Introduction

Pakistan is facing a severe electricity shortage for the last two decades. The increasing rate of
energy demand for the country is 8% per year [1]. This state reflects the nastiest energy disasters
in the following years. The power sector in Pakistan is distributed in small partitions called
DISCOs (Distribution Company) and many of them are owned by WAPDA (Water and Power
Development Authority), including NTDC (National Transmission and Dispatch Company) and
regional electricity supply companies. The demand would shift to 113GW in 2030 [2]. The
country had an overall shortfall of 5GW between supply and demand in 2015 [3, 4].
Financing indicators, design, and determination of the feasibility, viability, grid integration, and
risk factors have been a focus of several studies that also include in the execution of on-grid and
off-grid PV electrification systems. An in-depth comparison of previous articles with their key
points is described in Table 1. In all such studies, the authors have mentioned the issues and
given the solutions for on-grid and off-grid installation of the PV system in multiple areas of the
globe. The viability of PV systems can differ because of the economic circumstances of a certain
country or region. But, none of the studies has shown an insight into the on-grid and off-grid PV
system design, comprising net metering infrastructure. Thus, in this paper we have discussed a
thorough treatment of the energy crisis, covering the primary issues that have not been
considered in any of the studies mentioned above.
The current paper aims to approximate the solar energy potential for cooling of the capital of
Pakistan being Islamabad by doing a cost-benefit analysis of the monthly power usage by a
consumer and comparing it with the monthly production of a particular solar solution. In detail
the paper will be discussing the specifics of an ON-GRID solar solution as well as a HYBRID
solar solution, and what to expect in terms of an initial investment with regards to both systems.
The data will merge with the radiation on the horizontal surface. Islamabad (Latitude = 33°71,
Longitude = 73°10) has 120 km2 and a population of around 0.7 million (as per the 2009 tally).
Being the managerial center of the country, Islamabad is a city of premeditated location. The city
of Islamabad was made under a master plan following some renowned architectural principles.
[7]
 Table 1 comparison of our study with previous studies till 2020

Survey Country Design Optimal Effects on Optimal Bill

system angle for National Payback Reductio
Specificati max. Grid Period n by
ons power using NM
output

1. Cyprus √ × × × √
2. USA √ × × × √
3. Brazil √ × × × √
4. Chile √ × × × √
5. Pakistan × × × × √
6. Palestine √ √ √ √ ×
7. Italy √ × × × √
8. Egypt √ × × × ×
9. Iran √ √ × × ×
10. Brazil √ × × × ×
11. Thailand √ √ × × ×
12. Brazil √ × × × ×
13. Palestine √ × × √ ×
14. Turkey √ × × × ×
15. Brazil √ × × × √
16. Jordan √ × × √ ×
17. Jordan √ × × × ×
18. Pakistan √ × × √ √
19. Pakistan √ × × × ×
This paper Pakistan √ √ √ √ √
Pakistan is facing some severe energy supply issues. As per the analysts, the electricity demand
will rise over the years, keeping in view the forecasts from the supply. Some urgent steps need to
be taken to make sure supply balances out against the demand. Now to do that, Pakistan must dig
into its native and plentiful sources of renewable energy. Renewable Energy Sources indeed have
the potential to increase future needs sustainably and effectively.
In Pakistan, amenities like refrigeration cannot be traditional refrigeration because it requires
electricity, which is inconsistent. Among all the consequences of the severe shortfall, a rapid
increase in energy consumption for air-conditioning systems [5]. Increasing energy consumption
and Peak-loads in summer (originated from air conditioning) makes the situation worst in
summer. More than half the energy consumed can power air conditioning and refrigeration
equipment, depending on the region. And electrical power costs are often the most significant
expenditure for most occupied buildings. Reducing energy use while improving the working
environment has always been a common goal [6].
Keeping in mind the widening break between the supply and demand, the way how the DISCOs
provide the electricity to the consumers is the main cause behind the huge losses and the hit the
national grid takes. The current infrastructure makes sure the smooth distribution of 11,500MW
to 12,500 MW, but in 2014 the demand rose over to 23000MW, which is less than half of the
total demand [15]. Distribution of over 12,000MW increases the probability of failure in the
transmission system [16]. The transmission system usually collapses mostly in the peak summer
season. When demand peaks, the DISCOs try to spring the max obtainable power and try to
supply it to the national grid. However, NTDC's inept, ancient and ailing infrastructure cannot
handle the peak demands results in collapse. Blockage of the transmission networks worsens the
break of the already present demand-supply gap [2].
Pakistan is enduring a severe electricity deficiency. The crisis did not happen in a blink of an
eye. At the start of the issue, not much attention was given to it, resulting in a much worse
situation, and no further forecasting or any major steps were taken to at least minimize it, making
it a severe crisis for the administration [2].
where presently the country doesn’t have enough energy resources to meet the existing, also the
forthcoming energy demand [8] Pakistan's main energy supplies are as shown in Fig. 1. [10]

Figure 1

44.465 million tons of oil corresponding (MTOE) of the total energy supplies of Pakistan making
it 85.2% of Pakistan’s total energy depends on oil, natural gas, and liquid petroleum gas (LPG).
hydroelectricity, 9.2%, then coal, 4.5%, and nuclear energy of 1.1% of whole collections.
Pakistan is producing natural gas at the rate of 38.55 BCM (billion cubic meters) per year. Fig. 2,
shows the shares of natural gas relative to major sectors in Pakistan.

Figure 2

where it concludes that 34.8% is the largest buyer segment of natural gas, trailed by cement
sector 1.0%, transport sector (CNG) 4.40, commercial 3.0%, Fertilizer 15.5%, households
16.6%, and industries 24.60% [9]. Following the technological expansion in the past few years
also the population growth, increase in power usage is noted. The total generation capacity of the
country is 14,056 MW, approximate demand comes out to be 19,000 MW. In 2017 the deficit
was between 5000 MW to 6000 MW. Unfortunately, electric power production is mainly
dependent on carbon-based fuels in Pakistan. Approximately 61 % of the power demand was
compensated by carbon-based fuels like natural gas in FY 2016-17, (Pakistan Energy Yearbook,
FY. 2016-17). Fig. 3 indicates the generation mix of electricity production in the fiscal year
2016-17. It is evident that, in Pakistan, 45.10% of the total mix household sector is the largest
user of electricity, and streetlights 0.5% and other government sectors 6.0%, commercial sector
7.20%, agriculture 11.5%, and last but not least industrial 29.70%, as shown in Fig. 3.

