PV System

Design
Prepared by : Raymond Linguaje
Introduction
There are two main paradigms for designing PV
systems. First, the system can be designed such
that the generated power and the loads, i.e. the
consumed power, match. A second way to
design a PV system is to base the design on
economics. We must distinguish between grid-
connected and off-grid systems. As we will see,
grid-connected systems have very different
demands than off-grid systems.
 A simple approach for
designing off-grid systems

PV System Design
A simple approach for designing off-grid
systems
In this section, we will design a simple off-grid
system, as depicted in Fig. 18.1. The design
presented here is based on very simple
assumptions and does not take any weather-
dependent performance changes into
account. Nonetheless, we will see the major
steps that are necessary for designing a
system. Such a simple design can be
performed in a six step plan:
A simple approach for designing off-grid
systems
1. Determine the total load
current and operational
time
2. Add system losses
3.Determine the solar
irradiation in daily
equivalent sun hours (ESH)
A simple approach for designing off-grid
systems
4. Determine total solar
array current requirements
5. Determine optimum
module arrangement for
solar array
6. Determine battery size
for recommended reserve
time
1.Determine the total load current and
operational time
Before starting determining the
current requirements of loads of a
PV system one has to decide the
nominal operational voltage of the
PV system. Usual nominal voltages
are 12 V or 24 V.
A simple approach for designing off-grid systems
1.Determine the total load current and
operational time
When knowing the voltage, the
next step is to express the daily
energy requirements of loads in
terms of current and average
operational time expressed in
Ampere-hours [Ah].
A simple approach for designing off-grid systems
1.Determine the total load current and
operational time
In case of DC loads the daily energy [Wh]
requirement is calculated by multiplying
the power rating [W] of an individual
appliance with the average daily
operational time [h]. Dividing the Wh by the
nominal PV system operational voltage, the
required Ah of the appliance is obtained.
A simple approach for designing off-grid systems
1.Determine the total load current and
operational time
Example: A 12 V PV system calculated as follows:
has two DC appliances A
and B requiring 15 and 20W Device A: 15W· 6h = 90Wh
respectively. The average Device B: 20W· 3h = 60Wh
operational time per day is 6
hours for device A and 3 Total: 90Wh+60Wh = 150Wh
hours for device B. The daily 150Wh/12V = 12.5Ah
energy requirements of the
devices expressed in Ah are
A simple approach for designing off-grid systems
1.Determine the total load current and
operational time
In case of AC loads the energy use has to be
expressed as a DC energy requirement since PV
modules generate DC electricity. The DC
equivalent of the energy use of an AC load is
determined by dividing the AC load energy use by
the efficiency of the inverter, which typically can
be assumed to be 85%. By dividing the DC energy
requirement by the nominal PV system voltage the
Ah is determined.
A simple approach for designing off-grid systems
1.Determine the total load current and
operational time
Example: An AC computer Device C: 40W·2h = 80Wh
(device C) and TV set (device D) Device D: 60W·3h = 180Wh
are connected to the PV system.
The computer, which has rated Total:
power 40W, runs 2 hours per day 80Wh+180Wh = 260Wh
and the TV set with rated power
60W is 3 hours per day in DC requirement:
operation. The daily energy 260Wh/0.85 = 306Wh
requirements of the devices 306Wh/12V = 25.5Ah
expressed in DC Ah are
calculated as follows:
A simple approach for designing off-grid systems
2. Add system losses

Some components of the PV system,

such as charge regulators and
batteries require energy to perform
their functions. We denote the use of
energy by the system components
as system energy losses.
A simple approach for designing off-grid systems
2. Add system losses

Therefore, the total energy

requirements of loads, which were
determined in step 1, are increase
with 20 to 30% in order to
compensate for the system losses.

A simple approach for designing off-grid systems

2. Add system losses

Example: The total DC requirements

of loads plus the system losses
(20%) are determined as follows:

(12.5Ah+25.5Ah)· 1.2 = 45.6Ah

A simple approach for designing off-grid systems

3. Determine the solar irradiation in daily
equivalent sun hours (EHS)
In the PV community, 1 equivalent sun
means a solar irradiance of 1000 W/m2. This
value corresponds to the standard, at
which the performance of solar cells and
modules is determined. The rated
parameters of modules are determined at
solar irradiance of 1 sun.
A simple approach for designing off-grid systems
3. Determine the solar irradiation in daily
equivalent sun hours (EHS)
According to the AM1.5 spectrum, 1 sun
delivers 1000 W/m2 = 1 kW/m2. Hence,
the Dutch average annual solar
irradiation can be expressed as i.e. 1000
equivalent sun hours,
which corresponds to
2.8 h per day.
A simple approach for designing off-grid systems
4. Determine total solar array current
requirements
The current that has to be generated by the
solar array is determined by dividing the
total DC energy requirement of the PV
system including loads and system losses
(calculated in step 2 and expressed in Ah)
by the daily equivalent sun hours
(determined in step 3).
A simple approach for designing off-grid systems
4. Determine total solar array current
requirements
Example: The total DC requirements of
loads plus the system losses are 45.6Ah.
The daily EHS for the Netherlands is about 3
hours. The required total current generated
by the solar array is
45.6Ah/3h = 15.2A

