Solar Training for GIZ

PREPARATION, INSTALLATION AND

COMMISSIONING OF SOLAR ENERGY
SYSTEMS AND SOLAR ENERGY
APPLICATIONS
SOLAR PV SYSTEM SIZING

E LYAMBAI
ST.MTTI
SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers
SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

INTRODUCTION

• The function of a solar PV

system is to supply reliable
electricity to the appliances
when required or in case of
large PV power plants to
supply electricity to the grid.
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

ANALOGY BETWEEN RAINWATER HARVESTING

AND PV STSTEM
Rainwater Harvesting PV System
System
Resource rain Sunlight
Harvesting roof panels (modules)
Control valves Charge controllers
Storage bank tank battery
Transport pipes wires
Load taps appliances
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

PV SYSTEM

• PV modules together with other components that are connected to supply

reliable energy to appliances is referred collectively as ‘solar PV system’.
• A solar PV system can be of several types depending on the way the energy is
generated and used.
• Broadly, PV system is divided in three categories:
• 1. Standalone solar PV systems,
2. Grid-connected solar PV system, and
• 3. Hybrid solar PV system.
SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

SOLAR PV SYSTEM

• The PV systems which are not connected to the grid are called standalone
PV systems, and the PV systems which are connected to the grid are
called grid connected PV systems.
SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

TYPES OF PV PLANTS
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

STANDALONE PV
SYSTEMS
• These systems are self-sufficient in
themselves. They do not depend on
any other source of energy to supply
electricity to planned appliances or
load except solar.
• Examples: Solar home systems, off-
the-grid mini grids
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

GRID CONNECTED SYSTEM

• A Grid connected PV system does not store

energy in battery; it takes energy from the
grid when there is no sunlight.
• Grid-connected Solar PV system is
connected with nearby available electricity
grid.
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

SYSTEM DESIGN

• A system is defined as the set of things working together as parts of a

mechanism or an interconnecting network to perform a specific talk.
• A solar PV system is a system whose function is to generate electricity using
sunlight and supply electricity to the load when required.
• In order to achieve this objective, many components are connected together in
solar PV system, other than PV modules and all these have to be sized
appropriately.
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

SYSTEM DESIGN
• It requires the estimation of the amount of electricity required by the load and then
the design involves the determination of capacity and size of various components to
be used in PV system.
• A solar PV system design requires a lot of information beforehand, before starting
the design.
• The information include the location of installation, amount of sunlight available,
number of loads to be connected, number of hours of usage for each load, available
components in the market and their ratings, temperature of location, etc.
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

SYSTEM DESIGN
• The design of a solar PV system can be categorized in the following
two ways:
1. Approximate design - the designed system will not be 100% correct but
it serves the purpose. The approximate design is useful when your system
size is not too large, i.e., it is within few kW range or smaller.
2. Precise design - For 10s of kW or 100s of kW or above. All parameters
that affect the performance of the PV system are taken into account.
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

EXAMPLE OF APROX DESIGN

• A 1000 W AC load powered by PV system will have an inverter

rated:

• Inverter rating = safety factor x Wattage Rating

 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

EXAMPLE OF APROX DESIGN

• A 1000 W AC load powered by PV system will have an inverter

rated:

• Inverter rating = safety (adjustment) factor x Wattage Rating = 1. 2 x

1000 = 1.2 kW= 1.2 kVA
SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

ENERGY FLOW AND SYSTEM DESIGN

Inverter Charger PV Module

Load requirement battery
controller/MPPT Sizing
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

SYSTEM DESIGN STEPS

• Step 1: Determine the connected load and their energy estimation (watts, and Wh).
• Step 2: Determine the size and choice of electronics components (their power rating, voltage and
current at input and output of the electronics).
• Step 3: Determine the battery size (their number, capacity, voltage and Ah ratings).
• Step 4: Determine the PV module size (their number, power rating, voltage and
• current ratings).
• Step 5: Determine the size of wires (in mm), fuse (A), Junction box (V, A) sizing, etc.
SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers
LOAD REQUIREMENT
STEP 1 Determine the connected load and their energy estimation (watts, and Wh).

INVERTOR/ CC/MMPT
Determine the size and choice of electronics components (their power rating,
STEP 2
voltage and current at input and output of the electronics).

