Recent Advances in Renewable Energy Sources

Design & Sizing of Stand-alone Solar Power Systems A house Iraq

Ali Najah Al-Shamani1,2, Mohd Yusof Hj Othman1, Sohif Mat1, M.H. Ruslan1, Azher M. Abed1,
K. Sopian1.
1
Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Malaysia.
2
Al-Musaib Technical College, Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University, 51009 Babylon, Iraq.

ali.alshamani@yahoo.com, myho@ukm.edu.my, drsohif@gmail.com, hafidz@ukm.my,

azhermuhson@gmail.com, ksopian@yahoo.com

Abstract: - Exploitation the solar energy to power electric appliances starts by converting the energy coming
from the sun to electricity. Photovoltaic is the direct conversion of the solar energy into electricity. Photovoltaic
systems can be used to exploit the solar energy in almost all kinds of applications. Exploiting of solar energy
for domestic use is one avenue where the energy emitted from the sun is converted into electricity to power
most if not all the appliances available at our homes and residences. In Iraq there are other reasons why the use
of solar energy so necessary, firstly, appropriate climatic conditions, secondly, delayed electricity supply
projects for remote areas. Building a photovoltaic system is the process of designing, selecting and calculating
the ratings of the equipment’s employed in the system. This process depends on a variety of factors such as
geographical location, solar irradiation, and load requirements. In this paper, the author has been present the
components required for the design of a stand-alone photovoltaic system that will power all electric appliances
at a medium-energy-consumption residence in Hilla City.

Key-Words: - Stand-alone, solar irradiance, days of autonomy, photovoltaic system, load profile, system sizing.

1. Introduction Different geographical regions

The sun provides the energy to sustain experience different weather patterns, so the site
life in our solar system. In one hour, the earth where we live is a major factor that affects the
receives enough energy from the sun to meet its photovoltaic system design from many sides;
energy needs for nearly a year [1]. Photovoltaic the orientation of the panels, finding the number
is the direct conversion of sunlight to of days of autonomy where the sun does not
electricity. It is an attractive alternative to shine in the skies, and choosing the best tilt-
conventional sources of electricity for many angle of the solar panels. Photovoltaic panels
reasons: it is safe, silent, and non-polluting, collect more energy if they are installed on a
renewable, highly modular in that their capacity tracker that follows the movement of the sun;
can be increased incrementally to match with however, it is an expensive process. For this
gradual load growth, and reliable with minimal reason they usually have a fixed position with
failure rates and projected service lifetimes of an angle called tilt angle β. This angle varies
20 to 30 years [2, 3]. It requires no special according to seasonal variations [4]. For
training to operate; it contains no moving parts, instance, in summer, the solar panel must be
it is extremely reliable and virtually more horizontal, while in winter, it is placed at
maintenance free; and it can be installed almost a steeper angle.
anywhere. The intensity of the sunlight that Many researchers presented procedure
reaches the earth varies with time of the day, to design stand-alone photovoltaic systems [5-
season, location, and the weather conditions. 7]. The idea of this paper is to introduce the
The total energy on a daily or annual basis is procedures employed in building and selecting
called irradiation and indicates the strength of the equipment’s of a stand-alone photovoltaic
the sunshine. Irradiation is expressed in Wh.m- system based on the Watt-Hour demand. As a
2 per day or for instance kWh.m-2 per day. case study, a residence in Hilla, Iraq with
medium energy consumption is selected.

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voltage. Inverters are different by the output

