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BasicsofSolarPVSystemDesign|SolarPowerforOrdinaryPeople

SolarPowerforOrdinaryPeople
SolarEnergyisidealforacountrylike
Indiawhichhasplentyofsunshinewith
wellover300averageannualsunny
days.

BasicsofSolarPVSystemDesign
PostedonFebruary21,2013

Asuccessfuldesigninvolvesaccurateknowledgeofdailyelectricalload
calculationandaccountsforallworstcasescenarioswhichmight
possiblyoccurduringoperation.Agooddesignerwillbepragmaticand
keepthecostsdownbycuttingonunnecessaryoversizingthesystem.In
theexampleofatypicalmiddleclasshome(shownattheleft)allthe
lightshavebeenreplacedwithLEDlightswhichconsumefarless
electricitycomparedwiththeusualCFLlightsortubelights.Thislowers
dailypowerconsumptionwhichenablesyoutomanagewithsmaller
solarPVsystem.Itwouldhavebeenstillbetterifthefanswerealso
replacedwithenergyefficientfans.InIndia,CromptonGreaveswill
Anexampleloadcalculation

soonbeginoffering1200mmceilingfans(MAXIMUS)thatwill
consumejust35watts!!TheproductionisexpectedtostartinMarch
April2013.USHAhasa45Wattceilingfan(Technix).Ifsuchfansare

installedthePVsystemsizewillbefurtherreduced(whichmeansstilllowerinvestment!).
Forenergyefficientfans,pleasecheckoutthispageonSuperFans:SuperEfficientFans.itwaspointedbya
readercommentingbelow.
Step1:CalculateTotalPowerConsumption
ThefirststepindesigningasolarPVsystemistofindoutthetotalpowerconsumptioninwatthours.Itinvolves
multiplyingthewattageofeachappliancewiththenumberofhoursitrunsdailyandaddingthemall.Theside
imageshowshowitcanbedone.Weshalluseitasanexamplehere.So,thetotaldailypowerconsumptionis
4300wh.
Step2:SizingthePVModules(Wp)
Besidessolarpanelswhichgeneratephotocurrent,asolarPVsystemismadeupofmanycomponentscharge
controller,inverter,batteriesallconnectedbywires.Noneoftheseare100percentefficient.Forinstance,every
100amphourdrawnfromthebatteryrequiresputtinginabout115120amphoursofchargeintoit.Invertersare
typicallyonly85percentefficientandlikewiseforchargecontroller.Cablesofferelectricalresistancetotheflowof
currentwhichissubstantialbecauseofratherlowDCvoltagesinvolved.Peopletrykeepingitlowbyworkingwith
higherDCvoltageswherepossibleandyetkeepwiringcostandresistancelosseslow(saylessthan3%).
Therefore,inordertoaccountforallsuchlossesthemodulesmustputinsomeextraenergyintothesystemnot
merelythedailywatthourload.
Wecanguessthisextraamountifweassumesay80%efficiencyfortheinverter/chargecontroller,85%forthe
batterybankand3%wirelosses.Thus,wemustoversizetherequirementfromthemodulesby1/(0.80x0.85x
0.97)orby1.51orsimply1.5.

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So,energyneededfromthemodulesforourexamplehouseisabout
4300x1.5=6450wh.Duringthedaylighthoursmodulesmust
produceatleastthismuchenergy.Thisbringsintheconceptofpeak
sunhoursintothepicture.Sincesolarmodulesarecharacterizedfor
1000W/m2(1kW/m2)ofsolarradiationintensity,itisusefulto
representthedailysolarradiationintermsofnumberofhoursof
1000W/m2.Thus,a5kW/m2ofdailyaveragesolarinsolationis
equivalentto5hoursof1000W/m2solarintensity.Monthlyaveraged
dailysolarinsolationdata(mapsanddatainMicrosoftexcel
worksheet)areavailablefromtheMNREwebsiteforIndianlocations.
Thesedailysunhourshelpyoufigureoutthepeakwattrequirement
fromthepanels.
Forexample,inNewDelhithenumberofaveragedailysunhoursis5.5
formodulesmountedhorizontallyand6.2whenthemodulesare
mountedatthelatitudeangleofDelhiwhichisabout28degrees.
Althoughmodulesshouldbeideallyinclinedatthelatitudeanglefacing
southinIndia(sothatsunraysfallnormallyonthesolarmodules),but
thetableattheleftshowsthedifferenceisnothighlysignificant.Agoodwaytoharnessthemaximumsolar
energyfromthemodulesistochangetheangleofinclinationtwiceduringanyearinMarchforsummerangle
(generally15degreeslessthanthelatitude)andinSeptemberforwinterangle(typically15degreesmorethanthe
latitude).Thiscanbeeasilydoneforsmallsystems.
IfthehouseislocatedinDelhi,wecanassume5.5hoursofdailysunshine.Sothepeakwattratingofmodulesfor
oursystemwillbe6450/5.5=1173Wproundingitup,1.2kWpmoduleswillberequired.Ifyouwanttobe
moreliberaluse5sunhoursitgives6450/5=1290Wpor1.3kWp.Thus,thereisnorigidformulaforsystem
designingtheonlythumbruleistobesomewhatliberaldependinguponyourpocketsize.
FormostlocationsinnorthIndia,onecanassume55.5dailysunshinehours.
Step3.InverterSizing
AninverterisusedinthePVsystemwhen220VACpoweroutputisneeded.Itsratingshouldneverbelowerthan
thetotalwattofappliancesandinputDCvoltage(12V/24V/48V)mustmatchthevoltageofthebatterybank.The
invertersizeshouldbegenerally2530%biggerthantotalwatts

