The Final Priject
The Final Priject
The Final Priject
Students’ names
Supervisor’s name
2017 / 2018
Introduction
In this project, we feel responsible for making our college a green building
,so we studied the loads of our college during the last 12 months and from
that study we figured out the possibility to design a renewable resource
system which is solar energy.
This project contains three chapters covering all of the theoretical and
practical aspects that was needed to design the project.
And on the last chapter we simulated the system’s design using PVsyst
6.6.4, then we entered all of the input data to the program that we got
from the previous chapter into the program, and at last we collected the
results and compared it to the theoretical calculations.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Chapter( 1 ):Sunlight generation systems
Introduction:
Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources,
which are naturally replenished on a human timescale, such as sunlight,
wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat.
1.1.Solar energy:
Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, is harnessed using a
range of ever-evolving technologies such as solar heating, photovoltaics,
concentrated solar power (CSP), concentrator photovoltaics (CPV), solar
architecture and artificial photosynthesis. Solar technologies are broadly
characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on the way
they capture, convert and distribute solar energy. Passive solar techniques
include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable
thermal mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that
naturally circulate air. Active solar technologies encompass solar thermal
energy, using solar collectors for heating, and solar power, converting
sunlight into electricity either directly using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly
using concentrated solar power (CSP).
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A photovoltaic system converts light into electrical direct current (DC) by
taking advantage of the photoelectric effect. Solar PV has turned into a
multi-billion, fast-growing industry, continues to improve its cost-
effectiveness, and has the most potential of any renewable technologies
together with CSP. Concentrated solar power (CSP) systems use lenses or
mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small
beam. Commercial concentrated solar power plants were first developed in
the 1980s. CSP-Stirling has by far the highest efficiency among all solar
energy technologies.
1.2.Photovoltaic development:
Photovoltaics (PV) uses solar cells assembled into solar panels to convert
sunlight into electricity. It's a fast-growing technology doubling its
worldwide installed capacity every couple of years. PV systems range from
small, residential and commercial rooftop or building integrated
installations, to large utility-scale photovoltaic power station. The
predominant PV technology is crystalline silicon, while thin-film solar cell
technology accounts for about 10 percent of global photovoltaic deployment.
In recent years, PV technology has improved its electricity generating
efficiency, reduced the installation cost per watt as well as its energy
payback time, and has reached grid parity in at least 30 different markets by
2014. Financial institutions are predicting a second solar "gold rush" in the
near future.
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*Photovoltaic power stations:
Commercial concentrated solar power plants were first developed in the
1980s. As the cost of solar electricity has fallen, the number of grid-
connected solar PV systems has grown into the millions and utility-scale
solar power stations with hundreds of megawatts are being built. Solar PV is
rapidly becoming an inexpensive, low-carbon technology to harness
renewable energy from the Sun.
Many solar photovoltaic power stations have been built, mainly in Europe,
China and the USA. The 579 MW Solar Star, in the United States, is the
world's largest PV power station.
Many of these plants are integrated with agriculture and some use tracking
systems that follow the sun's daily path across the sky to generate more
electricity than fixed-mounted systems. There are no fuel costs or emissions
during operation of the power stations.
However, when it comes to renewable energy systems and PV, it is not
just large systems that matter. Building-integrated photovoltaics or "onsite"
PV systems use existing land and structures and generate power close to
where it is consumed.
The sun is the largest regenerative source of energy in the world. It is estimated that the
annual sun exposure amounts to
3.9*10^24 j = 1.08*10^18 kwh
This corresponds to more than 10,000 times of the present world energy
needs. Furthermore, the constant fluctuation in oil prices, has pushed people
and institutions to think more seriously about renewable energy resources
and somehow reduce their dependence on oil. Another urgent reason to
seriously consider renewable energy resources is that studies show that the
oil depletion point has been reached in 2006 . This is a direct result of
consuming oil much faster than it is naturally produced. Since formation of
new petroleum is a complicated geological process takes millions of years.
In addition, energy demands are increasing at alarming rate.
We believe that the time is coming soon where world governments are
required to offer alternative energy sources to keep their economies running
or practice programmed blackouts. One of the solution measures surfacing is
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the wide spread of national energy centers worldwide to tackle this urgent
energy problem. Jordan is no exception, The National Energy Research
Center has been established in Amman – Jordan for the purposes of research,
development and training in the fields of new and renewable energy; In
addition, to raise the efficiency of using energy in the different economic
sectors.