wave format, output power and installation
CASE STUDY: A RESIDENCE IN HILLA, type. It is also called power conditioner
IRAQ because it changes the form of the electric
power. The efficiency of all inverters
The geographical location of the Hilla
reaches their nominal efficiency (around 90
City, Babylon, Iraq at 32.47° latitude and percent) when the load demand is greater
44.41° longitude makes it a relatively sun-rich than about 50 percent of rated load [9].
region with an annual solar irradiance of about 5- Load – is electrical appliances that
2200 kWh.m-2. This implies that solar energy connected to solar PV system such as lights,
systems would be very efficient in this part of radio, TV, computer, refrigerator, etc.
the world. Some areas in the Hilla City,
Babylon are still beyond utility grid reach 2.2. Configuration
especially those along the east border line. The photovoltaic systems are classified
according to how the system components are
2. System Description connected to other power sources such as stand-
alone (SA) and utility-interactive (UI) systems.
2.1. Components In a stand-alone system depicted in Figure 1, the
Solar PV system includes different components system is designed to operate independent of the
that should be selected according to your system electric utility grid, and is generally designed and
type, site location and applications. A Balance-of- sized to supply certain DC- and/or AC electrical
System that wired together to form the entire fully loads.
functional system capable of supplying electric
power and these components are:
1- PV module: It is made from
semiconductor and convert sunlight to Charge
electricity. The PV converts sunlight into PV Controller
DC Load
DC electricity. The most common PV Array
modules include single and polycrystalline
silicon and amorphous silicon with other
technologies entering the market. Battery Inverter
2- Battery – stores energy for supplying to
electrical appliances when there is a
demand. Battery bank, which is involved in AC Load
the system to make the energy available at
night or at days of autonomy (sometimes (a)
called no-sun-days or dark days), when the
sun is not providing enough radiation.
These batteries, usually lead-acid, are
designed to gradually discharge and
recharge 80% of their capacity hundreds of
times. Automotive batteries are shallow-
cycle batteries and should not be used in PV
systems because they are designed to
discharge only about 20% of their capacity
[8].
3- Solar charge controller – regulates the
voltage and current coming from the PV
panels going to battery and prevents battery
overcharging and prolongs the battery life.
4- Inverter – converts DC output of PV panels
or wind turbine into a clean AC current for
AC appliances or fed back into grid line. It (b)
is one of the solar energy system's main
elements, as the solar panels generate dc- Fig. 1: Stand-alone photovoltaic System (a) Block

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 Recent Advances in Renewable Energy Sources

Diagram (b) Schematic Diagram under sizing, losses must be considered by dividing
the total power demand in Wh.day-1 by the product
3. System sizing of efficiencies of all components in the system to
System sizing is the process of evaluating get the required energy Er.
the adequate voltage and current ratings for each To avoid under sizing we begin by dividing the total
component of the photovoltaic system to meet the average energy demand per day by the efficiencies
electric demand at the facility and at the same time of the system components to obtain the daily energy
calculating the total price of the entire system from requirement from the solar array:
the design phase to the fully functional system daily average energy consuption
Er =
including, shipment, and labor. product of component′s efficiencies (1)
E
3.1. Residence Device =
ηoverall
As a first step, the electrical devices To obtain the peak power, the previous result is
available at the residence are itemized with their divided by the average sun hours per day for the
power ratings and time of operation during the day geographical location Tmin.
to obtain the average energy demand in Watt-hour daily energy requirement
Pp =
per day as shown below in Table 1. minimum peak sun − hours per day (2)
The total average energy consumption is used to Er
determine the equipment sizes and ratings starting =
Tmin
with the solar array and ending with system wiring The total current needed can be calculated by
and cost estimate as explained below. dividing the peak power by the DC- voltage of the
system.
3.2. Sizing of the Solar Array 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝑃𝑃𝑝𝑝 (3)
𝐼𝐼𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 = =
Before sizing the array, the total daily 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉 𝑉𝑉𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷
energy in Watt-hours (E), the average sun hour per
day Tmin, and the DC-voltage of the system (VDC) Modules must be connected in series and parallel
must be determined. Once these factors are made according to the need to meet the desired voltage
available we move to the sizing process. To avoid and current in accordance with:

Table 1: Residence Devices and Daily Energy Consumption

Watts * Use * Use ÷7

Individual Load Qty. V Amps W.h AC
AC h/d d/w days

Ceiling Fan 3 220 0.454545 120 8 7 7 690

Coffee Maker 1 220 2.727273 600 0.3 7 7 180

Iron 1 220 4.545455 1000 0.8 4 7 457.143

Computer& Accessories 1 220 0.568182 120 2 7 7 240

Light, 4 Comp. 4*15 220 0.272727 60 5 7 7 300

Radio 1 220 0.363636 80 4 7 7 320

Refrigerator 1 220 0.909091 200 12 7 7 2400

Television 1 220 0.568182 125 6 7 7 750

Washing Machine 1 220 1.136364 250 0.5 5 7 89.28571

AC Total Connected Watts: 2555 AC Average Daily Load: 5696.43

Total Average Energy Consumption 5696.426 approximated to 5700

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 Recent Advances in Renewable Energy Sources

