Kanzumba Kusakana

• DTech, Electrical Engineering
• Professor (Full) at Central University of Technology

Mini-diesel engines are widely used in the domestic and commercial sectors, with a global emphasis on improving efficiency and reducing emissions. This study involved the introduction of a novel predictive framework leveraging an advanced Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model, explicitly tailored to mini-diesel engines and addressing key challenges...

This study aims to optimise energy consumption in microbreweries through predictive modelling techniques. Energy-intensive processes in breweries account for approximately 8 % of total production costs, highlighting the need for effective energy management strategies. We employed advanced machine learning algorithms, particularly Artificial Neural...

In this paper a comprehensive optimal control model was developed, which maximizes the thermal energy recovery from the PEMFC to the hot water storage tank (HWST) whilst maximizing the electrical energy supplied from the solar PV modules to the load and minimizes the energy cost of the grid. Actual and accurate exogenous historic data obtained from...

Efficient prediction of thermal system performance is crucial for optimizing building energy systems. This paper introduces a predictive model to forecast Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems' performance with Ice Thermal Energy Storage (ITES). The indicators encompass storage temperature, Coefficient of Performance (COP), cool...

The power grid is changing in order to reduce the negative effect of greenhouse gas emissions from thermal generators while meeting the global net zero emission goal by 2050. Conversely, as the drive towards a renewable energy-dominant grid is propelled, the overall system inertia of the power grid declines, which causes frequency instability in th...

In this paper, the timer control and the inverter control of the pumping system are modelled and simulated. The effects of evaporation, rainfall and seepage are considered to make the model more practical. The proposed timer control model and VFD are used to control the motor pump, which saves a lot of cost. MATLAB/SCIP optimization software was us...

The need for a cleaner environment with lesser fossil fuel-fred generators has increased the call for higher share of renewable energy generators (REGs) in the grid. To achieve this, various economic incentive schemes have now been intro�duced by the government to speed up investment in renewable energy technologies. However, it is important to...

As the power grid transforms towards a renewable energy dominant grid, which are associated with frequency stability challenges, it is important to combat these challenges through proper power system planning. This paper therefore investigates the impact of hybrid energy storage (HES) in enhancing the frequency stability of the modern grid. The opt...

In recent times, the power grid composition is changing as more renewable energy generators and energy storage systems are being integrated. This in turn influences the dynamics of the new grid as frequency instability sets in due to declining system inertia. It is therefore important to properly select renewable energy generators and energy storag...

The energy consumption of residential buildings contributes approximately 42 % towards the total electrical energy production on a global scale. In residential buildings, the energy consumption could be further sub-categorized into the electrical energy required for space heating, space cooling and water heating, which accounts for 61.2 % of the to...

Air to water heat pump (AWHP) is a renewable and efficient technology used in sanitary water heating. This study focused on the employment of statistical methods to compare the coefficient of performance (COP) and electrical energies consumed using 1.2 kW, 150 L split type AWHP and 0.9 kW, 150 L integrated type AWHP, with 0.5 kW as auxiliary electr...

Water heating is the fourth largest energy consumer in the commercial building sector, accounting for >40 % of the energy consumed in South Africa. Traditional electric storage tank water heaters (ESTWHs) have been the most frequently used systems in the past, owing to their low electricity costs and implementation. It was low enough at that time t...

Energy demand has exponentially increased in recent times, mainly because of population and economic growth as well as high standards of living in commercial and residential buildings. Conventional power systems have been undergoing great transformation owing to the integration of renewable energy sources (RESs) and demand side management programs....

Although traditional electric storage tank water heaters (ESTWHs) are the most frequently used systems in the world, they are known to be among the highest energy consumers, due to their inefficiency in converting electrical energy to thermal energy. These systems have grown increasingly hostile to consumers, as power prices have risen. Therefore,...

On-site grid-connected hybrid renewable energy systems are extensively used in the mitigation of scheduled grid load shedding in commercial buildings. This paper proposes an optimal operation of grid-connected hybrid PV-battery-Diesel generator (DG) energy system under scheduled grid load shedding for a commercial building. A mathematical model for...

Municipal or industrial wastewater from the treatment plant is discharge by marine outfalls through the use of a pressurized pipeline scheme. The wastewater is discharged deep under the sea surface at a distance from the coast. During discharging of the wastewater, the excess pressure is applied to push the wastewater deep under the sea. The operat...

In recent times renewable energy sources have become an integral part of the modern power grid. As a result, the overall system inertia of the grid has been reduced, thus leading to frequency instability issues such as fast rate of change of frequency. Thus, to compensate for the declining inertia, it is important to carefully select renewable ener...

