RES 4325 01
Introduction to Renewable Energy Technologies and Sustainability
Class Project
Design of PV solar system for a small-scale application
I. Scope of the project:
The objective of this project is to develop a conceptual design of an efficient, reliable, and
economically attractive stand-alone (off-grid) Photovoltaic system for domestic applications.
This renewable energy system will be implemented in a remote community to meet typical
power needs of mid-to-large sized households (supplying household appliances and water
pumping systems for irrigation). Unlike Grid-connected solar photovoltaic systems, an off-grid
PV system have no connection to the utility grid and must make all the electricity necessary to
power the house. Since the energy produced by the PV system will be available only during the
day (sunlight availability), a storage system is required.
❖ During the day:
✓ The PV system generates solar energy.
✓ The system will check to see if all the energy generation can be used to power your
household.
✓ Any excess will be used to charge the battery.
✓ If the battery is already charged, excess energy will be exported to a damp load
(central heating)
❖ At night or when there is low power generation:
✓ The PV system generates little to no solar energy.
✓ Energy is obtained from the battery system.
II. Tasks of the project:
1. Read the article “PV System Design for Off-Grid Applications” and summarize the main
points in 5 pages. (20 pts.)
2. Define the context of your project: type of client, need profile, geographical location, etc. (5
pts.)
3. Conduct a need assessment for a typical household application. Calculate the total energy
need in 𝑘𝑤ℎ/𝐷𝑎𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑘𝑤ℎ/𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟. (10 pts.)
4. Conduct an energy potential assessment for the selected site (geographic location of your
client). (10 pts.)
5. Calculate the peak-power of your PV array needed. Select a technology for your panels as
well as the number of panels needed. (10 pts.)
6. Calculate the estimated AEP of your system using one of the equations given in the appendix
below. (5 pts.)
7. Simulate the Annual Energy Production (AEP) of your system using PVGIS tool and
compare your results with the energy needs of your client. Does the system meet the needs?
(5 pts.)
8. Give the PV array configuration of your system: panels in series and parallel. Conclude on
the total current and voltage of your system. (10 pts.)
9. Design the system components: Protections, cables, battery bank, battery chargers, and
inverters. (10 pts.)
10. Conduct a financial assessment of your project by defining: the capital cost, O&M costs,
the cost of the installed Watt-peak, the ROI period as well as the cost of Kwh over the
lifetime to the project (LCOE). (10 pts.)
11. Conduct and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of your project by defining the tones
of CO2 saved per year. (5 pts.)
Appendix
Basic formulas to know the production of a panel or a photovoltaic system.
1) Calculation by the efficiency of the panel (or cell)
Where:
E = energy produced in Wh
S = surface of the photovoltaic field (example 7.14 m²)
r = module efficiency (14% for our example)
H = Solar irradiation on the inclined surface in kWh/m² (1580 kWh/m². year for the south of
France)
Cp = loss coefficient (varies between 0.9 and ... very low, i.e., a minimum of 10%, the
frequent value being between 0.75 and 0.8)
Breakdown of losses (varies according to the installations):
• Inverter losses 8% to 15%
• Temperature losses 5% to 12%
• Cable and connection losses 2%
• Mask losses 0% to 50% (depends on the implantation)
• Low irradiance losses 3% to 7%
• Losses related to reflectivity about 3%
2) Method of the peak power of the module and the hours of irradiance
A module is characterized above all by its peak power 𝑃𝑐 , power under standard STC conditions.
The module exposed under STC conditions will produce at a given moment an electrical power
equal to this peak power, and if this lasts Ne hours, it will have produced an electrical energy 𝐸
equal to the product of the peak power times the elapsed time, except for the loss coefficient:
Where:
E = energy produced in Wh
𝐏𝐜 = peak power of the panel in kWp
𝐍𝐞 = Number of equivalent hours of radiation