Furthermore, the simulated and measured data are shown in figure in the
x-y coordinates to determine how close the two sets of data to each other,
and to decide if this software is reliable to be used for further analyses.
Fortunately, the plotted points are very close to the unity-sloped line and
the standard deviation is very small and equal to 2.48%. That means, the
simulated data are very close to the measured ones and therefore, the
software can be used with a high confidence from now on though out the
paper.
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Global radiation in a specific location is defined as the sum of direct and
diffused radiation reaching that location throughout the day from sunrise to
sunset as well as it depends on the day of the year. In addition, diffused
radiation in a location depends on the amount of scattered incoming
radiation.
Figure(1.3.1)
Daily global, direct and diffused radiations are depicted in figure for the 365
days of the year. The average daily global radiation is 5.7 kWh/m² , while
the average daily diffused radiation is 1.58 kWh/m²; in addition, the
maximum daily global radiation is 8.72 kWh/m² and occurred in 26th June
with daily diffused radiation is 1.3 kWh/m² for that day.
Figure(1.3.2)
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High radiation occurs for inclination angles between 10 degrees and 35
degrees and azimuth angle around 0 degree. The radiation range is between
100 W/m2 and 280 W/m2. Note that the surface is color coded where the
dark red indicates high radiation and blue color indicates low radiation, also
the global radiation is projected on the lower plane in colored curves to
better illustrate the changes in the global radiation.
Figure(1.3.3)
Figure(1.3.4)
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Yearly Global radiation for different locations in Yearly
the world City global
radiation
(kWh/m²)
Hashemite University, Jordan 2080
Berlin, Germany 1000
Paris, France 1038
London, UK 944
Cairo, Egypt 2074
Dubai 1929
NY, USA 1427
Hong Kong 1371
Table 1 clearly shows that global radiation in Jordan is one of the highest
values worldwide, therefore, with this high global radiation and more than
300 sunny days annually, Jordan has an excellent and promising potential of
power generation from solar energy, which basically constitute a national
resource waiting to be invested to the full extent.
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The first rotation generates the inclination angle and the second rotation
generates the azimuth angle. Moreover, the tracking with respect to
inclination angle is called one-axis tracking and the tracking with both
inclination and azimuth angles is called two-axis tracking.
Figure 9 considers the one-axis tracking and has shown the average global
radiation for all months of the year, the radiation is changing for different
months and different inclination angles. December and January months
show the lowest global radiation, and June and July months showed the
highest global radiation.
In addition, figure 10 shows the yearly global radiation as a function of
inclination angle. The maximum global radiation occurs at 30 degrees,
therefore, for fixed panels used in The Hashemite University location and to
obtain the maximum solar-energy generation, the PV panels have to be fixed
at 30 degrees.
Figure(1.3.5)
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Figure(1.3.6)
1.4.How Solar Power Generated from PV Cell:
A PV cell (can be called as a solar cell) is a semiconductor device that
converts the sunlight energy into electricity without going through any
energy conversion steps.
This conversion takes place by photovoltaic effect and hence they are
called Photovoltaic (PV) cells. It generates voltage and current at its
terminals when sunlight incident on it.
Figure(1.4.1):PV Cell
The way and the amount of power generated by a solar cell depend on the
sunlight falling on it. This also includes some factors such as intensity of
light, angle at which the light falls on it and area of the cell.
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The more is the power generated, if higher is the light intensity. If the area
of the cell is more, the power generated is also more. And the optimum
power is generated by it when light falling is perpendicular to the front side
of the cell.
The solar cells are made with silicon semiconductor material and is treated
with phosphorous and boron to make a thin silicon wafer. The wafer layers
are then aligned together to make the solar cells, once they are doped.
Irrespective of the technology and material used, every solar cell has two
terminals (positive and negative terminals) so as to take the electric current
from it. Typically, a solar cell consists of front contact at the top, PN
junction in the middle and back contact at the bottom.
Here is the term Electron-volt (eV) which is the unit of energy that
expresses the photon energy and the band-gap energy of a semiconductor
material.
