RÉPUBLIQUE DU CAMEROUN REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON

Paix – Travail – Patrie Peace – Work – Fatherland

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MINISTÈRE DES TRAVAUX PUBLICS MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WORKS
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ÉCOLE NATIONALE SUPÉRIEURE NATIONAL ADVANCED SCHOOL
DES TRAVAUX PUBLICS OF PUBLIC WORKS
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B.P 510 Yaoundé-Cameroun P.O BOX 510 Yaounde-Cameroon
Tel.: (237) 22 23 09 44 Tel.: (237) 22 23 09 44
Fax : (237) 22 22 18 1 Fax : (237) 22 22 18 1

DEPARTMENT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY

3rd Promotion

DESIGN AND PROFITABILITY OF AN OFF-GRID

SOLAR HOME SYSTEM IN BUEA, CAMEROON

End of Course Work Carried Out in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement

of Masters in Energy Engineering.

Presented by:
NGU LEONEL TEKWE
Matricule: 14TP2L00757

Supervisor:
Professor Domenico Fernando ANTONUCCI

Academic Year 2017-2018

End of Year Studies Project Work presented by NGU Leonel TEKWE 0
 Acknowledgment

Acknowledgment
I am grateful to the Director of ENSTP, Professor NKENG George Elambo for his support to
the Department. Special thanks go to my supervisor Professor Domenico Fernando
ANTONUCCI for his support, guidance and advice in writing this project. Thanking also
Professor Esoh Elame and Doctor Talla Andre being Departmental Heads for Master I and II
respectively, enabling the Masters studies to be completed in the shortest time possible.

I would like to express my biggest thanks to the inhabitants and neighbours of Tekwe’s
residence, who gave me their support in carrying out the research for this project. The owner
Pa Tekwe Samuel was ready to assists me in every question I asked him. I also want to thank
my family and friends who where there in pushing me forward to complete this project.

End of Year Studies Project Work presented by NGU Leonel TEKWE i

 Acronyms/Abbreviations

Acronyms/Abbreviations
HDI Human Development Index
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
PPAs Power Purchase Agreements
MINEE Ministry of Water Resources and Energy
ENEO Cameroon National Electricity Corporation
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
MPPT Maximum Power Point Tracking
PVGIS Photovoltaic Geographical Information System
LED Light Emitting Diode
NPV Net Present Value
SHS Solar Home System
IRI Internal Rate of Return

End of Year Studies Project Work presented by NGU Leonel TEKWE ii

 Table of figures

TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1: Map of Cameroon ................................................................................................... 6
Figure 2.1: Google earth view of Tekwe’s residence from the Royal Pharmacy junction ........ 9
Figure 3.1: Cartographic representation of Tekwe’s residence using MapInfo softtware .... 10
Figure 1.2: Monocrystalline (left) and a Polycrystalline (right) solar panel. ......................... 13
Figure 2.2: Array DC Disconnect. .......................................................................................... 14
Figure 3.2: Charge Controller. . ............................................................................................. 14
Figure 5.2: Inverter. ............................................................................................................... 16
Figure 6.2: Circuit Breaker. ................................................................................................... 16
Figure 6a.2: Floor plan of Tekwe’s residence . ....................................................................... 19
Figure 6b.2: Mortar block type in use in Tekwe’s building .................................................... 17
Figure 6c.2: Attic roof of Tekwe’s building ............................................................................ 18
Figure 7.2: Google Earth of Tekwe’s Residence, roof view ................................................. 211
Figure 8.2: Pictures of installation of the PV system............................................................. 211
Figure 9.2: Picture show the nearby buildings....................................................................... 222
Figure 10.2: Picture showing the full construction site ......................................................... 222
Figure 11.2: Nearby shading objects ....................................................................................... 22
Figure 12.2: Distribution of Monthly Consumption for the year 2014 in a histogram chart for
Tekwe’s residence ............................................................................................................ 27
Figure 13.2: Fluorescent light bulb use in Tekwe’s residence................................................. 28
Figure 14.2: Television use in Tekwe’s residence ................................................................... 28
Figure 15.2: Refrigerator use in Tekwe’s residence ................................................................ 29
Figure 17.2: Grinding Machine use in Tekwe’s residence ...................................................... 30
Figure 18.2: Photovoltaic Electric Potential of Cameroon. ..................................................... 32
Figure 19.2: Glopal Horizontal Irradiation of Cameroon ........................................................ 32
Figure 20.2: Direct Normal Irradiation of Cameroon .............................................................. 33
Figure 21.2: Imported climate data for the latitude and longitude of Tekwe’s residence ....... 35
Figure 22.2: Orientation of Tekwe’s residence to the true North ............................................ 36
Figure 23.2: Daily energy needs for Tekwe’s residence in PVsyst ......................................... 36
Figure 24.2: Selecting the Panel and charge controllers in PVsyst ......................................... 37
Figure 25.2: Selecting the battery in PVsyst ............................................................................ 38
Figure 26.2: Probable objects that can cause shadow on the panels surface area ................... 39
End of Year Studies Project Work presented by NGU Leonel TEKWE iii
Figure 27.2: Drawing of Near-by shading effect into PVsyst ................................................. 39
Figure 26.2: System components for Tekwe’s residence ....................................................... 47
Figure 1.3: Start page of RETSCreen setting........................................................................... 58
Figure 2.3: Retscreen Load characteristics Input ..................................................................... 59
Figure 3.3: Retscreen Inverter and battery input ..................................................................... 60
Figure 4.3: Retscreen Irradiation on the panel surface ............................................................ 60
Figure 5.3: Restcreen Photovoltaic realisation ........................................................................ 61
Figure 6.3: Retscreen Total Initial Cost Realisation ................................................................ 61
Figure 8.3: Retscreen Annual cost realisation ......................................................................... 62
Figure 9.3: Investment cost input............................................................................................. 64
Figure 10.3: IRR and NPV....................................................................................................... 64
Figure 11.3: Cumulative cash flow graph ................................................................................ 65
Figure 1.4: Parallel panel placement on the roof top .............................................................. 68
Figure 2.4: Tightly fitting of modules on zinc with supporting metal rays ............................ 68
Figure 3.4: Photo showing a panel placement ......................................................................... 69
Figure 4.4: Tightly fitted charge controller on the wall .......................................................... 70
Figure 5.4: Battery installation ................................................................................................ 71
Figure 6.4: Output of inverter connected to the Main Meter Inputs ....................................... 72
Figure 7.4: Point of installation of solar charge controller, battery and inverter ..................... 73

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 Table of figures

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.2: Survey Checklist of Tekwe’s residence .................................................................. 23

Table 2.2: Monthly Consumption for the year 2014 of Tekwe’s home................................... 26

Table 3.2: Calculating the Daily Energy Requirement of Tekwe’s residence ........................ 48

Table 4.2: Range of Power for a selected System voltage ....................................................... 49

Table 5.2 : Table of coefficient of temperature ....................................................................... 53

Table 6.2: Obtaining the Total Cost of the System Components from the market Price ........ 56

Table 1.3: Estimated cost of PV Power components ............................................................... 61

Table 2.3: Monthly Bills to ENEO for the year 2014 ............................................................ 62

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 Abstract

ABSTRACT
In this project, we are going to Design an off-grid solar home system, followed by the economic
evaluation. Next the installation procedure and environmental consideration are studied. The
design of an off-grid solar home system is carried out in a residential family house (Tekwe’s
residence) having an average daily energy demand of 3KWh/day using the software PVsyst; a
re-evaluation and sizing of the main components in a formula sheet in Excel datasheet will give
a 24V system requirement of 5 solar monocrystalline panels of 255W each, 2 battery capacity
of 160Ah each, charge controller of 60A and an inverter of 3KW. Furthermore, from the market
price in Cameroon, the total investment cost to buy and install this system is approximately 2
million FCFA that has a payback period of 4years after adding the periodic cost of battery and
inverter replacement. This thesis will show that approximately 5.1 million FCFA can be saved
known as the NPV when using a Solar Power System compared to the hydro-electricity supply
from ENEO that has a negative NPV to the owner, in a project life of 21years using the software
plate-form RETScreen in the year 2014; known as a prefeasibility study to show that a Solar
home is worth investing in. It concludes that if a solar home system is profitable in the urban
areas then it will be a reliable and very rewardable project to be implemented in the rural areas.
The installation procedure and environmental considerations are further studied.

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 Abstrait

RESUME
Dans cette mémoire, nous allons concevoir un système domestique solaire hors réseau générant
une demande énergétique moyenne quotidienne de 3 kWh / jour à l’aide du logiciel PVsyst
installé dans une maison familiale résidentielle (résidence de Tekwe). Une réévaluation et le
dimensionnement des composants principaux dans une feuille de formule dans la feuille de
données Excel donneront une exigence de système 24V de 5 panneaux solaires monocristallins
de 255W chacun, une capacité de batterie de 160Ah chacun, un contrôleur de charge de 60A
et un onduleur de 3KW. De plus, par rapport au prix du marché au Cameroun, le coût total
d'investissement pour acheter et installer ce système est d'environ 2 millions de FCFA, avec
une période de récupération de 4 ans après l'ajout du coût périodique du remplacement de la
batterie et de l'onduleur. Cette thèse montrera qu’environ 5,1 millions de FCFA peuvent être
économisés sous le nom de «VAN» lorsqu’on utilise un système d’énergie solaire, par rapport
à l’énergie hydroélectrique fournie par ENEO qui a un VAN négatif pour le propriétaire, pour
une durée de vie de 21 ans à l’aide du logiciel -formulaire RETScreen en 2014; connue sous le
nom d’étude de préfaisabilité pour montrer qu’une maison solaire vaut la peine d’être investie.
Elle conclut que si un système de maison solaire est rentable dans les zones urbaines, il s’agira
d’un projet fiable et très rentable à mettre en œuvre dans les zones rurales. La procédure
d'installation et les considérations environnementales sont approfondies.

