A NEW APPROACH IN SIZE OPTIMIZATION AND PERFORMANCE PREDICTION OF

PHOTOVOLTAIC

- HYBRID POWER SYSTEMS

A Zahedi Solar Energy Applications Research Group Monash University, Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria, 3800, AUSTRALIA Fax :++61 3 9905 3454, E-Mail: zahedi @ena.monash.edu.au

Abstract Combination of a PV generator and a diesel generator provides a reliable and cost effective power system for electrification of remote areas. These systems are known as PV-hybrid power systems and they usually include a battery bank as storage unit. Important factor in designing such systems is performance to supply electric power in an efficient way of operation. Thus correct sizing of the components in a PV-hybrid system is an important factor, as under-sizing will result in an unreliable system while over-sizing results in an unnecessary expensive system. The objectives of this paper is to describe a numerical method developed to optimize the size of components in a PV-hybrid power system based on the size of existing diesel generator set. The results obtained from this numerical solution are used to predict the performance of the system. Introduction For many years electricity of remote and isolated areas have been solely supplied by diesel generators. The advantage of using diesel generators for remote areas electrification is simplicity of the design and operation. They are economic options where fuel is available at low cost. And also they are reliable, if they are well maintained. However, diesel generators have some disadvantages

that make them undesirable option. This is because: They have limited flexibility to respond to changing demands. They require relatively high maintenance cost. The efficiency of the entire system is relatively low. Their operation not only creates pollution but also relies on the availability of fuel at affordable cost. Combination of PV and diesel generator set offers a more reliable power system than using only one type of generating unit. In this study a system has been chosen to provide electricity for a small and remote located community. A methodology is developed for calculating the correct size of this system and for optimizing the management of this system. The power for the system comes from PV panels. A battery bank is used as a backup unit. A diesel generator is used for charging the batteries to make sure that the batteries do not reach the critical DOD (Depth Of Discharge). The combined system is as a stand - alone system, in the sense that no national grid electricity is brought in to meet the load. The system is considered as autonomous system, which means the loss of load probability is 0%. The methodology

0-7803-5772-8/00/$10.00 02000 IEEE

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developed is applied to designing a power system operation in remote areas. Various sizing configurations were simulated, and the optimal configuration that meets the autonomy constraint was determined, leading to reduction of the energy cost.

Photovoltaic generator PV modules are rated under STC (Standard Testing Conditions), which means that under 5.11 PHS, for example, the output of the modules per day will be 5.1 1 times their rating. In our calculations we use PHS=5.11h. For our example we have chosen the SOLAREX MSX83 modules. Their output characteristics are: Peak power: 83W; Voltage at peak power: 17.1V; Current at peak power: 4.85A; Short circuit current: 5.27A; Open circuit voltage: 21.2V at STC. More importantly, because the modules are used for battery charging we are more interested in the current at a good battery charging voltage under normal operating conditions which is 14V. These modules are rated at 5.1A under normal operating conditions. In our example we have assumed that a minimum of 90% of the current at 14V under normal operating conditions will be guaranteed (5.1x90YO=4.6A). Estimating the Total daily Energy Load for the purpose of system design The first step of system design and size optimization is to make an Energy Budget Chart of all loads. We need to list all the devices in the remote community that consume electricity. We have to make sure to include everything. The expected load pattern based on the Energy Budget Chart has been shown in Figure 1.

X DUI3

Figure 1. Load pattern of the community

The block diagram of the system The block diagram of soladbattery system has been shown in Figure 2. The solar panel is the main power generating unit in this system. In the times that more power is generated by solar panel than what is required by community, the excess power is stored in the batteries.

system

The Concept of Balance of Energy Used in Designing the System In the design and sizing process of the system under investigation, we used the concept of energy balance. This means that the amount of energy required by the loads every day is the same as the total amount of energy generated by PV generator in the system. Of

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course the efficiencies of the battery storage units and inverter are taken into account.