BATTERY
STEP 3 Determine the battery size (their number, capacity, voltage and Ah ratings).

MODULE SIZE
Determine the PV module size (their number, power rating, voltage and current
STEP 4
ratings).

WIRE/FUSE SIZE

STEP 5 Determine the size of wires (in mm), fuse (A), Junction box (V, A) sizing, etc.
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers
Load requirement

LOAD ANALYSIS

• The daily energy load demand is the amount of energy required each
day to power the load. It is found by summing all the energy that
appliances and bulbs use per day.
• In case of DC loads the daily energy (Wh) requirement is calculated
by multiplying the power rating (W) of an individual appliance with
the daily operational time (h).
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers
Load requirement
ESTIMATING DAILY ENERGY REQUIREMENT

• In case of AC loads the energy use has to be expressed as a DC energy

requirement since PV modules generate DC electricity.
• The DC equivalent of the energy use of an AC load is determined by
multiplying it by an adjustment factor of 20% or 30% and adding to the
DC equivalent
SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers
Load requirement

LOAD ANALYSIS

• The adjustment factor is related to the efficiency of the inverter. The

efficiency of the inverter varies anywhere between 0.85 - 0.98.
• For DC loads operating straight from the battery bank an adjustment factor
of 1.0 is used.
• Adjustment factor adjusts the wattage to compensate for the inverter
inefficiency and gives the actual wattage consumed from the battery bank
called adjusted wattage.
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers
Load requirement

ESTIMATING DAILY ENERGY REQUIREMENT

• For a flat screen LED TV, E = 120W x 4 = 480 Wh

SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers
Load requirement
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers
Load requirement

SIZE OF THE INVERTOR

• The inverter should be selected in such a way that it should supply the desired
power to the load

Inverter Power rating (input) = Load (output)/efficiency

= 1.1 - 1.3
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

SIZE OF THE INVERTOR

• In case of appliance type which is motorized or compressor then inverter

size should be minimum 3 times the capacity of those appliances and
must be added to the inverter capacity to handle surge current during
starting.
• EX : Fridge = 100W, Other appliances = 2000W
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers battery

SIZE OF THE INVERTOR

• In case of appliance type which is motorized or compressor then inverter

size should be minimum 3 times the capacity of those appliances and
must be added to the inverter capacity to handle surge current during
starting.
• EX : Fridge = 100W, Other appliances = 2000W
• Rating = (100 x 3) + (2100 x 1.2) = 300+2520 = 2820 VA = 2.8kVA
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers
battery

BATTERY SIZE

• The choice of battery voltage depends on the size of the system.

• For a small PV solar home system that powers DC loads only, e.g., lights, radio and TV, you
can install a 12V voltage system (a battery bank that can provide a 12V).
• While for larger systems where loads are predominantly AC and the total AC load exceeds
1200W, a 24V voltage systems is recommended.
• The system voltage is the effective voltage that can be provided by a battery bank of a
given solar system. This value can be estimated from the following block diagram of the
total energy daily demand of a system.
SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers
battery

SYSTEM VOLTAGE
SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers
battery

BATTERY SIZE

Battery Bank Capacity (Ah)

SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers battery

SOME IMPORTANT PARAMETERS

• DoD = maximum fraction of capacity that can be withdrawn from the

battery. Note that the battery selected must be capable of this limit or
greater depth of discharge. Typical value is 0.8 for a good new battery.
• Greater allowable DoD provides greater system availability, but at the
expense of battery health
• Autonomy = number of days that a fully charged battery can meet the
system loads without any recharge from the PV array.
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

MODULE SIZE

• Information regarding the place where solar PV modules are going to be installed
before determining the size of the PV module.
• Information such as how many days in the year does sunshine occur in a year, which
month have maximum sunshine hour and how much, which month has least sunshine
hour and how much as well as in an average how much sun shine hour per day
throughout the year.
• World Meteorological Map - to determine the solar insolation at the place considered.
Normally for Zambia, solar insolation is 5 kWh/m2/day (or 5 Peak Sun hours).
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

MODULE SIZING

The SPV module must supply enough energy to the battery, so that
battery can supply enough energy to the inverter, in order to supply
enough energy to the load as per the need.