Figure 3
The peak demand is faced by the households which obscure the transmission system in peak
hours [11]. This complication can be lessened if solar energy with massive potential in Pakistan
is applied either fully or partially for some household energy requirements. The average sunlight
hours are almost 3300 h per year in the country. On average 1 m2 of land gets 1 kW of solar
radiation, the solar index remains constant for 6 hours/day [12].
Forgoing in view, the use of renewable energy resources to attain alternative cooling solutions is
a feasible solution [2]. According to the figure and the main point is that renewable energy
sources are insignificant even though they have a vast role in minimizing the electricity crisis of
the country. Pakistan is getting short on native carbon-based fuels, the international market
fluctuates with regards to fuel price, it is extremely dependent on fossil fuels and concerns for
the environment country is left with no other option but to dig into the renewable energy sources
which have enormous potential in the country.
By manipulating its thermal properties, solar energy can be directly applied, there are several
applications present. Many of the technologies are simple to use, are cost-friendly, easily
adaptable, and have lesser environmental concerns. Using these systems we can use solar energy
for cooking, cooling, or heating, also last but not least can be used for drying purposes as it is
easier to control the temperatures [13]. Space heating is vast, full of potential, the process can be
used to lessen green emissions and energy savings. In the US, instead of money many of the
building owners just worry about the environment Most inland real estate owners have plain
worries about energy and the environment rather than "money". By enhancing cost-effectiveness
and lessening the capital costs of installing and make the most out of them is surely the way to
go. Government level subsidies and DISCOs should sit to find a special program that would help
finance such systems which will help smooth the acceptance part of the process. Electricity Bills,
energy efficiency, and fewer effects on the environment are the main reasons these systems
should be installed sooner than later [14].
The monthly regular daily diffuse radiation ranges from 3.15 MJ/m2/d – 7.14 MJ/m2/d
(November and July respectively). This difference in the trend of diffuse radiation shows a peak
in the months from July till August which are also known as the Monsoon months in central
Asia, usually in these months there is usually an overcast, and it directly contributes to the
diffuse radiations [13].
Renewable Energy Sources are coming out to be one of the quickly expanding power production
sources around. REN21 (Renewable energy policy network for 21st century) states that in the
global energy mix from 2012 renewables reported for roughly 10%, and this segment is expected
on the way to range 15% in 2040. As per the Global Wind Energy Council [22], from 2004 to
2011, there was seen a 30 % increase in the annual investment in renewables. The process of
using Renewable Energy Sources as one of the permanent sources of electricity is in the works
across the globe [21]. In 2013, global production of electricity exceeded 1.5TW. According to
statistics, if compared with 2012 it was an increase of 8 %. Increasing political awareness and
venture provision programs allowed renewables to flourish and perform in a significant way
keeping the whole process environmentally friendly. Renewables reported a projected 26.4% of
the world's power generating capacity and more than half of the new electricity production
installations worldwide, in 2013 [22]. For 6 continuous years, renewables continued to be the
single largest foundation of electricity production in the EU, and inclination is expected that it’ll
last [21].
Energy is the spine and fundamental need of entire segments of the economy, be it agriculture,
industrial, health, commercial, domestic, education, or others. The energy consumption
requirements of a country are directly associated with its GDP growth; consequently, GDP is the
key factor used to evaluate the energy requirements growth in a country and to plot for energy
supplies. According to the state of industry 2020 report published by NEPRA, the GDP growth
rates of Pakistan during FY 2018-19 and FY 2019-20 remained 1.19% and -0.38% respectively.
During the second half of FY 2019-20, the global economy has been hit by the Pandemic
COVID-19. This pandemic has slowed down development and has impacted overall progress.
Pakistan is also the recipient of the economic crunch and recorded negative growth of -0.38% for
the FY 2019-20. The force majeure situation created as a result has negatively impacted growth
in the industrial and services sectors. The primary energy supplies and final energy consumption
give an overall outlook of the energy sector of the country. The primary energy supplies are the
forms of energy converted to final energy through the use of different equipment. The primary
energy supplies consist of oil, gas, coal, nuclear electricity net generation, and conventional
hydroelectricity net generation. The ultimate energy is available to the user following the
transformation from primary energy such as diesel oil, gasoline, purified natural gas, purified
coal, mechanical energy, and electricity [18].
The annual Energy Year Book (EYB) published by the Hydrocarbon Development Institute of
Pakistan is the main source of primary energy data which is available up to June 2019. As per
EYB 2018-19, the annual growth rate of primary energy supplies during FY 2017-18 and FY
2018-19 remained 8.44% and -2.88% respectively. Similarly, the annual growth rate of final
energy consumption during FY 2017-18 and FY 2018-19 remained 9.72% and 0.005%
respectively [19].
The installed power generation capacity of Pakistan as of 30th June 2020 stands at 38,719 MW
as compared to 38,995 MW on 30th June 2019 showing a net decrease of 276 MW. The said net
decrease of 276 MW is due to the deletion of 144 MW GTPS Kotri (GENCO-I) and 640 MW
TPS Guddu (GENCO-II), the addition of 330 MW Engro PowerGen. Thar, 28 MW TPS Quetta
(GENCO-II), 100 MW Gulpur Hydropower Project in AJ&K, and 50 MW Gharo Solar Power
Project in K-Electric system. The total installed capacity of public sector power plants in the
country as of 30th June 2020 was 19,621 MW while the installed capacity of private sector
power plants, including KE, was 19,098 MW. Out of 38,719 MW, 24,817 MW is thermal, 9,861
MW hydroelectric, 1,248 MW wind, 530 MW solar, 369 MW bagasse, 1,467 MW is nuclear and
427 MW is SPPs/CPPs. The installed capacity of power plants connected with the NTDC System
was 35,735 MW including 19,484 MW public sector power plants and 16,251 MW private IPPs
and other power plants. The total installed capacity of power plants connected with the KE
system as of 30th June 2020 was 2,984 MW. The installed capacity of KE’s power plants was
2,294 MW. Besides its power plants, KE also purchases electric power from external sources
including 366 MW IPPs, 87 MW SPPs/CPPs, 137 MW KANUPP and 100 MW solar power
plants connected with the KE system. KE is also purchasing electric power from the CPPA-G
basket to the tune of 650 MW. In addition, CPPA-G is also supplying 150 MW electric power to
KE through three dedicated wind power plants since 2019 for two years, extendable with mutual
consent, under a Power Purchase and Agency Agreement between KE, CPPA-G, and NTDC.
These three wind power plants are now directly connected with the KE system [18].
Solar panels are the crucial and most intriguing renewable energy technologies in India for
activating solar-based applications including desalination, heating, cooling, cooking, and power
generation system. There is so much availability of sunshine throughout the year. For aspiring,
smart urban cities program solar PV fundamental technology is prime, as it is an ultimate choice
for power generation. In all these solar-based applications, solar radiation plays a significant role
that primarily is affected by azimuth and tilt angle of location. Thus, to have a maximized annual
average incident solar energy on the surface of the PV system, it is important to identify the
optimum tilt angle. Optimization of tilt angle guarantees maximum energy generation while
reducing the power generation cost [20].
The entire electricity generation from the solar power plants is linked with NTDC System during
FY 2019-20 was recorded as 704.97 GWh as compared to 714.52 GWh during FY 2018-19
showing a decrease of 9.55 GWh. The part of solar-based electricity generation in the generation
basket of CPPA-G during FY 2019-20 remained 0.58%. The installed electric power generation
capacity can broadly be placed into two categories i.e., the Base Load Power Plants and the other
large Hydro and Renewable Energy (RE) Power Plants whose capacity varies daily as well as on
a seasonal basis. The addition of RE projects has accelerated the power sector, bringing in the
advantages of clean and indigenous resources. The rapid decline in prices, owing to
improvement in technology, has made solar and wind power the cheapest source of energy.
Despite the stated advantages, the inclusion of RE power plants, being intermittent, is still a big
challenge due to the reasons, including but not limited to, the requirement of backup power
generation capacity and added cost of transmission line due to remote locations of wind and
hydropower plants. However, with better planning, based on reliable and historic data and the
use of modern techniques such as hybridization of RE power, challenges in the induction of RE
power plants can be managed to a larger extent. To take advantage of the solar potential across
the country; small and medium-sized solar power plants may be installed near load centers,
where the power evacuation facility (grid) already occurs to minimize the transmission cost.
Acknowledging the importance of RE power plants, the Federal Government has set a target of
20% RE capacity by 2025 and 30% by 2030 in the national grid. [18]
Solar systems:
The solar power systems work on the simple principles that solar energy or sunlight needs to be
converted into DC power, using what is called the photovoltaic (PV) effect. The DC power can
be kept in a battery or transformed by a solar inverter into AC power which is often used to run
home appliances. Depending on the type of system, extrasolar energy can either be installed into
the electricity grid for credits or stored in various battery storage systems.
The three main types of solar power systems