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Figure(1.4.2)Photo electric effect
The semiconductor material of the solar panel absorbs the photons in the
sunlight. Due to this, electron-hole pairs are generated at the junction. When
the solar cell is connected to the load, electrons and holes at the junction are
separated from each other where the electrons are collected at the negative
terminal and holes at positive terminal.
Thus the electric potential is built between the terminals and hence the
voltage is developed across it. This further drives the current (DC) to the DC
loads, inverter, or battery charging circuit.
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This is because light is composed of photons of different wavelengths.
Some photons hit the solar cell and then reflected and prevented from
entering to the cell. In some materials, generated electrons recombine with
other molecules before being drawn into current.
Likewise, there are many reasons for the low conversion rate or efficiency.
The conversion efficiency of the solar panels used in individual residences
ranges from 6 to 10%.
And for large-scale installations and solar power plants, solar panels are
designed with best material and technologies to achieve higher conversion
efficiency ranging from 40 to 60%, but they are costliest.
Figure(1.4.3)
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PV modules are formed by connecting the number of number of solar cells
together. And several PV modules are connected together to make a PV
array which can be used for small power as well as high power generation
applications.
1.5.1.Solar Panels
Solar cell modules or solar panels convert the solar energy into electricity.
These are mounted in such a way that they collect maximum energy from
the sun. Most solar panels are rated to a voltage 12V (a half volt PV cells are
connected in series, inside of the solar panel to produce the high voltage say
12V).
Figure(1.5.1)
The panels are connected in series to form a solar array that produces
higher voltage, typically of 24 or 48V in standalone systems, or it can be
several hundreds of volts in grid-connected systems.
If the panels are connected in parallel, the current delivered to the load will
be more and hence the more power while maintaining the same voltage.
Irrespective of series or parallel connection, the power rating of the system
increases when multiple solar panels are connected together.
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Here, a solar array is made with four 12V and 12 watt solar panels, where
each panel produces a current of 1 A. Then this array would be rated as 48V,
48W with 1A current.
Figure(1.5.2)
If the same rated solar panels are connected in parallel to form an array of
four solar panels, then the solar array would be rated as 12V, 48W with 4 A
current.
Figure(1.5.3)
1.5.2.Batteries
Except the grid-connected system, all other solar energy power generation
systems use batteries to store the energy generated from solar panels. Since
the amount of solar power generated depends on the strength of the sunlight,
batteries provide a constant source of power supply once it is fully charged.
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Figure(1.5.4):Batteries
Mostly, lead acid batteries are used in solar electric systems. Like solar
panels, batteries can be connected together to form a battery bank.
1.5.3.Controller
It regulates the flow of current into and out of the battery. If the generated
current overcharges the battery, it leads to damage in the battery. Moreover,
if the battery is completely discharged, it will destroy the battery. Hence the
solar controller prevents the batteries to undergo these conditions.
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The charge controller module balances the amount of electricity used to
power appliance and lights with generated power. Also, it prevents the
damage to the batteries due to overcharging and deep discharging. In
addition, it gives the alarm when the module not functioning properly.
1.5.4.Inverter
The electricity generated from the solar panels is a Direct Current (DC),
whereas the most electrical appliances work on Alternating Current (AC)
and hence a converter is needed to convert DC to AC, nothing but an
inverter.
Also, if the solar system is connected to the grid, the generated DC voltage
must be converted into AC. So the inverter equipment converts the DC
voltage to the AC and to the same voltage as that of grid or appliance rating.
Figure(1.5.6):Inverter
As a recent invention, most individual solar panels are connected with
micro inverters that provide a high AC voltage. These are suitable only for
grid-connected systems and not suitable with battery backup systems.
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1.6.Different Types of Solar Electric Systems
There are different configurations of solar electric system and are discussed
below.
These are mainly used in the locations where there is no other source to
provide power supply and hence these are used in remote locations and rural
areas where it is difficult to get the power from grid extensions.
Figure(1.6.1)
Generally, off-grid systems use solar power to charge the batteries, and
this charge is then supplied to the load when needed. The battery power
either directly operates the DC loads (DC lamps) or drives the power
inverter that converts the DC power to AC power to operate the appliance
like pumps, lighting equipment, refrigerators, etc.
