Answer to Question #234060 in Mechanical Engineering for Molahlegi

Question

Background A villager in South Africa has an inhabitant of five hundred people. It is 200 km from the nearest Eskom substation based on line of sight. Presently, the only source of electric power in the village is diesel generator. Due to Covid-19, the company that used to maintain the generator has folded up, consequently, the villagers have no electricity. Aim Design a standalone (off grid) Photovoltaic (PV) system with special reference to the village in South Africa with the following PV panel generation factors: Group Number PV panel generation factor of 7.Please refer to the table below for the aspects that need to be covered on the project. Item Description 1 Project aim 2 Project theoretical background 3 Project problem statement 4 Specifications (material to be used for the project) 14 Project layout (block diagram) 15 Recommendations 16 Conclusion

Answer 1

Solar Energy Project

 The number of solar panels needed can be determined by multiplying the household’s hourly energy requirement by the peak sunlight hours for the area and then dividing that by a panel’s wattage. Notably, we would use a low-wattage (150 W) and high-wattage (370 W) can help us to establish a range. Note that the size of your roof and how much sunlight your roof gets are factors as well also count in this computation.

To accurately establish the range, the following information is needed:

1.     The average energy requirements

2.     The current energy use in watts

3.     The climate and amount sunlight in the area

4.     The efficiency of the solar panels to consider

5.     The physical size of the solar panels 

Having considered, how many solar panels the average house need. The number of solar panels needed for a 3-bedroom house, and the solar panels required for a 2000 sq. ft. home. Then we dins that the broader area requires: 17-42 panels to generate 11,000 kWh/year

 

Is the number of the PV panels used in South Africa the same as the number of the PV panels used in Thailand? If YES/NO why?

NO.  This is explained by the fact that there is a significant difference in terms of average energy requirements, the current energy use in watts, and the climate and amount sunlight in the area. South Africa may require more PV panels than Thailand.

Calculations of power consumption demand 

(80W*4hours)+(60W*2hours)+(75W*12hours)

$=1340.0 watt hour/day$

Total pv panel energy needed= 1340.0*1.3

=1742 wh/day

Calculations of size of pv panel

The total watt peak rating needed by the pv panel = $1742/3.4=512.352$

total number of pv panel needed=$512.352/110=4.65$

actual number of pv panel=$5 modules$

Inverter sizing:

total watt of all appliances =$80+60+75$

for safety inverter size should be=$279.5$

(25-30%) higher

battery sizing:

total appliances use=$(18*4) +(60*2)+(75*12)$

Normal battery voltage =12V

battery capacity =$(1340*30)/(0.85*0.6*12)=656.86$

So the battery should be rated 12V, 700Ah for three days autonomy

solar charge controller sizing:

solar photovoltaic module specification 

P_m=100W_p

V_m=167V_dc

I_m=6.6A

B_dc=20.7 V

I_x=7.5A

solar charge controller =( 4_strings*7.5)*1.3

=39 Amp

Thus, the solar charge controller should be rated 40 Amp at 12V or greater.