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Title:
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Solar home systems : manual for design and modification of solar home system components
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Author(s):
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Published by:
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Publication date:
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ECN
Solar Energy
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1-1-2000
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ECN report number:
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Document type:
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ECN-C--00-019
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ECN publication
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Number of pages:
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Full text:
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148
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Download PDF
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Abstract:
Solar photovoltaics is one of the most cost effective means to providesmall amounts of electricity in areas without a grid. Especially when people
live in scattered homes, the costs of alternatives to provide electricity are
usually prohibitively high. Solar home systems (SHS) are small systems
designed to meet the electricity demand of a single household. A Solar home
system always consists of one or more photovoltaic (PV) modules, a battery,
and a load consisting of lights, and one or more sockets for radio,
television or other appliances. A battery charge regulator is usually added
to control charging and discharging of the battery. This manual has two major
objectives: (1) to provide the necessary background material for the
modification of existing designs of Solar home system components, especially
the battery charge regulator, inverters for fluorescent lamps and DC/AC
inverters; and (2) to provide background material for completely new designs
of Solar home system components. The target audience for this manual is
primarily engineers in companies producing solar home system components.
Engineers in solar energy research institutes would also benefit from the
information provided. The solar PV module is by far the most reliable
component of a solar home system. Relatively few problems are related to the
PV module. We therefore limit ourselves to the designs of the rest of the
components, the so-called Balance of System (BOS) components. PV systems will
be discussed but only for systems with a power level appropriate to household
demands. Batteries will also be discussed, but only those aspects which are
important for the BOS components. Because building practices depend very much
on local customs and sometimes on regulations, this manual does not
extensively discuss the support structure for the modules, but focuses on the
electrical and electronic components. The emphasis is on the battery charge
regulator because it is the single most critical component in a solar home
system. Lights are the only appliances that are discussed in this manual,
because lighting is included in most solar home systems, and the lights are
usually provided with the system. Some of the larger solar home systems can
also be equipped with a DC/AC inverter to allow the use of (larger) AC
appliances. In this manual we have limited ourselves to user experiences
relevant for design, technical and non-technical aspects of solar home
systems. Financial aspects will be mentioned in relation to design and system
sizing. Institutional settings, ownership issues, financing schemes and after
sales arrangements will not be discussed, although these are also very
critical aspects in the success of dissemination of solar home systems. 6
refs.
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