OBJECTIVE

Development of solar powered filling station

EQUIPMENTS REQUIRED
1.Solar Panel
2.Solar Inverters
3.Solar photo voltaic modules
4.Batteries
5.Connecting Cables

INTRODUCTION
A filling station is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants
for motor vehicles.The most common fuels sold in 2010s are
gasoline and diesel fuel.A filling station that sells only electrical
energy is also known as charging station while a typical filling
station is known as fuelling station,garage,gasbar,gas
station,petrol pump.
Fuel dispensers are used to pump
petrol/gasoline,diesel,Compressed Natural
Gas,CGH2,HCNG,LPG,liquid hydrogen,kerosene,alcohol fuel or
other types of fuel into the tanks within vehicles and calculate the
financial cost of the fuel transferred to vehicle.Fuel dispensers
are also known as bowsers,petrol pumps or gas pumps.Besides
fuel dispensers,one other significant design which is also found in
filling station and can refuel certain vehicles is an air compressor
although these are generally used to inflate tyres.Also many
filling stations incorporate a convenience store,which like most
other buildings generally have electricity sockets,hence plug in
electric vehicles can be recharged.

TERMINOLOGY
The term "gas station" is widely used in the United States,
Canada and the English-speaking Caribbean, where the fuel is
known as "gasoline" or "gas" as in "gas pump". In some regions of
Canada, the term "gas bar" is used. Elsewhere in the Englishspeaking world, mainly in the Commonwealth, the fuel is known
as "petrol", and the term "petrol station" or "petrol pump" is used.
In the United Kingdom and South Africa "garage" is still
commonly used. Similarly, in Australia, the term "service station"
describes any petrol station. In Japanese English, it is called a
"gasoline stand". In Indian English, it is called a petrol pump or a
petrol bunk. In some regions of America and Australia, many
filling stations have a mechanic on duty, but this is uncommon in
other parts of the world.

NUMBER OF FILLING STATIONS WORLDWIDE

Latest figures (2013) show there are now 8,455 petrol
stations in the UK down from about 18,000 in 1992 and a
peak of around 40,000 in the mid-1960s.
The USA had 114,474 filling stations (gas stations) in 2012,
according to the U.S. Census Bureau, down from 118,756 in
2007 and 121,446 in 2002.
In Canada, the number is on the decline. As of December
2008, 12,684 were in operation, significantly down from
about 20,000 stations recorded in 1989
In Japan, the number dropped from a peak of 60,421 in 1994
to 40,357 at the end of 2009.

 In Germany, the number dropped down to 14,300 in 2011.

In China, according to different reports, the number (year
2009) is about 95,000 to 97,000.
India 43,000 (2013)
Russia - there were about 25,000 gas stations in the Russian
Federation (2011)

In Argentina, as of 2014, there are 3,916 gas stations after a

2% decrease from the previous year.

DESIGN AND FUNCTION

Most filling stations are built in a similar manner, with most of the
fueling installation underground, pump machines in the forecourt
and a point of service inside a building. Single or multiple fuel
tanks are usually deployed underground. Local regulations and

environmental concerns may require a different method, with

some stations storing their fuel in container tanks, entrenched
surface tanks or unprotected fuel tanks deployed on the surface.
Fuel is usually offloaded from a tanker truck into the tanks
through a separate valve, located on the filling station's
perimeter. Fuel from the tanks travels to the dispenser pumps
through underground pipes. For every fuel tank, direct access
must be available at all times. Most tanks can be accessed
through a service canal directly from the forecourt.
Older stations tend to use a separate pipe for every kind of
available fuel and for every dispenser. Newer stations may
employ a single pipe for every dispenser. This pipe houses a
number of smaller pipes for the individual fuel types. Fuel tanks,
dispenser and nozzles used to fill car tanks employ vapor
recovery systems, which prevents releases of vapor into the
atmosphere with a system of pipes. The exhausts are placed as
high as possible. A vapor recovery system may be employed at
the exhaust pipe. This system collects the vapors, liquifies them
and releases them back into the lowest grade fuel tank available.
The forecourt is the part of a filling station where vehicles are
refueled. Fuel dispensers are placed on concrete plinths, as a
precautionary measure. Additional elements may be employed,
including metal barriers. The area around the fuel dispensers
must have a drainage system. Since fuel sometimes spills on the
ground, as little of it as possible should penetrate the soil. Any
liquids present on the forecourt will flow into a channel drain
before it enters a petrol interceptor which is designed to capture
any hydrocarbon pollutants and filter these from rainwater which
may then proceed to a foul sewer, stormwater drain or to ground.
If a filling station allows customers to pay at the register, the data
from the dispensers may be transmitted via RS232, RS485 or
Ethernet to the point of sale, usually inside the filling station's

