3 Day Skill Development Program on

Solar Power Plant Design

Dr. Rohit Verma

National Power Training Institute

Sector-33, Faridabad
Designing of

System
 What is a Solar PV system ?

Solar photovoltaic system or Solar power system is one

of renewable energy system which uses PV modules to convert
sunlight into electricity.
Electricity generated can be either –
1. Stored or used directly
2. Fed back into grid line
3. Combined with one or more other electricity generators

Wide range of applications –

residence, industry, agriculture, livestock, etc
 Major system components
1.PV Module 2. Solar Charge Controller

3. Inverter 4. Battery

5. Load 6.Monitoring system

Schematic Diagram
 Solar PV System SIZING
Determine power consumption demands –
Find out the total power and energy consumption of all loads that
need to be supplied by the solar PV system

+ + +

Calculate total Watt-hours per day for each appliance used

Add the Watt-hours i.e. the total Watt-hours per day
which must be delivered divided by 1000 to get KWhr ( Also
called Units).
Method 1: Estimation by assuming No of hrs and Devices

Energy Consumed -
Sl No: Appliances Power - Watts No of Devices Hrs of Usage
KWHr ( units)
1 Florescent Light 40 4 6 0.96
2 CFL 18 2 3 0.108
3 Led Light 9 2 4 0.072
4 CFL 10 2 12 0.24
5 Ceiling fan 70 3 5 1.05
6 Table Fan 20 1 3 0.06
7 Bathroom Lights 15 2 4 0.12
8 Desktop computer 150 1 2 0.3
9 Lap top computer 65 2 3 0.39
10 TV 100 3 3 0.9
11 Music system 40 1 4 0.16
12 Refrigerator 150 1 8 1.2
13 other appliances 0

Maximum Load 5.560

Total maximum KWHR = KW X No of

=973 WATTS
Connected Load devices X Hrs
Method 2 : Energy Meter/ Electricity Bill Data

Units consumed will be clearly

mentioned in the bill. Here it is 230 units.

You can either calculate by recording

previous day’s reading and subtract it by
present day’s reading recorded at same
time.

Monthly Avg = 230/30 = 7.66667 units

per day.
Method 3 : Energy Audit

An energy audit is an inspection, survey and analysis of energy flows for energy
conservation in a building, process or system to reduce the amount of energy input into
the system without negatively affecting the output(s).

With special equipments and methodology energy audit is carried where consumption
of power is high.

Audit activities, in general order, include:

• Identify all energy systems
• Evaluate the condition of the systems
• Analyze the impact of improvements to those systems
• Write up an energy audit report
 Solar PV System SIZING

2. Size of the PV modules

Different size of PV modules will produce different amount of power.
To find out the sizing of PV module, the total peak watt produced is needed. The
peak watt (Wp) produced depends on size of the PV module and climate of site
location. Consider “panel generation factor” which is different in each site
location
Panel Generation Factor or popularly known as Specific yield of the system for
mono crystalline.
eg :
Bangalore - 5.26 kWh/Kwp Kolkota - 4.99kWh/Kwp
Hyderabad -5.38 kWh/Kwp Mumbai - 5.2kWh/Kwp
Chennai - 5.50 kWh/Kwp Trivandrum -5.53kWh/Kwp
Chandigarh -5.96kWh/Kwp New Delhi -5.85kWh/Kwp
Amritsar -5.81 kWh/Kwp
Trichy - 5.14 kWh/Kwp
Specific yield:
For particular place is different for different technology.

For Thin film technology the specific yield will be 15% more than poly/mono
crystalline panels

For Bangalore the installation for TF modules the Sp yield will be 6.32 KWhr/KWp

To generate the Sp yield data for different technologies and for different places we
can use PVSyst software
2.1 Calculate the total Watt-peak rating needed for PV
modules

2.2 Calculate the number of PV panels for the system

 Inverter SIZING

•An inverter is used in the system where AC power output is

needed.

• Input rating of the inverter > total watt of appliances.

• Inverter nominal voltage = Battery nominal voltage.

•For stand-alone systems, the inverter must be large enough to

handle the total amount of Watts you will be using at one time.
 Inverter SIZING

• The inverter size should be 25-30% bigger than total Watts of

appliances.

• In case of appliance type is motor or compressor then inverter

size should be minimum 3 times the capacity of those
appliances and must be added to the inverter capacity to
handle surge current during starting.

• For grid tie systems or grid connected systems, the input rating
of the inverter should be same as PV array rating to allow for
safe and efficient operation.
 Battery SIZING
Recommended battery type deep cycle battery.

To find out the size of battery –

4.1 Calculate total kilo Watt-hours per day used by appliances.

4.2 Multiply the total kilo Watt-hours per day used by 0.85 for
battery and system losses.

4.3 Divide the answer obtained in item 4.2 by the nominal battery
voltage.
 Solar Charge Controller
SIZING
The solar charge controller is typically rated against
Amperage and Voltage capacities.

Select the solar charge controller to match the voltage of PV array and
batteries and then identify which type of solar charge controller is right for your
application.

For the series charge controller type, the sizing of controller depends on the
total PV input current which is delivered to the controller and also depends on
PV panel configuration (series or parallel configuration).

According to standard practice, the sizing of solar charge controller is to take

the short circuit current (Isc) of the PV array.