1. On-grid - also known as a grid-tie or grid-feed solar system

 2. Off-grid - also known as a stand-alone power system (SAPS)

3. Hybrid - grid-connected solar system with battery storage. [32]

On-grid Solar Solution:
These systems do not have batteries. It
generates energy from the solar panels that
have to be either used at the occurrence of
generation or exported to the grid. Meanwhile,
there are no batteries, so, there will not be any
backup throughout the power outages. The total
capacity is dependent on convenience as excess
power, if any of the required energy is managed
from the grid power, then the solar power will be
Figure 4 Picture Courtesy of LONGI SOLAR
considered as first employed and any extra power
required to be imported from the grid [27].
Solar Photo Voltaic PV array:
Solar Photo Voltaic PV array is the part that transforms the
sunlight into electrical energy. It is made of several silicon
solar cells. According to LONGI SOLAR, their HALF CUT
solar panel comes with a 30-year power warranty, 12 years
warranty of materials and processing, degrades from 98% -
84.95% over 30 years, with 20.9% individual panel efficiency
warranty, <2% first-year degradation rate [28].
Figure 5 Picture courtesy of GROWATT
On-grid / Grid-tied solar inverter: INVERTERS

Inverters are known as the heart of the system. They are an

important part as inverters decide what has to be done with the
produced solar energy. These inverters have built-in charged
controllers that are used to regulate the power supply from the
solar panels. The transformation of the DC power from solar
panels to AC power is done by the inverters. These inverters are of several kinds such as central
viz. string, and micro-inverters.
According to GROWATT INVERTERS, their new 2 nd GEN 10KW inverter is capable of
withstanding the PV capacity of 15000W, with 2 MPPT trackers having a max current limit of
13A each, with a maximum efficiency of 98% [29].

Figure 7 Picture courtesy of POWERnSun.com, Working of an On-grid Solar Solution

Dc Wires:
These are the cables used to transfer the energy. These DC cables are built to last in different
weathers, from extremely high or low temperatures, and during heavy rains. These are made to
last in outdoor settings. According to NEPRA SOPs for net-metering, there is a standard set for
dc wiring that 6mm wires would be used including wires used in earthing [31].
Bi-Directional Meter:

A simple 3 phase meter is a uni-directional meter, it is only

capable of reading the import units (only taken from the grid). On
the other hand, a bi-directional meter, tells the consumer about the
export (the units going towards the grid and coming from the

Figure 8 Picture courtesy of KBK.com: BI

solar) as well as the imports. The 3-phase bidirectional meter from KBK is capable of telling you
the imports and exports of both off-peak hours and peak hours [30].

Earthing:
As per the consumer service manual issued by NEPRA in 2020, the consumer must put a
lightning arrestor which is to be longer in height than the highest elevation of solar PV array,
6mm dc wire to be used as earthing wire and an earth rod, more than 6 ft in length, to be put in
the ground with 7 ft approx. pit be dug filled with earthing powder. The final place of the
earthing should be damp and should be kept damp [31].
Structure:
there are two basic types of structures being used in Pakistan,
1. Standard structures (basic GI stand structures)
2. Customized structures (H-Beam Guarder Raised type structures)
Standard Structures:
1. L1
Only one panel can be mounted on such structures
2. L2
Only 2 panels can be mounted on such structures
3. L3
Only three panels can be mounted on such structures

Figure 9 Image courtesy MASON1 PVT LTD: L2 structure (above) L3 structure (below)

Customized Structure:
H-beam pillars are used for foundations as well as primary support for the structure. Panels are
mounted on a C-Channel, with the support of another H-beam Underneath it.
Some installers use pillars of solid mild steel to support the web of H-beam over them, some use
H-Beam pillars to support it.

Figure 10 Image courtesy of MASON1 PVT LTD: H-Beam Guarder Structure in DHA – V Islamabad

Net-metering:
To supply the house and the excess energy the PV generated electricity is injected into the grid
and sold at a different price amounting to Rs 9.95/kWh [36] as the original price of the domestic

Figure 11 Picture courtesy of ZERO CARBON.com.pk

3 phase off-peak unit is Rs 16.33 and Peak 3 phase domestic unit is Rs 22.65 [37].

In times of overproduction, the electrical energy is injected into the grid which serves as
‘electricity storage’. Net metering is an incentive mechanism for renewable energy use and
permits the consumer unit to subtract the self-produced energy from its measured kWh
consumption. The consumer unit is allowed to use the electricity supplied by the grid When a
consumer unit's electricity consumption is higher than the production.
The amount of electricity consumed from the grid in the form of electricity credits (in kWh) The
Exported and Imported energy both are subtracted. The over-production is credited to the next
month if the production of energy is higher than the consumption during the accounting period.
The credits are valid and can be used. The monthly electricity bill provides the consumer unit
with the balance information. In the case of higher consumption than self-production, the
negative balance has to be paid by the consumer unit in the form of the prevailing electricity
tariff. The monthly electricity bill provides the consumer unit with the balance information.
The complete production from PV framework is fed directly to the grid in the Feed-in-Tariff
mechanism, at regulated rates as per the consumed electricity imported as normal and norms set
by the electrical distribution company [33].
OFF-Grid Solar Solution:
An off-grid framework isn't associated with the power networks and accordingly requires battery
backup. Off-grid systems should be planned properly so they will create sufficient energy
consistently and have sufficient battery capacity to meet the home's necessities, even in the
profundities of winter when there’s considerably less daylight.
The significant expense of batteries and off-grid inverters implies off-grid frameworks are
considerably more costly than on-matrix frameworks as are normally just required in more
distant regions that are a long way from the power network. In any case, battery costs are
decreasing quickly, so there is currently a developing business sector for off-grid based battery
frameworks even in urban communities and towns [32].
 Figure 12 Picture courtesy greencost.org: Off-grid vs On-grid solar system