Technical parameters The following technical parameters and assumptions were made for the system design: 0 Angle of tilt of solar PV array is latitude angle. 0 Maximum Power Point Tracking efficiency is 90%. 0 Battery charge and discharge efficiency is 85%. 0 Inverter efficiency is 95%. Battery Bank Sizing The size of the battery bank in a PV-stand alone system is dependent on some factors: The number of days that the battery bank should provide the loads without array input from PV array. The depth of discharge (DOD) of the battery strongly depends on the application, and can vary from a few percent to as much as 70%. The fact is that too deep cycling of limited batteries reduces their life expectancy. Low temperatures greatly reduce the storage capacity of batteries. The ideal operational temperature is in the range of 20C to 25C. The battery capacity decreases with increasing discharge current. Thus, leads requiring high currents (powers) will need larger battery capacity than low power loads, even if the total energy consumption is the same. One important point we have to keep in mind is to make sure that the batteries are not overcharged or over-discharged. This has been done by developing a method to determine the state of charge of batteries every hour.

Number of Components The number of PV-modules, size of batteries is shown in Table 1. In our calculations we have used the average electricity consumption of a four family house which is 18 kWh per day. According to World Bank a four family house consumes 2952 kWh per year. A daily average of this figure is around 8 kWh per day which is 45% of the house we have under investigation.
otal Energy Load (Wh/Day) otal enerev demand Energy covered by PV (60%) Energy covered by wind generator

I 17,860.00 I 8,000.00
I 18,800.00 I 8,421.06

I 11,280.00 I 5,052.63

0.00

0.00

7,520.00 3,368.42 Energy covered by diesel generator (40%) 14,745.10 6,604.75 Demand at Array (Energy from PV/0.90/0.85) in Watts 12.80 5.73 IL = Demand at Array in Wh/day /(24hx48V) in Apmere 26.93 Nominal current IP = IL x 24h/PSH, (eg. 60.12 PSH=5.1lh, Ave/year) 11.79 5.28 NPVM = IP / IM = (IM = 5.1 A at 14V)

otal number of modules otal array cost (Module price: 8.0 A$/WP) in A$ Total costs (Solar Array and Battery Bank)

16 123,480.36 110,517.52 25,897.50 11,600.23

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Interconnection of Solar Modules The modules are connected in series to form string, where the number of modules is determined by the selected DC systems operating voltage, and the number of parallel strings is given by the current required from the PV generator.

Conclusion This paper is intended to present a complete design and size optimization of a photovoltaic powered remote Community. The total cost of PV is an up front cost for at least 20 years. The battery bank cost is actually for 5 years. The cost of inverter and wiring must be added to the total cost. The PV powered remote located community is a cost effective option if the community is located farther than half a kilometer from nearest utilities line. References 1. Castaner, L. , Photovoltaic Engineering, in Solar Electricity, ed. By T. Markvart, John Wiley, Chichster, 1994, pp. 75-114 2. Cuevas, A. Hill, R., Solar Cells, in Solar Electricity, ed. By T. Markvart, John Wiley, Chichster, 1994, pp. 21-74 3. Weinberg CJ, Williams RH, Energy from the Sun, in Energy for Planet Earth, ed. By J. Piel, W H Freeman and Company, New York, 1990, pp. 107-118 4. Zahedi, A. Solar Photovoltaic Energy Systems, Design and Use, The New World Publishing, Melbourne, Australia, 1998 5. Solar Energy Industries Association of Australia (SEIAA), Remote area power supply systems, 1995.

Figure 3. Interconnectionof solar modules There are two sets of diodes used in the interconnection of the modules. One set has the task to block the current flowing back from battery to PV panel (blocking diode), the other set is for bypassing the PV cell.

Formula used for calculations:

brgylww

VDC (DC - operatingv o l t a g e p s V e a k - Salar -Hour)

Ns =

VDc @ C -operating -voltage)

VM (OpeI

-voltage - o f -om

- module)

INp

=exSF

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