Solar charge controller rating = Total short circuit current of PV array

Exercise: 1 KW System
1. Determine power consumption demands
Total appliance use = (200 W x 4 hours) + (60 W x 2 hours) + (75 W x 10 nos x 5
hours)
= 4,670 Wh/day = 4.7 kwhr(units)/day

2. Size the PV panel

2.1 Total Wp of PV panel capacity needed = 4.7 / 5.5
= 854.54
= rounded to 1000 Wp

2.2 Number of PV panels needed = 1000 / 125

= 8 modules

Actual requirement = 8 module

So this system should be powered by at least 8 modules of 125 Wp PV module
3. Inverter sizing

The inverter size should be equal or slightly more than the 1kWp of SPV array.
That means 1kVA single phase system is more suitable which has a Battery Bank
voltage will be nominally 24 volts

4. Battery sizing
Nominal battery voltage = 24 V
Battery capacity (Ah) = 4.7 x 0.85 X 1000/24

Total Ampere-hours required 166.46 Ah

So the battery should be rated 12 V x 2nos of 200 Ah each.

5. Solar charge controller sizing
PV module specification
Pm = 125 Wp
Vm = 16.7 Vdc
Im = 6.6 A
Voc = 20.7 A
Isc = 7.5 A
Solar charge controller rating = (4 strings x 7.5 A) x 1.3 = 39 A
So the solar charge controller should be rated 40 A at 24 V
Exercise: 2.5 KW System
1. Determine power consumption demands
Total appliance use = (200 W x 4 hours) + (60 W x 4 hours) + (175 W x 20 nos x 5
hours) + Others ( 7698 W hr)
= 13,523Wh/day = 13.5 kwhr(units)/day

2. Size the PV panel

2.1 Total Wp of PV panel capacity needed = 13.5 / 5.5
= 2472.72 Wp
= rounded to 2500 Wp

2.2 Number of PV panels needed = 2500 / 250

= 10 modules

Actual requirement = 10 module

So this system should be powered by at least 10 modules of 250 Wp PV module
3. Inverter sizing

The inverter size should be equal or slightly more than the 2.5kWp of SPV array.
That means 3kVA single phase system is more suitable which has a Battery Bank
voltage will be nominally 48 volts

4. Battery sizing
Nominal battery voltage = 48 V
Battery capacity (Ah) = 13.5 x 0.85 x 1000/ 48

Total Ampere-hours required 239.06 Ah

So the battery should be rated 12 V x 4 nos of 250 Ah each.

5. Solar charge controller sizing ⃰
PV module specification
Pm = 250 Wp
Vm = 16.7 Vdc
Im = 7.0 A
Voc = 20.7 A
Isc = 7.5 A
Solar charge controller rating = (10 strings x 7.5 A) x 1.3 = 97.5 A
So the solar charge controller should be rated 100 A at 48 V

⃰ Note : For centralised charge controller

Design of 1 KW SPV System
A case Study

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Specifications of Panels

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 Number of Panels
• Total KW requirement = 1 KW = 1000 W
• Panel that is used = 125 Wp
• Panel Rating:
• Vmpp = 17.20 V
• Impp = 7.30 Amp
• No. of Panels = (1000 / 125) = 8 panels.

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 Inverter Selection
• Inverter Sizing = (KW/PF) x Efficiency of
Inverter.
• Therefore, (1/ 0.8) x ( 80% ) = 1 KVA, 24V

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 Battery Bank Sizing
• Total yield per day in KWhr = (Specific yield i.e.
KWhr/KWp) x (Installed Capacity in KWp) = 5.5 x 1
= 5.5 KWhr
• DC Bus Voltage = 24 Volts
• Conversion factor = 0.85
• AH of Battery Required = (Total yield in KWhr X
1000 X Conversion Factor / Battery Voltage) =
194.79 AH
• No of batteries = (24/12) = 2
• Therefore, we will require 2 X 12 V, 200AH
batteries. Nirvana Foundation
 Sizing an MPPT Charge Controller
• Power = Volts x Amps
• Amps = 1000 watts / 24 volts = 41.67
• 41.67 A increased by 25% is 52.09 A
• In this case we'd probably choose a 60 Amp
MPPT Charge Controller.

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 Array Sizing
• Total Bus voltage = 24 V.
• Voltage of each panel = 17.2 V.
• Therefore we need minimum (24/17.2) = 1.40
= 2 panels in series.
• Total panels calculated earlier = 8 panels
• There will be 4 rows of 2 panels of 125 Wp
each connected in series.

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Block Diagram

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Design of 2.5 KW SPV Roof Top
System

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Specifications of Panels

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 Number of Panels
• Total KW requirement = 2.5 KW = 2500 W
• Panel that is used = 250 Wp
• Panel Rating:
• Vmpp = 35.68 V
• Impp = 07.00 Amp
• No. of Panels = (2500 / 250) = 10 panels.

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 Inverter Selection
• Inverter Sizing = (KW/PF) x Efficiency of Inverter.
• Inverter Sizing = (2.5/ 0.8) x ( 80% ) = 2.5 KVA
• Therefore, we will use 3 KVA, 48 V inverter.

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 Battery Bank Sizing
• Total yield per day in kWhr = (Specific yield i.e.
kWhr/kWp) x (Installed Capacity in kWp) = 5.5 x 2.5
= 13.75 kWhr
• DC Bus Voltage = 48 Volts
• Conversion factor = 0.85
• AH of Battery Required = (Total yield in kWhr X 1000
X Conversion Factor / Battery Bus Voltage) = 243.49
AH
• No of batteries = (48/12) = 4
• Therefore, we will require four 12 V, 300AH
batteries.

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 Sizing an MPPT Charge Controller
• Power = Volts x Amps
• Amps = 250 watts / 48 volts = 5.208
• 5.208 A increased by 25% is 6.51 A
• In this case we'd probably choose a 7 Amp
MPPT Charge Controller (Sun Rose).

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 Array Sizing
• Total Bus voltage = 48 V.
• Voltage of each panel = 35.68 V.
• Total no of panels calculated = 10.
• There will be 10 panels of 250 Wp each
connected in parallel.

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Block Diagram

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THANK YOU