What is solar PV system?
Solar photovoltaic system or Solar power system is one of renewable energy system which uses PV modules to convert sunlight into electricity. The electricity generated can be either stored or used directly, fed back into grid line or combined with one or more other electricity generators or more renewable energy source. Solar PV system is very reliable and clean source of electricity that can suit a wide range of applications such as residence, industry, agriculture, livestock, etc.
Major system components
Solar PV system includes different components that should be selected according to your system type, site location and applications. The major components for solar PV system are solar charge controller, inverter, battery bank, auxiliary energy sources and loads (appliances).
• PV module – converts sunlight into DC electricity. • Solar charge controller – regulates the voltage and current coming from the PV panels going to battery and prevents battery overcharging and prolongs the battery life. • Inverter – converts DC output of PV panels or wind turbine into a clean AC current for AC appliances or fed back into grid line. • Battery – stores energy for supplying to electrical appliances when there is a demand. • Load – is electrical appliances that connected to solar PV system such as lights, radio, TV, computer, refrigerator, etc. • Auxiliary energy sources - is diesel generator or other renewable energy sources.
Solar PV system sizing
1. Determine power consumption demands
The first step in designing a solar PV system is to find out the total power and energy consumption of all loads that need to be supplied by the solar PV system as follows:
1.1 Calculate total Watt-hours per day for each appliance used.Add the Watt-hours needed for all appliances together to get the total Watt-hours per day which must be delivered to the appliances. 1.2 Calculate total Watt-hours per day needed from the PV modules. Multiply the total appliances Watt-hours per day times 1.3 (the energy lost in the system) to get the total Watt-hours per day which must be provided by the panels. 2. Size the PV modules
Different size of PV modules will produce different amount of power. To find out the sizing of PV module, the total peak watt produced needs. The peak watt (Wp) produced depends on size of the PV module and climate of site location. We have to consider “panel generation factor” which is different in each site location. For Thailand, the panel generation factor is 3.43. To determine the sizing of PV modules, calculate as follows:
2.1 Calculate the total Watt-peak rating needed for PV modules
Divide the total Watt-hours per day needed from the PV modules (from item 1.2) by 3.43 to get the total Watt-peak rating needed for the PV panels needed to operate the appliances.
2.2 Calculate the number of PV panels for the system
Divide the answer obtained in item 2.1 by the rated output Watt-peak of the PV modules available to you. Increase any fractional part of result to the next highest full number and that will be the number of PV modules required.
Result of the calculation is the minimum number of PV panels. If more PV modules are installed, the system will perform better and battery life will be improved. If fewer PV modules are used, the system may not work at all during cloudy periods and battery life will be shortened.
3. Inverter sizing
An inverter is used in the system where AC power output is needed. The input rating of the inverter should never be lower than the total watt of appliances. The inverter must have the same nominal voltage as your battery.
For stand-alone systems, the inverter must be large enough to handle the total amount of Watts you will be using at one time. The inverter size should be 25-30% bigger than total Watts of appliances. In case of appliance type is motor or compressor then inverter size should be minimum 3 times the capacity of those appliances and must be added to the inverter capacity to handle surge current during starting.
For grid tie systems or grid connected systems, the input rating of the inverter should be same as PV array rating to allow for safe and efficient operation.
4. Battery sizing
The battery type recommended for using in solar PV system is deep cycle battery. Deep cycle battery is specifically designed for to be discharged to low energy level and rapid recharged or cycle charged and discharged day after day for years. The battery should be large enough to store sufficient energy to operate the appliances at night and cloudy days. To find out the size of battery, calculate as follows:
4.1 Calculate total Watt-hours per day used by appliances.4.2 Divide the total Watt-hours per day used by 0.85 for battery loss. 4.3 Divide the answer obtained in item 4.2 by 0.6 for depth of discharge. 4.4 Divide the answer obtained in item 4.3 by the nominal battery voltage. 4.5 Multiply the answer obtained in item 4.4 with days of autonomy (the number of days that you need the system to operate when there is no power produced by PV panels) to get the required Ampere-hour capacity of deep-cycle battery.
Battery Capacity (Ah) = Total Watt-hours per day used by appliances x Days of autonomy
5. Solar charge controller sizing(0.85 x 0.6 x nominal battery voltage)
The solar charge controller is typically rated against Amperage and Voltage capacities. Select the solar charge controller to match the voltage of PV array and batteries and then identify which type of solar charge controller is right for your application. Make sure that solar charge controller has enough capacity to handle the current from PV array.
For the series charge controller type, the sizing of controller depends on the total PV input current which is delivered to the controller and also depends on PV panel configuration (series or parallel configuration).
According to standard practice, the sizing of solar charge controller is to take the short circuit current (Isc) of the PV array, and multiply it by 1.3
Solar charge controller rating = Total short circuit current of PV array x 1.3
Remark: For MPPT charge controller sizing will be different. (See Basics of MPPT Charge Controller)
Example: A house has the following electrical appliance usage:
The system will be powered by 12 Vdc, 110 Wp PV module.
1. Determine power consumption demands
2. Size the PV panel
Actual requirement = 4 modules So this system should be powered by at least 4 modules of 110 Wp PV module.
3. Inverter sizing
Total Watt of all appliances = 18 + 60 + 75 = 153 W For safety, the inverter should be considered 25-30% bigger size. The inverter size should be about 190 W or greater.
4. Battery sizing
Total appliances use = (18 W x 4 hours) + (60 W x 2 hours) + (75 W x 12 hours) Nominal battery voltage = 12 V Days of autonomy = 3 days
Battery capacity = [(18 W x 4 hours) + (60 W x 2 hours) + (75 W x 12 hours)] x 3
(0.85 x 0.6 x 12) Total Ampere-hours required 535.29 Ah So the battery should be rated 12 V 600 Ah for 3 day autonomy.
5. Solar charge controller sizing
PV module specification Pm = 110 Wp Vm = 16.7 Vdc Im = 6.6 A Voc = 20.7 A Isc = 7.5 A Solar charge controller rating = (4 strings x 7.5 A) x 1.3 = 39 A So the solar charge controller should be rated 40 A at 12 V or greater.
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First, you need to inventory all your loads:
laptop 60W 12 hours lamp CFL 20W 6 hours lamp CFL 20W 6 hours coffee maker 1400W 0.1hr internet modem 30W 24 hours Fridge 350W 6 hours Once you have a listing of your loads, you total the daily watt hours for each load: lamp CFL 20W 6 hours = 120wh tea pot 1400W 0.1hr = 140wh then you add all the watt hours up for the daily total = 1,220 wh [ or 1.22KWh ] Then you need the number of good sun hours in your area pvwatts.org lets use 5 as a average number. Double your consumption : 2440 and divide by sun hours 5 = 488W 488w is the amount of solar PV needed to run your loads for the caculated time. Then we can figure batteries later.
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Sunday, March 3, 2013
How to Design Solar PV System
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