Less than ideal power factors and noise in electrical power (as best measured by THD) account for wasting as much as 1 Quad (trillion kWh) of electrical power annually in the US. The Umbrella PFC devices are designed for residential, commercial and industrial use. For homes the devices could be installed at the circuit breaker […]
Umbrella’s advanced photovoltaics have a theoretical limit of up to 60% overall efficiency with no directional sunlight or adjustment. The currently available PV panels are capable of only converting a small part of solar radiation into electrical energy. This limits solar-to-electric conversion efficiency and can increase the PV cell temperature. PV cell efficiencies drop rapidly […]
A power factor of 1.0 represents the most efficient power factor. The amount of real and apparent power is the same. In an inductive load (e.g. when the power is driving a motor) the current lags the voltage. A difference between real and apparent power arises. “Basically speaking “real power” is the actual energy used […]
Umbrella Technologies is pioneering a new wave of true high efficiency power converters geared to the alternative energy markets. Current converters’ efficiencies have been nominally improved in recent years, e.g. by eliminating transformers as design elements. Under static test conditions, converters’ efficiencies (“η”) have improved to as much as 98%. However, this static measurement of η […]
Microgrids represent electricity grids that are typically totally off the public utility grid. Their principal applications are for military purposes. The Department of Defense (“DoD”) creates remote microgrids on fixed-base systems to supply power for diverse applications, such as forward hospitals, Tactical Operating Centers and weapons systems, among others. The current approach is to generate […]
Paralleling generators to form microgrids in remote off-grid locations represents a particularly vexing technical challenge. The largest user of remote energy sources is the Department of Defense, which has an over 1 trillion watt capacity of fossil fuel generators intended for fixed-base operation. Mobile operations, such as airplanes, ships and heavy vehicles, represent additional capacity […]