéliser avec précision alors qu'ils affectent sa stabilité.Afin d'assurer un état de fonctionnement optimal, malgré les perturbations, le commande adaptative peut jouer un rôle déterminant. D'autre part, la synthèse de commandes tolérantes aux défauts, capables de maintenir les éoliennes connectées au réseau après la survenance de certains défauts est indispensable pour le bon fonctionnement du réseau. Le travail de cette thèse porte sur la mise en place de lois de commande adaptatives et tolérantes aux défauts appliqués aux systèmes de conversion de l'énergie éolienne. Après un état de l'art, les contributions de la thèse sont :Dans la première partie de la thèse, un modèle incertain non linéaire du système de conversion d'énergie éolienne avec un générateur à induction à double alimentation est proposé. Une nouvelles approches de commande adaptative par mode glissant est synthétisée et ensuite appliquée pour optimiser l'énergie issue de l'éolienne.Dans la deuxième partie, une nouvelle commande par modes glissants tolérante aux défauts et basée sur les modes glissants intégrales est présentée. Puis, cette méthode est appliquée afin de forcer la vitesse de la turbine éolienne à sa valeur optimale en prenant en compte des défauts qui surviennent sur l'actionneur. / The main challenges for the deployment of wind energy conversion systems (WECS) are to maximize the amount of good quality electrical power extracted from wind energy over a significantly wide range of weather conditions and minimize both manufacturing and maintenance costs. Wind turbine's efficiency is highly dependent on environmental disturbances and varying parameters for operating conditions, such as wind speed, pitch angle, tip-speed ratio, sensitive resistor and inductance. Uncertainties on the system are hard to model exactly while it affects the stability of the system. In order to ensure an optimal operating condition, with unknown perturbations, adaptive control can play an important role. On the other hand, a Fault Tolerant Control (FTC) with control allocation that is able to maintain the WECS connected after the occurrence of certain faults can avoid major economic losses. The thesis work concerns the establishment of an adaptive control and fault diagnosis and tolerant control of WECS. After a literature review, the contributions of the thesis are:In the first part of the thesis, a nonlinear uncertain model of the wind energy conversion system with a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) is proposed. A novel Lyapunov-based adaptive Sliding Mode (HOSM) controller is designed to optimize the generated power.In the second part, a new output integral sliding mode methodology for fault tolerant control with control allocation of linear time varying systems is presented. Then, this methodology has been applied in order to force the wind turbine speed to its optimal value the presence of faults in the actuator.

Ultra low power wireless sensors and sensor systems are of increasing interest in a variety of applications ranging from structural health monitoring to industrial process control. Electrochemical batteries have thus far remained the primary energy sources for such systems despite the finite associated lifetimes imposed due to limitations associated with energy density. However, certain applications (such as implantable biomedical electronic devices and tire pressure sensors) require the operation of sensors and sensor systems over significant periods of time, where battery usage may be impractical and add cost due to the requirement for periodic re-charging and/or replacement. In order to address this challenge and extend the operational lifetime of wireless sensors, there has been an emerging research interest on harvesting ambient vibration energy. Vibration energy harvesting is a technology that generates electrical energy from ambient kinetic energy. Despite numerous research publications in this field over the past decade, low power density and variable ambient conditions remain as the key limitations of vibration energy harvesting. In terms of the piezoelectric transducers, the open-circuit voltage is usually low, which limits its power while extracted by a full-bridge rectifier. In terms of the interface circuits, most reported circuits are limited by the power efficiency, suitability to real-world vibration conditions and system volume due to large off-chip components required. The research reported in this thesis is focused on increasing power output of piezoelectric transducers and power extraction efficiency of interface circuits. There are five main chapters describing two new design topologies of piezoelectric transducers and three novel active interface circuits implemented with CMOS technology. In order to improve the power output of a piezoelectric transducer, a series connection configuration scheme is proposed, which splits the electrode of a harvester into multiple equal regions connected in series to inherently increase the open-circuit voltage generated by the harvester. This topology passively increases the rectified power while using a full-bridge rectifier. While most of piezoelectric transducers are designed with piezoelectric layers fully covered by electrodes, this thesis proposes a new electrode design topology, which maximizes the raw AC output power of a piezoelectric harvester by finding an optimal electrode coverage. In order to extract power from a piezoelectric harvester, three active interface circuits are proposed in this thesis. The first one improves the conventional SSHI (synchronized switch harvesting on inductor) by employing a startup circuitry to enable the system to start operating under much lower vibration excitation levels. The second one dynamically configures the connection of the two regions of a piezoelectric transducer to increase the operational range and output power under a variety of excitation levels. The third one is a novel SSH architecture which employs capacitors instead of inductors to perform synchronous voltage flip. This new architecture is named as SSHC (synchronized switch harvesting on capacitors) to distinguish from SSHI rectifiers and indicate its inductorless architecture.