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This method is followed for any standalone system whether it is a pocket
calculator or a complete off-grid home. Standalone systems are
comparatively small and simple systems.
During the day it feeds the excess electricity generated into the grid and
during evening and night it imports the electricity from the grid. Here the
grid acts like a storage medium in which power is taken from the grid when
needed.
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This system receives the payment for each kilowatt of power which is
supplied to the electricity providers. This type of installation reduces the
dependence on electric utilities and hence reduces the electricity bills.
If this system won’t stop, current flow back into the grid could lead to
serious faults.
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*Grid Fallback Solar Electric Systems
It combines the grid connected system with a bank of batteries. In this
solar array generates the electricity, which in turn charges a battery bank.
The battery power is then runs the inverter which drives the loads through an
inverter.
When the power in the batteries is not enough to drive the loads, the
system automatically switches back to the grid power supply. Again, it
switches back to battery power once the solar array recharges the batteries.
This system doesn’t sell any power to any electrical utilities and the
overall power generated used for domestic or residential systems alone.
Solar hybrid power systems are hybrid power systems that combine solar
power from a photovoltaic system with another power generating energy
source. A common type is a photovoltaic diesel hybrid system, combining
photovoltaics (PV) and diesel generators, or diesel gensets, as PV has hardly
any marginal cost and is treated with priority on the grid. The diesel gensets
are used to constantly fill in the gap between the present load and the actual
generated power by the PV system.
The best business cases for diesel reduction with solar and wind energy can
normally be found in remote locations because these sites are often not
connected to the grid and transport of diesel over long distances is
expensive. Many of these applications can be found in the mining sector and
on islands.
Though Solar PV generates cheaper intermittent power during the day light
time, it needs the support of sustainable power generation sources to provide
round the clock power. Solar thermal plants with thermal storage are clean
sustainable power generation to supply electricity round the clock. They can
cater the load demand perfectly and work as base load power plants when
the extracted solar energy is found excess in a day. Proper mix of solar
thermal (thermal storage type) and solar PV can fully match the load
fluctuations without the need of costly battery storage.
During the day time, the additional auxiliary power consumption of a solar
thermal storage power plant is nearly 10% of its rated capacity for the
process of extracting solar energy in the form of thermal energy. This
auxiliary power requirement can be made available from cheaper solar PV
plant by envisaging hybrid solar plant with a mix of solar thermal and solar
PV plants at a site. Also to optimise the cost of power, generation can be
from the cheaper solar PV plant (33% generation) during the day light
whereas the rest of the time in a day is from the solar thermal storage plant
(67% generation from Solar power tower and parabolic trough types) for
meeting 24 hours base load operation. When solar thermal storage plant is
forced to idle due to lack of sunlight locally during cloudy days in monsoon
season, it is also possible to consume (similar to a lesser efficient, huge
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capacity and low cost battery storage system) the cheap surplus / infirm
power from solar PV, wind and hydro power plants by heating the hot
molten salt to higher temperature for converting stored thermal energy in to
electricity during the peak demand hours when the electricity sale price is
profitable.
Figure(1.6.4)
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1.7. System grounding
All the EGCs you run will be connected to system grounding. The system
ground is composed of a grounding electrode (GE) and a grounding-
electrode conductor (GEC).
The GE is the conductive object in direct contact with the earth. It’s often a
ground rod — a copper rod that has been driven 8 feet into the ground (some
jurisdictions require two ground rods driven a minimum of 6 feet apart and
also that the two be bonded together; if you’re adding new GEs, make sure
you know what the jurisdiction requires).
The GEC is the conductor that connects the grounding electrode (either a
ground rod or a Ufer ground) to a point where all the other grounded
conductors can be connected. Typically, this point is a 6 AWG or 4 AWG
wire that’s connected to the grounding electrode on one end and the ground
busbar inside the MDP on the other end. (A ground busbar is where all the
EGCs are terminated; it’s in direct contact with the metal MDP enclosure.)
Note: The method you choose depends on the location of your inverter and
its relation to the existing grounding-electrode system.
