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PV System Design Project

• The project, which is the culminating activity of this course, will entail
applying much of what you have learned in this course.
• The objective of the project is to design any PV system to be placed
on the roof of any establishment. You will need to design a PV
system using commercially available components and calculate it's
output under site-specific conditions.
• The work will involve exploring design alternatives and choosing a
system that is economically most attractive.
• You will have to account for the available solar radiation and losses
due to the positioning of the array. You will also need to design an
optimal configuration to connect the PV modules with an inverter.

PV System Design Project

Instructions:
• System Design
– Find Insolation and temperature data for the location.
– Design the PV system such that you will use the available area
to get the maximum power with minimum cost.
– Do a web search to determine the actual components (PV
modules and inverters) that are available and best meet your
design. Justify in your report why you chose each component.
– Do a detailed economic assessment of the design. Include
different options you considered to determine the best design.
The study should have both the energy output estimate and the
total cost estimate of the system. Determine the net present
value of the system.

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PV System Design Project

Instructions:
• Written Report
– Submit a well-documented report showing the details of the
design and components selected.
– Contents of the report shall include the following:
• Project Overview
• Climate Data and Insolation Data
• Load Estimation
• System Design (2 design options)
– Computations
– Component Selection
– System Layout/ Diagrams
– Economic Analysis
• Conclusion
• Appendix

Climate and Insolation Data

• These data can be obtained from a local

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Load Estimation

Load Estimation

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PVWATTS Calculator

• PVWATTS is readily available at the National Renewable Energy

PVWATTS Calculator

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System Design Computations

• PV Module Sizing
𝑘𝑊ℎ
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 ( )
𝑦𝑟
𝑃𝐷𝐶 𝑘𝑊 =
ℎ 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠
𝐷𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑢𝑛 (365 )
𝑑 𝑦𝑟
Typical values for the overall derate factor in the range of 0.70–0.75 seem
appropriate, with the lower end of the range applying to hotter climate areas.

𝑃𝐷𝐶,𝑆𝑇𝐶
𝐴 (𝑚2 ) =
𝑘𝑊
1 2 ∗ 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦
𝑚

Sample Datasheet

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Sample Datasheet

System SizingExample
Size a PV system to supply 5000 kWh/yr to a home in Silicon Valley, CA. Do the
calculations by hand-making assumptions as needed.
Solution:
Assume the roof is south facing with a 18.43◦ tilt. PVWATTS estimates 5.32
kWh/m2/d of insolation. It is a relatively cool region, so let us assume a derate
factor of 0.75.

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System SizingExample
Solution:

Assume top quality c-Si modules with 19% efficiency. Using STCs, the PVs need to
deliver 3.43 kW, so the area required can be found from

System SizingExample
Solution:

Having confirmed that there is sufficient area on the roof, suppose we pick a SunPower
240-W module with the following key STC characteristics:

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System SizingExample
Solution:
• We are going to need about 3.43 kW/0.240 kW = 14.3 modules.
• Before we decide on 14 or 15 modules, let us consider the number of modules per
string. To do that, we need an example inverter. Let us try the SunPower 5000 with
the following important characteristics:

Start with the inverter MPP tracking voltage range of 250–480 V. At 40.5 V per module that
suggests a range of

250 V/40.5 V = 6.2 to 480 V/40.5 V = 11.9 modules per string

System SizingExample

Solution:

We need to see how that changes with temperature. Suppose the coldest daytime
temperature that might be expected is −5◦C, which is 30◦ colder than the 25◦ STC
temperature. When it is cold, voltage increases, so at that cell temperature we might
expect the MPP voltage to be

VMPP = 40.5 V · [1 − 0.0027(−5 − 25)] = 43.8 V

which means we need fewer than 480 V/43.8 V = 10.9 modules per
string to stay in the MPP bounds.

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System SizingExample

Solution:

On the coldest day, the maximum module VOC will be

VOC = 48.6 V · [1 − 0.0027(−5 − 25)] = 52.5 V

which tells us we need fewer than 600 V / 52.5 V = 11.4 modules

System SizingExample
Solution:

Now we need to test conditions when it is as hot as might be expected. Assuming the
hottest day is 40◦C with insolation 1 kW/m2/d, then the highest cell temperature and
MPP voltage will be

With only 35.4 V and the need to have at least 250 V for the inverter
MPPT, that says we need at least 250 V/35.4 V = 7 modules per string.

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System SizingExample

Solution:

• The conclusion is something between 7 and 10 modules per string will satisfy the
inverter constraints.

• Since we decided we needed about 14.3 modules to meet the load, we could be
pretty close to our goal by using two strings of seven modules each.

• With only two strings, each having a short circuit current of 6.3 A, means we are well
below 31 A maximum current to this inverter.

System SizingExample

Solution:

• Using our simple peak-hours approach with a 0.75 derate factor would have
predicted the system would deliver

14 × 0.24 kW × 5.32 h/d × 365 d/yr × 0.75 = 4893 kWh/d

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