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About laboratory

Head: red. prof. dr. Gorazd ŠTUMBERGER

From a dictionary of the Slovene language:

  • electrical power engineering – production, transmission, utilization and economy of electrical energy: advance of electrical power engineering // science about this: professional for electrical power engineering;
  • power engineering – activity, which supplies economy with energy: harmfulness of uneven development of power engineering and basic industry / power engineering of a country relies particularly on coal // a lesson on energy: an article about power engineering.

The definition in the dictionary of the Slovene language well describes activity of our Laboratory, which is:

  • our Laboratory is registered at the Ministry for education, science, culture and sport as research group 796-011 ELEKTROENERGETIKA, a leader of the group being red. Prof. Dr. Jože PIHLER;
  • our Laboratory has been registered at the Ministry of science and technology from 1. 1. 1999 to 30. 4. 2002 as program group P0-0502-0796 ELEKTROENERGETIKA, a leader of the group being red. Prof. Dr. Jože PIHLER;
  • currently we are researchers involved into program group P2-0115(B) Controling electromechanical systems, a leader of the group being red. Prof. Dr. Drago DOLINAR;
  • our Laboratory (Chair), its leader being red. Prof. Dr. Jože PIHLER, is integrated into the Institute for power electrical engineering at our Faculty for electrical engineering, computer science and informatics.

We have some yearly milestones that dictate our pace of life and work. For example, we organize:

  • holiday school 'Energija in razvoj družbe' during high school holidays;
  • scientific meeting 'Komunalna energetika – Power Engineering' in begining of May.
  • with ICEM-TC a 'Strokovni piknik' before semester's lectures in each September;
  • 'Mednarodno študentsko tekmovanje v izdelavi e-koles' commencing 2012 for which we hope it is going to become traditional.

Apart from the above, we take on lecturing, exercising, resarching, developing, measuring and counceling work. We try to be useful and to return to the society what it invested and it still invests into our work.

Academic activity of the Laboratory encompasses production, transmission, distribution and utilization of electrical energy. Theoretical knowledge gained from lessons is further solidified in this Laboratory's activity. The Laboratory is collaborating with industry. The ongoing cooperation additionally entails practical training within many months of compulsory practices. The training pertaining to the educational process is also carried out in a computer guided laboratory electrical power plant and in an ICEM’s power laboratory. The Laboratory hosts three research centres with their associated research activities.

  • The first area is associated to electrical power plants and apparatuses. The training pertaining to the educational process is also carried out in a computer guided laboratory electrical power plant (lecture based implemented solutions in the Laboratory).
  • The second area is associated to an analysis and design of operation of electrical power grids (calculation of flow of power and losses, and determining quality of electrical energy).
  • The third area is associated to general power engineering: saving and rational usage of energy, conventional and alternative sources of energy and design, energy effectivness and changes of technology processes in regards to influence on environment.

The above areas incorporate activity, such as spanning from formal theroetical work on a modeling level, an analysis of operational characteristics on a model level, to experimental confirmation and practical implementation of proposed solutions.

In the Infrastructure centre for energy measurement (ICEM), measurement, technical test and analyses of apparatuses and devices, as well as educational activity are carried out. In here, students are taking on practical aspects of their bachelor, master and doctoral work.

In the Centre for energy consultancy (CES) we:

  • offer consultancy services for solving problems associated to saving of energy in industrial processes;
  • support utilization of renewable energy sources,
  • educate on rational use of energy and
  • collaborate in realization of proposed solutions.

Other activities of the Laboratory:

  • every year consultation 'Komunalna energetika' (»Power Engineering«) is organized in Maribor;
  • every year consultation 'Razsvetljava / Lighting' is organized with Slovenian association 'Slovensko društvo za razsvetljavo';
  • every year consultation 'Sodobne električne instalacije' organized by 'Elektrotehniško društvo Maribor' is carried out with our invited lectures;
  • consulting services towards solving problems regarding energy saving, such as in industrial processes, municipal supply or economy are offered;
  • a winter holiday school is organized.

Additional information about our Laboratory is accessible on website http://www.powerlab.um.si/ (the website is available only in Slovenian language).