Development and Design of PIC Controlled Buoy Wave Energy Converter System

This paper is conceptualized to generate electricity as an alternative due to increasing oil prices and as a possible solution to the energy crisis in the incoming years. Even though, unpopular type of renewable energy, wave energy is seen as a potential source that could be used to generate the amount of power. Electricity can be generated by the mechanical force collected from the movement of waves in the oceans. Electricity will be stored to a 12 Volts Lead Acid Battery and monitored using a microcontroller. A prototype was built for testing the study in Pagudpod, Ilocos Norte. A 12-Volt battery is charged by a mechanical force acting to the alternator due to the movement of floating buoy on the surface because of the waves. The PIC microcontroller with the CPLD module will monitor the charging and automatically switch to charge another standby battery if the latter is full. The prototype was tested and proven to be functional. Another paper goal is to analyze the relationship between the wind speed and water depth to the power produced by the prototype. A regression equation was also developed for the prototype. It has proved that the water depth and wind speed has a direct relationship with the time of charging the batteries and the power produced.