Introduction Since renewable energy is gaining much interest due to the increasi
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Introduction Since renewable energy is gaining much interest due to the increasing demand on energy around the world, many countries and research centers are looking for new ways of producing energy to meet such demands. Solar energy is the cleanest source of energy. Its use is increasing and their efficiency is rapidly increasing. Hence, it is necessary to at least investigate the possibility of using solar power to completely supply a single home (your home). Each home receives its power from the main grid. To reduce the dependency on fossil fuel, we need to investigate the possibility of supplying your house with the needed power using solar cells. Problem Statement The goal of this assignment is to come up with a design of a complete solar power system to supply your home with the required electrical power to fully run all electrical appliances including air conditions In your design, you need to include the following in your report: 1- Power Consumption/square meter 2- Power cost/Square meter 3 Power consumption/ square meter of the AC only 4Cost and number of solar cells needed to the load without AC 5- Cost and number of solar cells needed to the load with AC 6- Compare the solar power system to the total cost of the house Expected Outcome Each group should consists of at most three students and required to write a comprehensive report showing the details of the design, number of solar cells needed, cost of the project, and running cost such as maintenance. You should also figure out the cost of this project per unit area; Le, per square meter. Hence, you are expected to come up with an an index that assist home builders to figure out the cost of the solar power source.Explanation / Answer
In this type of design, let us assume some data.
Suppose there is a building that is built on 185 square meter land. Usually, in India, there are 3 storeys in such type of buildings. On average, there lives a family of four in each storey. Then, a total of 12 people live in that 185 square meter area.
In general, there are a total of 10 fans[60watts each], 20 lights[30 watts each] and 2 AC[1500 watts each] in each storey. Thus, on 185 square meter land, there exists 30 fans, 60 lights, 6 AC. (Here, I haven't directly included other appliances like radio, television, BUT I have increased the wattage of each included appliance to reflect the effect of radio, TV,etc)
Moreover, lights operate only in evenings and nights, whereas fans operate almost all day. Assume half of the lights operate for 7 hours per day [as all lights and fans are not ON together] and fans for 14 hours per day. Assume all AC operating for 6 hours a day. Thus, for 185 square meter land[3 storey building];
15 fans operate for 14 hrs, 30 lights for 7 hrs and 6 AC for 6 hours a day.
Now watt-hour consumed by 30 lights in a day: (7x30W)x30=210Wx30=6300Wh
Similarly, for 15 fans: (14x60)x15=12600Wh
And for 6 AC: (6x1500)x6=54000Wh
A total of 72900 Wh gets consumed in a day per 185 square meter space per day.
On dividing by 185, we get 394Wh per square meter consumed in a day.
In designing of SOLAR power system we need to keep in mind that at least 400Wh per square meter energy consumption is there and has to be fulfilled by solar power plant per day. Hence, power consumption per square meter is 400W per day. [74% AC and 26% other appliances]
In India, assume that the cost per unit of energy consumed is Rs.5/-. Then total power cost per square meter is 400x5=Rs.2000/-.
In 185 square meter, we have 6 AC consuming 54000 Wh. Thus, per square meter, we have 6/185=0.032 AC consuming 292Wh of energy approx. Hence, power consumption by AC per square meter is 292watts [can also be obtained by dividing 54000 by 185].
Most solar panels come with the rating of 200-300Watts with almost 20% efficiency. It costs around Rs.12000/-. They are almost sufficient to supply power needs per sq meter. But, in India, we need almost twice the number of such panels per house/building [as we calculated it to be minimum 400W]. Thus cost of solar setup per sq meter comes out to be around Rs.30000/- [including cost of batteries to store power and other expenses].
If we assume that there aren't any ACs then we can neglect the contribution of AC in power consumption. Thus, we will consider only 26% of 400W=104W. Then, solar cell required would be single panel and batteries of Rs15000/- [in total] in without AC case per sq meter.
If AC contributes to total power, then we will consider 400W per sq meter and a total of 2 panels would be required with approximate cost of Rs.30000/- per sq meter.
So, in order to build a solar power system, one must have a close look at the above values of cost and power in order to proceed for the real time design of such system. All values calculated per square meter are explicitly specified in above report. I hope it would give some idea of the design of solar power system, that can be Integrated over a large area in similar proportions consisting of large colonies of houses.
Thank you and please text me your doubts, if any.
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