A Simulation Study of Electricity Generation by Using Rainwater Harvesting System

Abstract

The energy demand is growing because of the speedy technological improvement in various locations either in Malaysia or internationally. In order to stabilize energy demand, a number of renewable energy sources such as the rain, wind, biomass, hydro and solar energy which were able to help reducing the burden of fossil fuels. Since Malaysia is a country that has a relatively high rainfall each year, the country has the potential to apply the rainwater harvesting system (RWH) in which this system able to generate electricity in a small scale. RWH system is designed in which the rainwater will be collected and stored in a tank at high place and the rainwater will be released in a small pipe to generate electrical current by driven the Pelton wheel that act as the turbine. This paper presents a simulation study on the electricity generation by using the rain water harvesting system. By using this technique, any disrupted electrical supply can be resolved. The study was simulated using the Matlab and subsequently the mathematical modelling were developed to obtain the output of RWH system. This study will determine how much energy can be generated by applying the RWH system and the optimum performance with the best features of the systems.