How to Design Solar PV System

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 $% 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 $% output of PV panels or wind turbine into a clean &%
current for &%
appliances or fed back into grid line.
" attery # stores energy for supplying to electrical appliances when there is a
demand.
" !oad # is electrical appliances that connected to solar PV system such as
lights, radio, TV, computer,
refrigerator, etc.
" "u#iliary energy sources ' is diesel generator or other renewable energy
sources.
Solar PV system si$ing
%& 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(
%&% 'alculate total Watt(hours per day )or each appliance used&
&dd the )att'hours needed for all appliances together to get the total
)att'hours per day which
must be delivered to the appliances.
%&* 'alculate total Watt(hours per day needed )rom the PV modules&
*ultiply the total appliances )att'hours per day times +., the energy lost
in the system! to get
the total )att'hours per day which must be provided by the panels.
*& Si$e the PV modules
$ifferent si-e of PV modules will produce different amount of power. To find out
the si-ing of PV module, the total peak watt produced needs. The peak watt )p!
produced depends on si-e of the PV module and climate of site location. )e
have to consider .panel generation factor/ which is different in each site location.
0or Thailand, the panel generation factor is ,.1,. To determine the si-ing of PV
modules, calculate as follows(
*&% 'alculate the total Watt(pea+ rating needed )or PV modules
$ivide the total )att'hours per day needed from the PV modules from
item +.2! by ,.1, to get
the total )att'peak rating needed for the PV panels needed to operate the
appliances.
*&* 'alculate the number o) PV panels )or the system
$ivide the answer obtained in item 2.+ by the rated output )att'peak of
the PV modules available
to you. 3ncrease any fractional part of result to the next highest full number
and that will be the
number of PV modules re4uired.
5esult of the calculation is the minimum number of PV panels. 3f more PV
modules are installed, the system will perform better and battery life will be
improved. 3f fewer PV modules are used, the system may not work at all during
cloudy periods and battery life will be shortened.
,& Inverter si$ing
&n inverter is used in the system where &% 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.
0or stand'alone systems, the inverter must be large enough to handle the total
amount of )atts you will be using at one time. The inverter si-e should be 26'
,78 bigger than total )atts of appliances. 3n case of appliance type is motor or
compressor then inverter si-e should be minimum , times the capacity of those
appliances and must be added to the inverter capacity to handle surge current
during starting.
0or 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.
-& attery si$ing
The battery type recommended for using in solar PV system is deep cycle
battery. $eep 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 si-e of battery,
calculate as follows(
1.+ %alculate total )att'hours per day used by appliances.
1.2 $ivide the total )att'hours per day used by 7.96 for battery loss.
1., $ivide the answer obtained in item 1.2 by 7.: for depth of discharge.
1.1 $ivide the answer obtained in item 1., by the nominal battery voltage.
1.6 *ultiply the answer obtained in item 1.1 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 re4uired
&mpere'hour capacity of deep'cycle battery.
;attery %apacity &h! < Total )att'hours per day used by appliances x $ays of
autonomy
7.96 x 7.: x nominal battery voltage!
.& Solar charge controller si$ing
The solar charge controller is typically rated against &mperage 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. *ake sure that solar charge controller has enough capacity to
handle the current from PV array.
0or the series charge controller type, the si-ing 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!.
&ccording to standard practice, the si-ing of solar charge controller is to take
the short circuit current 3sc! of the PV array, and multiply it by +.,
Solar charge controller rating < Total short circuit current of PV array x +.,
/emar+( 0or *PPT charge controller si-ing will be different. See ;asics of
*PPT %harge %ontroller!
0#ample1 & house has the following electrical appliance usage(
=ne +9 )att fluorescent lamp with electronic ballast used 1 hours per
day.
=ne :7 )att fan used for 2 hours per day.
=ne >6 )att refrigerator that runs 21 hours per day with compressor
run +2 hours and off +2 hours.
The system will be powered by +2 Vdc, ++7 )p PV module.
%& Determine power consumption demands
Total appliance use < +9 ) x 1 hours! ? :7 ) x 2 hours! ? >6 ) x 21 x
7.6 hours!
< +,7@2 )hAday
Total PV panels energy
needed
< +,7@2 x +.,
< +,1+@.: )hAday.
*& Si$e the PV panel
2.+ Total )p of PV panel
capacity
needed
< +,1+@.: A ,.1
< 1+,.@ )p
2.2 Bumber of PV panels
needed
< 1+,.@ A ++7
< ,.>: modules

&ctual re4uirement < 1 modules
So this system should be powered by at least - modules o) %%2 Wp
PV module&
,& Inverter si$ing
Total )att of all appliances < +9 ? :7 ? >6 < +6, )
0or safety, the inverter should be considered 26',78 bigger si-e.
3he inverter si$e should be about %42 W or greater&
-& attery si$ing
Total appliances use < +9 ) x 1 hours! ? :7 ) x 2 hours! ? >6 ) x +2
hours!
Bominal battery voltage < +2 V
$ays of autonomy < , days
;attery capacity < C+9 ) x 1 hours! ? :7 ) x 2 hours! ? >6 ) x +2 hours!D x
,
7.96 x 7.: x +2!
Total &mpere'hours re4uired 6,6.2@ &h
So the battery should be rated %* V 522 "h )or , day autonomy&
.& Solar charge controller si$ing
PV module specification
Pm < ++7 )p
Vm < +:.> Vdc
3m < :.: &
Voc < 27.> &
3sc < >.6 &
Solar charge controller rating < 1 strings x >.6 &! x +., < ,@ &
So the solar charge controller should be rated -2 " at %* V or greater&