Once the sizing of the battery bank is made

available, we proceed to the next system
First, the number of parallel modules which component.
equals the whole modules current divided by the 3.4. Sizing of the Voltage Controller
rated current of one module Ir.
whole module current 𝐼𝐼𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷
According to its function it controls the
𝑁𝑁𝑝𝑝 = = (5) flow of current. A good voltage regulator must be
rated current of one module 𝐼𝐼𝑟𝑟
able to withstand the maximum current produced by
Second, the number of series modules
the array as well as the maximum load current.
which equals the DC voltage of the system divided
Sizing of the voltage regulator can be obtained by
by the rated voltage of each module Vr.
𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑉𝑉𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 multiplying the short circuit current of the modules
𝑁𝑁𝑠𝑠 = = (6) connected in parallel by a safety factor Fsafe. The
𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑉𝑉𝑟𝑟
result gives the rated current of the voltage regulator
Finally, the total number of modules Nm equals the
I:
series modules multiplied by the parallel ones:
𝐼𝐼 = 𝐼𝐼𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 ∗ 𝑁𝑁𝑝𝑝 ∗ 𝐹𝐹𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 (13)
𝑁𝑁𝑚𝑚 = 𝑁𝑁𝑠𝑠 ∗ 𝑁𝑁𝑝𝑝 (7)
The factor of safety is employed to make sure that
3.3. Sizing of the Battery Bank the regulator handles maximum current produced by
The amount of rough energy storage the array that could exceed the tabulated value. And
required is equal to the multiplication of the total to handle a load current more than that planned due
power demand and the number of autonomy days to addition of equipment, for instance. In other
Erough=E×D. words, this safety factor allows the system to
For safety, the result obtained is divided by the expand slightly.
maximum allowable level of discharge (MDOD): The number of controller equals the Array short
energy storage required 𝐸𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 ℎ (8)
current Amps divided by the Amps for each
𝐸𝐸𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = = controller:
maximum depth of discharge 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀
At this moment, we need to make a decision 𝐼𝐼 (14)
𝑁𝑁𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 =
regarding the rated voltage of each battery Vb to be 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝑠𝑠 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒ℎ 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
used in the battery bank. The capacity of the battery
bank needed in ampere-hours can be evaluated by 3.5. Sizing of the Inverter
dividing the safe energy storage required by the DC When sizing the inverter, the actual power
voltage of one of the batteries selected: drawn from the appliances that will run at the same
𝐸𝐸𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 (9) time must be determined as a first step.
𝐶𝐶 =
𝑉𝑉𝑏𝑏
According to the number obtained for the capacity 3.6. Sizing of the System Wiring
of the battery bank, another decision has to be made Selecting the correct size and type of wire
regarding the capacity Cb of each of the batteries of will enhance the performance and reliability of a
that bank. The battery bank is composed of batteries photovoltaic system. The National Electrical
The total number of batteries is obtained by dividing Code is NEC.
the capacity C of the battery bank in ampere-hours
by the capacity of one of the battery Cb selected in 4. Result
ampere-hours:
𝐶𝐶 (10)
4.1. Sizing of the Solar Array
𝑁𝑁𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 =
𝐶𝐶𝑏𝑏 The select panel is (Mitsubishi - MF180UD4, 180-
The connection of the battery bank can be then W, 24-V, 7.45-A).
easily figured out. The number of batteries in series The Specification of PV panel
equals the DC voltage of the system divided by the  Manufacturer: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC.
voltage rating of one of the batteries selected:  Model name: PV-MF180UD4.
𝑉𝑉𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷
𝑁𝑁𝑠𝑠 = (11)  Cell type: Poly-crystalline Silicon.
𝑉𝑉𝑏𝑏
 Number of cells: 50 cells.
Then number of parallel paths Np is obtained by
dividing the total number of batteries by the number  Maximum power rating STC (Pmax): 180
of batteries connected in series: watts.
𝑁𝑁𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 (12)  Open circuit voltage (Voc): 30.4V.
𝑁𝑁𝑝𝑝 =
𝑁𝑁𝑠𝑠  Short circuit current (Isc): 8.03A.

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 Maximum power voltage (Vmp): 24.2V. I = ISC ∗ Np ∗ Fsafe = 8.03 ∗ 11 ∗ 1.25