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Figure ( 1.7.1 )
Helps illustrate the two common ways to make the systemgrounding
connection in a utility-interactive system:
A ground rod (or two) connected to the inverter system grounding bya 6
AWG GEC:
Keep in mind that you must connect the existing GE (from the utility) to this
new grounding-electrode system you just installed. The new and existing
GEs must be connected together with a GEC that’s the same size as the
existing GEC from the utility. (See Figure1.7.1.a)
A GEC that’s run from the inverter to the existing GE: As long as the GE
from the inverter is continuous and sized based on the NEC® requirements ;
most jurisdictions accept this grounding method (shown in Figure 1.7.1.b).
You can even use this GEC to bond the equipment installed on the AC side
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of the system as it runs through the equipment. You can’t break this GEC,
but you can crimp EGCs to the GEC inside the equipment to bond the
equipment to the GEC. This method provides the low-resistance bond to the
grounding system that the Code wants you to get.
• Solar energy will last forever whereas it is estimated that the world’s
oil reserves will last for 30 to 40 years.
• Solar cells make absolutely no noise at all. On the other hand, the
giant machines utilized for pumping oil are extremely noisy and
therefore very impractical.
• In the long term, there can be a high return on investment due to the
amount of free energy a solar panel can produce, it is estimated that
the average household will see 50% of their energy coming in from
solar panels.
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1.8.2.Disadvantages of Solar Power:
• Solar panels can be expensive to install resulting in a time-lag of
many years for savings on energy bills to match initial investments.
• Electricity generation depends entirely on a countries exposure to
sunlight; this could be limited by a countries climate.
• Solar power stations do not match the power output of similar sized
conventional power stations; they can also be very expensive to
build.
• Solar power is used to charge batteries so that solar powered devices
can be used at night. The batteries can often be large and heavy,
taking up space and needing to be replaced from time to time.
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Chapter( 2 ):Data collection
In This Chapter
Protecting the conductors with properly sized over current protection devices
After you identify all the components your client’s PV system requires,
you need to determine the correct sizes for all the conductors (wires),
conduit, and mandatory safety equipment that must be installed Some of
these components may need to be special ordered, so sizing them correctly
during the initial design process is critical. After all, one missing piece can
bring an entire job to a grinding halt, frustrating everyone involved.
In many cases, the methods used in this chapter are the same as the ones
used by electricians for sizing standard electrical equipment. However, there
are a few places where you need to look at the process a little differently.
Don’t worry, though, because I share what they are in this chapter. I give
you methods for making sure the conductors used in the PV system you’re
designing are large enough for proper system performance and sized to meet
the requirements of the National Electrical Code® (NEC®). I also explain
how to size conduit and overcurrent protection devices. (For details on the
installation of these components
2.2.Conductor Sizing
When I start sizing the safety components of a PV system, I like to size the
conductors used throughout the system based on National Electrical Code®
(NEC®) requirements to ensure that they’re large enough to safely allow
current to flow through them. To do this correctly, you must conduct some
circuit
Identification. In other words, you need to pinpoint where in the system the
conductors go because the conductors from one part of the system to another
don’t have the same requirements. For example, the conductors from the PV
array to the inverter are subject to different requirements than the conductors
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from the inverter to the AC main distribution panel (MDP). Note: The actual
conductors used can be the same on the DC and AC sides of the system as
long as they’re installed properly.
Following are the proper circuit designations and where they’re located in
relation to the installed equipment:
*The PV source circuit comes from the array and ends in a junction box or
combiner box.
*The PV output circuit comes from the junction box or combiner box and
goes to a DC disconnect.
*The inverter input circuit goes from the DC disconnect to the DC input of
the inverter.
*The inverter output circuit comes from the AC side of the inverter and goes
to the MDP.
Starting at the PV array, you can look at the individual circuits and size the
conductors as they work their way to the inverter; these circuits are known
collectively as the PV circuits. To size the conductors in these circuits, you
have to define the maximum amount of current they’ll ever carry.
The number of modules (or strings) wired in parallel × The short circuit
current, Isc, rating of the module (or string) × 1.25
If you keep reading to Article of the NEC®, you’ll see that a second safety
factor of 1.25 is applied. It’s there because the NEC® dictates that the
conductors and overcurrent protection devices (OCPDs) used in electrical
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systems “shall not continuously carry more than 80 percent of the maximum
current.” The NEC® is calling for you to oversize the conductors so that
when current is run continuously (more than three hours at a time), the
conductors won’t overheat, fail, and cause fires.
