SMART WALL PLUG DESIGN FOR THE DC HOUSE PROJECT Edward Constant Sibal The DC House project at Cal Poly State University faces a challenge of supplying DC voltage to household appliances. Each appliance in the DC House constitutes a DC load that has a unique voltage and power rating, hence the need to develop a smart DC wall plug that will automatically adjust to the operating voltage required by any DC load. This thesis entails a proof of concept design of the smart DC wall plug which can

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... tically detect an appliance's voltage rating. The design employs a dc-dc converter in conjunction with a microcontroller to sense load current to properly adjust the required load voltage. Hardware implementation to demonstrate the functionality of the smart wall plug was developed. Results performed on several dc loads show that the smart wall plug is able to adjust to the required load voltage within an acceptable range. An algorithm to improve the accuracy was attempted and presented along with the results. Further recommendations to improve the current design will also be discussed. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to personally thank my mother, Daisy, for believing in me that I can make my dreams happen. Through personal and economic hardships with my mother, I want to dedicate all my hard work to her. I also want to thank my Mama Lita, Papa Martin, and Brian Horton for financially supporting me through college. I would like to thank my sister Simmonne, extended family, and friends for the physical and emotional support through my college experience. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge my Thesis Advisor, Taufik, for inspiring me to use my passion in Engineering to help others and leading me the path to success. My success would not be possible without these people.