scholarly journals Assessment of Solar PV Potential and Performance of a Household System in Durban North, Durban, South Africa

Author(s):  
Williams S. Ebhota ◽  
Pavel Y. Tabakov

Abstract A rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) system is an alternative electricity source that is increasingly being used for households. The potential of solar PV is location dependent that needs to be assessed before installation. This study focuses on the assessment of a solar PV potential of a site on coordinates − 29.853762°, 031.00634°, at Glenmore Crescent, Durban North, South Africa. In addition, it evaluates the performance of a 6 kW installed capacity grid-connected rooftop solar PV system to supply electricity to a household. The results, obtained from PV design and simulation tools – PV*SOL, Solargis prospect and pvPlanner, were used to analyse and establish the site and PV system technical viability. The system’s configuration is as follows: load profile - a 2-Person household with 2-children, energy consumption − 3500 kWh, system size − 6 kWp, installation type - roof mount, PV module type - c-Si - monocrystalline silicon, efficiency − 18.9%, orientation of PV modules -Azimuth 0° and Tilt 30°, inverter 95.9% (Euro efficiency), and no transformer. The results show: meteorological parameters - global horizontal irradiation (GHI) 1659.3 kWh/m2, direct normal irradiation (DNI) 1610.6 kWh/m2, air temperature 20.6°C; performance parameters - annual PV energy 8639 kWh, Specific annual yield 1403 kWh/kWp, performance ratio (PR) 74.9%, avoided CO₂ emissions 5662 kg/year, and solar fraction 42.5 %. The analysis and benchmarking of the results show that the proposed solar PV system under the current conditions is technically viable for household electrification in Durban North, South Africa.

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashok Aryal ◽  
Nawraj Bhattarai

The renewable sources such as solar, wind, biomass, etc. are often used for electricity generation for their availability, no green-house gas emission and solar photovoltaic is major among them. Many On-Grid PV systems are being installed around the globe nowadays to reduce electricity dependency on a single source and thus enhance availability of energy sources. Kathmandu, Nepal receives sufficient sunshine with insolation around 4.5 to 5 kWh/m2/day, which justifies essence of grid-connected solar PV installations. A 115.2 kWp solar plant has been installed at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), Maharajgunj, Kathmandu to fulfill its own load demands and reduce the electricity bill of the building. The generated energy is not fed to the grid currently. The detailed On-Grid solar PV system is modeled, and performance parameters such as Performance Ratio, Specific Yield and Capacity Utilization Factor as defined by International Electro technical Commission are estimated using simulation techniques from PVSYST. The actual generation of the existing system within one year of installation is measured to be 35 MWh but simulation tool suggests that total 199 MWh can be generated using similar capacity panel, with system being totally on-grid type. Using PVSYST, the performance parameters are found to be performance ratio 83.5 % and Specific Yield 1728 kWh/kWp respectively. Thus, this paper intends to calculate performance parameters of existing system as well as performance of identical sized, totally on-grid system, simulated using PVSYST.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rishal Asri

Sunlight is energy that can be converted into electrical energy. One of the uses is by applying it to the roof ofthe building. The application in this building has restrictions such as the placement of the PV moduleshorizontally and vertically. In the study comparing the results of energy obtained from the PV system withhorizontal and vertical positions with a standard degree angle in the direction of azimuth sunlight. Positionusing the horizontal produces more energy and reaches a performance ratio of more than 80%.


Author(s):  
Rakesh Dalal ◽  
Kamal Bansal ◽  
Sapan Thapar

Rooftop solar photovoltaic(PV) installation in India have increased in last decade because of the flat 40 percent subsidy extended for rooftop solar PV systems (3 kWp and below) by the Indian government under the solar rooftop scheme. From the residential building owner's perspective, solar PV is competitive when it can produce electricity at a cost less than or equal grid electricity price, a condition referred as “grid parity”. For assessing grid parity of 3 kWp and 2 kWp residential solar PV system, 15 states capital and 19 major cities were considered  for the RET screen simulation by using solar isolation, utility grid tariff, system cost and other economic parameters. 3 kWp and 2 kWp rooftop solar PV with and without subsidy scenarios were considered for simulation using RETscreen software. We estimate that without subsidy no state could achieve grid parity for 2kWp rooftop solar PV plant. However with 3 kWp rooftop solar PV plant only 5 states could achieve grid parity without subsidy and with government subsidy number of states increased to 7, yet wide spread parity for residential rooftop solar PV is still not achieved. We find that high installation costs, subsidized utility grid supply to low energy consumer and financing rates are major barriers to grid parity.


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