 Maximum power current (Imp): 7.45A. = 110.4125 Amps
The daily energy requirement from the solar array The number of controller equals to, Ncontroller =
I 110.4125
can be determined as following: = = 1.84
Amps each controller 60
𝐸𝐸 5700 𝑊𝑊ℎ 𝐾𝐾𝐾𝐾ℎ We need two regulators connected in parallel.
𝐸𝐸𝑟𝑟 = = = 7125 = 7.125
𝜂𝜂𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 0.8 𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
4.4. Sizing of the Inverter:
𝐸𝐸𝑟𝑟
To obtain the peak power of the PV: 𝑃𝑃𝑝𝑝 = 𝑇𝑇 = The power of devices that may run at the same time
𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚
7.125
= 1.855 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 is:
3.84
P Total= 2555 Watt.
The total current needed can be calculated by:
𝑃𝑃𝑝𝑝 1855.46 The inverter needed must be able to handle about
𝐼𝐼𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 = = = 77.311 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴
𝑉𝑉𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 24 2555-W at 220-Vac. Latronics inverter, LS- 3024,
Modules must be connected in series and parallel 3000-W, 24-Vdc, 220-Vac.
according to the need to meet the desired voltage
and current in accordance with: 5. Conclusion
First, the number of parallel modules: 𝑁𝑁𝑝𝑝 = 𝐼𝐼𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷
𝐼𝐼
= The geographical location of Hilla, Babylon - Iraq
𝑟𝑟
77.3111
= 10.3773 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 = 11 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 makes it a relatively sun-rich region with an annual
7.45
Second, the number of series modules which equals solar irradiance of more than 2200 kWh.m-2. There
to: 𝑁𝑁𝑠𝑠 = 𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 = 24
24
=1 is a great tendency for the use of stand-alone
𝑟𝑟
photovoltaic stations distributed in remote areas due
Finally, the total number of modules 𝑁𝑁𝑚𝑚 = 11 ∗ 1 =
11 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃
to the known benefits of this source of energy. This
The PV array of the system consists of 11 panels in subject needs to be defined for people living in these
parallel. areas. In this paper, the author introduces the
procedures employed in building and selecting the
4.2. Sizing of the Battery Bank: equipment’s of a stand-alone photovoltaic system
based on the Watt-Hour demand. As a case study, a
Total Average Energy Use = 5700 W.h.
residence in Hilla, Iraq with medium energy
Days of autonomy or the no-sun days = 3 days.
consumption is selected.
According to the selected battery (UB-8D AGM -
The factors that affect the design and sizing of every
250 AH, 12V-DC).
piece of equipment used in the system have also
The amount of energy storage required is, Erough=
been presented. Over- and under-sizing have also
5700×3 = 17.1 kWh,
𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 ℎ 𝐸𝐸 17100 been avoided to ensure adequate, reliable, and
For Energy safety, 𝐸𝐸𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 = = economical system design. The same procedures
0.75
22800 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘ℎ could be employed and adapted to applications with
The capacity of the battery bank needed can be larger energy consumptions and could also be
𝐸𝐸𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 22800 employed for other geographical locations,
evaluated: 𝐶𝐶 = 𝑉𝑉 𝑏𝑏
= = 1900 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ℎ
12 however, the appropriate design parameters of these
The total number of batteries is obtained by: locations should be employed.
𝐶𝐶 1900
𝑁𝑁𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 = = = 7.6 𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 =
𝐶𝐶𝑏𝑏 250
8 𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 References:
The number of batteries in series equals to: 𝑁𝑁𝑠𝑠 = [1] R. A. Messenger and J. Ventre,
24 Photovoltaic systems engineering: CRC
=2
12 press, 2003.
Then number of parallel paths Np is obtained by: [2] R. W. Ritchie, Using Sunlight for Your Own
8
𝑁𝑁𝑝𝑝 = = 4 Solar Electricity: Build Your Own System,
2
The number of batteries needed is, Nbatteries =8 Become Independent of the Grid, Domestic
batteries. Four parallel branches and 2 series Photo Voltaics: Ritchie Unlimited
batteries. Publications, 1999.
[3] D. G. F. Sonnenenergie, Planning and
4.3. Sizing of the Voltage Controller: installing photovoltaic systems: a guide for
installers, architects and engineers:
According to selected controller (Xantrex C-60, 24-
Earthscan, 2007.
V, 60-A), the rated current of the voltage Controller
I:

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[4] G. M. Masters, Renewable and efficient

electric power systems: John Wiley & Sons,
2013.
[5] S. I. Sulaiman, T. K. A. Rahman, I. Musirin,
S. Shaari, and K. Sopian, An intelligent
method for sizing optimization in grid-
connected photovoltaic system, Solar
energy, Vol. 86, No.7, 2012, pp. 2067-2082.
[6] S. Weixiang, Design of standalone
photovoltaic system at minimum cost in
Malaysia, in Industrial Electronics and
Applications, 2008. ICIEA 2008. 3rd IEEE
Conference on, 2008, pp. 702-707.
[7] R. Posadillo and R. López Luque,
Approaches for developing a sizing method
for stand-alone PV systems with variable
demand, Renewable Energy, Vol. 33, No.5,
2008, pp. 1037-1048.

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