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 Table of contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface......................................................................................................................................... i
Acknowledgment ........................................................................................................................ i
Acronyms/Abbreviations ...........................................................................................................ii
TABLE OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................. iii
LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... v
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. vi
ABSTRAIT ..............................................................................................................................vii
GENERAL INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1
LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER 1 .............................................................................................................................. 6
THE GEOGRAPHICAL AND ENERGY FRAMEWORK OF BUEA IN CAMEROON ....... 6
The Geography and Energy Framework of Cameroon ....................................................... 6
The Geography of Tekwe’s Residence in BUEA ................................................................... 8
Google Earth Representation of Tekwe’s residence in Buea ............................................... 9
Cartographic location of the Residential home ................................................................... 10
CHAPTER II............................................................................................................................ 12
DESIGN OF AN OFF-GRID SOLAR HOME SYSTEM IN TEKWE’s RESIDENCE ......... 12
2.1. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF AN OFF-
GRID PV SYSTEM ................................................................................................................. 12
Solar panels............................................................................................................................. 13
Array DC Disconnect ............................................................................................................. 14
Charge Controller .................................................................................................................. 14
Battery Pack ........................................................................................................................... 14
Inverter ................................................................................................................................... 15
Breaker Panel, AC Panel, Circuit Breaker Panel ............................................................... 16
2.2 ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPLEMENTATION .............................................................. 17
Architecture and technical realisation of Tekwe’s Building residence to achieve energy
efficiency ................................................................................................................................. 17
2.3 DESIGN OF A SOLAR HOME SYSTEM FOR TEKWE’s RESIDENCE...................... 19
2.2.1 Guidelines or Steps to design the Stand-Alone Solar PV Systems ........................... 20
2.2.2 Planning and Site Survey ............................................................................................. 20

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PV System Checklist of the Solar Home System ................................................................. 21
2.2.3 Assessment of energy requirement .............................................................................. 25
Electrical appliances in Tekwe’s Residence and its power rating ..................................... 27
Lights: ..................................................................................................................................... 27
Television: ............................................................................................................................... 28
Fridge: ..................................................................................................................................... 28
Cloth Washing Machine: ....................................................................................................... 29
Electric Grinding Machine: .................................................................................................. 30
Laptop Computer: ................................................................................................................. 30
Mobile Phones: ....................................................................................................................... 30
2.2.4 Assessment of solar resource availability ................................................................... 30
PVSYST ANALYSIS AND SIMULATION OF ANNUAL ENERGY IN TEKWE’S
RESIDENCE .......................................................................................................................... 34
PVsyst Simulation Steps ........................................................................................................ 34
PVsyst Simulation Result Analysis of Tekwe’s Residence ................................................. 40
The SIMULATION REPORT of Tekwe’s Residence in PVsyst ....................................... 40
2.2.5 System concept development ....................................................................................... 46
2.2.6 Sizing of main components of the PV systems............................................................ 48
My Excel Program Design of off-grid PV System for Tekwe’s Residence ....................... 48
2.2.6 Selection of main components of the PV system ........................................................ 56
CHAPTER 3 ............................................................................................................................ 58
RETScreen PREFEASIBILITY STUDY and ECONOMIC EVALUATION ........................ 58
Start ......................................................................................................................................... 58
Energy Model ......................................................................................................................... 59
Cost Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 61
Financial Analysis .................................................................................................................. 63
3.2 ECONOMIC REASONING .............................................................................................. 65
CHAPTER 4 ............................................................................................................................ 67
INSTALLATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION ...................................... 67
4.1 INSTALLATION .............................................................................................................. 67
Installation of Photovoltaic PV modules .............................................................................. 67
Installation of Charge Controller ......................................................................................... 69
Battery Installation ................................................................................................................ 71
Installation of the Inverter .................................................................................................... 71
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Maintenance of the System after Installation ...................................................................... 73
THE FUTURE OF THE SOLAR HOME SYSTEM ............................................................... 76
GENERAL CONCLUSION .................................................................................................... 78
APPENDIX A .......................................................................................................................... 79
APPENDIX B .......................................................................................................................... 85
REFERENCE ........................................................................................................................... 86

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 General introduction

GENERAL INTRODUCTION
The Rural Electrification Master Plan was developed in 2008 and guides the actions of the Rural
Electrification Agency. Cameroon recognized through the development of this master plan that
it is impossible to have all parts of the country connected to one electricity grid until 2035 and
therefore promotes the development of off -grid solutions[7].

Access to energy gives access to information, to health, to human security, to wealth etc.
fuelling human development in general. The more energy per capita a country consumes, the
more developed it is [7].

The more energy one consumes, the less one pays. A study of the US based social investor
Acumen shows that cost of energy reduce drastically from (i) the use of 3 stones-stoves for
cooking and kerosene lanterns for lighting that cost are extremely high to (ii) the combined use
of improved cooking stoves and solar lanterns that cost $2/kWh, (iii) the home systems like
solar that cost $0.6/kWh, (iv) mini-grid and off -grid systems that can cost $0.2/kwh and finally
(v) the combination grid connection and Liquefied Petroleum Gas LPG can cost as low as
$0.1/kWh to end user [7].

In developing nations nowadays, urban energy security is not just essential for enhancing a
good quality of life for the urban dwellers; this also increases the effects of creating sustainable
urban development and poverty eradication within the urban areas. Nowadays, energy crisis is
subjected to climate change and non-sustainable future which also causes degradation of our
environment and makes it vulnerable. Urbanization is seen as an important universal inclination
regarding energy crisis as urban areas are the world’s most habitat places. Energy security and
renewable thus play a critical role in providing valuable ecosystems within our ever-growing
urban environments which in effect makes it sustainable [7].

Currently, In Cameroon ENEO is the main private electricity producer, involve in the
production, transportation and distribution. Cameroon has put in place many institutions,
enough to make electricity production, transmission and distribution very fluid, if they work
efficiently; however this is not the case. At the head of these institutions is the Ministry of Water
Resources and Energy (MINEE) [7].

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 General introduction

Authorities of Cameroon’s Electricity Utility Company, ENEO, announced in the year 2015,
that due to ‘acute electricity shortage’, they have been “obliged” to start rationing supply. The
decision went into effect on February 3 and has seen well over 20 localities within the
Southwest and Littoral Regions that are going for, at least, three hours a day without electricity
[13].

The use of solar energy to power lighting in the home is fast gaining ground in Cameroon’s two
main cities, Yaounde and Douala, following persistent and sometimes deadly outages in the
power supply provided by the country’s sole hydroelectric company. During outages a
generator could became the subsequent use, however it is expensive, difficult to run and a
polluting source to the environment. Therefore, many citizens who cannot easily afford to buy
and run petrol-powered generators recognise that solar energy is cheaper, cleaner and safer –
and more reliable than hydro-sourced electricity from the grid [14].

The hydroelectricity supply form ENEO is still very unreliable, with persistent outages that
have at times had devastating consequences such as: markets and business premises destroyed,
and in some cases entire families burned to death, by fires caused by short-circuits or other
problems when electricity returned after a night-time outage, or by candles left burning in
households that cannot afford other sources of light. Deforestation and increase in global
warming due to climate change causes droughts in the hydroelectric generation areas.
Furthermore, the population in urban areas will continue to increase. With the current problems
facing the electricity company ENEO, solar energy to power lighting in homes came as a way
to mitigate further crisis in the future [14].

This project aims at designing an off-grid solar power system in a residential building in the
urban settlement of BUEA,where almost all resident houses are relying on the hydro-electricity
from ENEO. The end result is to know how a solar home is profitable compared to the
hydroelectricity supply from ENEO. If actually this off-grid solar home can save money in the
long run compared to when only ENEO is used, then it will be very favourable in the rural areas
where the hydroelectricity supply requires long transmission line which is expensive. I am
going to use my family home, Tekwe’s residence, for this project which is located in the urban
settlement of Buea.

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 General introduction

In the first chapter, we are to present the Geographical location of Tekwe’s residence, and the
energy framework of Buea. The second chapter is to Design an Off-Grid Solar Home System
in Tekwe’s residence. This design will be done first in PVsyst then further recalculated using
an Excel formula sheet. Still in the second chapter, we will obtain the billing data of the year
2014 of Tekwe’s residence, to use this data to do a prefeasibility study in chapter three between
the hydro-electric supply from ENEO and the solar home system in the software RETScreen,
to show if a solar home is worth investing in. The economic analysis will be done in chapter
three to know the money to be invested, the money saved in an off-grid solar home when not
paying to ENEO over the life time of the system. The last chapter looks at how this installation
can be done and the environmental Impacts of the solar system.

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 Literature review

LITERATURE REVIEW

Energypedia survey writes about a project on Improving Access to solar in Rural areas of
Cameroon [12]. It aims at improving access to solar energy for the low income population by
enhancing market supply chains for pico photovoltaic systems in Cameroon. And also to
understand the energy lighting and communication needs of the bottom of the pyramid target
group. To achieve this, interviews were conducted at the household levels and rural solar
entrepreneurs were trained throughout the country. The results show that among 80% and 100%
of the population are desirable of affordable solar lighting products. Most of them are regarding
on the quality of the products, would like to be clearly informed on the lifespan of the products,
their characteristics and requires from distributors a warranty.

The African Journal of Science Technology, Innovation and Development wrote an article on
the Operation and maintenance of back-up photovoltaic systems: An Analysis based on a field
study in Cameroon in the year 2017 [4]. The work is an analysis of the data collected from 20
photovoltaic installations all over Cameroon. The objectives are to study the causes of the
breakdown of the different installations and propose maintenance strategies to solve them and
to evaluate the field lifetime of the different elements of the PV systems. The data analyzed
were obtained from maintenance records and measurements over a period of nine years (from
2007 to 2015). It appears from this analysis that 29% of the batteries went bad (leading to
curative intervention), contributing to about 64.9% of the total breakdown registered. About
58.5% of the installed batteries were replaced during preventive visits; according to that, the
estimated average life expectancy of the batteries installed in the 20 sites was six years. At the
same time, considering the various failures caused by other items of the system, 50% of the
systems received curative interventions within the first four years of the study, the other 50%
received their first curative intervention only from the fifth year. This study also permitted us
to evaluate the quantity of preventive and corrective maintenance impacts on solar PV systems.

Ibrahim et al (2013) carried out the design of a stand-Alone Solar Photovoltaic System for
Residential Buildings due to the rapid population growth and increase in industrial activities

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 Literature review
in a nation, such a design is necessary [16]. The residential building considered is situated in
Mubi-South local government area of Adamawa State, Nigeria. The building is located on
latitude 10o12’N and longitude 13o10’E. The method use for this study by Ibrahim et al (2013)
was that direct current (DC) appliances (lighting, fan, DVD player, radio) and alternative
current (AC) appliances (television, refrigerator, and blender) were considered. The total load
power of these appliances was 1981W. A hybrid indicator curve which employs an array to
load ratio as well as the daily watt-hour load shows that the use of hybrid system in this design
is not recommended. To power these appliances, 64 modules with power rating 13052.8W
under standard test condition (STC), 56 batteries in the battery bank with system battery
capacity of 4900 Ah and one charge controller are required. The result of this project carried
out by Ibrahim et al (2013) shows that for sustainability, reliability and accessibility of power,
the use of stand-alone solar photovoltaic technology is recommended.

Vanshdeep (2016) carried out a thesis on benefit cost analysis of solar power over on-grid
electricity for residential systems to find out if photovoltaic technology is really effective [23].
His study investigates the effectiveness of the solar-powered photovoltaic system over the
conventional and hybrid systems using the measurements such as benefit-cost ratios, net present
values, and profitability indices to quantify the economic sensitivity analysis. The result of the
thesis, Vanshdeep (2016), shows that the solar system is most economical and sustainable
source of energy for residential systems. Also, the dependency on on-grid conventional systems
is reduced to 75-80% after solar installations. This reduction directly impacts the annual savings
experienced due to significant payback period rates and return on investments. These economic
characteristics were formulated on the basis of geographical performance indicators such as
utility energy prices, average peak hours per day and construction cost.

To conclude from these projects carried out by the Energy Survey, the African Journal of
Science Technology Innovation and Development, Ibrahim et al (2013) and Vanshdeep (2016)
shows that the use of solar panels for residential buildings is an alternative, reliable, easily
accessible, affordable and profitable source of energy that match the aesthetical and way of
living of the inhabitants taking into account the periodic replacement of the battery. Also its
need in urban areas shows further a higher need in rural areas.

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 Chapter 1- The Geographical And Energy Framework Of Buea In Cameroon

CHAPTER 1
THE GEOGRAPHICAL ANDENERGY FRAMEWORK OF BUEA IN CAMEROON

In this chapter 1, we will present the geography of Cameroon and its energy framework;
furthermore we will mention some energy characteristics of Buea and give the location of my
residential home in google earth and its explanation in a cartographic map.

The Geography and Energy Framework of Cameroon

The geographical and energy framework of Cameroon is now presented with an overview of its
energy policies.