Hybrid system:
As mentioned before there are numerous ways to use
solar energy, have a pure grid tied system, remain
totally off grid, or thirdly install a hybrid inverter. 
you have a backup battery solution while the
solar panels remain connected to the grid’s power
lines, to store excess power that’s a hybrid
solution. The energy coming from the panels is
firstly going through the inverter, from there it
converts DC to AC to provide for the house hold, or
directly send to the battery bank if it needs charging.
With a backup battery, When the sun is not shining,
this battery will provide your power during the night,
system blackouts, or inclement weather, the excess
energy that your solar panels create (but your home
does not use), will be stored in this battery. With a
hybrid solar system, if you were to use up all the power
in your battery, you can draw power from the electrical
grid. The benefit is that you have power in worst of the
worst cases.
We’ll be considering a TESLA HLE 5kW for our
analysis, which is a single-phase HYBRID inverter. It
gives out a nominal AC of 21.7 A. maximum conversion efficiency of 97% and an MPPT tracker
efficiency of 98%. In OFFGRID mode its conversion from DC to AC is 96% [40].
In a hybrid inverter the solar energy is sent to the inverter first, which then, at that point sends
energy to control your home. The additional energy that isn't utilized to control your home goes
to your home battery for capacity. This battery can give capacity to your home. when the PV
modules are absent. After those means, in case there is as yet extra energy, that energy is shipped
off to the grid station. [34]
The Paper will be narrowing down the part of dealing with On-grid and Hybrid systems only
because off-grid only systems have no use in the urban areas. Tribal areas, which have no grid or
other source of power, provide better suiting for an Off-grid system.
Small regions of Islamabad are taken into the survey, where both domestic and commercial
applications of solar on-grid and hybrid will be looked into. The issue under consideration is how
to lessen your bill more efficiently with regards to cost as well as taking into account the tenure
in which the investment of the consumer will be paid off.
It will be compared by live running sites in Islamabad, and the data provided by them will
provide the foundation on which it will be said whether to choose a pure grid-tied or a hybrid
system.
Billing system:
After the 3-phase bi-directional meter is
installed, as per the NEPRA Consumer
Manual, the billing consists of the 3-month
cycle, the bill of the first month consist of
the units of the uni-directional meter which
was disconnected, the second month all the
units since the first day are fed into the bill
and extra units are preserved, the third
month gives an actual estimation of the
monthly units produced and fed into the
grid with the extra units being preserved. After the 3 rd month, the cycle renews and one of two
things will happen if you have produced more than you have consumed then your bill will most
probably become negative, or if you have consumed more than your production then you will be
billed as per your peak/off-peak rate [35].

Literature Review

To design a solar energy system for a cooling load a comprehensive data of solar radiation for a
significantly extensive cycle was a must. As Pakistan is a developing country, we need a
pragmatic design to evaluate the probability of solar energy usage, as they're also a absenteeism
and shortage of dependable radiation information. To appraise worldwide and diffuse sun
powered radiation, the data to estimate global and diffuse radiation is presented. It was
discovered that on account of the presence of storm months, can be used proficiently
consistently. The models proposed could be utilized for the majority of the north-eastern spaces
of Pakistan, which are like Islamabad concerning the environment and the accessibility of
radiation however do not have the record of radiation information.
In an On-grid system, there’s no need to separately see the number of Air conditioners are being
used. As the main objective of the system is to provide the consumer with units which if being
consumed would be deducted and the extra units would be supplied to the grid. When analyzing
HYBRID systems, we’ll see how efficiently we can manage the load when there’s just PV power
is present or just battery power is present.
Quality affirmation and guidelines for PV frameworks are fundamental for the fruitful mass-
scale execution of the innovation. Additionally, an effective and thorough observing instrument,
adherence to the principles is vital [38].
PV System Design:
Four random scenarios are being considered for a household in Islamabad in this study. With an
typical consumption of 350 kWh/month (units/month) is Case 1. With an average power
consumption of 500 kWh/month is Case 2 typical power consumption of 1100 kWh/month is
Case 3. Having a typical consumption of 2500kWh/month is Case 4. It was noted that on
average there are at least 1 AC (Air Conditioner) in Case 1, 2 ACs in Case 2, 4 ACs in Case 3,
and 6-7 ACs in Case 4 (mostly all ACs were inverter ACs). A double power wattage rating
compared to average power would be needed in the solar PV system. Four cases and their
average consumption for the year 2019-2020 in Islamabad is shown in Table 2 [45].
90% of the local clientele want a PV framework meeting the standards:
(a) Ability of having to produce a constant power generation for 10-12 hours, in Pakistan,
[39],
(b) Approximately 40%-50% of the power necessity in a day should be fulfilled by the PV
system.
(c) Between DC and AC interfaces high/low voltage and high/ low-frequency protective
devices should be installed
(d) 55.5 sq ft per kW, any area will do no need for a clear area, required for PV installation
(for a solar panel 7.5’ long x 3.5’ wide)
A standard technique or thumb rule followed by solar installers for the calculation of hourly
power consumption as there is no standard method to calculate power consumption on an hourly
basis by looking at the units consumed by the client that is applicable in every situation is reverse
engineering by using utility bills
U
P AVG
Days× Hours
P AVGis the power consumption per hour, whereas the number of electricity 𝑈 unit consumed, 𝐻 is
the number of hours in a day, 𝐷 represents the days in a month,.
Table 2 per month average energy consumption

Month Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4

(kWh) (kWh) (kWh) (kWh)
January 256 295 563 3268
February 367 366 634 2060
March 265 596 709 2497
April 290 396 856 3132
May 355 463 963 3086
June 478 586 2292 2263
 July 546 668 2321 4236
August 398 579 1197 4826
September 369 566 1013 2160
October 276 455 800 2200
November 292 429 708 1540
December 278 398 653 1636

The PV system size is calculated based on maximum hourly power consumption in a house. In
the local market approximately the length and width of an average solar panel available is 7.5 ft.
x 3.5 ft. Consequently, an area of 55.5 sq. ft per kW is required for a rooftop solar PV system
installation. The battery used in this analysis is of 12 V and 230 Ah also used for the
calculations. Given. In Table 3 a summary of the calculations of all four cases is given.
E
Power sys=
Hours× 2
Hours is the number of hours. By using equation, the number of PV modules required for the
required rated power are found, The PV system rated power is denoted by Power sys
Power sys
N panels =
Power panel
Whereas Power panel is the rated power for a PV module. Additionally, the formula for the
calculation of number of batteries is given by:
NT
NB=
V ×Q
P act
Table 3 design requirements for Solar PV

