Appendix A

PV System Sizing Worksheets

I – Determine Your Power Consumption Demands

Use the following worksheet to list the appliances and/or loads that you will run with your PV system. Find
out how much power each item consumes while operating. Most appliances have a label on the back that lists the
wattage. Specification sheets, local appliance dealers, and product manufacturers are other sources of
information. (NOTE: If an appliance is rated in amps, multiply amps by operating voltage (12V, 120V or 240V) to
determine watts.) Table A.5 at the end of Appendix A lists power demands for common appliances. Once you have
all the wattage ratings, fill out the load sizing worksheet below.

AC and DC Load Sizing Worksheets

1. List all AC loads, wattage, and hours of use per week (Hrs/Wk) in Table A.1. Multiply watts by Hrs/Wk to get
watt-hours/wk (Wh/Wk). Add all the watt-hours per week to determine total AC watt-hours per week.
A Note on Phantom Loads- A phantom load is the power consumed by certain appliances even when they
are “off.” For instance, a stereo or telephone answering machine can consume 5 watts or more continuously,
amounting to a substantial load over the course of a day (5 watts x 24 hr = 120 Wh/day). Be sure to account for
all phantom loads when calculating AC and DC loads, or plan to eliminate the phantom loads by disconnecting power
from these appliances when not in use (through the use of a power strip, for example).

Table A.1 - Calculate AC Loads. If there are no AC Loads, skip to Step 5, Table A.2.

Table A.1 – Calculate AC Loads

Description of AC Loads Run by Inverter Watts X Hrs/Wk = Wh/Wk

Total Watt-Hours per Week AC

2. Convert AC Watt-Hours/week into DC Watt-hours/week. Multiply Total from Table A.1 by 1.2 to correct for
inverter loss.__________

3. Enter inverter DC input voltage (usually 12V or 24V).__________

4. Divide Line 2 by Line 3. This is Total amp-hours per week used by AC loads.__________

Appendix A 109
 Table A.2 – Calculate DC Loads
Description of DC Loads Watts X Hrs/Wk = Wh/Wk

Total Watt-Hours per Week DC

5. List all DC loads in Table A.2 above.

6. DC System Voltage (usually 12V or 24V). Same as Line 3 above. __________

7. Total amp hours per week used by DC loads. Divide Total from Table A.2 by Line 6.__________

8. Enter Total amp hours per week used by AC loads from Line 4. __________

9. Total amp hours per week used by all loads. Add Lines 7 and 8. __________

10. Average amp hours per day. Divide Line 9 by 7 days. __________

II – Optimize the Demands on your Power System

At this point it is important to examine your power consumption and reduce your needs as much as
possible. First, identify large and/or variable loads (such as water pumps, outdoor lights, electric ranges, AC
refrigerators, clothes washers, answering machines, etc.) and try to eliminate them or examine alternatives such
as propane, DC, or Energy Star models. The initial cost of DC appliances tends to be higher than AC, but you avoid
losing energy in the DC to AC conversion process, and DC appliances are typically more efficient and last longer.
Replace incandescent with fluorescent lights wherever possible. Fluorescent lamps provide the same level of
illumination while using much less energy. If there is a large load that you cannot eliminate, consider using it only
at peak sun hours, or only during the summer (in other words, be creative!). Revise your Load Sizing Worksheets
now with your optimized results.

III – Size Your Battery Bank (if necessary)

To choose the proper battery, fill out the Battery Sizing Worksheet below. Other types of storage are
available depending on the type of system you are considering (e.g. water storage tanks for pumping applications).

Battery Sizing Worksheet

You need to decide how much storage you would like your battery bank to provide. Often this is expressed
as “days of autonomy” because it is based on the number of days you expect your system to provide power without
receiving an input charge from the solar array. In addition to the days of autonomy, you should also consider your
usage pattern and the critical nature of your application. If you are adding a PV array as a supplement to a
generator based system, your battery bank can be slightly undersized since the generator can be operated if
needed for recharging. Once you have determined your desired storage capacity, you are ready to consider the
following key parameters.