Figure 1.1: Map of Cameroon [13]

Cameroon as pictured in the map in Figure 1.1 lies along the Gulf of Guinea and its boundaries
with Chad, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Gabon and
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 Chapter 1- The Geographical And Energy Framework Of Buea In Cameroon

Equatorial Guinea. Cameroon is seen by many researchers as Africa in miniature in its highly
diversified minerals and agricultural products. The country is the most populated within the
Economic Community of Central African States (CEMAC) region. With respect to the 2014
data, Cameroon had a population of about 23 million with an annual growth of 2% yearly [18].

The country which is known for its bilingual nature with French and English as its two main
official languages with French approximately 80% of the country’s population and English 20%
of its population. Regarding the history of the country, French Cameroon got her independent
in 1960 and was merged with southern British Cameroon in 1961 whereby the two separate
entities has made up the Republic of Cameroon [14].

According to the World Energy Outlook (2016), only 54% of the Cameroonian population has
access to electricity, with an average of 88% in urban areas versus only 17% in rural areas.
There is still a lot to be done in order to connect all Cameroonians to good and affordable
electricity sources [7].

The average solar radiation ranges from around 4.5kWh/m2/day in the southern part of the
country to around 5.7kWh/m2/day in the northern part of Cameroon, with the highest values in
the far north region. In comparison, Germany which has just an average 1.7 kWh/m2/day has
more than 40 000MW solar energy capacity installed. That is to say the solar potential is really
enormous in Cameroon [7].

In the document Cameroon Vision 2035, the target of Cameroon is to “double energy
production by 2035 and increase energy consumption per unit GDP from 27.7% to 45%”.
Regarding renewable energies, Cameroon, in its (Intended) Nationally Determined
Contribution (NDC) to reduce greenhouse gas as part of the COP21 (leading to the Paris
Agreement) decided to have 25% renewable energy in the electricity mix by 2035, from less
than 1% today [7].

Chapter 1- The Geographical And Energy Framework Of Buea In Cameroon

For a country like Cameroon, where more than 80 percent of the population live on less than
500 Central African CFA Francs (US$1) a day and cannot afford to pay for hydro bills from

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the lone electricity provider (American/Cameroon electricity company, AES-SONEL), the need
to source renewable, clean, safe and affordable energy is urgent [14].

The legal framework supporting the development of energy in Cameroon is rather light.
Although various relevant legal texts exist, the main and most important ones are still missing.
Tariffs are not yet clearly defined and rules for signing Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) are
also not clear. Also, with the importance that renewable energies are gaining worldwide, there
is no renewable energy law in Cameroon so far. A renewable energy law was proposed by the
Ministry of Water Resources and Energy since 2013 but it has never been signed by the
President [7].

For the moment, a law supports the renewable energies by giving a Value Added Tax (VAT)
levy for importers of solar and wind related equipment. Also, more advantages to investors in
renewable energy, ranging from duty levies on the importation of equipment to tax holidays of
up to 10 years. This has contributed to the expansion of solar; since then, over 12 per cent of
Cameroon homes, especially in urban areas, run on solar energy, according to the Ministry of
Mines, Water and Energy [7].

For the moment, Independent producers of electricity for own use does not need any specific
agreement if the total capacity is less than 1MW. They can even sell the surplus electricity to
an industry in their neighbourhood, at a price negotiated by the two parties [7].

These show that the Policy plan in Cameroon favours the investment in micro-solar energy
projects. An off-grid residential solar home is a favourable business in Cameroon and supported
by the law.

The presentation of the geography of Tekwe’s residence for this project is as follows.

The Geography of Tekwe’s Residence in BUEA

Buea is the capital of the Southwest Region of Cameroon. About 150,000 people live in Buea
(including the towns of Bokwaongo; Muea; Bomaka; Tole; Mile 16 (Bolifamba); Mile 17;

Chapter 1- The Geographical And Energy Framework Of Buea In Cameroon

Mile 15; Mile 14 (Dibanda); Bova; Bonjongo; Likombe; Buasa; Great Soppo; Molyko; Muea;
Bwitingi; Mile 18; and surrounding villages) [14].

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Due to its location at the foot of Mount Cameroon, the climate in Buea tends to be humid, with
the neighbourhoods at higher elevations enjoying cooler temperatures while the lower
neighbourhoods experience a hotter climate. Extended periods of rainfall, characterized by
incessant drizzle, which can last for weeks, are common during the rainy season as are damp
fogs, rolling off the mountain into the town below.

Buea like any other city in Cameroon is faced with energy challenges especially during the dry
season, characterized by frequent power outages that leave most cities in a state of blackout.

Google Earth Representation of Tekwe’s residence in Buea

Using Google Earth, in Buea, Tekwe’s residence is located at a distance of about 0.78km from
Royal Pharmacy in Great Soppo Buea as shown in figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1: Google earth view of Tekwe’s residence from the Royal Pharmacy junction

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 Chapter 1- The Geographical And Energy Framework Of Buea In Cameroon

Cartographic location of the Residential home

A cartographic map is a better way of representing the geographical representation of an area
by enumerating the features of that area. The software MapInfo is used to draw the cartographic
geographical area around Tekwe’s residence as shown in figure 3.1. With this cartographic map
we can easily locate Tekwe’s residence from another location.

Figure 3.1: Cartographic representation of Tekwe’s residence using MapInfo Software

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 Chapter 1- The Geographical And Energy Framework Of Buea In Cameroon

The localisation of our studies has been carried out by given a geographical characteristic of
the study area. In the next chapter, the design of an off-grid solar home system in Tekwe’s
residence in the studied locality is carried out taking into account the surrounding situation.

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 Chapter II - Design Of An Off-Grid Solar Home System In Tekwe’s Residence

CHAPTER II
DESIGN OF AN OFF-GRID SOLAR HOME SYSTEM IN TEKWE’s RESIDENCE
This chapter is to design an off-grid solar home system for Tekwe’s residence in Buea.An off-
grid or stand-alone system is a system that is not connected to the main power grid and must
therefore be able to supply energy by itself at all times. An off-grid house needs to provide the
same electricity and comfort with use of energy sources available at the sight.

The first section is to present the components that make up an off-grid PV system by giving
some theoretical background. Implementation of energy efficiency in the residence is next,
where we have a description of the technical architecture of the building and any adjustment or
improvement for the safety of people or the system. Furthermore, is to design the solar home
system by first carrying out a site survey of the area, doing an energy assessment of the
residence, analysing the radiation of the site, and using the software PVsyst to design the PV
system. The designs of the system components will be recalculated and evaluated in a PV excel
sheet formula done by me to get a solar bill investment for Tekwe’s residence.

2.1. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF AN

OFF-GRID PV SYSTEM
An off-grid system is a system that is not connected to the main power grid and must therefore
be able to supply energy by itself at all times. A Solar home system is generally designed and
sized to supply DC and/or AC electrical appliances. This consists of PV solar module connected
to solar charge controller, inverter and a battery/ or battery bank. The generated DC power form
the PV panels is stored into batteries through a charge controller and converted to AC power
by the inverter for supplying AC loads [15].

Before we get into the detail about designing a solar home system, it is worth describing all the
different components of the system and explaining how they fit together. A complete home
solar electric system requires components to produce electricity, convert power into alternating
current that can be used by home appliances, store excess electricity and maintain safety.

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 Chapter II - Design Of An Off-Grid Solar Home System In Tekwe’s Residence

Solar panels
The heart of a solar electric system is the solar panel itself. The solar panels are installed outside
the home, typically on the roof in this our case study and convert sunlight into electricity. The
more powerful the sun’s energy, the more power you get, although solar panels continue to
generate small amounts of electricity in the shade. Made up of mostly solar cells, framing, and
glass; solar panels work by collecting and harnessing photovoltaic energy from the sun, and
delivering that energy as ‘direct current’ (DC) power to an inverter or converter component
(may be a charge controller in some instances).Solar panels are given output ratings in watts.

Solar panels can be linked together to create a solar array. Connecting multiple panels together
allows you to produce a higher current (when connected in parallel) or to run at a higher voltage
(when connected in series); typically, 12volts, 24 volts or 48 volts in a stand-alone system.
When connecting multiple panels together, the power of the overall system increases,
irrespective of whether they are connected in series or in parallel. Solar Panels consist of two
most well known types of solar cells, Polycrystalline and Monocrystalline. The difference
consists of how silicon crystals in the ingots or wafers are harvested, developed and formed,
eeach creating a different look and color to their appearance. Both types of PV cells are known
to be effective in their general ability to produce solar electricity. Figure 1.2 shows the solar
panels, polycrystalline and monocrystalline types.

Figure 1.2: Monocrystalline (left) and a Polycrystalline (right) solar panel. (Source: Picture from the company
INGENIUM SOLAR YAOUNDE)

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 Chapter II - Design Of An Off-Grid Solar Home System In Tekwe’s Residence

Array DC Disconnect
The Array DC disconnect is used to disconnect the solar arrays from the home for maintenance.
It is called a DC disconnect because the solar arrays produce DC (direct current) power. Figure
2.2 shows an example of an array DC disconnect.

Figure 2.2: Array DC Disconnect. (Source: Picture from the company INGENIUM
SOLAR YAOUNDE

Charge Controller
The charge controller – also known as charge regulator – maintains the proper charging voltage
for system batteries. They work to control voltage and watts from Solar Panels, thus, passing
through more stable energy, preventing overcharging and protecting against overvoltage -
which can hinder and reduce Battery performance or life span. Batteries can be overcharged, if
fed continuous voltage. The charge controller regulates the voltage, preventing overcharging
and allowing charging when required.

DC appliances in the house can be connected directly to the Charge controller load output port.
Figure 3.2 shows an example of a charge controller.

Figure 3.2: Charge Controller. (Source: Picture from the company INGENIUM SOLAR
YAOUNDE)

Battery Pack
Solar power systems produce electricity during the daytime, when the sun is shining. Your
home demands electricity at night and on cloudy days – when the sun isn’t shining. To offset
this mismatch, batteries can be added to the system. They are used within off-grid or hybrid
solar electric arrays which require power to be used in the case of lack of available sunlight

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 Chapter II - Design Of An Off-Grid Solar Home System In Tekwe’s Residence
(night time), unstable power distribution from a utility company, or lack of access to a utility
supplier.

Batteries will utilize different types of technologies and materials to enable power storage
capability. Usually there are four types of Batteries; AGM, GEL, Flooded, and Lithium Ion –
each type uses different fluids and acids that can hold on to energy for an extended period, with
slow power depletion.

Each type of Battery will require different amounts of maintenance per technology, and
expected life spans for each technology will be influenced from how a system operator charges,
stores, and takes power from the Batteries. It can be connected in parallel (to maintain the
voltage) or in series (to sum up its voltages); in all connections the capacitance of the Battery
Park will increase or sum-up. Figure 4.2 shows a battery connection pack.

Figure 4.2: Battery Pack (Gel Battery). (Source: Picture from the company INGENIUM
SOLAR YAOUNDE)

Inverter
Solar panels and batteries produce DC (direct current) power. Standard home appliances use
AC (alternating current). An inverter converts the DC power produced by the solar panels and
batteries to the AC power required by appliances. The resulting AC power is first sent to a
breaker before being available for standard use. Inverters may be located after a charge
controller and battery bank in certain off-grid energy system. Figure 5.2 shows an example of
an inverter, but this inverter in particular has a integrated charge controller inbuilt.

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 Chapter II - Design Of An Off-Grid Solar Home System In Tekwe’s Residence

Figure 5.2: An Inverter. (Source: Picture from the company INGENIUM SOLAR YAOUNDE)
Breaker Panel, AC Panel, Circuit Breaker Panel
The breaker panel or AC panel or Circuit Breaker panel is where the power source is joined to
the electrical circuits in your home. A circuit is a continuous route of connected wire that joins
together outlets and lights in the electric system.