Ce mémoire présente le travail de recherche effectué pour la conception d'une stratégie de commande originale, destinée aux systèmes de puissance hybrides en sites isolés. Le système considéré, voué à l'alimentation électrique d'une habitation, comprend deux sources, un groupe de panneaux photovoltaïques et une petite éolienne, et deux types de stockage, un banc de batteries lithium-ion et un de supercondensateurs. Face au problème de gestion de l'énergie dans un système hybride, et aux enjeux de maximisation de sa puissance produite, nous proposons de développer une stratégie de commande basée sur les flux d'énergie. pour cela, nous présentons dans un premier temps les modélisations d'Euler-Lagrange et hamiltonienne du système. Ces modèles permettent d'utiliser la propriété de passivité de celui-ci, et ainsi de synthétiser des commandes par injection d'amortissement pour chaque source, afin de maximiser sa production, et pour les supercondensateurs, dans le but d'assurer une répartition cohérente des flux d'énergie entre eux et les batteries. Les commandes sont finalement mises en œuvre dans un simulateur, puis dans un banc d'essai expérimental, afin d'une part de comparer leurs performances à celles de solutions préexistantes, et d'autre part de valider le bon fonctionnement du système hybride complet les utilisant. / This thesis presents the research about design of a new control strategy for stand-alone hybrid power systems. The considered system is composed of two sources, a group of photovoltaic panels and a low-power wind generator, and of two kinds of storage, a bank of lithium-ion batteries and one of supercapacitors. Faced with the problem of energy management in a hybrid power system, and with necessity of maximizing the produced power, we intend to develop an energy-based control strategy.For this purpose, we present the system's Euler-Lagrange modeling and Hamiltonian modeling. These models allow the use of the passivity property, and then the design of Passivity-Based Controllers for each source, in order to maximize its production, and for the supercapacitors, to ensure a fitted power sharing between batteries and them. The controllers are finally implemented in a simulator, and then in a experimental test bench, in order to compare their performances to pre-existent solutions, and tovalidate the control law for the global hybrid system.

L’intégration de l’énergie éolienne, qui est une ressource renouvelable très utilisée, n’est pas toujours facile pour le micro-réseau urbain. Dans cette thèse, une éolienne urbaine basée sur une machine synchrone à aimants permanents (MSAP) est étudiée pour être intégrée dans un micro-réseau urbain à courant continu. Un état de l'art concernant les énergies renouvelables, les micro-réseaux à courant continu et les stratégies de contrôle de la production d'énergie éolienne, est réalisée. Basé sur un modèle d’éolienne urbaine répondant à la demande du système électrique, qui se compose d’un émulateur de vent et de pales, un MSAP et un convertisseur DC/DC, cette thèse propose des méthodes de poursuite du point de puissance maximale satisfaisant à l’obligation de produire de l’énergie dans la mesure du possible. Une stratégie de contrôle à puissance limitée répond correctement. De simples à complexes, quatre algorithmes MPPT, P&O à pas fixe, P&O à pas variable avec la méthode Newton-Raphson améliorée, P&O à pas variable à base de logique floue et une méthode indirecte de type lookup table, sont étudiés et implémentés pour être comparés à l’aide de trois profils de vitesse du vent. Par expérimentation, les algorithmes MPPT et PLC sont comparés, analysés et discutés. Résumant tous les résultats expérimentaux, la méthode lookup table peut gérer toutes les exigences du mode de fonctionnement MPPT en présentant la meilleure performance, mais, dans le mode de fonctionnement PLC, la P&O à base de logique floue présente les meilleures performances. / The integration of the wind power, which is one mostly used renewable resource, is always one challenger for urban microgrid. In this thesis, one urban wind turbine based on a permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM) is studied in order to be integrated into a DC urban microgrid. A state of the art concerning the renewable energies, DC microgrid, and control strategies of wind power generation is done. Based on a model of urban wind turbine fitting the demand of urban electric system, which consists of an emulator of wind speed and blades, a PMSM and a DC/DC converter, this thesis proposes the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) methods satisfying the requirement of producing energy as much as possible, and power limited control (PLC) strategies answering the demand of flexible energy production. From simple to complex, four MPPT algorithms including Perturbation and Observation (P&O) fixed step-size method, P&O with improved Newton-Raphson method, P&O with fuzzy logic method and lookup table method are studied and implemented to be compared with each other using three wind velocity profiles. According to the experience about MPPT subject, four PLC algorithms are introduced and implemented to be analyzed and compared with each other with one power demand profile calculated randomly. Summarizing all experimental results, the lookup table method can handle all requirement of MPPT operating mode supplying the best performance, however, in the condition of more flexible power demand operating mode, the combination of P&O and fuzzy logic method presents the best performance and potential which can be achieved in future works.