To make sure the conductors and OCPDs don’t carry more than the
predetermined limit of 80 percent of the maximum current, you need to
multiply the maximum current by 1.25 (1.25 is the inverse of 80 percent).
Doing so tells you the continuous current requirement.
If you want to take a shortcut, you can multiply the two 1.25 safety factors
together first to find out the overall safety factor to apply to PV circuits,
which is 1.56 (1.25 × 1.25 = 1.56).
At this point, all you’ve done is define the ampacity (amount of current
flow) required by the conductors on the PV side of the system. As I explain
in the later “Putting together the details to determine conductor sizing”
section, you have to adjust this ampacity value based on the locations of the
conductors.
For example, if you have an array that consists of ten modules in series with
each module short circuit current rated at 5.5 A, the maximum current from
that series string of ten modules will be 5.5 A × 1.25 = 6.9 A. To define the
ampacity required for the conductor connected to this string, multiply the
maximum current by 1.25 again to get 6.9 A × 1.25 = 8.6 A. These results
mean that the individual string is rated at 5.5 A but that the conductors and
any OCPD connected to that string must be rated for at least 8.6 A.
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can churn out. Look for this value on an inverter’s specification (spec) sheet
listed as maximum output current, as well as in the inverter’s manual.
To calculate the ampacity required by the conductors and OCPD, you only
have to apply one 1.25 factor so you don’t continuously run more than 80
percent of the maximum current across these components. Here’s the
formula:
Maximum output current × 1.25
For battery-based inverters, the inverter input conductors run between the
batteries and the inverter (or inverters if the system you’re designing calls
for more than one inverters. When applying the NEC® factors for these
circuits, you need to consider the maximum amount of current that could
flow across the wires.
According to Article 690.8 of the NEC®, the maximum current for these
conductorsis calculated by the following formula:
Performing this calculation tells you the largest amount of current that can
continuously run through the conductors.
If the specified inverter has a continuous power output rating of 3 kW and it
can operate all the way down at 42 VDC, the conductors between the battery
bank and the inverter need to be able to handle at least
3,000 W ÷ 42 VDC = 71.4 A.
The array has eight strings in parallel, and each string has an Isc of 5.9 A.
All the strings are placed in parallel inside a combiner box.
With this information, you can apply the previously described steps to
determine the minimum conductor size necessary to satisfy the NEC®:
No matter how large you size the conductors in your system some amount of
voltage drop will occur. As current flows in the conductors, resistance in the
conductors fights that current flow voltage has a direct relationship to
current (which is measured in amps) and resistance via Ohm’s Law, which
can be stated in several ways:
Volts = Amps × Resistance (E = I × R)
Amps = Volts ÷ Resistance (I = E ÷ R)
Resistance = Volts ÷ Amps (R = E ÷ I)
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This interplay between current flow and resistance means you need to
evaluate the conductors used in your system and make sure they aren’t so
small that excessive resistance causes too much loss.
Because the NEC® doesn’t dictate the maximum amount of voltage drop,
you get to decide which amount suits you best. Within the solar industry, the
level of voltage drop is referred to in terms of the DC and AC sides of the
system.
The accepted amount of DC voltage drop is 2 percent from the PV array
down to the inverter input. This isn’t a hard value, though. If you want to,
you can evaluate the financial effects of running larger conductors to
reduce voltage drop and find that a 3-percent drop makes sense.
I show you how to calculate the voltage drop values for DC and AC circuits
in the next sections. In both examples, I use Ohm’s Law and some given
properties for copper conductors (but you can solve for any of the pieces of
information as long as you can define all the other parts of the equation).
Note: In the real world, you may need to take slight differences in the nature
of AC circuits into account when calculating the AC voltage drop. For all
practical purposes, though, using Ohm’s Law as I show you is accurate
enough.
If you calculate the voltage drop and come up with a gauge that’s different
than the calculations in the preceding section, use the larger of the two
conductors. This way you always satisfy both requirements.
2.5.DC voltage
The first step in calculating the voltage drop from the PV array down to the
inverter is to break down the individual parts of the PV circuit(s).