For each circuit there is a circuit breaker. Circuit breakers prevent the appliances on a circuit
from drawing too much electricity and causing a fire hazard. When the appliances on a circuit
demand too much electricity, the circuit breaker will switch off or trip, interrupting the flow of
electricity. Figure 6.2 shows a circuit breaker use in homes.

Figure 6.2: Circuit Breaker. (Source: Picture from the company INGENIUM SOLAR
YAOUNDE)
We have been able to look at the main components that make up an off-grid solar energy system.
The description of these components is an overview so that we can understand the various
components in our design for a PV system in section 2.3. In the following section we will design
a solar home system in Tekwe’s residence after taking into consideration simple energy
efficiency practises in place or necessary factors to be put in place for this already existing
building.

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 Chapter II - Design Of An Off-Grid Solar Home System In Tekwe’s Residence

2.2 ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPLEMENTATION

Renewable energy installations should not be considered for buildings that are energy
inefficient. Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal to
reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating
a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a
comfortable temperature [19].The description of the architecture of Tekwe’s building residence
and the technical characteristics of the building elements is analyse for energy efficiency.

Architecture and technical realisation of Tekwe’s Building residence to achieve energy

efficiency
Energy efficiency can be achieved through active, passive and behavioural changes in a
building. Since the solar home installation in this thesis is on an already existing building. Let’s
start by looking at the active phenomena in the residence that helps to achieve energy efficiency.

The wall of the Tekwe’s building is made up of Mortar (a mixture of cement, sand and water)
formed into blocks. The thermal characteristics of mortar containing hexadecane/xGnP SSPCM
and energy storage behaviours of envelopes integrated with enhanced heat storage composites
for energy efficient buildings [24]. The air holes in the mortar blocks act as insulation to the
wall; this reduces the transfer of heat through the wall. The thicker the wall the better its energy
characteristics. Therefore, the wall in this building is energy efficient (but can be made more
efficient if more costly building materials and thicker wall are considered in the wall) to prevent
the transfer of heat into the house and also act as storage block for heat. This heat will be release
back at night when places are cold into and out of the house. Figure 6b.2 shows the mortar
block with its air spaces.

Figure 6b.2: Mortar block type in use in Tekwe’s building (source: image
fromhttps://www.indiamart.com/proddetail/block-jointing-mortar-7407962748.html )
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The attic design of Tekwe’s building as shown in figure 6c.2, it is in such a way that there is air
stock inside. The air in here easily gets heated from the radiant heat of the sun through the roof
aluminium metallic zinc. By the process of convection it sends out this heat to the outer parts
of the attic; in this way the inside house hardly gets heated from the radiant heat of the sun.

Figure 6c.2: Attic roof of Tekwe’s building(source: image from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMSo-avByjY)
Furthermore, Passive energy practises or behavioural changes are to be made for an existing
residential building to reduce the energy consumption.

Passive energy implementation involves:

- The use of low energy consuming bulbs such as fluorescent light bulbs
- Using low energy consuming appliances like the fridge should be of energy saving
rating.
- Windows should be broad to allow for natural lighting or ventilation.

Behavioural changes required for occupants includes

- Using sun lighting during the day, by opening the window blinds.
- Opening the windows to allow for natural ventilation.
- Unplugging the TV, laptops and other electrical appliances from the socket when not in
use.
- Turning off lights in the kitchen and rooms when they are unoccupied.

The floor plan of Tekwe’s residence is shown in figure 6a.2.

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 Figure 6a.2: Floor plan of Tekwe’s residence (drawn using the software Google Sketch up)

The sun rises from the East to the West, so room 2, room 3 and the parlour will receive brighter
light in most parts of the day. The kitchen, bathrooms and room 1 will receive lights too during
the day but it will not be as bright as the others facing the East. Energy efficiency can thus be
practise by switching off the light bulbs during the day and opening the windows, to allow
natural lights from the sun into the house.

In Tekwe’s residence most of these energy efficiency factors are already available or being
practised; however awareness to the inhabitants is of necessity.

2.3 DESIGN OF A SOLAR HOME SYSTEMFOR TEKWE’sRESIDENCE

Tekwe’s residence is made all of appliances that use ac power, which is being powered currently
from the hydroelectricity supply from ENEO. The aim of this section is to power all these
appliances using solar energy. This requires a design that is up-to-date of current standards;
should be reliable, and reasonable.

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We are going to design using the software PVsyst and re-evaluate or calculate this design using
Excel Program worksheet solar formulas that was developed by me; it does the dimensioning
of an off-grid PV system.

2.2.1 Guidelines or Steps to design the Stand-Alone Solar PV Systems

A systematic approach is important and required when sizing and designing stand-alone solar
PV systems [12]. The following procedures will be followed in this thesis to design the off-grid
solar PV system for Tekwe’s residence:

A. Planning and site survey;

B. Assessment of energy requirement;

C. Assessment of solar resource availability;

D. System concept development;

E. Sizing of main component of the PV systems; and

F. Selection of main components of the PV system

Each of these steps will be implemented for the design of an off-grid system in Tekwe’s
residence.

2.2.2 Planning and Site Survey

During the site survey the following points were considered. The data from these points form
the basis for good planning [20]:

• Customers' wishes with regard to module type, system concept and method of
installation.
• Desired PV power or the desired energy yield.
• The financial framework, taking the respective subsidy conditions intoaccount.
• Usable installation area.
• Orientation and angle of inclination.
• Roof shape, roof structure, roof substructure and type of roofing in case ofroof
installations.
• Data on shading.

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 Chapter II - Design Of An Off-Grid Solar Home System In Tekwe’s Residence

• Installation sites for junction boxes and inverters.

• Cable lengths, wiring routes and routing method.
• Access, particularly when equipment is required for installing the PV array (crane,
scaffolding, ladder etc.).

The following is a checklist of information for the site survey of Tekwe’s residence.

PV System Checklist of the Solar Home System

A survey of the area is the first design step to carry out. This survey will help us to know how
environmental factors could affect the design. Figure 7.2 shows a google earth picture of the
installation site. Figure 8.2 are pictures of the roof area of the building site. Figure 9.2 is a picture
to show nearby shading obstacles and figure 10.2 is a picture of the full construction site to place
all components. A survey checklist is written as shown in Table 1.2. Table represents a checklist
showing the survey parameters of Tekwe’s residence.

Figure 7.2: Google Earth of Tekwe’s Residence, roof view

Figure8.2: Pictures of the site of installation of the PV system

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Figure 9.2: Picture showing the nearby buildings

Figure 10.2: Picture showing the full construction site

Figure 11.2: Nearby shading objects

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 Table 1.2: Survey Checklist of Tekwe’s residence
Name of the Customer: Tekwe’s residence
Street: Street 8
Address of construction site: Great Soppo, Buea
Phone:

CHECKLIST DESCRIPTION

Customer wishes Mounting on the building - Roof Mounted

Type of system – Off-grid solar system

– the installation components will be bought

in Douala (economic capital of Cameroon),
Components accessibility
since it will be cheaper there and closeness
to Buea for easy transportation.

80 m2
Can be calculated on-site or using google
Available area of
earth picture area calculation tool.
site

Additional elements Tall nearby buildings By observation or using the suneye shading
tool or other shading tools

Construction Plans - Age of the building

- The building is 20 years old and
- Structure to support
can last for the next 20 years again
the panels
- The plank used to build the roof
is still solid enough and does not show
degradation yet
Panel Type Monocrystalline
PV Power (approximateley) 1.5KWp
Maximum investment 2 Million frs
Other wishes of the
Desired Energy Yield ˂ 1500KWh/year
customer
Maximum Area of Installation 80 m2

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 Shape of roof Slanted roof

Roof structure Aluminium zinc, supported by a roof-planks

Roof Distance between Rafters 1m

Accessibility of roof using a minimum of 5meters ladder

Calculate the distance of the

tall shading objects and the
Data on Shading
height from the panel
placement
Orientation of the PV
45⁰
generator from -90⁰ (east) via
0⁰ (south) to +90⁰ (west)
Tilt angle of the PV generator
from 0⁰ (horizontal) to 90⁰ 30⁰(roof tilt)
PV generator,
(vertical)
battery and Inverter
Is there lightning protection? Yes
(could be an inbuilt
Where can the PV generator By passing the earth cable on the wall to
charge controller)
be earthed? burry in the ground.
Place for PV generator
Under the zinc on the wall
junction box?
Place for the charge controller, will be connected just beneath and around
battery and inverter: the Main Meter box of the house

Approximate cable length

distance between PV 4m
generator and junction box:
Distance between generator
1m
Lines and junction box and Inverter
Installation: Type of installation for the On the walls, through white frames coating
DC main cables:
The ac output from the inverter will be
Type of installation for the connected directly to the main electric meter
AC connection cables supplying the house.

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 Current Resident ENEO
Hydro-electricity average 4MWh/year
annual consumption?
Other Security of Installation
It will be installed outside, inside a protecting
components?
cage.

Age of Building 26 years

2.2.3 Assessment of energy requirement

It’s compulsory that we do accurate load assessment so as to design the exact size and number
of solar panels, battery and inverter.

Since it is an existing building, one way to assess daily Energy Requirements of building is to
look at its electricity bill and get the number of Units of Energy Consumption during a month
and divide it by number of days in a month to get your per day’s consumption. This gives the
daily energy consumption.

But what exactly is Power, Energy and a Unit (measured in kWh)? An understanding of power
and energy fundamentals is essential for better assessment of your PV system requirements.

Electricity power is expressed in units of Watt (W) or kilo Watt (kW). It’s often referred as
Load during discussions. Whereas Energy expressed in units of Watt hour (Wh) or kilo Watt
hours (kWh) is the total amount of work performed over time.

There are three terms need to be understood when dealing with alternating (AC) power[12]:

First Term is kilowatt (kW) and it represents Real power. Real power can perform work.
Utility meters on the side of House measure this quantity (Real Power) and Power
Company charge for it.
The second term is reactive power, measured in kVAR. Unlike kW, it cannot perform
work. Residential customers do not pay for kVAR, and utility meters on houses do not
record it too.

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 The third term is apparent power, referred to as kVA. By use of multi meters we can
measure current and voltage and then multiply the readings together we get apparent
power in VA.

Note that The Utility Bill Which We pay is never based on Apparent Power (kVA) but it is
based on Real Power (kW). From the formula equation 2.1 only the power factor and the
Ampere changes but the Real Power of an appliance doesn’t change.

Real Power (Watts) = Apparent Power × Power Factor (PF) = Voltage × Ampere × PF (2.1)

What you see in your bill is total number of kWh of energy consumed during a particular period
(a month). A unit consumed in an electric bill is nothing but total number of kWh.

Since this is an existing building already connected to the utility grid the energy usage is already
calculated for us in kilowatt-hours per month on the electric bills. Therefore there will be no
need to carry out a load evaluation form analysis. Nevertheless, in order to size a photovoltaic
system, I must be able to calculate the average daily electrical energy consumption in watt-
hours as well as the total connected watts.

Figure 12.2 show a histogram monthly electrical energy consumption from Table 2.2 in the
year 2014 from the electrical bills of the home as shown in Appendix A, while Table 3.2 shows
the daily electrical energy consumption from the power rating of the electrical appliances. The
monthly bills currently gotten from ENEO is what the house uses without the practise of energy
efficiency behaviours while the daily energy consumption from Table 3.2 is the consideration
of energy efficiency practise.

