INFORMATION SHEET
Course: HNDEE
Subject: Real life project
Module: Solar energy Code:
Item: PLANNING A SOLAR ELECTRIC SYSTEM
Detail: Calculation of the load and system voltage
CALCULATION OF THE LOAD AND SYSTEM VOLTAGE
Introduction
If you are planning a system in your house or work place, it is important that you make a plan
before buying and installing the system, if you don’t pan, your solar investment may turn out to
be less functional and more expensive that intended.
When the expectation are not met, it might bring disappointment which in turn could bring solar
technology in disregard.
Some planning considerations
❖ A major barrier which prevents people from obtaining a solar electric system in is the
high initial cost. When planning, remember that the electric demand will probably grow.
For example, in a school, classrooms may be added, or in a home, a television may be
added. Adding more appliances will increase the load and will often require additional
solar modules and batteries? There is need to plan for this.
❖ Consider and compare the costs of alternatives carefully. Solar electricity is often the
cheapest alternative for those who require power lighting and small appliances there are
many situations where the grid connection or use of diesel generator is cheaper that solar
electricity.
❖ Before starting, draw a scale diagram of the floor plan where the system is being installed.
It will help you estimate the amount of cables and wiring material and decide where to
locate the battery, modules, controller, sockets and appliances.
❖ Keep your system as simple as possible. The complex you make it, the more likely it is to
fail.
❖ Shop around for different equipment. Do not believe any dealer who claims to have the
best equipment unless you have looked at what these are selling check the process of
equipment available and decide carefully which is the most practical.
❖ Estimate the load carefully. Over estimation of the load will increase the cost of the system
significantly. Under-estimating the size of the load may result in continual battery
problems.
Load consumption analysis
The load is defined as the amount of electric power being consumed in a given movement. It is
measured in watt hours (Wh)
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A number of steps are taken in proper load consumption analysis:-
a) Determining total daily energy demand in watt hours
b) Estimate system losses
c) Adding the daily energy demand to the estimated losses
d) Decide on the system voltage
e) Determine the total daily system energy requirement
a. Determining daily energy demand
To determine the load or energy demand, it is necessary to select the units that will rely on the
system for power. Then determine the power (wattage) of each item. The power of a device is
usually stamped or printed on a name plate.
Then decide how many hours per day (on average) each item is to be used. The load estimate
must be as precise as possible to avoid over sizing or under sizing the system. If design is
oversized, money is wasted on excess capacity. If it is undersized, power shortages during
operation may result.
Data is transferred into a worksheet 1 shown below. It is important that all appliances that will
be used are listed. For example,
Appliance Voltage (volts) Power (watts) Daily use Daily energy
(hours) use.
(Watt Hours)
Kitchen lamp 12 VDC 13 W 2h 26 Wh
Bedroom lamp 12 VDC 11 W 2h 22 Wh
Sitting lamp 12 VDC 13 W 3h 39 Wh
Colour TV 240 VAC 100 W 2h 200 Wh
Total daily 287 Wh
energy demand
Therefore, the total daily energy demand for the load is 287Wh for example as above.
b. Estimating system losses
The next step is to estimate system losses to the battery, wires and inverters. Not all the energy
produced by the module is available for use in the system as some is lost as heat in conversions.
For small systems, it is reasonable to assume that losses will be about 15 – 20% of the total daily
load, but losses increase if the system has long wire runs, old batteries or inverters.
If for our example, the energy loss assumed is 15% and this gives 43 Wh.
c. Adding the daily energy demand to the system losses
The result of this is the Total Daily system energy requirement. Which will be (287 Wh + 43 Wh)
= 330 Wh.
d. Choosing the system voltage
System voltage is the voltage at which the appliances in his system operate. The voltages are
normally 12 124 VDC. The advantage of the 12VDC system is that appliances are more readily
available where as if they are long runs, system voltage can be set to 24 VDC to reduce voltage
drop in cables. (In our example, we shall choose 12 VDC)
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e. Determining the daily system charge requirement
To determine the daily system charge requirement, the daily system energy requirement (330
Wh) must be divided by the chosen system voltage (12 VDC). The result will be the 330/12 = 27.5
Ah (Amp hours)
SIZING PV SYSTEM COMPONENTS
The sizing of the PV system components depends on the outcome of the load consumption
analysis. The components to be sized include:
• Modules
• Battery
• Charge controller
• Inverter
• Cables and fixtures
a) Sizing modules
To design for the number of modules required for a particular site, the number of peak sun hours
(or the total energy in kilo watt hours per square metre) is a paramount key factor.
