Why solar power

According to UTIAs website, the sun releases an

estimated 3.846x1026 watts of energy. That’s
384,600,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 watts! As a
comparison, an incandescent bulb uses only around 60
watts of power.
 Cont.…
At the earth’s surface the solar energy density is
approximately 1000 w/m2 for a surface
perpendicular to the sun’s rays at sea level on clear
day. [Source: sunlight: composition and power –
Wikipedia] Example: A 50m2 roof area receives
about 200,000 watts (200nw) of energy for 4 hours
sun1000w/m2 * 50 m2 *4 hours = 200,000 watts
(200kw)
 world consumption of power
Currently, the world population consumes 15 terawatts of power from
combinations of energy sources. [Source economist] not recent
To put that into perspective:
1 Terawatts = 1000 Gig watts
1 Gig watts= 1000 Mega watts
1 Megawatts= 1000 Kilowatts
1 Kilowatts= 1000 watts
1 terawatts = 1000, 000, 000, 000 watts that’s 10 billion incandescent
bulbs rated at 100w each
solar power potential
Cont..
Cont. ..
 Advantages of using solar energy

 Solar power has the potential to meet world’s energy

requirement and even exceed it.
 It is ‘’ unlimited ‘’
 It is safe
 It is clean
 It is basically ‘’free’’
 Low maintenance cost
 Disadvantages of solar energy

 High initial cost

 Weather dependent

 Solar energy storage is expensive (lead acid

batteries)

But with the advancement of solar technology, the

price of setting up a solar power system expected to
go down.
 How solar panels do converted solar
energy to electrical energy

 As solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic

cells that convert’s solar energy to electrical
energy

 When a photon of sunlight knocks an electron

free, the electric field will push that electron
out of silicon junction-current flow
 Solar power system configurations

Hybrid – this set up is the combination of both the on

–grid and of – grid configurations. The system is

connected to the electricity grid but it is also has a

battery bank for energy storage.

 Pros and cons of the Hybrid Systems
configurations
Hybrid Systems

Pros
 During the day, the solar power will
provide electricity to the load and at the
same time charge the batteries
 At night the batteries will provide
power to the load
 Energy demand can be complimented
by the electric grid
 Excess power generated by the solar
panels can be expected back to grid
Cons
 Consists of four (4) major components:
solar panel, inverter, battery bank and
automatic transfer switch (ATS)
 Require battery for storage
 High cost for batteries
 Batteries have short life spans ( 3-5)
 Hybrid system design and calculations

Steps are:-

1. Load analysis

2. Sizing of solar PV panels

3. Sizing of invertor

4. Sizing of battery bank

 Hybrid system design and calculations

1. Load analysis

Example

To do so first check monthly consumption and divide it by 30

days to get the day power consumption. 1,783.39 yearly

Monthly consumption 38.28 kWh which is computed from

the base case 1783.39/12 months of the year and 148.65
kwh/30 days = 4.95 kwh/day
 Hybrid system design and calculations

Step 2. Sizing of solar PV panel

Daily electric consumption = 4.95 kWh

Sun peak hours= 8hrs VAR

PV power = daily consumption/ sun peak hours * 1.3

PV power = (4.95 kwh/8) *1.3

PV power = 0.8kw =800w

1.3 (the energy lost in the system or safety)
Mono crystalline panels are the most efficient
Where PR =performance ratio
No. of PV panels = PV power / PV panel PR
No. of PV panels = 800W / 200w
No. of PV panels= 4 PR = 200W VAR

Number of solar PV needed to fulfill the require power consumption

Step 3. Sizing of the invertor

PV panel PR = 200W

No. of PV panels =4

Maximum PV power = PV panel PR *No .of panels

Maximum PV power = 200W x4

Maximum PV power =800W

Choose an investor with a max PV array power (WP) Greater

than the maximum PV power (800W)
Step 3. Sizing of the invertor cont.….
Max PV array power (WP) > 800W

Max PV array power (WP) > 1600 W

Making sure that the voltage and current output of your solar PV array does not
exceed the voltage and current input of invertor.

PV array V out (series) = Voc x No .of PV panel

PV array V out (series) =25.6 Voc x 4

PV array V out (series) =102.4 Voc

PV array V out (series) (102.4 Voc) < Max Voc input (265 Voc)

PV array Isc (series) (5.23A) < Max input current (9.5A)

Where WP= watt peak and the capacity of solar installations, Voc=open circuit
voltage Isc =Short circuit photocurrent
Step 4. Sizing of battery bank
Equipment Power Qty Total power Durations Power
consumptio
n (wh)

LED lighting 7 8 56 6 336

Electric fan 65 3 195 8 1,560

Total 1,896
Step 4. Sizing of battery bank cont. …

Battery bank capacity = daily consumption /(D.O.D x Eff x System voltage)

Battery bank capacity =4.95 kWh/ (0.5x 0.85 x 48 V)
Battery bank capacity = 242.65 Ah
No.of strings= battery capacity/BattRATING
No.of strings = 242.65 Ah /250Ah
No.of strings = 0.97 approximately 1
No .of series = system voltage /VR
No .of series = 48V/ 12V
No .of series = 4
Where D.OD = depth of discharge, VR= voltage regulation of battery
Step 4. Sizing of battery bank cont. …
Thank you!