Table 2.2: Monthly Consumption for the year 2014 of Tekwe’s home

Month for the year 2014 Monthly Consumption (Kwh)/month

January 361
February 387
March 381
April 326
May 327
June 285
July 272
August 444

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 September 476
October 380
November 349
December 248
Average monthly for the year 2014 353

Monthly Consumption (Kwh)/month

500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100 Monthly Consumption
50
0 (Kwh)/month
Average monthly…
August
June

October
November
July
January

December
February
March
April
May

September

Figure 12.2: Distribution of Monthly Consumption for the year 2014 in a histogram chart for
Tekwe’s residence
The Total consumption of the year 2014 in Tekwe’sresidence
= 4236KWh/year
Electrical appliances in Tekwe’s Residence and their power rating
Lights:
The fluorescent bulbs use has a power rating of 15W and 28W. An average of 18W is used in
PVsyst for the lights.

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 Figure 13.2: Fluorescent light bulb use in Tekwe’s residence

Television:
The Flat screen TV use has a Power rating of 100W

Figure 14.2: Television use in Tekwe’s residence

Fridge:
A fridge will not use power constantly, this is because the thermostat will monitor the
temperature and switch off the refrigerator frequently, and should only be drawing power when
the compressor is running, and also when the door light comes on. The fridge in this residence
as shown in figure 15.2has a power rating of 139W and it is assume that the fridge draws power
for 6hours over a 24hour cycle that the fridge is turned ON.

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 Figure 15.2: Refrigerator use in Tekwe’s residence

Cloth Washing Machine:

This machine is rarely used, however in PVsyst it is considered to be used 30mins maximum a
day. It has a power rating of 400W

Figure 16.2: Cloth Washing machine use in Tekwe’s residence

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 Chapter II - Design Of An Off-Grid Solar Home System In Tekwe’s Residence

Electric Grinding Machine:

This appliance is estimated to be use 30mins maximum in a day in PVsyst and can be used just
once a week. It has a power rating of 700W.

Figure 17.2: Grinding Machine use in Tekwe’s residence

Laptop Computer:
The computer has a power rating of 40W

Mobile Phones:
All have power rating of 10W

The daily electrical energy consumption is shown in Table 2.3, in Section 2.2.6. This is
calculated considering a maximum day of energy consumption after all energy efficiency
practices should be respected.

2.2.4Assessment of solar resource availability

The assessment of solar energy resources is very important from the sizing point of view
because it helps in estimating the output of the solar PV array. Incident solar radiation on PV
array consists of direct radiation, diffuse radiation and ground reflected radiation [6]

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"Direct radiation" is also sometimes called "beam radiation" or "direct beam radiation". It is
used to describe solar radiation travelling on a straight line from the sun down to the surface of
the earth.

"Diffuse radiation", on the other hand, describes the sunlight that has been scattered by
molecules and particles in the atmosphere but that has still made it down to the surface of the
earth.

The percentage of the sky's radiation that is diffuse is much greater in higher latitude, cloudier
places than in lower latitude, sunnier places. When you tilt your solar panels so that the sun's
rays are hitting them at a 90° angle, you are maximizing the amount of direct radiation that they
receive.

Reflected radiation describes sunlight that has been reflected off of non-atmospheric things
such as the ground. However, solar panels tend to be tilted away from where the reflected light
is going and reflected radiation rarely accounts for a significant part of the sunlight striking
their surface.

"Global insolation" is the total insolation: direct + diffuse + reflected light.

The Solar resource Maps of Cameroon have been released in parallel with Global Solar Atlas,
which is published by the World Bank Group, funded by ESMAP, and prepared by
Solargism(2017 The World Bank, Solar resource data: Solargis).
The Solar Resource Maps of Cameroon for the Photovoltaic Electricity Potential,
Global Horizontal Irradiation and Direct Normal Irradiation is shown in Figure
18.2, 19.2 and 20.2 respectively below.

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Figure 18.2: Photovoltaic Electric Potential of Cameroon. (Source: 2017 The World Bank, Solar resource data:
Solargis)

Figure 19.2: Glopal Horizontal Irradiation of Cameroon. (Source: 2017 The World Bank, Solar
resource data: Solargis)

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 Figure20.2: Direct Normal Irradiation of Cameroon. (Source: 2017 The World Bank, Solar
resource data: Solargis)

It can be deduce from figure 18.2 that the Photovoltaic Electricity Potential in Buea is
approximately 3.4 KWh/KWp daily and 1241KWh/KWp yearly, it can be found at the lower
end of the spectrum. A deduction can also be made in figure 19.2 and figure 20.2 respectfully
that the Global Horizontal Irradiation and the Direct Normal Irradiation in Buea is
approximately 4.4KWh/m2 daily, 1607KWh/m2 yearly; and 2.0KWh/m2daily, 730KWh/m2
yearly respectively, it can be found at the lower end of the spectrum. The question now is can
this Solar Resource of Buea be reliable enough to provide all the Energy needs of the residential
building in Tekwe’s residence for a whole year? This is why solar resource

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assessment for a given location is a necessary step to take into account before carrying out a
PV installation.

To actually know if the solar resource of this area will provide the yearly energy required for
the building location, a simulation in the software PVsyst is carried out in this section. This is
necessary because the output of a PV system depends on many other factors such as Irradiation
and temperature of the location. Firstly, the yearly energy consumption or demand of the
building is needed as calculated in Section 2.2.3.

❖ PVSYST ANALYSIS AND SIMULATION OF ANNUAL ENERGY IN TEKWE’S

RESIDENCE
Pvsyst helps us to assess how the energy demand of the consumers can be achieved from the
solar radiation of area and solar component parameters.

From Google Earth,Tekwe’s residence is located at a latitude of 4° 9'29.28"N and a longitude

of 9°14'50.87"E. Converting these degree minutes seconds to decimal degrees coordinates
using the formula decimal degrees in equation 2.2

dd = d + m/60 + s/3600 (2.2);

this implies the latitude is 4 + 0.15 + 0.00813333 = 4.15813333. and the longitude is 9 +
0.2333333 + 0.01413056 = 9.24746356

PVsyst Simulation Steps

The main steps required to obtain the simulation result for Tekwe’s Residence are:

Import the Global Irradiation Data and Temperature of the location with latitude 4.15
and longitude 9.25 in PVsyst. This data as shown in the figure21.2 is from NASA Satellite
within the year 1993 – 2005.

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 Chapter II - Design Of An Off-Grid Solar Home System In Tekwe’s Residence

Figure 21.2: Imported climate data for the latitude and longitude of Tekwe’sresidence

Observing google Earth we input into PVsyst the tilt of the roof, which will be the same
tilt for the panel for this design, and input the azimuth of the building or roof from the
North/South poles which will be the panel orientation.

Figure 22.2 shows the orientation of Tekwe’s residence from the true North. From the figure it
shows that panels on the zinc will have an azimuth of approximately -45o from the true South.

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 Chapter II - Design Of An Off-Grid Solar Home System In Tekwe’s Residence

Figure 22.2: Orientation of Tekwe’s residence to the true North

Define then the Users needs as done in figure23.2

Figure 23.2: Daily energy needs for Tekwe’s residence in PVsyst

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 Chapter II - Design Of An Off-Grid Solar Home System In Tekwe’s Residence

PVsyst computes the PV power and the battery capacity. Select the required size of PV panel
and Battery capacity affordable from a supplier. The system design is a 24V system.
The PV panel use in this design is a monocrystalline solar panel with a power rating of 255W.
The battery use has a capacity of 160Ah. It is design with autonomy of one day.
The Controller use in this design in PVsyst is a Universal MPPT Charge controller.
PVsyst computes the total number of Battery and PV panel required from the chosen sizes of
each.
Figure 24.2 and 25.2show the input parameters for these selection of PV panel and battery.

Figure 24.2: Selecting the Panel and charge controllers in PVsyst

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 Chapter II - Design Of An Off-Grid Solar Home System In Tekwe’s Residence

Figure 25.2: Selecting the battery in PVsyst

The Shading effect on the panel analyze by constructing or drawing Tekwe’s residence with its
nearby shading objects in the shadow construction module in Pvsyst.

Shadow analysis:From the picture in Figure 26.2, the objects circled yellow are those that could
probably cause shadow on the desired area of installation.

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 Chapter II - Design Of An Off-Grid Solar Home System In Tekwe’s Residence

Fig 26.2: Probable objects that can cause shadow on the panels surface area

This picture in figure 26.2 is constructed into PVsyst to get the effect of nearby obstacles on
the zinc where the panels will be installed. It is drawn as shown in figure 27.2

A nearby
Tall tree

Solar Panel array inclined on roof

surface of Tekwe’s residence
Tall nearby buildings

Figure27.2: Drawing of Near-by shading effect into PVsyst

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 Chapter II - Design Of An Off-Grid Solar Home System In Tekwe’s Residence

Lastly, after filling in all the parameters into PVsyst, to get an energy usage model output, we
simulate to get the report or simulation result.

PVsyst Simulation Result Analysis of Tekwe’s Residence

After simulating the parameters or data required for the design of a Standalone System of
Tekwe’s Residence into PVsyst, a report will be produce. This report shows whether the energy
needs of the user can be met after considering the location, the climatic factors, temperature,
losses due to normal functioning and Global horizontal Irradiation of that geographical area.

The SIMULATION REPORT of Tekwe’s Residence in PVsyst

This simulation report of worksheet 1.2shows that Tekwe’s residence with a horizontal global
irradiation of 1452KWh/m2 per year ≈ 4.1 KWh/m2 per day and user’s needs (load) of
1082.30KWh/yearwith a daily household average energy need of 3.0KWh/day, can be supplied
with a 24V PV system of:

- 5 solar monocrystalline panels of 255W each, connected in parallel

- 2 battery capacity of 160Ah each, connected in series
- Universal MPTT charge controller

with 1000.94KWh/year produced for the users while 451.81KWh/yearis unused or in excess
(full battery loss) and missing energy of 81KWh/year.

NB:This excess energy is wasted in the panels when the battery is fully charged; it can be put
into use by increasing the load or usage time of load during the day.

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End of Year Studies Project Work presented by NGU Leonel TEKWE 41
 The Iso-shading diagram will give us the hours and the days during a year when the panels wil
be shaded by near by objects.

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 Chapter II - Design Of An Off-Grid Solar Home System In Tekwe’s Residence

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 Chapter II - Design of an Off-Grid Solar Home System in Tekwe’s Residence

Worksheet 1.2: PV Simulation Report of Tekwe’s Residence in PVsyst

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 Chapter II - Design of an Off-Grid Solar Home System in Tekwe’s Residence

2.2.5 System concept development

A system is an orderly grouping of interdependent components linked together according to a
plan to achieve a specific objective. The performance of a system depends on: the individual
components in the system, the components with each other as a system, the system with other
systems in the building, the building with the ambient environment [2]. Solar home systems
(SHS) are stand-alone photovoltaic systems that offer a cost-effective mode of supplying
amenity power for lighting and appliances to off-grid households.

Successful performance is only achieved when these interactions occur in a harmonious fashion
in the real world-operating environment.

Two important tools to supporting the use of the system concept in the commissioning process
are the system diagram and system sequence of operations. Figure 26.2 shows the solar system
components diagram drawn in the software google sketchup for Tekwe’s residence.