Specs Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4

Per month energy production on an
650-700 1200-1400 2000-2200 2500-3000
average (kWh/month)
Average power used approx. (kW) 3 8 12 17
PV Power Rating (kW) 5 10 15 20
No. of Panels (540 W EA) 10 19 28 38
No. of Batteries (12V) 4 8 12 16
V is the voltage grade of the battery, Q is the energy rating in Amp-hr, and, whereas N T is the
backup time desired for the battery bank in hours, Pact is the real rated power of the PV
framework.
In the analysis, for Hybrid Solar Solution a TESLA HLE 5 kW [40] is taken into consideration in
case of 5 kW, 1 inverter is used. For scenarios greater than 5 kW, the same inverters are
connected in series to increase Power Output. For On-grid Solutions, Inverters from GROWATT
are used as 10 kW, 15kW, and 20 kW respectively.
Solar Radiation Pattern for Islamabad:
The sun-based radiation design is one more significant wonder that should be determined before
dynamic.
Solar Irradiance:
The average monthly UV index is shown in figure 13, Average sun hours are in figure 14. The
solar sunshine hours for Islamabad, Pakistan is shown in Figure 15. In Islamabad, starting in
March and ending in September, the summer season is very long; Average Temperatures are
flowing from 14ᴼC to 35ᴼC. UV index ranges from 4 to 8 throughout the year. The average
irradiance level doesn’t go below 5kWh/m2, the region is perfect for a PV frame work to be
installed. A 1 kW system can produce on an average of 5 kWh per day, this calculation is based
on real-life solar installations data is shared in this text.
 Figure 14 Picture Courtesy WeatherAtlas.com: UV index in Islamabad

Figure 15 Picture Courtesy Climate-data.com: Average Sunshine hours in Islamabad

 Figure 16 Picture Courtesy Noman S. Et. al [43]: Solar irradiance chart of Islamabad

Economic analysis:
The economic analysis for a PV Framework consists of the following:
(a) Analysis for billing,
(b) Initial cost break down
(c) Payback tenure
(d) Effect of electricity units’ consumption on the grid
Billing Breakdown:
The billing breakdown was steered for net-metering only and the unit consumed or exported by
the client. In the cost estimation Taxes on per unit electricity consumption are not considered.
IESCO does billing in many types, only the billing of net-meter will be discussed in the text. The
net meter tells, the difference between, that how much solar electricity, the house has pushed to
the grid and how much regular inflow of electricity into the house, is calculated by the meter
reader. The net meter runs only in one direction and as it is a digital meter its reading cannot be
altered. If the meter has a short circuit or any sort of malfunction IESCO generates a new
Demand Notice (a challan) which is a government fee in favor of the owner of the house /
whomever name is on the electricity bill. The old meter is then discarded as it is of no further use
because it cannot be reversed it is programmed that way by the manufacturer on the instructions
of NEPRA. Moreover, residential tariff was used for our calculations for the Islamabad Electric
Supply Company (IESCO) given in Table 5 [37]
Table 4 Courtesy of IESCO website: Tarif for a sanctioned load of 5kW

TARIFF FIXED CHARGES Rs/kW/M Applicable Variable charges Rs. /kWh

 CATEGORY /
PARTICULARS
a) For Sanctioned load up to 5 kW - -
i) Up to 50 Units - 3.95
  For Consumption exceeding 50 - -
Units
ii) 1- 100 Units - 7.74
iii) 101- 200 Units - 10.06
iv) 201- 300 Units - 12.15
v) 301- 700 Units - 19.55
vi) Above 700 Units - 22.65
b) For Sanctioned load 5 kW & above    
    Peak Off-Peak
  Time Of Use 22.65 16.33

kWh
Whereas Power is the average power consumption per hour in Watts. The unit for 𝐸 is . This
day
E was used to calculate the kWh utilized per month as:
U =E× 30
Whereas 𝑈 are the amount of electricity units utilized per month and one electric unit equals 1
kWh. monthly bill 𝐵ill without solar PV system installation was computed as:
Bill=U × Tariff
The electricity power consumption bill for a single meter was calculated by a conventional
method. Per day (24 hours) energy consumption (𝐸) was calculated as:
24
E=Power ×
1000
When the PV framework is coordinated with a traditional source for a house, the power bill will
be minimized in light of the fact that the energy prerequisite as far as the quantity of hours out of
the grid will lessen. A normal of 12 hours of energy prerequisite is considered here from the
group rather than 24 hours. An investigation is outlined in Table 6.
Billing breakdown using Net-metering:
In net metering, we get the net energy utilization of a family. The net meter shows how much PV
has produced and has pushed in to the grid and how much power the load has taken via grid. It
will just clarify the distinction between the two. For instance, if the heap has burned-through 100
kWh (Imports) of energy and 60 kWh (Exports) is produced by the PV framework, then, at that
point the net metering bill will show both and a net of 40 kWh, and it’ll be summed together for
an entire month and will be multiplied with off-top utility lattice duty. Also, there is another
scenario where the consumer is producing more than the load, in that case, the net will be
negative and the consumer will only be billed by their peak units. Currently, IESCO is
encouraging net metering because NEPRA is making consumers comfortable as far as the
installation and licensing go, the SOPs are ironclad. The consumer is completed protected by
every side if the SOPs are enforced correctly for the client having PV framework and they need
to get advantage from their introduced frameworks.
Table 5 Comparison of bills before and after net-metering

Bills for Net Meter (in terms of units)

S. #
Before After
Case 1 546 -100
Case 2 668 -400
Case 3 2321 -30
Case 4 4826 +20
Table 6, shows a comparison of 4 systems installed and working in Islamabad. According to the
table, if the usage of a particular household is at the same rate, the units are also being added to
the grid. In simple words, the consumer is importing and exporting making sure the grid gets its
fair share. PV has reduced the load on the grid and the electricity bill is also negative. And once
the consumer gets a negative bill, it rarely gets positive because the PV system is producing
daily, units keep on adding to its ledger.
There is also an option if a consumer has a double-story house and both portions are being used
by one family. Instead of applying for 2 separate licenses, one can apply for 1 license and then
merge upper and lower meters into 1 bi-directional meter. As mentioned earlier a simple bi-
directional meter can withstand a load of 40kW.
Table 6 Image courtesy of Mason1 Pvt ltd: A customer whose bill became negative and clearly showing imports, export, and net-
units

As far as the working of a HYBRID inverter goes, as mentioned earlier we’ll be considering a
TESLA 5kW HLE single-phase hybrid inverter. For 5 kW, 10 kW, 15 kW PV systems 1, 2,3
inverters are connected in series to make up for the power.
Table 8 gives us a small insight into how much inverter ACs consume in terms of Power and
Current, as we are concerned with the cooling analysis in this paper so we’ll be strictly focusing
ACs.
Initial Investment
The initial cost is mentioned in table 4, which comprises everything including the NET
METERING cost. It doesn’t include the cost for extension of load or change of name (if
incurred). Rates are provided by MASON1 Pvt Ltd, Islamabad.
Table 7 Initial Investment

