Income maximisation in a Maltese household photovoltaic system by means of output and consumption simulations

The installation of photovoltaic (PV) systems in the Maltese Islands plays an important role in allowing Malta to increase its share in renewable energy to meet the set European Union targets. In the Maltese residential sector, PV systems are generally installed on rooftops of households with a south-facing orientation and a 30° inclination angle. The scope of this study is to present a methodology to maximise the income for residents from electricity generated, by comparing the output of electricity generation with the electricity consumption patterns of different household types and consequently identifying the most favourable installation configurations of these PV systems. The research was carried out by simulating the monthly electricity generation of a 3 kilowatt-peak PV system for a year, as well as the hourly electricity generation for a day in each season of the year using the PVsyst software package. A total of 21 configurations were studied by altering the orientation and inclination angles used to install the PV system. This study confirms that a south-facing PV system inclined at 30° generates the most electricity in a year. However, when compared with electricity consumption patterns of low-, medium- and high-consumption households, it is shown that a south-facing PV system inclined at 40° provides a better income for residents.peer-reviewe

La producción fotovoltaica de electricidad en la Unión Europea: un enfoque económico

In the present context, the needs of explore new sources of energy arise, and also improve the performance of colleting the energy from known sources. It is an undeniable fact solar energy has become one of the most important forms of energy all around the world, easy to capture and converted into electricity only with the help of a photovoltaic cell. Throughout this work we will perform an economic analysis of the production of photovoltaic solar energy, defining previously some theoretical concepts related with electricity generation by means of photovoltaic cells, as well as commenting studies which have inspired the project, studies about the comparison between photovoltaic technologies. In order to carry out this economic analysis we will select twenty locations in European Union countries and will calculate the yearly produced energy with the informatic tool PVGIS, describing before the key concepts of its manual and the economic formulas to the mentioned analysis. The Levelized Costs of Energy (LCOE) will be calculated to compare the profitability of each photovoltaic technology: fixed, one-axis tracking systems (vertical or inclined) and two-axis tracking systems; appart from elaborating five maps of the European Union with the costs of energy production in each country, one for each technology and also an optimal map. Finally, a sensitivity analysis will be performed, in order to observe how, varying the wage of the country (and consequently investment and operation costs) or the yearly energy production, varies the costs of energy production.Universidad de Sevilla. Grado en Ingeniería Aeroespacia

Análise comparativa do efeito de sombreamento entre o uso de inversores string e microinversores no cenário de irradiação de Florianópolis

TCC (graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro Tecnológico. Engenharia Elétrica.Diante das variadas soluções apresentadas no mercado de energia solar existentes no panorama nacional, diferentes topologias de inversores têm sido apresentadas com o intuito de otimizar a potência e energia proveniente dos arranjos fotovoltaicos. Dentre elas, duas principais tecnologias têm ganhado destaque comercial, sendo os inversores tipo string empregados majoritariamente com arranjos de módulos associados em série, enquanto os microinversores são utilizados de forma a maximizar a potência dos módulos de forma individual. O presente trabalho visa comparar o uso de microinversores e inversores string diante dos cenários de irradiância e de temperatura encontrados em Florianópolis, perante situações de sombreamento parcial ou total. Com essa finalidade, foi modelado no software PSIM um algoritmo de MPPT aplicado a diferentes conversores CC-CC: um Boost, normalmente utilizado em inversores string, e um conversor de alto ganho, usualmente empregado em microinversores. Posteriormente, três cenários de sombreamento foram criados para análise dos valores de potência, energia e ciclo de trabalho dos conversores em questão. Baseados nestes valores, diferentes cenários econômicos foram realizados para avaliar a atratividade econômica entre ambos os sistemas propostos, determinando se a energia adicional gerada pelo conversor de alto ganho é suficiente para compensar o investimento inicial relativo ao microinversor. Constatou-se que o sistema com microinversores é atrativo financeiramente em apenas 1 dos 3 cenários propostos, apesar de rastrear o ponto de máxima potência de forma mais eficiente em todos as simulações propostas.Given the varied solutions presented in the national photovoltaic Market, different solutions are currently provided in regards to optimize output power and energy in PV arrays. Amongst them, 2 main technologies have gained commercial influence, being String inverters used primarily for series-connected PV arrays, whereas micro inverters are used to maximize power outputs in an individual level. The present paperwork desires to compare the use of micro and string inverters in Florianópolis irradiation and temperature data, granted partial and/or total shadings applied to the PV modules. With this purpose, an MPPT algorithm was modeled and applied to 2 converters: a Boost converter normally utilized in string inverters and the other a high stepup converter, usually applied in microinverters. Subsequently, three shading scenarios were created in order to analyze the main values of power, energy and duty cycle regarding the proposed Converters. Based on these values, different economic situations were created to evaluate the economical appeal of both configurations, determining if the additional energy provided by the high step-up converter is enough to compensate the initial investment regarding the micro inverter. It was found that the system with microinverters was financially attractive in only 1 of the 3 proposed scenarios, despite tracking the modules more efficiently in all the proposed simulations