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 Electric
Meter Box

Inverter

Charge controller
Solar Panel array (5 modules) tightl
Battery (2 ) Wire cabling fix on the incline roof of Tekwe’s
residence

Figure 26.2: System components for Tekwe’s residence (drawn inthe software google sketch-up)

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 Chapter II - Design of an Off-Grid Solar Home System in Tekwe’s Residence

2.2.6 Sizing of main components of the PV systems

The simulation result of PVsyst shows that Tekwe’s residence with a horizontal global
irradiation of 1452KWh/m2 and user’s needs (load) of 1082.30KWh/year having a daily
household energy consumption of 3KWh/day, can be supplied with a 24V PV system of:
5solar monocrystalline panels 255W each connected in series; 2 battery capacity of 160Ah
each connected in series; MPTT charge controller. Results show that, 1000.94KWh/year is
produce for the users while 451.81KWh/year is unused or in excess (full battery loss) and
missing energy of 81KWh/year. These results are the dimensioning of the PV system required
for Tekwe’s residence from the software PVsyst.

In the next section, size of panels, controllers, batteries and inverters will be reevaluated with
the mathematical calculation results developed in Excel solar formula worksheet to size,
compareand obtain a billing data. During an engineering project, for business purposes, sizing
of a PV component is not advisable to depend on one program. Two programs or more will
make the result obtained more accurate and convincing.

My Excel Program Design of off-grid PV System for Tekwe’s Residence

The decimal latitude and longitude of Tekwe’s residence are 4.15 lat and 9.24 long
respectively from section 2.2.4. Inputting these results into
PVGIS,http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvgis/apps4/pvest.php?map=africa, we obtain that this
location is at an elevation of 865m. From PVGIS we obtain the Monthly Solar Irradiation for
Tekwe’s residence as shown in Appendix.

The step by step calculation is as shown:

Calculate the Total power, hour usage to get total energy from Table 3.2.

Table 3.2: Calculating the Daily Energy Requirement of Tekwe’s residence

A B C d = b*c E i = d*e
Power Max PowerDaily usage Daily energy
consumption demand hours requires (Whac/
AC/DC
Number (Wattage of each(Wac) (h/day) day)
Appliances/Load
load)
(Wac)

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Lights 3 15 45 6 270
Lights 1 28 28 6 168
Television 1 100 100 10 1000
Fridge/Deep Freeze 1 138 138 6 828
Cloth Washing
1 400 400 0.07 28
Machine
Phones 5 10 50 4 200
Laptop 1 40 40 13 520
Electric grinding
1 700 700 0.07 49
machine

Total power of equipments PT = 1501W

Total Energy of equipments Ec = 3063Wh/day

The performance ratio PR = 0.65

Ep = Ec/PR = 4712.307692Wh/day
Find the least Total Radiation on optimal inclined plane in that location where the panels will
be placed from PVGIS (output shown in APPENDIX B) taking in to account the orientation
and the inclination of the roof.
OR
We choose the average radiation for the 12months period of the year
Ir = 4 KW/m2/day (this is to minimize cost and with the inhabitants practicing energy
efficiency)

Peak Power Pc = Ep/Ir = 1178.076W

Select now the voltage of the system from this table 4.2

Table 4.2: Range of Power for a selected System voltage

Power the pv field 0 - 500W 500 - 2KW More than 2KW
The system voltage
Recommendation 12 V 24V 48V

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 Chapter II - Design of an Off-Grid Solar Home System in Tekwe’s Residence

What is your selected system voltage from Table 2.4 = 24 V

- CHOOSE NOW THE MODULE (PANEL) from the market
Pm = 255 W
Umpp = 30.2V
Impp = 8.43A
Uoc = 37.4V
Isc = 8.54A
KT(V) = -0.38 %/oC
KT(I) 0.1 =%/oC
KT(P) = - 0.47 %/oC
dimension = 1600X900X35
panel length = 1635 mm
panel width = 982 mm
panel surface area Sm = 1605570 mm2≈ 1.60557 m2
Figure 27.2 shows the technical specification of a selected solar module from the market. This
module is the JAM6(BK) module of 255W encircled with the yellow ink.

Figure 27.2: Technical specification of a JAM6(BK) solar module of 255W

(source:https://www.zonnepanelen.net/nl/pdf/panels/20150212131952-fjhnnm-5.pdf)

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 Chapter II - Design Of An Off-Grid Solar Home System In Tekwe’s Residence

After choosing the module, calculate now the number of panels required Nm
Nm = Pc/Pm = 4.619909502
The total number of panels now is Nm =5
The total surface area to be covered by the panels Sm = 8.02785m2
- CHOOSE NOW THE REGULATOR from the market to know your Max Panels in Parallel
and Series

Choose an MPPT regulator, the same system voltage, power greater than total pv power

Minimum current that comes from the array (min input controller current) = Isc*Nmp*Safety
factor = 8.54×5×1.25 = 56.25 A

Maximum Charging current (max. output current) ≥ Pc/system voltage (battery Voltage) =
1178.077/24 = 49.09 with safety factor = 61.35817308 (safety factor is to account for
variable power outputs)
System voltage of regulator = 24V
Regulator nominal ePower = 2000W
Regulator max input voltage = 75V
Regulator max input current = 60A
Regulator max output current = 60A

The technical specification of a selected solar charge controller from the market is shown in
figure 28.2, of TS-MPPT-60 marked yellow.

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 Chapter II - Design Of An Off-Grid Solar Home System In Tekwe’s Residence

Figure 28.2: Technical Specification of the TS-MPPT-60 charge controller (source:

https://2n1s7w3qw84d2ysnx3ia2bct-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-
content/uploads/2014/02/TSMPPTdsEng.pdf)

Number max of panels in series

Nms = E(Vmax-regulator/(1.14*Voc) = 1.031991744 ≈1
Number max of panels in parallel
Nmp = E(Imax-regulator/(1.25*Isc)) = 5.333333333 ≈5

Reanalyse now the required number of modules in series Nms, according to the system voltage
and reanalyze Nmp and multiple them together see how to get Nm…..Analyse now your
connection for Nm.

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 Chapter II - Design Of An Off-Grid Solar Home System In Tekwe’s Residence

Nms 1
Nmp 5
Number of regulators to be connected
Nr = (total panels)/(total panels in parallel) = 1.142857143 ≈ 1

Table 5.2: Table of coefficient of temperature

Temperature Multiplier
26oC 1
21.2oC 1.04
15.6oC 1.11
10.0oC 1.19
4.4oC 1.3
-1.1oC 1.4
-6.7oC 1.59

What is the minimum temperature of the area from Table 5.2 = 22.6oC
What is the coefficient of temperature according to the lowest temperature of your area = 1.04

- BATTERY Designing
Number of autonomy days N =1
Depth of discharge D = 0.8
Batterycapacity C = (Ec*N)/(D*V) = 159.53125Ah
Battery Capacity according to minimum temperature effect
C' = 165.9125 Ah
Select now your batteries from the market, the total should be higher than C'
Capacity of Battery Selected from the market Cbat = 160 Ah
Voltage of Battery Selected from the market Vbat = 12V
Figure 29.2 shows the technical specification of a selected battery from the market, of a brand
called Leoch.

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 Chapter II - Design of an Off-Grid Solar Home System in Tekwe’s Residence

Figure 29.2: Technical specification of the Leoch battery of 160Ah/12V

(source:http://www.polluxbattery.com.my/160ah-12v-battery.html)

Number of battery in parallel

Nbatp = C'/Cbat 1.659125≈ 1
Total Battery Capacity = Nbatp*Cbat = 160Ah
Number of battery in series
Nbats = system voltage/Vbat = 2

- CHOOSE NOW YOUR INVERTER FROM THE MARKET

Inverter Verification
…….Inverter must have the system voltage 24V

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 Cehapter II - Design Of An Off-Grid Solar Home System In Tekwe’s Residence
……Market Input Power of Inverter ˃ Calculated Input power to inverter PT inverter
+ High voltage currents (surge currents)
The inverter power rating should be high enough to account for the high power draw of
inductive appliances in the house when they are turn on or running.

……Input current of Inverter ˃ total regulator output current or ˃ PT/system voltage

= Ibat = 78.17708333
……The power rating of the inverter selected should be about 20 - 25% more than the
power rating of the appliances
The technical specification of a selected inverter of 3000W from the market is shown in figure
30.2, of the EP30-3KW model marked with yellow ink.

Figure 30.2: Technical specification of an inverter of Model EP30-3KW

(source:https://trusunpower.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/MUST-EP3000_Datasheet.pdf)

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 Chapter II - Design Of An Off-Grid Solar Home System In Tekwe’s Residence

Note: It is important that the input and output voltage across your system components is
consistent; meaning that if your system operates at 12VDC, all of your components should be
rated at 12V.

2.2.6 Selection of main components of the PV system

The Solar panel system bill shows the selected components of the pv system, their ratings and the
market prices.

SOLAR PANEL SYSTEM BILL

Buea 23/11/2017

Planner Supplier Location:

Name Leonel Tel Buea

(Tekwe’s
Tel
Residence)
Table 6.2: Obtaining the Total Cost of the System Components from the market
Price
SELECTION and PRICE TAG ON A SOLAR OFF-GRID SYSTEM
(Lights, TV, Fridge/Deep Freeze, Grinding and Cloth washing, PC, +mobile)
No Designation Quantity Price (frs) Total Price (frs)
A1 Solar Panel (255W) 5 200,000 1,000,000
A2 Charge Controller 75V/60A 1 50,000 50,000
A3 Inverter – 3000W 1 500,000 500,000
A4 Battery 160Ah,12V 2 100,000 200,000
A5 Cable length from panel to 4m 20000
junction box – 6mm2
Equipment Cable length from junction box 0.5m 10000
for to regulator – 6mm2
Connection Cable length from regulator to
0.5m 10000
and inverter – 6mm2
SECURITY Cable from inverter to Meter bo
1m 10000
– 6mm2

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 61.875≤ IN
Fuse between junction box to ≥225
10000
regulator
UN ≥ 42.636V
IN ≤ 39.52A
Fuse between battery and
10000
inverter
UN ≥ 42.636V
Earthing Cable from Panel to
ground/thunder protection on 15000
panel side
Metallique Structure for pv
4 5000 20000

Battery supporter 1000

Truncating 5 700 3500
Metallic Cage 1 10000 10000
A6 Labour
- Installation Cost
-Electrician or Solarar 1 100,000
Technician (with his/herer
working equipments)
TOTAL (FCFA) 2,019,500

The design of an off-grid solar home system has been carried out in Tekwe’s residence by
considering energy efficiency practises, planning and site survey, assessment of energy
requirement and solar resource availability, and finally sizing the system then presenting in a
billing table. In the chapter 3, we look further into the financial analysis of this solar project
using the software RETScreen 4. The billing data in section 2.2.6 will help us in the analysis.

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 Chapter III- Retscreen Prefeasibility Study And Economic Evaluation

CHAPTER III
RETScreen PREFEASIBILITY STUDY and ECONOMIC EVALUATION
We are going to use the software RETScreen 4 to quickly and inexpensively determine the
technical and financial viability of the Solar Photovoltaic System in Tekwe’s Residence. To
carry out a Prefeasibility study and to determine whether the Solar project is worth investing
in compared to the hydroelectric supply from ENEO we use the software RETScreen 4 to do
this. In this chapter, the aim is to verify if a Solar Home System is worth investing into
compared to the Hydroelectricity supply from ENEO by looking at the payback period.
Residential customers and commercial customers are more likely to use payback times to
characterize the value of a PV investment [23]. The profitability in terms of internal rate of
return and the Net present Value of the solar project is analysed.

3.1 IMPLEMENTATION OF RETScreen AND ANALYSIS

Start
On the start page of RETScreenthe Name of the project, other general information setting and
the climate are entered. RETScreen does not have the climate data for Buea, so we choose
Fontem as the climate just for the conception and study.