The aim of this study is to design, construct and evaluate an Intelligent Quality Management System (iQMS), which may learn and adapt to the change of the Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS). The literature on flexible manufacturing is used to provide context and highlight the problem statement. A case study is used to showcase the challenges encou...

To cater for the growing world seaborne transport sector, harbours are looking for ways to enhance the efficiency of their handling and transfer infrastructure, in terms of the performance, operation, equipment and technology. Terminals mostly use Rubber Tired Gantry (RTG) to organise container aisles, loading and moving cargo-containers. This work...

In South Africa, more than 40% of the energy produced, is estimated to be consumed in the commercial sector. Organizations, such as universities in South Africa, are faced with increased pressure to manage energy demands and escalating energy costs. This has resulted in the country currently facing ambiguous tariff increases, at short intervals, by...

In this study, the use of pumping pressure from wastewater marine outfall installations is investigated for electricity generation purposes through a hydropower system. The components of the system are mathematically modelled and simulated using Matlab for the of Green Point marine outfall in Cape Town, South Africa. A techno-economic analysis is p...

The severe reduction in the available fossil fuel resources highlights the need to make more use of renewable energy resources (RER), such as solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, wind turbines, hydro-turbines, etc. Hydrogen (H2) may be seen as a possible alternative fuel which can be produced from renewable energy, as mentioned and a promising contende...

The energy usage intensity of healthcare institutions is extensive. The recorded relative typical energy consumption of hospitals has been noted to be in the range of 43 to 93 kWh/bed/day. Currently, with the global COVID 19 pandemic, the overall energy consumption of these hospitals has proportionally increased with these higher patient occupancy...

As the world strives toward meeting the Paris agreement target of zero carbon emis�sion by 2050, more renewable energy generators are now being integrated into the grid, this in turn is responsible for frequency instability challenges experienced in the new grid. The challenges associated with the modern power grid are identifed in this research...

The study compared the coefficient of performance (COP) of two residential types of air source heat pump (ASHP) water heaters using statistical tests. The COPs were determined from the controlled volume of hot water (150, 50 and 100 L) drawn off from each tank at different time of use (morning, afternoon and evening) periods during summer and winte...

In recent times, the power grid composition is changing as more renewable energy generators and energy storage systems are being added. This in turn influences the dynamics of the new grid as frequency instability sets in due to declining system inertia. It is therefore important to properly select renewable energy generators and energy storage...

Air to water heat pump (AWHP) is an efficient and renewable technology for sanitary water heating. The study focused on the building and development of an artificial neural network (ANN) to predict the electrical energy consumed (E) and COP of a 1.2 kW split type AWHP with the volume of hot water drawn, ambient temperature, relative humidity, diffe...

The implementation of an energy efficiency intervention in the students' residence of the university campus may lead to a reduction in the energy consumed and electricity cost. The study focused on retrofitting a 1000 L, 12 kW boiler, with a 4.0 kW Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) unit. A data acquisition system was built and deployed, to monitor the ba...

In this paper, an optimal energy management model for a RTG crane supplied by a hybrid diesel generator/battery system is developed. The aim of the model is to reduce the energy cost spending and CO2 emission by minimizing the amount of fuel consumed by the diesel generator, and maximizing the potential energy recovered through the regenerative bra...

This paper presents the implementation of a real-time automated energy management control in a RE hybrid system, integrated with backup and validated in a laboratory setup. The experimental setup used a fuzzy intelligent controller for energy management on the software tool platform, the control board layout designed with aid of the Proteus Design...

The electrical energy related expenditure in residential buildings may become substantial when it comes to peak pricing with regards to the Time-of-Use (TOU) tariff structure. Effective energy management strategies should be implemented at the large residential buildings scale to conserve energy, which in turn, can assist in relieving the burden on...

South Africa power system has undergone several power reforms from the pre-apartheid to post-apartheid era under various administrations in a bid to meet the increasing energy demand of its populace. Her enormous available renewable energy sources give hope for a revolutionized power sector with minimal environmental pollution. This research will t...

In this paper, bulk water abstractions and a purification process in terms of water pumped energy consumption, is modelled and simulated. The study proposes an optimal energy consumption-rate management system, using real-time data. The aim is to achieve the goal of obtaining potable water by scheduling the pumping process, to obtain the cheapest e...

