Performance Analysis of a Stand-Alone Building Integrated Photovoltaic System
Abstract
Access to modern energy in rural communities was a priority in the South African government’s reconstruction development programme. The cost of electrification, ageing power plants, overstrained national grid and investment returns were some of the challenges faced by the government; leaving some communities without access to electricity. Renewable sources such as bio- and solar energy has been identified by the South African government to achieve their plan. This study focus on the performance analysis of a prototype building integrated photovoltaic system for residential energy access. An off-grid 3.8 kW rooftop PV generator was developed in SolarWatt Park, Alice and was used in the study. Meteorological and electrical data acquisition systems were set up. Some of the parameters monitored include solar radiation, ambient air temperature, generated PV voltage, current, demand and energy consumption of a house. Preliminary findings show that on a typical clear sky day with an average solar irradiance of 583.71 W/m2 and 24.2°C ambient air temperature, the average PV power generated was 1.85 kW; peaking at 12h00 with 3.07 kW. The obtained peak power was found to be 19% lesser than the PV rating. Moreover, the cumulative daily energy produced was 24.07 kWh and 57% higher than the total daily energy consumption of the house. However, the average house demand between 16h00 and 17h30 was higher than the generated PV power by 0.19 kW during the same period. The battery bank was found to provide the shortfall; thereby, ensuring an uninterrupted power supply throughout the day. More results and discussions on the load profile of the house, cloudy sky performance of the PV system as well as weekdays and weekends performance will be presented in the full paper