The table below shows the average sun peak hours per day for some areas in Uganda
Site name Average sun peak hours
per day
Kabale 2.6
Masaka 5.4
Entebbe 5.2
Mbarara 5.1
Mubende 4.6
Arua 5.1
Lira 5.7
Jinja 4.6
Kasese 4.9
Kitgum 5.9
In order to determine the size of the module, the requirement is to know the system charging
current. This is obtainable by dividing the daily system requirement by the peak sun hours.
For our example,
Charging current = 27.5 Ah/ 5.1 h, assuming our site is located in Mbarara.
= 5.39 A
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The next step is to decide on the module (or an array of modules) with the required current of
5.39A. With the help of the manufacturer’s technical specifications and data sheets the I-V curve
of the modules.
For example, below are the Technical specifications of selected modules from the company
Phaesun can be found
Module type USP 60 USP 70 USP 75 USP 100 USP 145
Electrical 65 70 75 100 145
Parameters
Rated Power (W) 12 12 12 12/24 12/24
Configuration (A) 3.89 4.09 4.39 1.92 4.24
Rated Current (A) 16.7 17.1 17.1 42.2 34.2
Rated Voltage (V) 4.3 4.625 5.02 3.4 4.85
Short circuit current 21 21 21 41 42
Open circuit current
For the example above which requires 5.39A, the suitable would have been to use two
modules of USP 100 connected in parallel to give a current of (2.92 *2) = 5.84 A but the
voltage of 34.2 V is far greater than 17.1 V and it is not sufficient for a PV of 12V.
Note: When selecting PV modules, look for the product listing, qualification testing warranty
information in the module manufacturer’s specifications.
b) Sizing of battery
As part of the system most likely to experience problems, the battery must be selected and sized
carefully. Choice of battery will be limited by what is on market and how much you have to spend.
Remember, buy a good battery if you can afford it, it will pay off over the years. Avoid choosing
second-hand automotive batteries as their capacity will be reduced by age and previous cycling.
Battery voltage is determined by the system voltage. Most systems use 12V DC. The right sizing
of batteries is as important as the correct module size. The battery voltage is determined by the
system voltage.
Our example is using a system voltage of 12V; hence we need a battery voltage of 12V. To calculate
the battery size we need the following input:
• Daily system charge requirement (has been calculated already)
• Number of storage days
• Maximum depth of discharge
The number of storage days is the number of expected consecutive cloudy days which battery ill
hardly be charged. In most areas of Uganda two or three days would be sufficient for household
applications. In our example, we are calculating with two days.
The maximum depth of discharge is the portion of battery storage that will regularly be used.
Remember that shallow cycle automotive batteries should not be cycled below 20%. Deep cycle
batteries can handle a regular depth of discharge of 50%.
In our example, we will use a deep battery and
Required system battery capacity
= (Daily system charge requirement x Number of storage) / Depth of Discharge
= (27.5 Ah * 2) I 100 = 110 Ah
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In case of using a standard automotive battery the result would be = (27.5 Ah * 2) I 0.20 = 275
Ah
The following table indicated different models of the SONNENSCHENIN Solar Company
Models Normal Voltage Normal capacity (AH)
SB12/60 A 12 60
SB12/75 A 12 75
SB12/100 A 12 100
SB12/130 A 12 130
SB12/185 A 12 185
SB12/200 A 6 200
Since the required system battery capacity is 110Ah, then with reference to available batteries in
the table above, a better option is one of 130Ah since it is always better to oversize the battery
slightly as this will contribute to both the overall system performance as well as cycle life of the
battery.
c) Sizing the charge controller
The controller must be sized to handle incoming current from the module and the module and
the maximum demand of the load. They are ordinarily rated to the current of the module.
Common charge controller sizes are for 5, 8, 10 and 20 amp inputs. Controllers need to be sized
to the system voltage. If the system is 12 V you need a 12 V controller if the system is 24V, you
need a 24 V controller.