building, and fed into the station's cash register operating

system. The cash register system gives a limited control over the
fuel dispenser, and is usually limited to allowing the clerks to turn
the pumps on and off. A separate system is used to monitor the
fuel tank's status and quantities of fuel. With sensors directly in
the fuel tank, the data is fed to a terminal in the back room,
where it can be downloaded or printed out. Sometimes this
method is bypassed, with the fuel tank data transmitted directly
into an external database.

POWER CONSERVATION DURING

CONVENTION
Main concept is to power up fuel stations with solar power.
Generally fuel stations are powered by generator during power
cuts or power outages. In such case more expenditure is spent on
fuelling generator. Not withstandingly the fuel consumption of the
generator is same even less or more load is operated. Operating
generator is a tedious and labour oriented task during
intermittent vehicular movements.
It can also be used not only during power cuts or power outages.
Systems are designed in different packages to cater solar power
to draw N number of ltr/day.It comprises Intelligent solar
inverter, Solar Photo voltaic modules, Batteries, Module mounting
structure and Connectivity cables.
During the day time our system utilizes solar power at its full
stretch and stores it in the batteries in the same time if excess
power generated from PV will be fed to the load. Mains options is
also provided to backup during non sunny days.

Current Scenario
Most petrol pumps require to be run on a 24x7 basis thereby
requiring an intelligent power management system. Alternate
power sources like diesel generators have a higher switchover
time and the dispenser pump shuts down almost instantly. Power
fluctuations also end-up damaging dispensing units at petrol
pumps. Sudden power failure leads to loss of fuel, time and
money of both the customer and the petrol pump owner.
Petrol pumps in Tier 2 & 3 cities face major energy crises
because of irregular power supply. In far worse situations are the
petrol pumps in remote locations which have no electricity, face
erratic power supply or have grid supply for a minimal time
period. Diesel Generator sets are used as an alternative to
electricity from the grid in these areas. However, this proves to
be very expensive as the fuel and maintenance cost of diesel
generator sets is very high.

A petrol pump can easily derive power from solar and enjoy
the
following
benefits:

Huge reduction in hefty electricity bills Adoption of

solar system for energy usage shall help the petrol pump in
reducing hefty electricity bills. The petrol pump shall also save
money during peak hours when the electricity is charged at a
higher rate
Quick and higher ROI - The solar package provides greater
Returns on Investment (ROI) to the petrol pump owner. It
reduces his dependency on the Diesel Generator Set, thus
increasing profits by reducing operational and fuel costs
Govt. subsidy on solar installation The Indian
government gives 30% subsidy on solar installation so the initial
cost of the solar solution goes down marginally
Tax benefits - Investment in solar helps in saving tax as one
can enjoy the benefits of accelerated depreciation
Easy option of Grid tie solar systems that eliminate the
use of batteries Since most petrol pumps offer only day time
operations, grid tie solar systems become easy options for these
pumps. The grid tie systems offer 98% efficiency in deriving
solar power and eliminate the use of batteries completely
thereby saving space and costs
Eco friendly - Unlike conventional energy fuel, solar power
package solution doesnt emit any gases or leave any residues,
thereby contributing to a greener environment and reducing
ones carbon footprint
No extra space required for the system - A solar systems
panels require open space at the pump to be installed. Only the
PCU/inverter and batteries (in case of off grid systems) require
storage space.