Designing an Off-Grid PV System

For a Residential Consumer in Mashhad-Iran

Morteza Khatami,Hashem Mortazavi
Khorasan regional electric Company, KREC
Mashhad, Iran
m_khatami46@yahoo.com, hmortazavi@yahoo.com

Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi,Mahdi Oloomi
Khorasan regional electric Company, KREC
Mashhad, Iran
mrajabim@yahoo.com, me_oloomi@yahoo.com


Abstract this article suggests an off-grid solar
power system for a typical home at Mashhad, IRAN. In order
to computing the off-grid solar system components. The
design was done based on the shortest day of the year. The
solar data is obtained from NASA web site and has been used
from RETSCREEN software. The solar system set must
capable to supply load current for 4 days; therefore we need to
install Batteries and battery charger. In this computation the
shortest day of the year has been assumed. Although the total
design is acceptable from engineering point of view, from
economical view the total Cost of system is higher than the
case that has been designed for summer days that the
electricity cost is higher in IRAN country.

Keywords Solar Power System; off-Grid PV system;
Inverter; Charge Controller: PGC
I. INTRODUCTION
The world-wide demand for solar electric power systems
has grown steadily over the last 20 years. The need for
reliable and low cost electric power in isolated areas of the
world is the primary force driving the world-wide
photovoltaic (PV) industry today. For a large number of
applications, PV technology is simply the least-cost option.
Typical applications of PV in use today include stand-alone
power systems for cottages and remote residences,
navigational aides for the Coast Guard, remote
telecommunication sites for utilities and the military, water
pumping for farmers, and emergency call boxes for
highways and college campuses, to name just a few.
Significant growth in demand for PV systems is expected
to occur in developing countries to help meet the basic
electrical needs of the 2 billion people without access to
conventional electricity grids. In addition to this demand
for cost effective off-grid power systems, environmental
and longer-term fuel supply concerns by governments and
electric utilities are beginning to help accelerate the market
for demonstration programs for PV systems connected to
central electric grids in industrialized countries. PV
modules are integrated into systems designed for specific
applications. The components added to the module
constitute the balance of system or BOS. Balance of
system components can be classified into three categories:
Batteries - store electricity to provide energy on
demand at night or on overcast days;
Inverters - required to convert the DC power
produced by the PV module into AC power;
Controllers - manage the energy storage to the
battery and deliver power to the load
Not all systems will require all these components. For
example in systems where no AC loads s present an
inverter is not required. For on-grid systems, the utility grid
acts as the storage medium and batteries are not required.
Batteries are typically not required for PV water pumping
systems, where a water reservoir buffers short-term
demand and supply differences. Some systems also require
other components which are not strictly related to
photovoltaic. Some stand-alone systems, for example,
include a fossil fuel generator that provides electricity when
the batteries become depleted; and water pumping systems
require a DC or AC pump. This article suggests an off-grid
solar power system, for a typical home at Mashhad, IRAN. In
order to computing the off-grid solar system components, as it
was requested the design was done for the shortest day of the
year. The solar data is obtained from NASA web site and
Retscreen software. The total solar system must capable to
supply load current for 4 days; therefore we need to install
Batteries and battery charger.

II. A TYPICALLY HOME PLAN SPECIFICATIONS
A. Solar Information
A Typical home is a 120 square meter apartment in a 2 apartments
house located in Mashhad- IRAN. Mashhad location:
latitude:36.3N, longtitude:59.6E.
In Fig.1 the solar information of the home Based on the NASA
data from the Retscreen database represented. As it can be seen
daily solar radiation in Mashhad varies between 2.17 to 7.81
KWh/M2/day during the year.









Fig 1. The home solar information based on Retscreen software Data

B. The Home Load
A typical home loads are described in Table.1. Note that the
nominal voltage of Iranian low voltage distribution system is
220 V and the frequency is 50Hz.

Table1. The Home Load-All Loads are AC
Appliance N Watt h/d A Ah/d Wh/d
TV- 29 Inch
1

140 10 0.636 6.36 1400
Washing
machine
1 1190 0.2 5 1.08 238
Refrigerator
1 200 10 0.901 9.01 2000
Desktop PC
1 150 5 0.68 3.4 750
Lighting
6 100 3 2.724 8.172 1800
Microwave
1 1800 0.2 8.18 1.636 360
Vacuum
Cleaner
1 1000 0.2 4.55 0.91 200
Total
22.996 30.568 6748

If it has been considered the solar system supplying energy
for 4 days energy:
For 4 days total energy consumption is: 6748*4= 26992
Wh for 4days
For 4 days total load current based on Ah is: 30.6*4= 122.4
Ah for 4days

C. Technical Step for The Solar Home Power
For the Generation of Solar power, the following components
should be to install.
solar PV modules
solar charge controllers
solar inverters
battery systems
These above components are united in one circuit as seen in
Fig.2.