ofappliances.Iftheloadincludesan

appliancesuchasmotororcompressortheninvertersizeshouldbeminimum3timesthecapacityofthese
appliancessothatitcanhandlethestartingsurgecurrentforfewseconds.
Forexample,iftotalwattageallappliancesisabout500W(asisthecaseinourexamplehome),theinvertersize
shouldbearound650W.
Step4:batterySizing
Thebatterybankshouldbelargeenoughtoprovidethedesiredbackup.Batterycapacitycalculationinvolves
accountingforbatterylosses(typically15percent),maximumallowabledepthofdischarge(DoD)anddaysof
autonomy.Althoughthedeepcyclebatteriescanbeoccasionallydischargedupto80percent,butforlongerlifeit
isbettertokeeptheroutinedischargelimittoonly50percent.GiventheunpredictablenatureofPVsystems,
onceinawhilebatteriespayvisittothe80percentlimitofDoD.
Notalltheenergygeneratedbythepanelswillbestoredinthebatteries.Somepartofthedaytimeloadwill
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receivepowerdirectlyfromthepanelsthroughtheinverter(powerconditioningunit).Whatisnotconsumedwill
bedivertedtothebatteries.
Letsassumethatforaverage5.5hoursdailytheworkingappliancesreceivepowerdirectlyfromthepanel
throughtheinverter.Insummermonths,itcanbeassumedthatfor5.5hoursallthedaytimeloadoffans,TVand
thelaptopreceivespowerfromthepanelthisis400Wfor5.5hoursor2200wh.Thus,energyonlyforthe
remaining2100wh(ofthetotaldaily4300wh)needstobestoredinthebatteries.
Nowagainwemustaccountforefficienciesofbatteriesdischargeandinverter/chargecontroller:1/(0.85x0.80)
=1.47(orsimply1.5).Thus,thestoragerequiredis2100x1.5=3150wh.Thismuchstoredenergywillbedrawn
dailyfromthebatteries.
InDelhithetemperaturegoesdownto3Cinthewinter.Insidehomewherebatterieswillbelocatedisexpected
tobearound10C.Batterycapacitiesaregenerallyratedfor25C.Soadropof15Cwillreducethebattery
capacitybyabout10%.Applyingthiscorrection:3150/0.90=3500wh.
IfthesystemisdesignedforDC24V,thenthedailyamphourcapacityneededis3500wh/24V=146Ah.For
50%allowabledischargeweget292Ah.Therefore,a24V300Ahbatterybankshouldprovidesufficientbackup.
Summarizing:
DesigningasolarPVsysteminvolvesfirstcalculatingtheaveragedailyenergyconsumptioninwatthours.Asa
simplerule,overratethedailyWhloadby1.5forpanelcapacity.LikewiseoverrateWhloadtobestoredinthe
batteriesalsoby1.5forbatterysizing.Forbetteraccuracyofdesigngettheactualefficienciesofthecharge
controller,inverter,batteriesandcablestobeused.
Featuresofthesystemdesignhereare
Maximumdailyenergyconsumptionis4300Wh.
Maximumallowableloadatanypointoftimeis500W.
Whenfullycharged,thebatterybankcansupportthedailyusageof4300Wh.
Chargedepletionofthebatterieswillbereplenishedonaclearsunnyday.
Similarpages
SolarSystemSizingworksheet
SizingbatteriesandinvertersforSolarPVSystem
ANEXERCISE:TrycalculatingspecificationsofasolarPVsystemforafactoryfloorthatuses50CFLlightsof
20Weach.Theselightsaretoberunfor12hourseverydayandinthe12hoursofnight17oftheselightswill
remainON.Whathappensifyoureplacealltheselightswith12WLEDlights.TheseareagainACloadlikethe
exampleusedabove.
Youcanshareyourcalculationsthroughthecommentboxanddiscussdifficulties.

