RENEWABLE ENERGY- DESIGN

CONCEPTS & IMPLEMENTATION

Presented at 2nd Annual Symposium
On JUNE Date, 2021 at the School of Information & Communication Technology (SICT),
Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO),

Engr. Nwafor Chukwubuikem Michael

Affiliation her
 WHAT IS RENEWABLE ENERGY?

RENEWABLE ENERGY comes from a source that never runs out. In other words,
its source lasts forever. Renewable energy comes from natural sources that Mother
Nature continuously replaces on a human timescale. In this presentation, we shall be
focusing on SOLAR ENRGY.
 WHAT IS SOLAR ENERGY?
 Solar Energy has to do with the energy (light or
heat) that comes from the sun.
 This energy is:
– What makes your car hot when it is parked in the sun
– What makes it possible for plants grow
– What makes ones washed clothes to get dry when kept
under the sun.
This energy can not be fully utilized without the incorporation of
a system called Solar power system.
 SOLAR POWER SYSTEM

Solar power system is a system that generates solar

electricity from the energy (solar) that comes from the
sun.
 SOLAR POWER SYSTEM COMPONENTS
It is made up of five (5) main components, which are solar panel, charge controller, battery,
inverter and connecting cables.

1
2

3 4
 SOLAR COMPONENTS DESCRIPTION
1. Solar panel this is the very heart of this system. It generates direct current
from the sun, which is used to charge batteries, powering of dc devices as well as
feeding directly to inverters. For installation, the following parameters should be
known:
N.B: solar panel orientation ranges
 Pmax (maximum power rating) from about 0-40 degrees due south.

 Impp (maximum peak current)

 Vmpp (maximum peak voltage). These are written on it, and it tells you how efficient
the panel can convert light into electricity
Types.. Amorphous, Monocrystalline and Polycrystalline. They are classified based on the technology
used in producing them.
Amorphous (the silicon used are not structured or crystallized).
Monocrystalline (they are made from uniform silicon crystal. They have high efficiency rate compared to
others).
Polycrystalline (they are made from raw silicon. They are cheaper when compared to others)
 SOLAR COMPONENTS DESCRIPTION CONTD
2. Charge controller its an intelligent device whose job is to protect the battery from being over

charged, by disconnecting it from its charging source. It also protects the battery from being over

discharged, by disconnecting the load from battery. They are rated in Amps and voltage e.g. 60A/24V.

There are different types, but mostly used are PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) and MPPT (Maximum

Power Point Tracker).

3. Battery this is known as accumulator, it helps in storing energy from the sun through the
solar panel. It has different capacity (the measure of energy it can store) available in the market. It
is rated in Ampere hour (Ah), typical examples in the market are 12v/100Ah, 12v/150Ah,
12v/200Ah, 12v/220Ah etc. Note the following: Temperature, over-charging and under-
charging, Depth of Discharge (DOD)

These are the parameters that will determine how long the battery will last.
 SOLAR COMPONENTS DESCRIPTION
CONTD
4. Inverter this is the very device that is responsible the conversion of Direct
Current (DC) to Alternate Current(AC). If one is planning to run mains-powered
equipment from ones solar electric system, then an inverter will be needed. We have
modified sinewave (not a proper reflection of power sinewave. It does not perform
well with refrigerators and air conditions) and pure sinewave (its a proper reflection of
power sinewave. It performs well with all appliances). Every inverter has the following
terminals: DC input (battery connection), AC input (Generator or mains supply) and
AC output (supply from the inverter to the load).

5. Cables these are the various wires used in connecting all the various units of
the solar electric power system.
 SOLAR POWER SYSTEM SIZING
This has to do with determining the capacity of the system. In carrying out
system sizing, some factors are considered.

Factors considered

sunlight levels the daily power

(insolation) from consumption of your
your area electrical loads

To achieve accurate sizing, Energy Audit is carried out. Energy Audit simply
means proper examination of all the factors required for an efficient solar
power system.
 ENERGY AUDIT

WHY DO WE NEED TO CARRY OUT ENERGY AUDIT?

• It helps in determining on the size of the solar power system

needed in the installation.

• It helps in deciding whether the installation will be hybrid,

standalone, or back up.

• It helps in determining the financial demand.

 HOW TO CARRY OUT ENERGY AUDITS
Energy Audits can be achieved through the following
practical processes;

 Seeking the permission of the owner of the facility to be audited.

 Identify all the load that will be connected to the system. Then compute
their wattages. This is known as load estimation.

 Identify where the inverter and battery will be located, as well as where
solar panels will mounted (roof or ground mount).

 Ensure all the units are very close to each other as well as in a secured
environment.
 TYPES OF SOLAR ENERGY INSTALLATIONS
 Hybrid installation: in this kind of installation more than one source is
required to charge the batteries e.g. grid, solar, generator, etc. it provide
the highest form of power efficiency and availability.

 Back up installation: in this kind of installation, power is sustained for

a given time before recharging. It could mean the use of UPS or the use
of inverter and batteries only. This is mainly used where there is constant
utility power supply.

 Stand Alone installation: this does not require grid, just as the name
implies
 INVERTER SIZING
In determining the inverter size, these steps are followed:
 Compute the total load power, which will be consumed by the load, as to be
supplied by the inverter. This is done by adding up the power for each of the
appliances. This is rated in watts or Kilowatts.

 Convert the total load to VA (Volt-ampere) by dividing it by 0.8 (inverter

Efficiency). This is so because inverters are rated in and not in

 The power rating of the device (inverter) must be higher than the calculated,
therefore divide the calculated Power in VA by 80% efficiency.
 BATTERY REQUIREMENT
This deals with determining battery capacity and
quantity.
This is achieved by determining the battery current capacity.

N.B: system autonomy means how long the system should run on back up,
while DOD has to do with the depth (in percentage) of discharge.

Battery current capacity is the total current that is expected to be delivered by the
battery unit based on the load demand for a specified duration.
Energy demand = system current x system autonomy
 SOLAR PANEL REQUIREMENT
N.B: To ensure a sustainable solar system, input from solar must be equal
or greater than the load demand.

 
 CHARGE CONTROLLER
REQUIREMENT
.

 
 CABLE REQUIREMENT

In other to ascertain the gauge of cable to used, one must know that 1mm cable
withstands maximum current of 4A. This means that if a current of 40A is being
expected, then 10mm cable will be required.
Gauge required = the expected current/the current for 1mm
A TYPICAL INSTALLED SYSTEM
A TYPICAL INSTALLED SYSTEM