P1 (5 kW) P2 (10 kW) P3 (15kW) P4 (20 kW)

PV Systems
Price (PKR) Price (PKR) Price (PKR) Price (PKR)
Without Battery
580,000 980,000 1,450,000 1,850,000
Backup
With Battery
680,000 1,180,000 1,580,000 1,990,000
Backup
 Table 8 Typical power data of inverter ACs

Average Running
Cooling Capacity Operating Voltage Average Power
Current (AC
(Ton) (AC) Consumption (Watts)
Amperes)
1 Ton 3 Amps. 230 Volts AC 690 Watts

1.5 Ton 4.5 Amps. 230 Volts AC 1035 Watts

2 Ton 7 Amps. 230 Volts AC 1610 Watts

For case 1, the Hybrid inverter is programmed to always work in sharing, so in the morning if
one 1-ton AC is turned on so in case 1 the inverter will be working normally without any extra
load on batteries. If we keep in mind the maximum output Amps of the inverter 21.7A we can
easily manage 3 ACs on Solar peak hours alone as the MPPT range is 20A but we go as far as 15
A or 14 A on it.
Now at night time if Grid is not present the load will be put 100% on the batteries as a universal
rule it is not recommended to power ACs on batteries because they have the tendency to
discharge batteries very quickly and destroying cycles. So, we recommended consumers manage
their load during nighttime and use only 1 AC for a 5kW system. Keeping that in mind the DOD
(Depth of Discharge) is set below 48 V to prevent the battery to never discharge 100% to keep
the cycles from destroying early on which in the long run helps the batteries give a better life.
There is a typical formula for the calculation of expected power output from the batteries.
Power ( Wh ) =PF × E × Number of batteries ×Volts
So, for a 5kW system and a backup of 5 kW.
¿ 0.6 ×230 Ah× 4 × 12
¿ 6624 Wh
PF stands for power factor, which is 0.5 for Lead-Acid batteries, 0.6 for tubular batteries, 0.7 for
Lithium-ion batteries. E is the energy rating of a battery. As we can see if we put on a full load of
5kW the backup will survive 1.3 hours approximately. A simple thumb rule to survive the
backup is to minimize the load, by minimizing it the time of the backup will increase.
Now, as mentioned earlier we are using 230 Ah Tall tubular PHIONEX batteries for our analysis
which is 12 V each. The inverter is powered by 48 V hence we used 4 x 12V batteries.
So according to the calculations we have a battery bank of 6.6kW approximately to charge it we
are using 10 x 540W = 5400W Longi panels.
Now same analysis can be applied for the 10kW, 15kW, 20kW Hybrid systems. Using the power
rating mentioned in table 9, we can easily recommend consumers manage their load accordingly
especially when using only batteries.
Table 9 Inverter ACs typical min and max power ratings

Inverter AC Capacity Min power Max power

1 ton 200W 1500W
1.5 ton 450W 1900W
2 ton 800W 2500W

Reimbursement Tenure:
The reimbursement tenure is a very significant financial aspect. The On-grid solar system has a
payback period of 2-3 years if it is designed correctly. The consumer stays happy, as it is a one-
time investment. The payback period is computed by
I¿
Pback =
Annual Profit
where I ¿ is an underlying venture cost for a PV framework and decrease in the bill due to the PV
frameworks and witness yearly benefit. As four unique cases of the evaluated PV frameworks
remain thought of, the thorough outcomes for each case yielded Table 7.
Cost-benefit analysis:
The variables are somewhat laid out and simple. We have a one-time cost of installation of the
system for the On-grid system, and the hybrid system with a 6-month maintenance cost of
115,000 PKR.
In the analysis the initial cost was taken against the profit Net Present Value (NPV) was
calculated by putting period zero as an initial investment and watching the yearly returns, setting
the discount rate as 6% we see that the NPV value in table 10.
net cash inflow of a period
NPV = t
(1+discount rate)
Whereas t is the period in years
 Table 10 Cost-benefit with NPV calculation

Payback period
Profit per
Net-metering Initial investment Net present value
year (PKR)
(In years)
With backup 3.2 yrs 180,000 580,000
Case 1
Without backup 3.8 yrs 180,000 680,000
With backup 3.1 yrs 396,000 980,000
Case 2
Without backup 3.7 yrs 396,000 1,180,000
Positive
With backup 2.8 yrs 480,000 1,450,000
Case 3
Without backup 3.1 yrs 480,000 1,580,000
With backup 2.85 720,000 1,850,000
Case 4
Without backup 3.0 720,000 1,990,000

Seeing the NPV value is becoming positive for each case we can conclude that the investment is
worthwhile. Now as mentioned by the data collected, the reimbursement period is practically
nothing if linked with the robustness of the framework. If we see a warranty to warranty, the
main components which might need replacing/repairing are the PV array or the on-grid inverter.
A Tier 1 solar on-grid inverter manufacturer gives a warranty of 5 years, and a tier 1 solar
manufacturer gives a warranty of 25 years which is a lifetime. Let’s say we replace the inverter
after 5 years; it had given its cost back and would have been giving out a profit as well within
that tenure, also if something malfunctions or a component burns out the manufacturer replaces
that for free (within those 5 years). On the other hand, if we talk about the PV array even if one-
panel malfunctions in terms of performance the manufacturer will replace the panel so the
investment can’t get any secure than this. Keeping the ON-GRID system maintenance-free, no
extra cost is needed to operate the system it’s a simple plug-and-play sort.
Now a hybrid system is not maintenance-free as now the system has batteries and batteries have
a warranty of 6 months. If not used as per the recommendations they can sometimes burn out
before 6 months and need to be replaced. Now we are going to add an extra amount of 115,000
PKR every 6 months for maintenance in the hybrid system. Also, a tier 1 hybrid inverter has a
warranty of only 1 year after that if a component has to be replaced or changed it is going to cost
the consumer.
The impact on the solar grid:
The impact of the PV framework is dissected by noticing the interest of power units needed prior
and then afterward the organization of a PV framework. To comprehend the conduct, consider
the case of 4 families that lie among the four diverse burden cases portrayed. Figure 7 shows that
a PV framework isn't just appropriate for a client, yet it is the future for the grid station by
decreasing the electricity load, in the meantime expanding the energy for the grid station. Along
these lines, PV frameworks are a practical answer for the current energy emergency of Pakistan.
If on an average 200 kWh are exported by a 5kW system, 350 kWh are exported by a 10kW
system, 400 kWh are exported by a 15kW system, and 500 kWh are exported by a 20kW system
then figure 17 shows how many 4 houses with 5, 10 15-, and 20-kW systems are contributing
towards the grid.
9