Fig.2. Schematic of all components for solar power generation

III. PANEL SPECIFICATIONS WITH DATA SHEET
A. PV selection
First of all, for finding the actual PV size, i t
s houl d be calculated the corrected load based on the:
depth of battery discharge, wiring efficiency and the other
factors.
With the following assumptions:
Depth of discharge allowed in the batteries: 50
%==> we use it for battery Sizing
Wiring Efficiency: 98%
Charge/discharge efficiency of batteries: 90%
The Home load current for 4 days is about: I
L
=122.4 Ah
Corrected load current (without the inverter efficiency) =
30.6/ (0.98*0.90) =34.7 Ah
Considering Inverter efficiency:
If it has been assumed that the inverter efficiency is 96%
(Sunnyboy3600TL) then the final corrected load current
is: I
L-final
= 34.7/ 0.96=36.12 Ah WL-Final
=Vn*I
L-
final
=220*36.12=7950.7wh
B. Panel choosing
Based on the Retscreen software data sheet for a home
city (Mashhad-IRAN) the minimum daily solar radiation-
Horizontal is 2.17 KWh/m
2
/d to a maximum 7.81
KWh/M
2
/day and as if it has been considered the shortest
day of the year, for a city like Mashhad it will be 2.17 daily
sun radiation. Minimum daily solar radiation- Horizontal for
Mashhad- Iran= 2.17 KWh/m
2
/d. for 4 days, the output a of
1m
2
panel is P
panel
=4*2.17=8.68 KWh, Based on the
project assumption no Dust and no clouds so Dust effect= 1
and PGF for Mashhad is 4.3 hour. So, for finding the
number of panel:
WL-Final/
PGF= 7950.7/4.3=1849W If it
has been chosen solar panel SW-255-mono-ds from
Sunmodule company:No of panels= 1849/ 255=7.25 ==>7
panels So it will be chosen the 7, SW-255 W panels from
Sunmodulecompany. By choosing 7 panels the actual output
of this system is Pmax= 7*255= 1785 W. Hence 7 Panels
on average 4 KWh/M
2
/day for Co n s i d e r e d location
will produce the following amount of energy throughout
the year: Total P o we r p r o d uc t i o n i n t h r o u g h t h e
ye a r : ( 1785/4)*365=162881W/year= 0 . 1 6 3 MW/year
C. Panel installation
Based on the Home location, it has to been
chosen the panel Declination. As in IRAN country the
electricity in summer is more expensive but as the
design is for the shortest day of the year is equal to
= - 23.4. Mashhad location: latitude: 36.3N, longitude:
59.6E. So: =16.87 then z= 73.12 and =102.143 in
degree. As Mashhad located in northern hemisphere, so
the panel will install at 73.12 (Degree) from horizontal
face West at 102.143 due to South.
D. PV Weight
As has been chosen solar panel SW-255-mono-ds
FromSunmodule Company, each SW- 255-mono-ds
panel weights near 21.2 Kg. so the total net- weight of
panels is 15*21.2=318 Kg, if a simple structure has been
chosen the maximum weight of the structure will be less
Than 200 kg. So:
Total net- weight of panels is 7*21.2=148 Kg
Simple structure weight=200 kg
the total load on roof top= 200+148= 348 Kg
the total needed area is: 12 square meter
the average load per square meter: 348/12= 29
Kg/m
2

So in each square meter there are near 29 kg additional
loads on the building rooftop; Which roof structural framing
can easily handle the load.

IV. CHARGECONTROLLER AND INVERTER SELECTION
Charge controllers, protect battery from over
charging and/or excessive discharge, are the essential
components of Solar PV systems. Whereas 7 panels has
been calculated and the capacity of batteries are 24 V, The
Xantrex C35 charge controller should be chosen.Al s o,Due
to the actual power of C35 is about 840 W, The 2
charge controllers each feed from three solar panels should
be selected. Figure 3 shows the technical specification of
Xantrex C35. Actual output of panels is Pmax= 7*255=
1785 W.