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13ResponsestoBasicsofSolarPVSystemDesign
Build a website with WordPress.com
poloolopsays:
May29,2013at10:32pm

GoodarticleonPVsystemscapacityandotherfactorstothinkabout.AnyideaifCGMaximusfansareavailablenowor
delayed.Iamnotabletofindanythingaboutthesamefromtheirwebsite.
Reply

Goodpalsays:
June4,2013at1:15am

TheMaximusmodelwassupposedtohavebeeninthemarketinApril2013,butprobablyithasbeendelayed.
Reply

Sukumarsays:
June25,2013at7:11am

Thereisanotheronecalledsuperfan,whichconsumes35wattsattopspeed(22Wonspeed4,14Wonspeed3).Anditworks
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atfullspeedevenonlowvoltagesandcomeswitharemote.ItcostsaroundRs3000(X1=2900A1=3200V1=3100).Theysay
youcansavearoundRs1000/yrwithreplacinga1620hrsrunningnormalfan.Ofcourse,replacingbecomesobviouswhen
purchasingsolarpanel,otherwisetheextracostwouldgointhepanel,byreplacingyougetanewsuperfanatthesamesolar
invesment.
Reply

Sukumarsays:
June25,2013at7:12am

Forgottomentionthesite:http://superfan.in
Reply

vishalsays:
October8,2014at12:56am

thankssukumar.canuplssuggestusthelowerpowerconsumptionfansinapricerangeof1300to1800
Reply

sukumarsays:
December1,2014at8:53am

Iamnotanyfandealerorlikethat,butatcostsabout1300,youwillonlygetinefficientandunbrandedfans
(70to85+watts).Eventhebrandedones(likeusha,orient,etc)costaround2200+thesedays(highspeed
andqualitymodels).So,3200isnotabigdealforanefficientfan(itwillpayforitselfinabout3years)

Goodpalsays:
June25,2013at10:12am

ThanksSukumar,foraddingvaluetothearticle.
Iinvitereaderstosharesuchusefulinformationwhichareaboutinnovationorenergysaving.
Reply

Venkatsays:
July8,2013at9:12pm

Thereisonemorefromhttp://www.parasgreen.com
Seetheproductpageathttp://www.parasgreen.com/productprofile.html
andthebrochurePDFhttp://www.parasgreen.com/PDFDCCeilingFans.pdf
PS:theirinfo@andsales@parasgreen.comemailaddressesarenotworkingbuttheyrepliedviatheirgmailaddress.Italso
costsRs3000(withouttax)buttheyoffernotaxifpurchasedwithsolarpanel.AndIguessitdirectlyrunsonsolar/mainsin
withoutbatterycondition.
But,Ihavepurchasedasuperfan(X1model,230vAC)anditisreallyasuperfan.Thoughsuperfandoesntrunondirect
solar,theyhavea24vDCversion(Rs500extra).
Reply

Sukumarsays:
July9,2013at8:47am

SuperFanseemtohave2newmodelsX7andV7withlowerprices(aboutRs400less)thanmodelsX1andV1,probablythe
reasonbeingthattheydontcomewithremote(X7isRs2521andV7isRs2715).
AndIguessspeedcontrolisdoneviathemainswitch(turningon/offtheswitchmultipletimesquickly),Ireadthis
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somewhereontheirsiteawhileback,probablyoncommentspage.Ofcourseitremembersthelastspeed,sothereisnoextra
workifyouusethesamespeedmostly.
Simplysuperb.
Reply

ChanderManiSharmasays:
November19,2013at5:11am

NicelyDoneMr.Goodpal
Reply

ChandanPrakashsays:
May1,2014at12:35pm

Hi,
Thanksforthearticle.Butwhataboutthechargecontroller?Ireckonchargecontrollerhastobetherebetweenpaneland
batteries.Inverterwillbeusedwhenweuseelectrictyfromthebattery.Sohowdowedesignchargecontroller,put
differently,whatshouldbethecapacityofthechargecontroller??Ihavereadsomethingaboutmpptchargecontrollerbutdo
notknowhowtopickacorrectsize.
Reply

shubhamsays:
June16,2014at2:05am

ExcellentArticle
Reply

DrTShankerRaosays:
November30,2014at11:40pm

Beautifularticle.Anybodycanunderstand.afterreadingonecancalculateandinstallPVSYSTEMATHOME
Reply

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