6
kW/annum

0
Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4

Figure 17 per year contribution in kW/annum to the grid

 Results and Discussion

As of 2019, the Alternative Energy Development Board published a draft of a policy which
stated that An Alternative and Renewable Energy Technology project that is basically for Self-
use however wishes to sell any overabundance power on a non-firm premise to the DISCO it
interfaces with, will reserve the privilege to do as such, which is gotten against the energy
conveyed by the grid, as long as the greatest deal whenever is under 1 MW [44]. Under this
instrument, utility customers are urged to produce their power from sustainable assets under the
guidelines gave by NEPRA every now and then. Such a task that means to sell any abundance
supply more than 1 MW, set up for self (hostage) or committed use, may supply overflow power
to the DISCO (framework overflow), in the wake of getting an Age Permit from NEPRA and
getting "Cost In addition to" levy endorsement, subject to the DISCO consenting to buy the
equivalent [44]. The government has taken a keen interest in the renewables department and is
waiving customs as well as some nonsense surcharges which were implemented before while
importing solar panels, inverters, and even small components of the inverters. After this, NEPRA
was involved and thorough data was collected from every city nationwide. Records of every
single feeder, from every DISCO, was taken, their losses, their recovery percentage, and then in
70-80 percent of the cities net-metering was advised with proper licensing in 2006.
As the customs have been waived off it is possible now for the middle class to reach out for a
renewable energy option which was exactly the goal of the PM green initiative being
implemented in Pakistan, PM is trying to make sure that by 2030 60% of Pakistan is powered by
green energy [46]. As of June 2021, the president's house is now fully powered by Solar Panels
making it one of the very few presidencies that are powered by green energy. 1MW solar
solution will not only reduce CO2 emissions but also will save up to 32 million PKR yearly [47].
Now because of the particular interest of the Government, small-scale investors and license
holder importers who were importing something else are focused on importing PV modules and
Inverters directly from the manufacturer in China. As the trend rises and small service companies
are getting involved the product reach is getting more and more feasible. Therefore, the goal of
this study was not only to attract the local households but also to show how much easy it is for a
short- or long-term solution for a raging power crisis in Pakistan.
Load-Shedding Policy of Distribution Companies:
Anyhow the accessibility of adequate age ability to fulfill the need, DISCOs have embraced an
approach of lessening the load on the feeder level called load shedding. Resultantly, even having
excess energy generation limit, extended periods of load shedding are endured in different areas
of DISCOs. This arrangement of load shedding on the feeder level because of high wastage of
energy and low recuperation is punishing the certified honest and on time bill paying consumers.
It is noticed that one of the primary drivers of burglary of power and non-installment of the
power bill is a higher power tax. This load shedding strategy is causing an abatement in the offer
of power from the accessible 'Take or Pay' power plants and accordingly causing a higher per-
unit cost of power. Conveyance Organizations, accordingly, need to further develop
administration and separate the singular customers who are either defaulters or engaged with
power burglary, instead of notice load-shedding on feeders having high T&D misfortunes and
low recuperation.
PV Module arrays are one of the ideal answers for the energy emergency of Pakistan. As of now,
the underlying venture cost is high as Pakistan is bringing in over 95% of the PV modules and
other sustainable power gear, for example, inverters and channels it utilizes, to a great extent
from China [45]. Nonetheless, from the most recent two years as referenced, the green initiative
of the public authority has been changed particularly for Solar productions. The public authority
is empowering the manufacturing of PV modules locally instead of bringing in [45]. In June
2019, in the recently supported financial plan of Pakistan's Administration, the charges related
with the assembling of sun based and wind power hardware in the nation have been waived off
[45]. Consequently, local financial backers are checking out making PV modules in the country.
It is accounted for that with the reliable future arrangements/plans of the public authority, the
expense of the sun powered PV frameworks can be decreased to almost half constantly 2025 and
more individuals will be drawn to this framework in the end [45].
As per the drawn-out guide for strategy advancement and execution in Pakistan, the sustainable
force age framework on a limited scale is considered among the private area region [48]. The PV
frameworks go under the subcategory of hostage and grid overflow power projects. As the
underlying venture cost of the roof PV frameworks that can coordinate with the nearby grid
through net metering is still expensive; along these lines, the objective of the public authority is
more centered around the urban communities where the monetary state of individuals is
generally solid than individuals situated in the distant regions [48]. Keeping in see, the
previously mentioned strategies and concentration, in the accompanying subsections, the
itemized investigation of the ideal point computation for PV modules, ideal initial cost, ideal
billing procedure, and the ideal restitution time frame is introduced for Islamabad City [49]. As
outlined in Figure 18, the sun powered illumination example of practically all significant urban
areas of the country. The region of Punjab, KPK, and Sindh, for example, Islamabad, Karachi,
Multan, and Peshawar are not so different. Subsequently, the discoveries of this review are
pertinent in many significant urban communities of Pakistan. Notwithstanding, regions like
Quetta, the beach front space of Pakistan, and inside Sindh have more potential for PV modules
framework because of somewhat High global horizontal irradiance (GHI) and Direct Normal
Irradiance (DNI). In addition, almost in all significant urban areas in Pakistan, the family
measures and their force utilization lie among the 4 examined scenarios. Moreover, power per
unit cost is something similar the nation over and in all power supply organizations of the urban
communities the net metering office is accessible. Furthermore, the underlying speculation cost
of PV frameworks is comparative in the whole country. Subsequently, in essentially all
significant urban areas of Pakistan outcomes acquired for the city of Islamabad have specialized.
 Figure 18 Picture courtesy GLOBAL ATLAS: PV Potential of Pakistan

Conclusion:
The goal was to see how the cooling load can be managed by installing a PV rooftop solution.
We had two options as we were taking Islamabad into account, with a diverse power
requirement. Rural and urban areas both have different sorts of power requirements, in some
places, there is no power, in some, there is load shedding, and lastly, some places have 24/7
power availability. We had two systems that were perfect for load shedding and households
which have power present. Paper focused on two types of systems
1. On-grid or Grid-Tied systems
2. Hybrid systems
Pure OFF GRID systems were not discussed in-depth for the sake of the scope of the paper,
which was to see a quick return on investment and to see whether we can cater to the cooling
load by installing a PV solution.
As mentioned, ON GRID solar solution is the best and foremost the most economical solution of
them all. Especially in areas where there is no load shedding happening. Now in those areas, we
can easily manage load concerning the number of units being produced. By calculating your
cooling load and applying it against the power of a PV system, one can not only save money on
the bill but also go beyond it by making the bill negative in the winter season where no colling is
needed. Also, one can even go beyond that by using the same inverter Air conditioner on heating
during the winter season as well as the PV system is still producing on average the same monthly
units.
Keeping in mind the areas where load shedding is happening HYBRID systems are a
recommendation because not only manages the load automatically on their own, these inverters
are NET METERING capable. That is on one hand you can use the PV power even if the GRID
is not available, and when it is available you can charge the batteries as well as feed the grid with
power as well. Now to manage the load on a hybrid inverter is a little tricky, we need to keep in
mind the total AC output Amperes and according to that attach the load which it would be able to
withstand when a strong power source is not present. Whether it be PV, GRID, or Batteries, we
need to put enough load on the inverter so that it doesn’t overload often. As we are concerned
with the cooling load, and we are considering Inverter ACs in this analysis so to put it in simpler
terms, in the morning when a strong power source is available, PV, we need to see the power
being produced and manage as per that. Usually, on a 5kW inverter 3-4 inverter AC can function
without making it overload depending on the clarity of the weather. At night time, when the
lower power source is available, it’s best not to overload the batteries, only 1 Inverter Ac is
recommended to make sure batteries don’t discharge completely. In the case of a power outage,
one needs a longer backup time so it’s best not to overload it by using more and more ACs but to
smartly use the backup provided but for theory’s sake one can see 2-3 inverter ACs can function
as far as for less than 1 hour on batteries.
Feasible Initial cost
Initial cost for 4 cases mentioned in the literature, is explained in figure 29. The investment
varies in millions with regards to the consumption of households. If the requirement is large, so
is the initial investment.
 2,500,000