11. Enter your daily amp-hour requirement (from Line 10).__________

12. Enter the maximum number of consecutive cloudy weather days expected in your area, or the number of days
of autonomy you would like your system to support.__________
110 Appendix A
13. Multiply the amp-hour requirement by the number of days of autonomy (Line 11 x Line 12). This is the amount
of amp-hours your system will need to store.__________

14. Enter the depth of discharge for the battery you have chosen. This provides a safety factor to help avoid
over-draining the battery bank. (For example, if the discharge limit is 20%, use 0.2.) This number should not
exceed 0.8. __________

15. Divide the amp-hours of storage needed (Line 13) by the depth of discharge limit (Line 14). __________

16. Select the multiplier from Table A.3 below that corresponds to the average winter-time ambient temperature
your battery bank will experience. __________
Table A.3: Battery Ambient
17. Total battery capacity needed: Multiply the amp-hours (Line 15) by Temperature Multiplier
Line 16. This number ensures that your battery bank will have enough o
F o
C Factor
capacity to overcome cold weather affects. __________
80oF 26.7oC 1.00
18. Enter the amp-hour rating for the battery you have chosen________ 70oF 21.2oC 1.04
60oF 15.6oC 1.11
19. Number of batteries wired in parallel: Divide the total battery
o o
capacity (Line 17) by the battery amp-hour rating and round off to the 50 F 10.0 C 1.19
next highest number.__________
40oF 4.4oC 1.30
o o
20. Number of batteries wired in series: Divide the nominal system 30 F -1.1 C 1.40
voltage (12V or 24V) by the battery voltage and round off to the next 20oF -6.7oC 1.59
highest number._________

21. Total number of batteries required: Multiply the number of batteries in parallel by the number of batteries
in series. __________

IV – Size the PV Array

In Step IV you will calculate the total number of solar modules required for your system. To find the
average Sun Hours per day in your area, refer to the tables in Appendix B for the city nearest to your location. If
you require year-round autonomy, use the “minimum” figure. If you require 100 percent autonomy in the summer
only, use the “maximum” figure.
The peak amperage of the module you will be using can be found in the module specifications. You can also
determine peak amperage if you divide the module’s wattage by the peak power point voltage (usually 17V to
17.5V).

22. Total average amp-hours per day (from the Load sizing worksheet, Line 10). __________

23. Multiply Line 22 by 1.2 to compensate for efficiency loss from battery charge/ discharge. __________

24. Average Sun Hours in your area (see Appendix B). __________

25. Total solar array amps required: Divide Line 23 by Line 24.__________

26. Optimum or peak amps of solar modules used. See module specifications.__________

27. To determine total number of solar modules in Table A.4: Number of Modules Needed to Provide
parallel required, divide Line 25 by Line 26, then DC Battery Voltage
round off to the next highest whole DC Battery Voltage # of Modules in Each Series
number.__________ String
12 1
28. Number of modules needed to provide DC
battery voltage (see Table A.4). ___________ 24 2
48 4

Appendix A 111
29. To determine total number of solar modules required, multiply Line 27 by Line 28. ___________

Worksheet Summary
Load, average amp-hours per day (Line 10) __________
Battery capacity required (Line 17) _____________
Capacity and voltage of batteries selected (Line 18) ___________
Total number of batteries required (Line 21)__________
Peak amps of solar modules (Line 26) ____________
Total number of solar modules required (Line 29) __________

Figure A.5: Energy Use of Some Typical Appliances

WATT
DC Appliance AC Appliance WATTS AC Appliance WATTS
S
COMPUTER
CEILING FAN 20 WASHING MACHINE 350 - 500 20 - 50
LAPTOP
CLOTHES DRYER
TELEVISION (25cm) 45 1800 - 5000 PC 80 - 150
(electric)
FLUORESCENT LIGHT 5 - 13 GAS 300 - 400 PRINTER 100
STEREO / TAPE
40 VACUUM CLEANER 200 - 700 TELEVISION
PLAYER
REFRIGERATOR HOT PLATE 1200 25"COLOR 150

16 cf 16 SEWING MACHINE 100 19"COLOR 70

12 cf 10 IRON 1000 12" B&W 20

COFFEE MAKER 800 - 1200 VCR 40

MICROWAVE OVEN 550 - 1500 SATELLITE DISH 80

TOASTER 900 - 1100 STEREO 30

POWER DRILL 450 - 1000 CLOCK RADIO 1 - 10

WATER PUMP 250 - 500 CD PLAYER 35

CEILING FAN 10 - 50 CB RADIO 5

ELECTRIC BLANKET 200 ELECTRIC CLOCK 3
FLUORESCENT
BLOW DRYER 1000 7 - 26
LIGHT
SHAVER 15 REFRIG / FREEZER 475 - 725

DISHWASHER 1200 - 2400 DEHUMIDIFIER 785

Adapted from Creative Energy Technologies ( www.cetsolar.com ) and the Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy Clearinghouse ( www.eere.energy.gov/consumerinfo/factsheets/ec7.html )

PV System Sizing Worksheets adapted with permission from Creative Energy Technologies (www.cetsolar.com).

112 Appendix A