E
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

INPUT FROM PV MODULES

E E

E
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

MODULE SIZE

Average peak- solar insolation in Zambia is 5.63 kWh/m2/day (or 5.63 Peak Sun hours).
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

NUMBER OF MODULES

To estimate the number of modules required, you divide the total peak-watt capacity
by the peak watts of the panels available to you. This will give you the exact number
of modules needed. Usually the result will not be a whole number. You must increase
any fractional part of the result to the next whole number to find the number of
panels.

𝑵𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒔=¿¿
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

STRINGS AND ARRAYS

𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒙𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒎 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 (𝑽𝒎𝒂)

No of PV modules in a string ( Ns )=
𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒙𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒎 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝑷𝑽 (𝑽𝒎)

𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒙𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒎 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 ( 𝑰𝒎𝒂)

No of PV modules in a n Array ( N p )=
𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒙𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒎 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝑷𝑽 (𝑰𝒎

Ns =System voltage/standard module voltage

Np= Total No of modules/Ns
SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers
SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

CHARGE CONTROLLER

• The charge regulator is selected based on the PV module short circuit current,
i.e., the maximum current that can be drawn from the PV modules at 0 volts.
• This value of the short circuit current (Isc) is always indicated on the data
sheet of every genuine PV solar module.
• The charge controller current rating should be higher than the short circuit
current rating of the module.
 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

CHARGE CONTROLLER

• The charge controller current rating should be higher than the short circuit
current rating of the module.
• The charge controller current rating should be approximately 1.25 times that
of the module short circuit current rating.
• However, the voltage rating of the charge controller remains the value of the
system voltage.

OR
 DESIGN A PV SYSTEM FOR THE
SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

FOLLOWING LOAD.
The inverter and battery efficiencies are :

• Battery available: 12 V, 150 Ah .

• Module available: 100Wp/12V

• Inverter efficiency:
• Battery efficiency:
• 5.63 peak sun-hours
 Month
SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers Daily Insolation (kW/m2)

January 5.19
February 5.27
March 5.34
April 5.37
May 5.63
June 4.83
July 5.03
August 5.77
September 6.50
October 6.51
November 5.92
December 6.25
Annual 5.63
Average
 Appliance Voltage Quantity Power Rating Daily Use Daily Energy
SEC (V)
Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers (W) (Hours) Demand (Wh)

Flat Screen LED 12 1 80 5 400

TV
Energy Efficient 12 1 80 10 800
Fridge
Satellite Decoder 12 1 20 5 100

Hi-Fi Equipment 12 1 30 4 120 DC LOAD

LED Lighting 12 1 5 4 20
Bulbs
LED Lighting 12 1 5 4 20
Bulbs
LED Lighting 12 1 5 4 20
Bulbs
LED Lighting 12 1 5 4 20
Bulbs
Total 230 Total Daily 1500
Power Energy
Demand
 Appliance Voltage Power Quantity Daily Use Daily Energy
SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers(V) Rating (W) (Hours) (Wh)

Flat Screen 240 120 1 4 480

LED TV

Energy 240 80 1 4 320

Efficient Fridge

Musical System 240 50 1 4 200

Satellite 240 30 1 4 120 AC LOAD

Decoder
LED Lighting 240 5 4 4 80
Bulbs

1200
Plus 20% Safety Margin 240

Total Daily Load Energy 1,440

Demand

20-30% safety margin (safety and buffer for growth)

SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

STEP 1. TOTAL LOAD

SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

STEP 2. INVERTER
SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers
battery

STEP 3. BATTERY SIZE

Battery Bank Capacity (Ah)

 SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

STEP 4. MODULE SIZE

• = 2940/(0.8x0.85)

= 4323.5Wh

•
SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

STEP 4 . MODULE SIZE

• No of Modules = Total power from the PV array/ Power form the

individual module

• No of Modules = 770/ 100 = 7.7 = 8 modules

• Ns =System voltage/standard module voltage = 12/12 =1
• Np= 8/Ns=8/1 = 8
SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

CONTROLLER SIZE

• I(rating) = 8 x Isc x 1.2

SEC Solar Training for ZESCO Engineers

ACTIVITY