The employment of 1D model of the thermal stratification in the tank of an air to water heat pump (AWHP) may accurately predict the evolution of the temperatures at the different layers. The study predicted the water temperatures at different levels in a 150 L tank coupled with 1.2 kW heat pump unit. A data acquisition system was designed and built...

The study focused on the determination of the coefficient of performance (COP), exergy losses of an air to water heat pump (AWHP) and presented opportunities for optimisation. Controlled volumes of 150, 50 and 100 L were drawn off from the AWHP at different interval per day for a year. The results depicted that the average annual-day COP, electrica...

In this work, an optimal energy management model for the grid-powered electric RTG, with a battery storage system, is developed. The aim of the model is to reduce the operation cost, by minimizing the component linked to the maximum demand charges from the grid, as well as the component linked to the Time of Use (ToU) pricing structure. As a case s...

Thermochemical energy storage (TCES) is proving to be a promising option for residential energy storage applications. Many studies have indicated that the pressure drop and heat and mass transfer efficiency of the reactor are two key determinants with TCES technologies. In this paper, net-packed method is used to carry out thermal performance enhan...

Over the years, there has been a continued effort aimed at enhancing the energy output of PV panels. One of such innovations is in the use of solar trackers to improve the overall performance and efficiency of solar systems. This paper presents a critical review of various types of solar tracking systems, highlighting their key characteristics, mer...

Seaports and rail terminals use Rubber Tired Gantry (RTG) to organise container aisles, loading, and moving cargo-containers. They operate as the link between the cranes and the means of transportation by road, rail, or sea connections. The handling of containers and the motion of RTG cranes are powered by electric motors, which are powered mainly...

Hybrid renewable energy systems (HRESs), are alternative off-grid methods of generating power to remote rural areas, where power lines are not economically viable. Most of the research studies on renewable hybrid systems or microgrids (MGs) in South Africa, focus mainly on the optimal sizing and optimal control of different systems, by making use o...

This paper presents the prototype of the Cathodic protection unit (CPU) powered by the hybrid energy system. The aim is to verify the technical feasibility of the proposed system. The CPU supplies a maximum voltage of 24 V DC, at a current of 10 A, supplied by a wind/PV/battery hybrid energy system. The prototype is of a smaller size compared to th...

Abstract A model is developed to optimise power sharing between two grid‐connected prosumers that incorporates photovoltaic and wind energy conversion systems operating in a peer‐to‐peer (P2P) energy‐sharing arrangement. The city of Durban, South Africa, where wind and solar resources are abundant, is selected as a case study to analyse power flows...

Air source heat pump (ASHP) water heaters are efficient devices for sanitary hot water heating. The coefficient of performance (COP) of the air to waterheat pump (AWHP) is constantly lower than that of the corresponding ASHP unit. The study focused on determining the COP of both the ASHP unit and the AWHP. This was achieved by the implementation of...

The study focused on the evaluation of the energy cost saving and greenhouse gas emission reduction when a 3.0 kW electric geyser is replaced by a 1.2 kW split type ASHP water heater. Both hot water devices were of 150 L capacity and are set up to operate simultaneously under specific volumes of hot water drawn off (150, 50 and 100 L) in the mornin...

The provision of sustainable energy is one of the critical challenges currently facing the power sector and gas turbine power production has established itself as one of the more viable sources of reliable energy. However, the cost of electricity produced from the contemporary gas turbine power plants using diesel fuel technology remains considerab...

Currently, the production of craft beer in microbreweries has become very popular. This craft beer production process is energy intensive due heating and cooling equipment involved. Most of these breweries are classified as commercial loads which are subjected to the applicable commercial time-of-use tariff from the utility company. Renewable energ...

In this paper, the performance of the proposed off-grid wind-solar PV hybrid system powering the cathodic protection unit is simulated and analyzed using MATLAB/SIMULINK. Furthermore, the performance simulation for the battery energy storage system with PV-wind hybrid energy system under variable solar irradiance and wind speed respectively is also...

Reducing the electricity bill in the industrial sector is an important problem worldwide. This study focuses on the awareness of industries to Cathodic Protec-tion (CP) energy conservation and on the potential of reducing electricity bills by a change of tariff or making use of renewable energy. Due to the frequent increase in energy cost at a sign...

Currently, there is few research works focusing on the optimal power dispatch of hybrid renewable energy systems operating in conjunction with hybrid energy storage systems, precisely the combination of pumped hydro storage and battery storage systems. Moreover, there is a lack of studies that focusing on analysing the potential energy cost reducti...