Figure 1.3: Start page of RETSCreen setting

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 Chapter III- Retscreen Prefeasibility Study And Economic Evaluation

Energy Model
For the Base Case: There is no base case input here.
For the Load Characteristics: we enter the power and usage hours for the electrical
appliances in the building as shown in Figure 2.3. RETScreen calculates for us the daily and
annual energy consumption of the building as the Propose Case of our system to be installed.
The daily energy is 3.02KWh/day and annual is 1.104MWh/day

Figure 2.3: Retscreen Load characteristics Input

For the Propose Case Power System: the inverter with a capacity of 4KW; the battery
characteristics of 24V, 1day of autonomy, and Capacity of 100Ah; a monocrystalline
photovoltaic module characteristics is selected with a power rating of 255W, 6units of module,
are entered as shown in figure 3.3 for a power capacity of 1.53KW.RETScreen calculates that
the electricity delivered to the load can be supplied 95.9% of the time, which shows that the
load can be met by the PV system all or most times using an irradiation on the panel from
figure 4.3.

Figure 5.3 shows that prercentage of electricity delivered to the load from the photovoltaic
model parameters choosen.

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 Chapter III- Retscreen Prefeasibility Study And Economic Evaluation

Figure 3.3: Retscreen Inverter and battery input

Figure 4.3: Retscreen Irradiation on the panel surface

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 Chapter III- Retscreen Prefeasibility Study And Economic Evaluation

Figure 5.3: Restcreen Photovoltaic realisation

Cost Analysis
Initial Cost: The cost of the Power System is shown in Table 1.3 according to the current
price in the market of Cameroon is input into RETscreen as shown in figure 6.3.

Table 1.3: Estimated cost of PV Power components

Component Price (FCAF)
PV module (5units) 600,000
Inverter (1units) 500,000
Battery(2units) 200,000
Charge controller 50,000
Cables and Accessories 119,500

Figure 6.3: Retscreen Total Initial Cost Realisation

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 Chapter III- Retscreen Prefeasibility Study And Economic Evaluation

Annual Cost: The cost of labour is entered as 100,000frs and the monthly Savings from ENEO
is entered as 32,878frsas shown in Table 2.3 into RETScreen as in figure 8.3, for 12 months
considered as credit, obtained from Appendix A.

Figure 8.3: Retscreen Annual cost realisation

The Monthly average financial payment including taxes to the hydroelectric supply ENEO in the year
2014 will be considered as the base case from which the solar project is compared. The year 2014 is
considered because I could get all the meter monthly bills for Tekwe’s residence for that year. The
meter bills of each month are shown in Appendix A.

Table 2.3: Monthly Bills to ENEO for the year 2014

Month Financial bills (FCAF)
January 32,336
Febraury 34,785
March 34,220
April 29,039
May 29,133
June 25,176
July 23,952
August 47,780
September 51,101
October 34,126
November 31,206
December 21,691
Average 32,878.75

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 Chapter III- Retscreen Prefeasibility Study And Economic Evaluation

Periodic Cost: the inverter will be replace every 12 years and the battery will be replace every
4years as shown in Figure 8.3.

Figure 8.3: Retscreen Periodic cost (credits) realisation

After inputting the investment cost in the Cost Analysis Page, it will be summarise in the
Financial Analysis Page as shown in figure 9.3.

Financial Analysis
The Financial Analysis is carried out with a project life of 21years.Financial result is shown
in figure 9.3, 10.3, and 11.3.

The first is to verify if this project is a financially viable project by looking at the Internal Rate
of Return IRR as shown in figure 10.3. The IRR is 24.9%, a positive value and is not too low,
so the project will be a profitable project

The second is the Net Present Value NPV over the end of the project life.

The net present value of any venture is based on four critical components such as initial
investment, cash flows, discount rate and time period of the project. Net present value (NPV)
is a key economic indicator to comprehend the profitability of a project. A positive NPV value
indicates the feasibility of the project and is absolutely ready to add value to the owner,
whereas a negative NPV indicates that project would subtract economic value from the
owner[17].This is 5,139,631frs, the money we can obtain if we were to sale this energy.

The last is to look at the payback period on an initial investment of 1,305,625frs plus a periodic
cost of the inverter and the battery. From the cumulative cash flow as shown in figure 11.3,
the payback period is 4years. However, 4years is actually a long period to recover our initial
investment. Not all investors or clients will like to invest in such a project that has such a long
period of turnover even if the project is profitable in the long run, this is because of unforeseen
circumstances in the future.

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 Chapter III- Retscreen Prefeasibility Study And Economic Evaluation

The best way to solve this is to see how to reduce:

- the cost of components
- the usage hours or power of appliances using Energy Efficiency practices
- the panel power or number of units; but still meet the needs of the inhabitants

Figure 9.3: Investment cost input

Figure 10.3: IRR and NPV

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 Chapter III- Retscreen Prefeasibility Study And Economic Evaluation

Figure 11.3: Cumulative cash flow graph

3.2 ECONOMIC REASONING

From the financial analysis of RETScreen, the solar home project is worth investing in
because it is a profitable in the long run. However, the payback period is 4 years which is a
long time for investors to consider investing in this project. Residential customers and
commercial customers are more likely to use payback times to characterize the value of a PV
investment [23]. An engineer has to see ways to reduce the initial financial input cost by either:

− Reducing the usage hours or energy needs of the user

− Change the Panel position or installation area to avoid nearby shading obstacles to the
minimum
− Reducing the size of the components that will still serve the needs of the inhabitants
Manipulating the Data inputs in RETScreen we can come up with the feasible final financial
investment.
❖ Comparing the financial analysis between the solar home system and the
hydroelectricity from ENEO
For the hydroelectricity from ENEO, after the installation of the electric meter board on the
home and from the beginning of usage there is continuous payment every month according to
the house consumption for more than 20 years the life of a solar panel. This means that for
the utility meter from ENEO there is no saving cost in terms of the home owner’s perspective.
After spending for installation cost of the Electric Meter board, you pay every
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Chapter III- Retscreen Prefeasibility Study And Economic Evaluation

month according to your electric consumption and sometimes the cost is high without any
regards to electric cuts or to costumer’s satisfaction. The money for the monthly electric bills,
the company ENEO uses it to recover the hydroelectricity construction cost, pay its workers
and for the continuous maintenance of its hydroelectric system. However, for the home
onwer’s perspective, there is no saving in its part; there is continuous electric bill payment
every month all through the life duration of the homes residential building. You end up having
a negative NPV since the economic value of the home owner is subtracted instead.
While for solar installation, after investing on the installation of your solar home system, you
don’t pay again electric bills for the whole duration period of the life of the solar system. The
money you would have used to pay for ENEO you start saving that money and for a short time
period of less than four years you can then recover your investing cost of installation back.

Moreover, the average monthly electrical bills you pay to ENEO is approximately 32,000
FCFA from Table 2.3. Since the initial investment cost for a solar system is 2 million FCFA,
if we were to pay for solar bills monthly, considering a 10 year period, we would pay
approximately less than half of what we pay to ENEO Monthly showing that a solar System
is profitable.

The cost of solar panels is becoming cheaper every day. Soon, the payback period of solar
systems will reduce a lot. If homes can realise its potential and benefit there would switch to
an easily reliable, stable, affordable and sustainable solar home system.
In this chapter, the software RETScreen was use to show that a Solar home system is more
profitable to the user compared to the hydroelectricity supply from ENEO. In chapter 4, the
installation and environmental consideration required for the solar home system in Tekwe’s
residence is studied.

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 Chapter IV - Installation And Environmental Consideration

CHAPTER IV
INSTALLATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION
In this chapter, we look at the installation of the solar home system in Tekwe’s
residence which includes the main components such as panel, charge controller, battery and
inverter and its accessories. Next we will examine the environmental impacts to be aware of
or to take into account when installing this solar system.

4.1 INSTALLATION
After buying all the components and its accessories from the market as shown in section 2.2.6,
in the possible market prices, they are brought to the installation site preferable one day before
the installation[2]. This section sites the installation of solar components in Tekwe’s residence
in steps. The internship I had in the company INGENIUM SOLAR ENERGY in Yaounde
gave me a comprehensive understanding of the system installation.

Installation of Photovoltaic PV modules

The Rating of the PV module can be found behind the panel which indicates the wattage,
voltage and current rating. PV modules are mounted on the roof of the building, parallel to the
surface of the zinc. The modules are connected in Parallel, were the voltage along the panels
remain the same and the current is sum up together, with a few inches of gap between the
modules. The panels will take the inclination and orientation of the roof which is an inclination
of approximate 10o and an orientation of -45o from the south. The positive and negative polar
cables from the parallel connection of the panels will be connected to the charge controller.
Figure 1.4 and 2.4shows the installation of the panels on roof top.
Solar modules mounted
parallel to the surface of the
zinc on metallic supporting
rays.

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Figure 1.4: Parallel panel placement on the roof top (source:http://www.solarpanelsplus.com/products/pv-
racking-roof-mount/)

Chapter IV - Installation And Environmental Consideration

Tightly fitting of the module supporting rays on the zinc with screws

Figure 2.4: Tightly fitting of modules on zinc with supporting metal rays
(source:http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/engineer/facts/11-057.htm)

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 Figure 3.4: Photo showing a panel placement (source: Picture from the company Ingenium
Solar)

Chapter IV - Installation And Environmental Consideration

Installation of Charge Controller

After installing the PV panels then we install the charge controller. The charge controller is
screwed and tightly fitted on the wall. It is installed close to where we install the battery and
the inverter; in a secured location as shown in figure 7.4. In the market, an inverter/charge
controller can be bought. This is an inverter with an integrated charge controller. In this thesis,
we are installing a charge and an inverter separately.

Always connect the battery first to the charge controller before the connecting the solar panel
to the controller. The opposite is true when disconnecting, always disconnect the solar panel
from the charge controller before disconnecting the battery from the charge controller, in order
not to damage the charge controller.

The charge controller is connected in parallel to the PV module array to maintain the system
voltage. After connecting the controller to battery we now connect the panel; the controller’s
function is to ensure that the battery is not over-charged or over-discharged. Since there are
no DC loads in this our system, we connect the DC output of the controller to the battery
terminal. Figure 4.4 shows the charge controller near the inverter in a tightly fitted
installation on the wall.

Tightly fitting
of the charge
controller on
the wall,
connected in
parallel near
the inverter

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 Figure 4.4: Tightly fitted charge controller on the wall (source: photo project from the
company Ingenium Solar)

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 Chapter IV - Installation And Environmental Consideration

Battery Installation
The battery will be installed where there is easy ventilation to avoid increase in temperature
in its surrounding. High temperature reduces the battery performance. The battery will be
installed directly by the charge controller and inverter all in parallel connection. In this our
system, we have two batteries which will be connected in series, to get system voltage of 24V
and increase the capacity to the required system design. The battery will be connected at the
port selected/indicated on the solar charge controller. The next thing is to install the inverter.
Figure 4.5 shows the battery placement installation.

Battery is installed in an open area for easy ventilation, connected

parallel to the inverter and charge controller

Figure 5.4: Battery installation (source: Inggenium solar company project)

Installation of the Inverter

The Inverter is screwed and tightly fitted to the wall to hold it in place. The inverter converts
the DC supply from the solar PV into the battery to AC supply in order to power our AC loads.
Connect the battery terminal to the inverter with 2.5mm cable in parallel. Finally, from the
inverter connect the output port of the inverter to the AC load of the house, through the Main
Meter as shown in figure 6.4.