2,000,000

1,500,000

1,000,000

500,000

0
1 2 3 4

Without Battery Backup With Battery Backup

Figure 19 Feasibility chart for initial investment

Feasible billing
The feasibility of the billing method which is net-metering is discussed in figure 20, as we can
see that the bill in 3 cases is negative and in the 4 th case it is negligible. This is how much the
net-metering billing system is effective if the PV system is designed as per the requirements the
electricity bill can easily be nullified or in some cases become zero and negligible. Series 1 and
series 2 in figure 20 are before and after respectively. The reduction in the form of units is
displayed in figure 20.
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4
-1000

Series1 Series2

Figure 20 before and after comparison of billing

Payback tenure
With regards to the initial investment and annual profits, we can see in figure 21, that the
payback period is significantly quick in terms of net-metering with backup and without backup.
To notice the impact of a sun powered PV framework on the grid, Figure 21 outlines the value of
limiting the reliance of clients on the grid. The PV modules are the ideal arrangement when an
enormous number of individuals introduce PV Modules on their roof, producing power for
themselves as well as the country. It very well may be effectively seen that because of the power
produced from various evaluated PV Modules, the force necessity of the family from the primary
source lessens fundamentally. In this manner, the more the PV Modules introduced, the power
outage issues will less during top hours because of the accessibility of energy from those clients
who’ll be utilizing PV modules stimulated power around them.

Chart Title
Payback period Net-metering (In years) Profit per year (PKR)

1,990,000
1,850,000
Initial investment Net present value

1,580,000
1,450,000
1,180,000
980,000

720,000

720,000
680,000
580,000

480,000

480,000
396,000

396,000
180,000

180,000

2.85
3.7

2.8

3.1
3.2

3.8

3.1

3
0
W i t h b ac ku p

W i thout backup

W i t h b ac ku p

W i thout backup

W i t h b ac ku p

W i thout backup

W i t h b ac ku p

W i thout backup
C ase 1 C ase 2 C ase 3 C ase 4

Figure 21 Elaboration of Payback period with initial investments

Even though, the government is taking serious steps towards policy making and easing the
transition towards the renewables, one cannot ignore that the lack of government oversight,
lacking in timely decision making, poor policies was the actual foundation of the current energy
crisis. Without the strong commitment of the government and steps taken in the right direction
the issue cannot be resolved. a wide-ranging outline of the solar potential of the city of
Islamabad was presented in this study. It has provided the people with a specific perspective as
to how a certain power source with proper development of planned application of that particular
power source can go a long way.
We took individual households which were interested in solar hybrid and purely grid-tied
solutions, took their electricity bills, calculated the payback period, recommended a system, and
afterward saw the payback period practically. While keeping the analysis purely theoretical-we
kept in mind the performance constraints as well as weather constraints and kept the analysis
close to the chest but when the system was up and running in reality the system performed even
better than the theoretical values. The consumers, households, bills, number of units, initial
investments are real-life studies done on real households and the systems are still running on the
same analysis all over Islamabad with different consumptions and different load distributions.
Comparison of HYBRID and On GRID /Grid-tied solar solution
Now what we compare both systems based on cost and robustness, the hybrid system has lesser
warranties and higher cost. The HYBRID inverter has a manufacturing warranty of 1-year,
tubular batteries considered in the analysis have a total of 6 months performance warranty. Costs
at least a hundred thousand more than the grid-tied system. Keep in view that a HYBRID
inverter supports 3 power sources at a time PV, GRID, and Batteries with an option to feed units
into the GRID, making the hybrid solution the best of both worlds.
Now sometimes a consumer doesn’t need a hundred thousand PKR push towards a system that is
not maintenance-free. That is where a grid-tied solution comes in on-grid inverters comes with a
5-year warranty by the manufacturer add that with 25 years of PV warranty it becomes a lifetime
solution for a consumer. Starting from the first month the profit starts to come in and the return
of the investments starts to come in the form of export units, if the consumption is less than the
production, in form of export units as well.
Finally, it comes down to the decision that whether to go for a hybrid solar solution or a grid-tied
solar solution. If the consumer has no UPS installed and load shedding is a recurring problem in
that area then a hybrid solution is suggested. Otherwise, if there is a small ups system already
present in a consumer house then another hybrid solution is never suggested but a standalone
grid-tied system is installed separately in the household whose sole purpose is to minimize the
bill.
Discussion:
The literature largely discusses a method for installing solar energy systems in Islamabad, the
calculations were made with appropriate analysis, and then the data was collected using the live
operating system across the city. In addition, using the net metering system, the initial
investment, return on investment, and how much the bills will decrease were calculated. Taking
into account the government's energy policy, the impact of export units on the grid has also been
calculated. The study shows that popularizing PV systems should make a notable appearance in
Pakistan's energy mix and dependence on fossil fuels is minimized especially one power source.
It will reduce CO2 emissions indirectly. Furthermore, except for backup storage there is no cost
related to PV system production.
However, outwardness are evaluated, energy produced via PV modules is cheaper, considering
most of our population is earning on a monthly basis. Now keeping in view, the current analysis,
it was noticed that the more users of solar the more they will send to the grid and the lesser the
load on the grid. Moreover, the literature showed, if you increase the amount of PV systems
installed in the area it will show a decline of power usage in those areas except in hours set as
peak but overall, the feeder will be less loaded. As a result, the grid will have a power cushion
which could be used in other areas. Reduction in load disposal could be witnessed in short term,
additionally if one looks up to a bigger picture, a solid energy source is at your disposal and can
be used as a parallel energy source, definite wide-ranging projects have to be done to make a
dent at the current energy crisis of the country. Increasing foreign loans, prices of carbon based
fuels on the rise, a significant alternative is needed to strengthen the economy. In the analysis,
the NPV was also calculated to see if the investment was viable or not against an investment
opportunity similar in terms of return and initial investment. Values appear positive each time
indicating that for similar initial investment and redemption options, the consumer should select
a PV solution on the surface for a safe investment.

References

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