Cooking is an integral part of each and every human being as food is one of the basic necessities for living. Commonly used sources of energy for cooking are firewood, crop residue, cow dung, kerosene, electricity, liquefied petroleum gas(LPG), biogas etc. Half of the world’s population is exposed to indoor air pollution, mainly the result of burning solid fuels for cooking and heating. Wood cut for cooking purpose contributes tothe16 million hectares(above4% of total area of India) of forest destroyed annually. The World Health Organization(WHO) reports that in 23 countries 10% of deaths are due to just two environmental risk factors: unsafe water, including poor sanitation and hygiene; and indoor air pollution due to solid fuel usage for cooking. In under-developed countries, women have to walk 2kms on average and spend significant amount of time for collecting the firewood for cooking. The cooking energy demand in rural areas of developing countries is largely met with bio-fuels such as fuel wood, charcoal, agricultural residues and dung cakes, whereas LPG or electricity is predominantly used in urban areas. India has abandon amount of solar energy in most of the regions making it most ideal place for harvesting solar energy. With almost 300 sunny days each year, one can confidently relay on this source of energy. India’s geographical location is in such a way that theoretically it receives 5x1015 kWh/ year of solar energy. Solar cooking is the simplest, safest, environmental friendly and most convenient way to cook. It is a blessing for those who cook using firewood or cow dung, who walk for miles to collect wood, who suffer from indoor air pollution. Hence solar cooking is going to play major role in solving future energy problem. Solar based cooking has never been a strong contender in the commercial market or even close to being a preferred method of cooking. They have been relegated to demonstration appliances to show case the solar based concepts. In this mode, cooking is no longer a time independent activity that can be performed at any time of day. One is forced to cook only at certain times when there is sufficient insolation. The geography of the cooking activity also shifts away from the kitchen. The kitchen is no longer the hearth of the home as the actual cooking activity shifts to the roof tops or high insolation platforms. This further adds to the inconvenience apart from being unable to cook at night or during cloudy conditions or during most of the winter days. Another issue of significant inconvenience is the general social structure in most families of the developing countries wherein the cooking activity is carried out by the senior ladies of the home. They are generally not athletic enough to be moving to and from the kitchen and the roof top to carry out the cooking exercise. As the solar cookers are enclosed spaces, interactive cooking is not possible let alone having any control on the rate of cooking. These are some of the more significant issues in the social psyche that has abundantly impeded the acceptance of solar thermal based cooking appliances. These issues and problems are in fact the motivating factors for this thesis. Based on these motivating factors, this thesis aims to propose solutions keeping the following points as the major constraints. cooking should be performed in the kitchen. one should be able to perform the cooking activity independent of the time of day or insolation. the cooking activity should be interactive the time taken for cooking should be comparable with the conventional methods in vogue. there should be a reduction in the use of conventional energy. Using the constraints and the motivating factors discussed above as the central theme, this thesis proposes a method to transfer solar thermal energy to the kitchen and act as a supplement to the conventional source of energy like the LPG or other sources that are traditionally being used in the households. The method proposed is in fact a hybrid scenario wherein the solar thermal is used to supplement the traditional source. Solar photovoltaic cells are also used to power the electronics and apparatus proposed in this thesis. This thesis addresses in detail the issues in analysis, modeling, designing and fabrication of the proposed hybrid solar cooking topology. The main goal of the proposed system is to transfer heat from sun to the cooking load that is located in the kitchen. The topology includes an additional feature for storing the energy in a buffer. The heat is first transferred from the solar thermal collector to a heat storage tank(that acts as the buffer) by circulating the heat transfer fluid at a specific flow rate that is controlled by a pump. The stored heat energy that is collected in the buffer is directed into the kitchen by circulating the heat transfer fluid into the heat exchanger, located in the kitchen. This is accomplished by controlling the flow rate using another pump. The solar thermal collector raises the temperature of the thermic fluid. The collector can be of a concentrating type in order to attain high temperatures for cooking. Concentrating collector like linear parabolic collector or parabolic dish collector is used to convert solar energy into heat energy. Absorption of energy from the incident solar insolation is optimized by varying the flow rate of circulating thermic fluid using a pump. This pump is energized from a set of photovoltaic panels(PV cell) which convert solar energy into electrical energy. The