Stationary storage

Grid connected systems Feeding power to utility grid

Photovoltaic systems

Directly coupled water pumping

systems- Load directly connxn. to
PV system

Stand-alone systems - battery

PV directly connected to motor running

a pump
Can be stored as PE in a tank

Utility interactive systems PV

supply power to building
Depending on demand PCU can draw
power from utility grid or send back
the excess power from PV back to
grid.
Simple & efficient can deliver
power when utility rates are highest
(middle of day)
compete with low utility price

Off grid remote locations

Substitute for generators

 Same voltage is across both the PVs and load,

and the same current runs through the PVs and
load.
The intersection point is the one spot at which
both the PVs and load are satised. This is called
the operating point.
The operating point is the intersection of the
currentvoltage curves for the load and the
PVs.

Using a potentiometer I-V curve for the PV

module can be obtained.
Max. Power Point

 Operating point slips off as the module

becomes less efficient.
PVs can be made to operate at their
max. efficiency

The efciency of a PV module with a xed resistance load. The

solid maximum power point (MPP) dots show the operating points
that would result in maximum PV efciency.

 For an ideal battery - no matter how much current is

drawn, V remains constant
Internal resistances are there so for charging

OCV (VB) depends on not only on SoC, but on

Temperature, idle time (I=0) and aging and
conditions of operation
12 V Pb-acid battery voltages 12.7 V to 11.7 V

 The battery I V curve - moves toward

the right as the battery gains charge
during the day - the PV operating point
will begin to slide off the edge of the
knee
More critical late in the day when the
knee itself is moving toward the left.
If the PVbattery system has a charge
controller, it will automatically prevent
overcharging of the batteries
The charge controller can sometimes
be omitted if modules with fewer cells
in series are used.
Purposely cause the current to drop off
as the battery approaches full charge as
shown

Designing
Remote locations grid isntt nearby
Competetion with high prices diesel generators

Electricity that is truly valued.

Off-grid systems must be designed

with great care to assure satisfactory
performance.
Check and maintain batteries
Adjust their energy demands as
weather and battery charge vary
Fuel and x a noisy generator
Responsibility for the safe operation
of the system.
A stand-alone system with back-up generator and separate outputs for dc and ac loads.

 Lifestyle adjustments - some loads are treated as

essentials that must be provided and others are luxuries
A key decision involves whether to use all dc loads to
avoid the inefciencies associated with inverters, or
whether the convenience of an all ac system is worth the
extra cost, or perhaps a combination of the two is best.
Another important decision is whether to include a
generator back-up system and, if so, what fraction of the
load it will have to supply.

Modest household demand

The Inverter and the System Voltage

calculation needs to be modied to account for losses in the dc-to-ac inverter
inverters efciency function of magnitude of the load it happens to be supplying at that particular instant.

Most inverters now operate at around 90% efciency over most of

their range as shown
For calculations, an overall inverter efciency of about 85% is
considered - conservative default assumption.

When no load is present, a good inverter

will power down to less than 1 watt of
standby power.
When it senses a load, the inverter powers
up and while it runs uses on the order of
520 W of its own - standby losses
associated with so many of our electronic
devices may keep the inverter running
continuously, even though no real energy
service is being delivered.
In that case, that 5-to-20 watts of inverter
loss adds to the other standby losses,
which emphasizes the need for a manual
shutdown of turned-off electronic
equipment.

Q1. Accounting for Inverter Losses

Suppose that a dc refrigerator that uses 800 Wh/day is being considered instead of the 1140 Wh/d ac one given in
earlier example. Estimate the dc load that the batteries must provide if an 85% efcient inverter is used (a) with all
loads running on ac and (b) with everything but the refrigerator running on ac.

 Reduction in total dc load that the

batteries have to supply by about 15%.
15% reduction in the size and cost of
the photovoltaic array as well as the
batteries.
Inverter itself can be smaller and
cheaper since it doesnt have to supply
as much ac power.
Offsetting those gains is the additional
cost of a dc refrigerator
Added complexity and cost of wiring a
house to provide for some ac and some
dc loads.

System Voltage
Inverters are specied by their dc input voltage as well as by their ac output voltage, continuous power
handling capability, and the amount of surge power they can supply for brief periods of time.
The inverters dc input voltage, which is the same as the voltage of the battery bank and the PV array, is
called the system voltage. The system voltage is usually 12 V, 24 V, or 48 V.
Higher voltages need less current, making it easier to minimize wire losses - more batteries wired in series

One guideline that can be used to pick the system voltage - keeping the maximum steady-state current drawn
below around 100 A so that readily available electrical hardware and wire sizes can be used.

Max. continuous power demand

160 A if the system voltage is only 12 V

So a 24-V inverter would allow plenty of growth in demand sticks
to 100-A guideline and chosen

 The most important specication for an

inverter is the amount of ac power that it
can supply on a continuous basis.
Critically important that the inverter be
able to supply surges of current that occur
when electric motors are started.

Batteries
addition to energy storage - the ability to provide surges of current that are much higher than the instantaneous
current available from the array
inherent and automatic property of controlling the output voltage of the array so that loads receive voltages that are
within their own range of acceptability.

Pb-acid is the choice as of now

Concern for battery freezing may limit the allowable depth of discharge of a lead-acid battery.

Sulfation the reason for finite lifetime

Keep batteries fully charged
Completely charge batteries on regular basis.
Generator back-up for topping up Pb-acid batteries

Q.2. Battery Storage Calculation in a Cold Climate

Suppose that batteries located at a remote
telecommunications site may drop to 20C. If they must
provide 2 days of storage for a load that needs 500 Ah/day at
12 V, how many amp-hours of storage should be specied for
the battery bank?

 Battery parameters are all in current (I) terms

Battery capacity C is given in amp-hours rather
than watt-hours;
charging and discharging are expressed in C/T
rates, which are amps.
So battery efficiency is also current efficiency
(Coloumbic) instead of energy efficiency voltage is
ambiguous
Charge

Discharge

90% Coulomb efciency

86% voltage efciency

Q3. Losses at High and Low Charging Rates

A 100-Ah, 12-V battery with a rest voltage of 12.5 V (at its current SOC) is charged at a C/5 rate, during
which time the applied voltage is 13.2 V.

 Normal working: provide enough storage to carry the load through the night until sun takes the load again
No set rules for design and sizing
Key trade-off will be the cost factor

Sizing a storage system to meet the demand

99% of the time can easily cost triple that of
one that meets demand only 95%

Days of battery storage needed for a stand-alone system with 95% and 99% system
availability. Peak sun hours are for the worst month of the year and availability is on
an annual basis

Q4. Battery Sizing for an Off-Grid Cabin

A cabin has an ac demand of 3000 Wh/day in the winter months. A decision has been made to size the batteries
such that a 95% system availability will be provided, and a back-up generator will be kept in reserve to cover the
other 5%. The batteries will be kept in a ventilated shed whose temperature may reach as low as 10C. The system
voltage is to be 24 V, and an inverter with overall efciency of 85% will be used (Assume we need 4.6 days of
storage).

Allows the battery to leak current back through the PV module at night, which
raises the question of whether it might be worthwhile to add a blocking diode

Decide the no. of days of storage needed