A modeling methodology to evaluate the impact of temperature on Solar Home Systems for rural electrification

Nishant Narayan*, Victor Vega-Garita, Zian Qin, Jelena Popovic-Gerber, Pavol Bauer, Miro Zeman

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedings/Edited volumeConference contributionScientificpeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Solar Home Systems (SHS) have recently gained prominence as the most promising solution for increasing energy access in remote, off-grid communities. However, the higher than standard testing conditions (STC) temperatures have a significant impact on the SHS components like PhotoVoltaic (PV) module and battery. A modeling methodology is described in this study for quantifying the temperature impact on SHS. For a particular location with high irradiation and temperatures and a given load profile, an SHS model was simulated, and the temperature-impact was analyzed on the performance and lifetime of the SHS components. Different PV module temperature estimation models were applied, and the corresponding dynamic PV outputs were compared. The nominal operating cell temperature (NOCT) model was found inadequate for estimating PV module temperatures under high irradiance conditions. The PV yield was found to be affected by almost 10% due to thermally induced losses. When different levels of temperature variations were considered, the battery lifetime was seen to be up to 33% less than that at 25 ° C. The modeling methodology presented in this paper can be used to include the thermal losses in SHS for rural electrification, which can further help accordingly in system sizing.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2018 IEEE International Energy Conference, ENERGYCON 2018
Place of PublicationPiscataway, NJ
PublisherIEEE
Pages1-6
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)978-1-5386-3669-5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018
EventENERGYCON 2018: 5th IEEE International Energy Conference - Limassol, Cyprus
Duration: 3 Jun 20187 Jun 2018
Conference number: 5
http://energycon2018.org/

Conference

ConferenceENERGYCON 2018
Country/TerritoryCyprus
CityLimassol
Period3/06/187/06/18
Internet address

Keywords

  • Battery lifetime
  • PV yield
  • Rural electrification
  • Solar Home Systems
  • Thermal losses

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