To estimate the total voltage drop, you need to consider the longest PV
source circuit length (from one of the strings to the combiner) and the PV
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output circuit (from the combiner to the inverter) and make two separate
calculations that you then add together.
Before you can run your calculations, you need to collect the following
information about the PV system:
The maximum power output rating of the array from the modules’ spec
sheets: You use the Vmp value because you’re most concerned about the
voltage drop when the array is producing its greatest amount of power.
The maximum current value for each circuit from the modules’ spec sheets:
You use the Imp value for the same reason you use the Vmp value.
The total circuit length: This number tells you how far the electrons have to
travel to complete their circuit. You generally have to estimate this number
by measuring the distances for the proposed equipment locations. Convert
this distance into kilofeet (a goofy measurement, I know) because the table
you have to reference supplies conductor resistances in terms of resistance
per thousand feet of conductor. To convert to kilofeet, divide the estimated
distance by 1,000.
Calculating the DC voltage drop requires you to apply the information you
collected regarding the module specs and the conductor properties (length
and resistance) to a form of Ohm’s Law a little differently than Herr Ohm
intended (although if given the chance, I think he’d approve).
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The difference is that a length value is associated with the equation:
Vdrop = Imp × Rc × L
Vdrop = The maximum number of volts you’re willing to lose based on the
array’s Vmp (it’s the variable you solve for)
Imp = The maximum power current rating of the circuit
Rc = The resistance of the conductor (Ω/kft)
L = The total circuit length in thousands of feet (kft)
Suppose you have an array that consists of three strings of ten modules and
all the strings are arranged on a roof in rows of ten. These three strings are
all wired to a roof-mounted combiner box that runs down from the roof to
the inverter mounted outside next to the utility meter and MDP. This setup
means you have three PV source circuits running from the strings to the
combiner box and a single circuit running the rest of the way out.
Each PV module is 36.2 V and 4.9 A, and the strings are wired with 12
AWG conductors. With all of this information, you can measure the total
circuit length for the circuit and calculate the total voltage drop. In order to
determine the voltage drop in the PV source circuit, you need to collect the
following module and conductor information:
Here’s how to calculate the number of volts that will be lost in this circuit (in
other words, the voltage drop, or Vdrop), using the preceding information:
Vdrop = Imp × Rc × L
Vdrop = 4.9 A × 1.98 Ω/kilofeet × 0.075 kilofeet
Vdrop = 0.73 V
This number indicates how many volts will be lost due to the resistance in
the conductor. Your next step is to relate this voltage drop to a percentage of
the entire circuit. To determine the voltage drop in a percentage, divide the
calculated loss by the original Vmp value for the array: Vdrop % = Vdrop /
Vmp of the array
So when you apply the values calculated in the example, you get the
following:
0.73 V ÷ (36.2 V × 10) = 0.73 V ÷ 362 V = 0.002 = 0.2%
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This result indicates that a 0.2-percent voltage drop exists in the PV source
circuits. To determine the voltage drop in the PV output circuit, repeat this
process. If when you add these two voltage drop percentages together, the
total voltage drop is less than your desired amount of 2 percent, the
conductor sizes check out. If the total voltage drop is greater than your
desired amount, you need to upsize one of the conductors to minimize the
loss.
2.6.AC voltage
When you go to look at the voltage drop on the AC side, you use the exact
same equation that I feature in the preceding section with different numbers
for the voltage and current values.
The nominal AC voltage replaces the maximum power output rating of the
array.
The maximum inverter current output value tells you the current input.
You can reference the conductor resistance from the table in Figure 13-3.
The circuit length is still the total circuit length (twice the physical distance
between the inverter and the utility interconnection).
Say you have an inverter that’s operating at 240 VAC and a maximum
current output of 24 A. The inverter output circuit is 10 AWG, and the
inverter is 75 feet from the MDP. To find the AC voltage drop in this
example system, you need to collect the following information:
The AC operating voltage is 24 VAC.
The maximum current output is 24 A.
The inverter output circuit is 10 AWG, with a resistance of 1.24 Ω/kilofeet.
The total circuit length is 150 feet or 0.15 kilofeet.