A simple approach for designing off-grid systems

5. Determine optimum module
arrangement for solar array
The required number of modules in
parallel is calculated by dividing the
total current required from the solar
array (determined in step 4) by the
current generated by module at peak
power (rated current in the specification
sheet).
A simple approach for designing off-grid systems
5. Determine optimum module
arrangement for solar array
The number of modules in series is
determined by dividing the nominal PV
system voltage with the nominal module
voltage (in the specification sheet under
configuration). The total number of modules
is the product of the number of modules
required in parallel and the number
required in series.
A simple approach for designing off-grid systems
5. Determine optimum module
arrangement for solar array
Example: The required total current
generated by the solar array is 15.2A. We
have Shell SM50-H modules available. The
rated current of a module is 3.15A. The
number of modules in parallel is
15.2A/3.15A = 4.8 < 5 modules. The nominal
voltage of the PV system is 12V and the
A simple approach for designing off-grid systems
5. Determine optimum module
arrangement for solar array
nominal module voltage is 12V. The
required number of modules in series thus is
12V/12V = 1 module. Therefore, the total
number of modules in the array is
5· 1 = 5 modules.

A simple approach for designing off-grid systems

6. Determine battery size for recommended
reserve time
For a safe operation of the PV system
one has to anticipate periods with
cloudy weather and plan a reserve
energy capacity stored in the batteries.
This reserve capacity is referred to as PV
system autonomy, which means the
period of time that the system is not
A simple approach for designing off-grid systems
6. Determine battery size for recommended
reserve time
dependent on energy generated by PV
modules. It is given in days. The system
autonomy depends on the type of
loads. For critical loads such as
telecommunications components the
autonomy can be 10 days and more,
for residential use it is usually 5 days or
A simple approach for designing off-grid systems
6. Determine battery size for recommended
reserve time
less. The capacity [Ah] of the batteries is
calculated by multiplying the daily total
DC energy requirement of the PV
system including loads and system
losses (calculated in step 2 and
expressed in Ah) by the number of days
of recommended reserve time.
A simple approach for designing off-grid systems
6. Determine battery size for recommended
reserve time
In order to prolong the life of the battery
it is recommended to operate the
battery using only 80% of its capacity.
Therefore, the minimal capacity of the
batteries is determined by dividing the
required capacity by a factor of 0.8.
A simple approach for designing off-grid systems
6. Determine battery size for recommended
reserve time
Example: The total DC requirements
of loads plus the system losses are
45.6Ah. The recommended reserve
time capacity for the installation
side in the Netherlands is 5 days.

A simple approach for designing off-grid systems

6. Determine battery size for recommended
reserve time
Battery capacity required by the
system is 45.6Ah · 5 = 228Ah. The
minimal battery capacity for a safe
operation therefore is
228Ah/0.8 = 285Ah.

A simple approach for designing off-grid systems

Load Profiles

PV System Design
Load Profiles

Now we take a look at the

load profile. These are
illustrations of different
shapes that loads can
have. (a) A simple load
draws a constant amount
of power for a certain time.
PV system design
Load Profiles

(b) However, the

consumed power does
not need to be constant
but can also show peaks
that correspond to
switching electrical
appliances on or off.
PV system design
Load Profiles

A house of course has

several different loads
that (c) can be switched
on at the same time
(coincident) or (d) at
different times (non-
coincident).
PV system design
Load Profiles

Analyzing load profiles can be performed

with increasing complexity and hence
accuracy. The simplest method is to
determine the loads on a 24-hour basis. To
do this, an arbitrary day can be taken and
the electricity consumption can be
monitored.
PV system design
Load Profiles

However, several loads do not fit in such a

scheme. For example, washing machines
and dishwashers do not fit in a 24hour
scheme because typically they are only
used several times in a week. Additionally,
several loads are seasonal in nature, for
example, air conditioning or heating, in
PV system design
Load Profiles

case this is performed with a heat pump.

Therefore it is advisable to look at load
profiles for a whole year.

PV system design