Collaboration key to solar panel research paper success
Congratulations on the publication of your research paper. How did you first decide on the topic?
The topic was deduced from the research work conducted by my 4th year student Tri Hieu Nguyen as part of his graduation requirement in mechanical engineering from WSU Sydney city campus.
When did you start your research for the paper, and how long did it take to complete?
The research work was carried out for two sessions (8 months) in 2020 followed by another 4 months in 2021 to do further analysis, verifications, paper writing and editing.
Your topic covers rooftop solar energy production in residential buildings. Do you have a personal interest in sustainability?
I have worked and conducted research on this topic for many years and published numerous papers in conferences and referred journals. Also, I am an accredited member of the Australian Building Sustainability Association.
How did working with your student, Tri Hieu Nguyen come about?
He chose my topic from a list of graduation topics offered by Sydney city campus for 4th year students and showed his interest from the beginning to work with me to make his work suitable for publication.
Can you describe how the two of you collaborated?
Due to lockdown conditions during 2020- 2021 I was supervising his work on a weekly basis via Zoom meeting and emails. During his research period he submitted a number of reports and one thesis. The graduation project thesis was marked by an external reviewer and he achieved a distinction.
What do you see as the most crucial areas of sustainability that currently need research and development?
Talking about building sustainability, developing and applying battery systems in residential buildings is a major topic that needs further research to enhance power system flexibility, enable high levels of solar electricity integration and achieve zero greenhouse gas emission cities.
Your work demonstrates that most of Sydney’s city suburbs could turn into zero energy districts. Can you elaborate on this?
The research, which was based on the analysis of rooftop solar electricity systems of 400 house samples showed if the roof usable area of all dwellings is covered by solar panels it would produce enough electricity to meet the residential and commercial electricity demands of these suburbs.
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In this Q&A, Senior Program Convenor (Engineering and IT) at SIBT Dr Saad Odeh explains how working with his student Tri Hieu Nguyen resulted in the publication of their research paper on residential solar panel usage in Sydney.