Depending on the size of the system, the appliances used, a controller will be required to perform
different functions, important features to consider include:
• Overcharge protection
• Low voltage disconnect
• Solar charge and low voltage warning lamps
• Load timers
In our example, we have a maximum current from the module of 5.4 A. the maximum load is total
current of the loads. i.e.
Kitchen lamp (13/12) = 1.08 A
Bedroom lamp (11/12) = 0.92 A
Sitting room lamp (13/12) = 1.08 A The total current is 3.52
Colour TV (100/240) = 0.42 A
From the maximum current of the module 5.4A and a maximum load of 3.52 A, the best
option for the controller is SA, since that of 5A will be for the system.
d) Inverter sizing
The correct sizing of the converter of the inverter is very important to the system performance.
In addition, the size (or normal output) of an inverter cannot be raised one the component is
purchased. This is a difference to modules and batteries. These components can be added in case
the system design or sizing proves to be insufficient.
When choosing a specific inverter, the inverter’s output capacity must be matched to the size of
the electrical loads it will run, by choosing which electrical circuits the inverter will power, the
power draw of all electrical loads on each circuit can be added together to arrive at the minimum
necessary inverter capacity.
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Inverters have two different capacity rating namely:
• Continuous output rating: The maximum wattage the inverter can output on a long-term
basis.
• Surge capacity rating: this is the maximum wattage the inverter can output on a
momentarily basis.
The desired output wave depends on the appliances that should be operated. For the modified
sine wave (TV, Radio Microwave, Lights, Refrigerator etc.) and for the pure sine wave (Tools with
variable speed motors, Laser printers, Digital Clock radio and Sensitive electronics)
For our example, we are operating a TV set with a power consumption of 100W. However, we
are choosing a pure sine wave inverter with a rated power of 200W, because we do not want to
limit ourselves to the minimum configuration. It is often the case that once the system is installed,
further appliances are attached to the AC output and that the additional power output could well
be used.
e) Sizing of cable fixtures
The correct sizing of cables and fixtures is often neglected. The main reason is certainly one of an
economic nature, since with bigger wire size are more expensive. The following procedures give
the process of selecting proper size of cables.
• Draw a floor plan of the house or institution and mark where the lamps, appliances,
batteries and modules will be located. This drawing should be t scale if possible, so that
you can estimate the cable lengths.
• Determine the proper size of cables for each run to avoid voltage drop. Do this by using
the voltage drop table below. Usually, the run from the module(s) to the control, and from
the control to the battery requires a larger wire size (4mm2 or 6mm2). Your system will
get the most energy if you size battery and module cables for the voltage drop of less than
2%.
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Table of resistance per metre
Size (mm2) 1 1.5 2.5 4 6 10 16
0.0018 0.0012 0.007 0.005 0.003 0,002 0.001
Resistance
(Ω) Metre
• Determine the total length of each type of cable. Measure the distance of each run between
the loads and battery, and between the loads and the battery and the module,
remembering that the cables go up and down, as well as across. It is good to overestimate
the amount of cables required unless you are near to the shop that sell it.
Voltage Drop (V) = Maximum Current (A) x Total Resistance (Ohms) [where maximum
current is the current to be consumed by each load]
The voltage drop is the loss of voltage due to resistance in long runs of cable. It is not necessary
to calculate the voltage drop if all of the following conditions are true:
• All connections are made using 2.5mm 2 wiring cable
• No wire run is more than 16 metres long
• The module is rated 40W or below
• No wire carries a greater current than 4 amperes
An example Voltage Drop Table
Cable run (major Distance of Maximum Resistance/ Voltage % age of Voltage
run) Cable current (A) metre Drop drop (is it high)
(Metres) (Ohms)
Module controller 9m 4mm2 – 0.01 0.05 0.40 3% - NO
Battery TV 6m 2.5mm 2 – 0.0096 0.8 7% - YES
inverter 0.016
Battery Bedroom 7m 2.5mm2 – 0.112 0.2 2% - NO
1 0.016
Battery Bedroom 7m 2.5mm2 – 0.112 0.21 2% - NO
2 0.016
Battery Kitchen 15m 2.5mm2 – 0.24 0.17 15% - NO
0.016
Note: The voltage drop to the TV/ inverter is a bit high at 2.5mm2 (7%) so they decide to
use 4mm2 instead