energy absorbed from the solar thermal collector is stored in a buffer tank which is thermally insulated. Whenever cooking has to be carried out, the high temperature fluid from the buffer tank is circulated through a heat exchanger that is located in the kitchen. The rate of cooking can be varied by controlling both the flow rate of fluid from the buffer tank to heat exchanger and also by controlling the amount of energy drawn from the auxiliary source. If the available stored energy is not sufficient, the auxiliary source of energy is used for cooking in order to ensure that cooking is in-dependent of time and solar insolation. In the proposed hybrid solar cooking system, the thesis addresses the issues involved in optimization of energy extracted from sun to storage tank and its subsequent transfer from the storage tank to the load. The flow rate at which maximum energy is extracted from sun depends on many parameters. Solar insolation is one of the predominant parameters that affect the optimum flow rate. Insolation at any location varies with time on a daily basis (diurnal variations) and also with day on a yearly basis(seasonal variation). This implies that the flow rate of the fluid has to be varied appropriately to maximize the energy absorbed from sun. In the proposed system, flow rate control plays a very significant role in maximizing the energy transfer from the collector to the load. The flow rate of the thermic fluid in the proposed system is very small on the order of 0.02kg/s. It is very difficult to sense such low flows without disrupting the operating point of the system. Though there are many techniques to measure very low flow rates, they invariably disrupt the system in which flow rate has to be measured. Further, the low flow sensors are far too expensive to be included in the system. A reliable, accurate and inexpensive flow measuring technique has been proposed in this thesis which is non-disruptive and uses a null-deflection technique. The proposed measuring method compensates the pressure drop across the flow meter using a compensating pump. The analysis, modeling, design and fabrication of this novel flow meter are addressed. The design and implementation of different subsystems that involves the selection and design of solar concentrating collector and tracking are explained. Finally, it is essential to know the economic viability of the proposed system that is designed and implemented. To understand the economics, the life cycle cost analysis of the proposed system is presented in this thesis. The major contributions of this thesis are: Energy transport: Major challenge in energy transport is to bring heat energy obtained from the sun to the kitchen for cooking. Energy transferred from solar insolation to the cooking load has to be optimized to maximize the overall efficiency. This can be split in to two parts,(a) optimizing efficiency of energy transferred from the collect or to the energy buffer tank,(b) optimizing efficiency of energy transferred from the buffer tank to the load. The optimization is performed by means of a maximum power point tracking(MPPT) algorithm for a specific performance index. Modeling of the cooking system: There are several domains that exist in the solar cooking system such as electrical domain, thermal domain, and hydraulic domain. The analysis of power/energy flow across all these domains presents a challenging task in developing a model of the hybrid cooking system. A bond graph modeling approach is used for developing the mathematical model of the proposed hybrid cooking system. The power/energy flow across different domains can be seamlessly integrated using the bond graph modeling approach. In this approach, the various physical variables in the multi-domain environment are uniformly de-fined as generalized power variables such as effort and flow. The fundamental principle of conservation of power/energy issued in describing the flow of power/energy across different domains and thus constructing the dynamic model of the cooking system. This model is validated through experimentation and simulation. Flow measurement: A novel method of low fluid mass flow measurement by compensating the pressure drop across the ends of measuring unit using a compensating pump has been proposed. The pressure drop due to flow is balanced by feedback control loop. This is a null-deflection type of measurement. As insertion of such a measuring unit does not affect the functioning of the systems, this is also a non-disruptive flow measurement method. This allows the measurement of very low flow rate at very low resolution. Implementation and design of such a unit are discussed. The system is modeled using bond graph technique and then simulated. The flow meter is fabricated and the model is experimentally validated. Design Toolbox: Design of hybrid cooking system involves design of multi domain systems. The design becomes much more complex if the energy source to operate the system is hybrid solar based. The energy budget has to be evaluated considering the worst case conditions for the availability of the solar energy. The design toolbox helps in assessing the user requirement and help designing the cooking system to fulfill the user requirement. A detailed toolbox is proposed to be developed that can be used in designing/selecting sub-systems like collector, concentrator, tracking system, buffer tank, heat exchanger, PV panel, batteries etc. The toolbox can also be used for performing life cycle costing.