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 Chapter IV - Installation And Environmental Consideration

Connecting the
inverter output to
the main meter
input of the house

Protecting fuse between Inverter tightly fitted on the walll

inverter and battery.

Figure 6.4: Output of inverter connected to the Main Meter Inputs (source: Ingenium solar
company project work)

The Inverter, charge controller and battery since they are connected outside for this
installation, where passers-by can easily see it, it is protected in a cage for security purposes
as shown in figure 7.4.

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 Chapter IV - Installation And Environmental Consideration

Protection cage around the area of installation of solar system

components(photo drawing from google sketchup)

Figure 7.4: Point of installation of solar charge controller, battery and inverter

❖ Maintenance of the System after Installation

It is necessary that after installing the system there should be check and follow up of the
system at intervals[1]. Maintenance practices to carry out specifically on the installed solar
home system in Tekwe’s residence are [2]:

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 • Periodically inspect the system to make sure all wirings and supports are
intact.

Chapter IV - Installation And Environmental Consideration

• Review the output of the system annually (assuming the array is clean) to see
if the performance of the system is close to the previous year's reading. The
panel array will be naturally clean by rainfall due to the inclination of the
panels on the roof.
• Observe the tightness of screws on all connector strips, controls; switches, etc.
make sure that they are well screwed. This is mostly important for old or
exposed wire. This will further help to reduce energy losses on connection
terminals.
• Look at the junction boxes to make sure that insects have not build house there,
and also make sure they are watertight when exposed to the environment.
• Inspect switches to make sure they are in good operating manner
• Inspect the fuses to ensure no one is blown. If blown, find the cause and replace
or repair with a new one of the same size.
• Inspect the indicator lamps on the charge controller. The solar charge controller
indicator should be ON when the sun is up. If is not ON. Check to see if
batteries are being charged. Check whether the other LED indicator lamps are
working (that is battery full and low voltage).
• Check grounding wires to make sure they are still intact.
• Check solar cables if hot after installation, if a wire is hot or heating up then
the guage of that wire has to be increase. The guage wire between the charge
and the battery has to be large enough.
• One feature is also to buy a charge controller that has overcurrent protection.
This is because if the panels produce more current on a particular day to sun
high sunlight, the charge controller will output just the required current. In this
way, there will be the prevention of fire.

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Chapter IV - Installation And Environmental Consideration

4.2 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION

During the installation and life cycle of the solar home system, it has certain effects on the
environment termed as environmental impacts of the solar home system. These Impacts can
be Positive or Negative to the environment. Let’s look at these impacts and see how the
negative impacts can be ameliorated.

1. An environmental issue associated with a solar project will be the recycling/disposal

of spent storage batteries at the end of their useful lives (3-5years).If not well dispose
of, it can create a wide range of biological effects including upon the kidneys,
gastrointestinal tract, reproductive system and the nervous system. The measure to
mitigate this effect is through community and user awareness of the environmental and
health aspects of poor battery disposal and also the management of these by the system
/supplier.
2. A lot of energy is required in the production of solar panels. The lifetime carbon
emissions from solar are heavily front loaded. However, after the installation process, solar
modules produce emission-free energy for 30+ years [21].
3. Undoubtedly, there are virtually zero global warming emissions during the operation
of photovoltaic systems. However, emissions are generated through almost every other
stage of the photovoltaic life cycle. Some of these stages include the manufacturing of
the photovoltaic panels and other associated parts, their transportation, even the
recycling and decommissioning of defunct installations [9].
4. Although solar panels do require a great amount of energy up front, they do have a
very short energy payback time (EPBT) depending on your location and what the
typical form of energy generation is. The environmental benefit obtained by replacing
the hydro energy in Tekwe’s residence with solar energy is not that much, but includes
benefits such as relieving pressure on the electric grid, and providing ownership of
one’s own energy [21].
5. Aside from the production of current photovoltaic panels being an energy intensive
process, it also requires very large quantities of bulk materials. Very large quantities of
common minerals are required for the production of PV panels, such as iron, copper and
aluminium. Even though these materials are recyclable, the immense mineral depletion
numbers should not be ignored [9].

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 Chapter IV - Installation And Environmental Consideration
6. The manufacturing process of photovoltaic panels and associated components (e.g.
inverters) contains a number of hazardous materials. The release of these hazardous materials
to the environment is frequently considered to be the most critical negative environmental
impact of both large and small PV systems [9]. If not handled and disposed of properly, these
materials could pose serious environmental or public health threats.
7. The Electricity generation from PV system is produced noise free compared to other
energy generation systems.
8. Solar Technicians doing the installation should wear protective clothing like helmets,
boats and hand cloves for installation security purposes.
9. Since the panels will be installed on the roof there will be no usage of bear land which
acts as an added benefit for land preservation for other purposes.
10. The installation site for battery, controller and inverters should be secured to avoid
theft for example as shown in figure 7.4 for Tekwe’s residence.
11. The engineer who designs the system should be aware of any additional appliances
that will be added to the system during its usage by the inhabitants. Additional electrical
appliance(s) could offset the normal functioning of the system negatively.
12. Any ameliorated behavioural pattern in the residence prescribe by the designer of the
system should be implemented by the inhabitants to keep a normal pace in the functioning of
the solar system. Over usage hours in a day could drain down the battery more than it is
recharged.
13. The natural washing of the panels by rainfall due to the fix tilted panel of the roof
inclination, helps to reduce water usage in the cleaning of the panels at regular intervals for
maintenance purposes.

THE FUTURE OF THE SOLAR HOME SYSTEM

As the government of Cameroon continue to promote the installation of solar systems in
various parts of the region by setting up laws to enable its deployment, more and more
residential homes continue to install solar panel systems in their homes [10],[11]. Some
residential houses in the cities of Douala and Yaoundé are installing this hugely and even in
the city of Bamenda. Every day the cost of solar panels reduces, the increased production and
huge advances in the efficiency of solar panels has made home solar energy not only affordable
but cheaper than the utility company (hydroelectricity power from ENEO). In the future, more
residential homes in Buea will take advantage of this reduce cost and install
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 Chapter IV - Installation And Environmental Consideration

solar systems due to continuous power cuts and increase in the electric bills of ENEO power
supply.

Also, electrical appliances in homes such as bulbs, Television and refrigerator continue to
become energy efficient; with a refrigerator going down to 100W. Most homes now have less
consuming appliances. In the future, the number of solar panel for a residential house will
reduce as homes become aware of energy efficient practises and less consuming appliances.
The initial financial investment for solar installation in homes will continue to go down to
become an attractive investment for residences.

Due to the cold nature of Buea during the rainy season, most homes rely on natural ventilation
and cooling during the dry season. Houses rarely use the air conditioning unit. Because the air
conditioner is a high energy consumer (a home using fan for ventilation purposes will consume
less energy) and mostly used in the commercial sector, in the future, more commercial
buildings and homes who want to install solar systems will do so as the prices of these solar
panels continue to go down in the market.

We hope that the government of Cameroon will set down better regulation laws in the market
to restrict over high prices put on solar components by suppliers that turn to give a bad image
to home owners on the cost of a solar home system.

Moreover, in the future, if this residential building wants to add an air conditioner appliance
which consumes high power and draws lots of current; the solar home system will have to be
increase. The best way I would prefer to increase this system is to get a whole new separate
solar system installed next to the original solar system for this additional appliance. The output
from the inverter will be connected to this additional appliance of the house. An installer will
find it easier to do such installation than to fiddle around integrating into existing solar wiring
[1].

In this project the installation of the solar home system in Tekwe’s residence is studied
followed by the environmental considerations to take into account. Lastly, the future of the
solar home system in Cameroon is looked into. Let now give a general conclusion for the
project.

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 General Conclusion

GENERAL CONCLUSION
In this project, the energy demand of the residential building is 1082KWh/year. From the
PVsyst software results and Excel dimensioning, a 5 solar monocrystalline panels of 255W,
connected in parallel; 2 battery capacity of 160Ah each, connected in series; and a charge
controller of 60A would supply an energy of 1001KWh/year to the users. This is a solar
fraction of 92.5%, due to the missing energy of 81KW/year as shown on the “PVsyst loss
diagram over a whole year”.

This project is profitable since it has a positive NPV of 5.1 million to the owner while a
negative NPV for the energy supplied from the grid (ENEO) as seen by the owner. Since this
project is profitable in an area like Buea (urban settlement) it will be very much profitable in
a rural area where there is high expenditure in putting in place energy grid transmission lines
to these areas.

In the future, if the home owner decides to add an additional appliance like an air conditioner
which is of high consumption rating, a separate PV system for this is recommended rather than
trying to fit individual PV components to the already existing system. In addition, it is better
for the home owner to increase the initial investment cost in order to increase the component
sizes to avoid future nearby shading increase due to the increase of tall buildings or trees.

The difficulties I faced to develop this project, was the time I spend in studying the software
used for the project. Also in RETScreen I couldn’t import the climate data for Buea into
RETScreen, so I use that of Fontem which has near geographical characteristics to that of
Buea.

More homes in Buea will have to see the advantage of this solar system and its profitability.
As the price of solar components reduce in the market, it will become a great competitor to
the hydroelectricity supply from ENEO as the initial project investment will go down.

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 Appendix A- Electric Bills For 12 Months For Tekwe’s Residence In The Year 2014

APPENDIX A
ELECTRIC BILLS FOR 12 MONTHS FOR TEKWE’s RESIDENCE IN THE YEAR
2014

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 Appendix A- Electric Bills For 12 Months For Tekwe’s Residence In The Year 2014

End of Year Studies Project Work presented by NGU Leonel TEKWE 80

 Appendix A- Electric Bills For 12 Months For Tekwe’s Residence In The Year 2014

End of Year Studies Project Work presented by NGU Leonel TEKWE 81

 Appendix A- Electric Bills For 12 Months For Tekwe’s Residence In The Year 2014

End of Year Studies Project Work presented by NGU Leonel TEKWE 82

 Appendix A- Electric Bills For 12 Months For Tekwe’s Residence In The Year 2014

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 Appendix A- Electric Bills For 12 Months For Tekwe’s Residence In The Year 2014

End of Year Studies Project Work presented by NGU Leonel TEKWE 84

 Appendix B
APPENDIX B
Monthly Solar Irradiation
PVGIS Estimates of long-termmonthlyaverages
Location: 4°9'0" North, 9°14'24" East, Elevation: 865 m a.s.l.,
Solar radiation databaseused: PVGIS-CMSAF
Optimal inclination angle is: 10 degrees
Annual irradiation deficit due to shadowing (horizontal): 0.1 %

Month Hh Hopt H(90) Iopt D/G

Jan 5620 5990 3960 32 0.44

Feb 5190 5350 2890 20 0.53

Mar 5300 5310 2220 6 0.60

Apr 4770 4650 1080 -9 0.52

May 4600 4380 1050 -20 0.53

Jun 3630 3480 1050 -20 0.67

Jul 3040 2960 1020 -13 0.77

Aug 3120 3060 1080 -7 0.80

Sep 3750 3720 1430 0 0.69

Oct 4100 4150 2100 12 0.65

Nov 4390 4570 2800 25 0.57

Dec 5290 5650 3930 34 0.47

Year 4400 4440 2050 10 0.58

Hh: Irradiation on horizontal plane (Wh/m2/day)

Hopt: Irradiation on optimallyinclined plane (Wh/m2/day)
H(90): Irradiation on plane at angle: 90deg. (Wh/m2/day)
Iopt: Optimal inclination (deg.)
D/G: Ratio of diffuse to global irradiation (-)

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 Reference

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