You can apply these values to the voltage drop equation in the preceding
section:
Vdrop = Imax × Rc × L
Vdrop = 24 A× 1.24 × 0.15
Vdrop = 4.5 V
To determine what this is in terms of a percentage value:
Vdrop % = Vdrop ÷ Vnominal
Vdrop % = 4.5V ÷ 240 V = 0.19 = 1.9%
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This percentage exceeds the recommended maximum voltage drop of 1.5
percent for utility-interactive systems, so in this case, I recommend looking
at the next-largest size of conductor to minimize the effects of excessive
voltage drop on this circuit.
Although you may be used to placing OCPD on each and every circuit you
wire in a regular electrical system, placing OCPD in every PV source and
output circuit isn’t an absolute requirement. When your system meets Article
690.9 of the NEC®, you can actually place two strings of PV modules in
parallel without having to put OCPDs on either string. As soon as you add a
third string, though, you should place OCPDs on the strings.
The idea is, if you have three strings in parallel and a fault occurs on one of
the strings (meaning that string becomes a load and starts accepting current),
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the Isc values from the other two strings (the external sources) will exceed
the conductors’ ampacity and the modules’ rating.
As for the AC output of your inverter, you always need an OCPD for this
circuit. A variety of options exist for installing this protection, with the most
common being a circuit breaker located in the MDP. This circuit breaker
serves as both a way to disconnect the inverter and a method of protecting
the conductors.
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*Determining the average daily energy consumption for stand-alone
systems:
After you’ve identified all the loads you need to evaluate how much energy
each load consumes in order to begin the process of sizing all the required
components. Going through the load analysis may seem like a real pain, but
if you don’t take the time to estimate each load’s energy consumption, the
installed system will be either grossly under- or oversized for your client’s
needs. Both situations result in a waste of time and money.
When estimating weekly energy consumption, include all the watts drawn.
For example, if you’re looking at lighting, don’t just calculate the energy
based off one light — look at all the lights that will be on at the same time.
Here’s another example: Pretend that the washing machine isn’t run each
day in your client’s home. If you calculated the washing machine’s energy
consumption based on the days it runs, you’d end up with a value that’s
higher than normal. By instead averaging out the washing machine’s energy
consumption over the course of a week, you wind up with a daily energy
consumption that’s slightly higher than the reality for the days the washer
doesn’t run and slightly lower than the reality for the days it does run. This
results in a good approximation for the week.
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2.8.Practical calculation
The data was observed and taken from the website of the company
(www.jepco.jo).
From the renewable energy sector, we have got the factor adopt to give
licenses and permissions.
This factor is the product of { the average number of hours of sunshine per
day } With the { number of hours each day } .
This factor ( the product ) is (K) and is equals 130
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The estimated PV system capacity for the shop:
Inverters design:
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Chapter( 3 ):The simulation
We simulated the project using pvsyst 6.6.4, and the results are in the
following figures:
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Figure (3.1.5): Module ageing
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Figure (3.1.7): Horizon (for shading) at Amman
*There was no shading in the field because it was an open area without any
near buildings or trees to prevent the sunlight from reaching the panels.
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*The figures (3.1.8) and (3.1.9) show the carbon balance in the economic
evaluation.
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3.2.The results of the simulation
*The systems results by the program are shown in the graphs below:
Figure (3.2.1)
Figure (3.2.2)
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Figure (3.2.3)
Figure (3.2.4)
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Figure (3.2.5)
Table (3.2.1)
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Table (3.2.2)
Table (3.2.3)
Table (3.2.4)
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Table (3.2.5)
Table (3.2.6)
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3.3.Final report from the program
Figure(3.3.1)
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Figure (3.3.2)
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Figure (3.3.3)
55
Figure (3.3.4)
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3.4.Data sheet
*Solar panels sheet
Figure (3.4.1)
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Figure (3.4.2)
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*Inverter sheet
Figure (3.4.3)
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Figure (3.4.4)
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Figure (3.4.5)
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Figure (3.4.6)
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Refrences:
11. "2014 Outlook: Let the Second Gold Rush Begin" (PDF). Deutsche
Bank Markets Research. 6 January 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original
on 21 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
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13.Giles Parkinson (13 August 2014). "Citigroup: Outlook for global solar is
getting brighter". RenewEconomy. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
14."Snapshot of Global PV 1992-2014" (PDF). iea-pvps.org. International
Energy Agency — Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme. 30 March
2015. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015.
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