Fig.3. Xantrex C35 Charge Controller selected


In ideal condition, the VA rating of the inverter would have
been same as the power need. But in practical conditions,
the power factor of Inverter is less than 1 hence power
supplied by 1785 VA Inverter won't be 1785watts but lesser
than that. So the inverter of SMA-Sunnyboy 2100TL, that
has a very good characteristic of reactive power c o n t r o l
h a s b e e n s e l e c t e d . so i t wi l l b e a s s u r e d a l l
u s e r s that the inverter is capable not only to produce
needed reactive power in the home , but also; regulate the
nominal voltage of home.
TheSunnyboy 2100TL [ 1 ] is the selected inverter from a
leading company of inverter with name of SMA.It
provides 220V/50Hz 1950Watts, 11A AC. the efficiency
of inverter is >96%. It produces pure sine wave
appropriate for motor, fan, pump and inductive loads.

V. CALCULATING BATTERY CAPACITY
The number of batteries in battery bank depends
on many factors such as:
The number of appliances and the amount of
Power they take.
The number of days the batteries goes without
charging, due to bad weather or other factors.
The temperature of the area where the batteries
are stored.
The size of charging system.
The size of budget.

A. Days of Autonomy
the solar system supplying energy for 4 days energy should
be considered
For 4 days total energy consumption is: 6748*4=
26992 Wh for 4days
For 4 days total load current based on Ah is:
30.6*4= 122.4 Ah for 4days
Corrected load current (without the inverter
efficiency) = 30.6/(0.98*0.90)=34.7 Ah
Considering Inverter efficiency: the inverter
efficiency is 96% (Sunnyboy 2100TL ).
Then the final corrected load current is: I
L-final
= 34.7/
0.96=36.12 Ah.
B. Depth of Charge
The depth of discharge is the limit of energy withdrawal
to which user will subject the battery (or battery bank). DoD
is expressed as a percent of total capacity. Its
recommended that user never discharge a deep-cycle
battery below 50% of its capacity; so for this calculation
DOD=50% has been considered.



C. Temprature Effect
Based on the project assumption, designing of system
has been calculated for the shortest day of the year, and
based on Fig.2 the average temperature of Dec. and Jan.
in The home town is less than the 25C (degree), so the
temperature has no any adverse effect on my PV output.

D. Battery Selection
Hence, the corrected value of the Ampere hour capacity of
the batteries can be given by: Battery Bank Capacity= final
corrected load current/ DoD= 36.12/0.5=72 Ah, So Battery
Bank Capacity= 72 Ah. So I will choose 24Vol t - 100Ah
Solar Series Battery-12xA602300 from Sonnenschein
company [5]. Sonnenschein A600 Solar Series batteries are
developed for medium to large solar powered applications.

VI. FINANCIAL ASPECT
In Appendix it can be seen the result of Retscreen
software for the solar project. Table2 presents the current price
of main items of the project such as: Inverter, Batteries and
solar cells. As it can be clearly seen from the Figure 3 ; with
considering inflation rate of 1%, 20 years project life and 90%
debt ratio without interest rate this project after 8 years will
have income ( which is not acceptable from financial view).
The main reason is that the calculation has been done for
whole system in the worst condition of solar power (shortest
day of the year). Definitely for any other cases such as Fall,
Spring and specially for summer this system can sell power to
grid and be more economical.

Fig 3. Retscreen Results











Table2. The current price of main Components
Component
Price ($)
PV Mono 255 Watt Panel
SMA
Inverter
VARA
Battery
1.22/watt 1410 1-200

REFERENCES

[1] http://www.sma.de/en/solutions/medium-power-solutions/sma-smart-
home.html.
[2] http://www.solarguru.com.au/PDFs/NG12-200.pdf.
[3] http://www.altestore.com/store/Charge-Controllers/Solar-Charge-
Controllers/PWM-Type-Solar-Charge-Controllers/Xantrex-Solar-
Charge-Controllers-PWM/Xantrex-C35-Charge-Controller-35A-12-or-
24V-Solar-Charge-Controller/p2069/.
[4] http://www.tlcdirect.co.uk/Technical/Charts/VoltageDrop.html?cable=S
WA_4_CoreXLPE&application=clipped_direct&max_perct_volt_drop=
3&ambient_temp=30&no_circuits=3&circuit_layout=bunched&power=
3&power_units=1000&voltage=220&length=6&submit=Calc
ulate+Min+Cable+Size.
[5] http://www.energymatters.com.au/sonnenschein-24volt-300ah-solar-
series-battery12xa602300-
p951.html?zenid=lpo1vlvv4nvmhjb4j9o2bb90v4.
[6] www.retscreen.net.