Dual axis photovoltaic (PV) tracking system is considered in general to be a poor investment. This is mainly due to the substantial initial investment costs that these systems carry. However, in recent years, solar panels and accompanying component costs have decreased significantly. Additionally, electricity price hikes in South Africa have compel...

In this paper, the optimal size of a residential grid-interactive photovoltaic system with a battery storage system is computed using HOMER software. The proposed grid interactive system operates under the Time of Use and Feed-in tariff in the South African context. Based on the simulation results, it is found that the optimal configuration is comp...

Air source heat pump (ASHP) water heaters are very efficient devices for sanitary hot water heating. The study focused on the determination of the coefficient of performance (COP) of a 1.2 kW, 150 L split type ASHP water heater in terms of enthalpy and energy factor, and the potential opportunity to optimise the COP. The COP was based on the change...

The combination of the optimal control and the fuzzy system enhances the control system's accuracy and robustness. The variation of the load during different times puts the network under strain; thus, implementing this model is essential as it will result in loss reduction in the system. This paper employs a load-following an optimal strategy and a...

This paper proposes a model for the optimal Peer-to-Peer energy sharing of grid-connected Prosumers. Current models within available literature do not include the constraint which forbid small renewable energy producers to share their excess power through the national grids; this leads to prosumers dissipating their excess power generated or using...

Nowadays, the production of craft beer in microbreweries has become very popular all over the world. However, recent studies have demonstrated that the craft beer production process in microbreweries can be considered as energy intensive due to the fact that more to 8% of the production cost is allocated to thermal processes such as heating and coo...

Healthcare institutions, ranks the second highest energy intensive buildings in the commercial sector, with daily energy consumption ranging from 43 to 92 kWh per bed. Energy management in this sector may prove difficult due to the demand's critical and non-deferrable nature. Therefore, in this paper, a validated optimal power dispatch model of a p...

The continued integration of diverse renewable energy sources into the power grid has led to a significant decrease in power system inertia, thus resulting in several challenges in the electric power system such as frequency instability and sharp rise in rate of change of frequency (rocof). In order to combat these challenges, several technologies...

The rising of hybrid system controllers, in real-time renewable energy for the optimum energy management system (EMS), required the design of a real-time controller to operate the entire system in real time. The increasing popularity of Renewable Energy (RE) has a control strategy, that determined the overall efficiency of the hybrid system (HS), a...

The main aim of this paper is to develop an optimal power dispatch model for grid-connected consumers who are also able to generate electricity using the innovative hydro aeropower systems. The proposed system consists of a wind pump with a hydro generator using groundwater in pumped hydro storage configuration. The developed model minimizes the co...

The study focused on the determination of the statistical comparison of COPs of a 1.2 kW split type and 0.9 kW integrated type, with an auxiliary backup of 0.5 kW. Both tank sizes were 150 L. The COPs and the electrical energies consumed were determined from the controlled volume of hot water drawn off from each tank, at different time of use perio...

The aim of this study is to analyse the present pattern of energy consumption and identify the possible areas where the consumer could reduce energy usage in order to reduce the monthly electricity bills at a selected brewery in Bloemfontein. To achieve this, a real time monitoring device Power Quality analyser "PEL 103" was installed in the distri...

A significant Eskom's grid electricity is generated from the thermal coal-fired plants. The study focused on modelling the generated electricity during the "before and after" outage of a typical unit, in one of the Eskom Benson's thermal coal power plants rated at 600 MW and mechanical conversion efficiency of 35%. The dataset for the chosen input...

Implementation of an energy efficiency intervention in a university campus can resulted in both energy and electricity cost saving. The study focused on retrofitting a 12 kW electric boiler of 1000 L tank with a 4.0 kW air source heat pump (ASHP) unit. A data acquisition system was built to monitor the performance of the electric boiler before inte...

The aim of this paper is to provide an integrated optimization and control algorithm in order to solve the residential load demand uncertainty problem as encountered in a grid-interactive hydrokinetic river (GHR) system. The proposed GHR system is incorporated with a pumped hydro-storage system (PHS) to store excess energy. The proposed algorithm a...

Pump theory is an interdisciplinary branch in water catchment/purification systems. The main determinant of the selling price of potable water to consumers is the amount of energy utilized when pumping the water from one area to another. These studies propose a water-pump configuration that decreases the energy consumption. The configuration involv...

This paper aims at analysing the energy management activities for commercial bulk water development and servicing in South Africa. The energy efficiency, in terms of performance, operation, equipment and technology (POET), is reviewed. The sustainability of a general energy management program is discussed within this POET framework. As an applicati...