Design and implementation of RELab system to study the solar and wind energy

It is well known that renewable energy, today more than ever, has undergone an exponential development. Thus, it is necessary to create an efficient, compact and relatively cheap system to be used in education and research, which allows studying these types of energy. The concept, design and implementation of such a system - RELab are presented in this paper. The RELab system is a very useful tool for students and engineers to learn about the two types of renewable energy: solar and wind energy. The system has two components: the NI ELVIS platform and the RELab add-on. The RELab add-on is a modular one and it can be easily redesigned for using the photovoltaic cell, the wind turbine and the solar thermal collector. The software used is built in the graphical programming language LabVIEW, and it is flexible and open.