Abstract
The potential of solar PV is location-dependent that needs to be assessed before installation. This study focuses on the assessment of a solar PV potential of a site on coordinates −29.853762°, 031.00634°, at Glenmore Crescent, Durban North, South Africa. In addition, it evaluates the performance of a 6-kWp installed capacity grid-connected rooftop solar PV system to supply electricity to a household. The results, obtained from PV design and simulation tools—PV*SOL, Solargis prospect, and pvPlanner, were used to analyze and establish the PV system’s economic and technical viability. The configuration of the system is as follows: load profile—a 2-person household with 2-children, energy consumption—3500 kWh, system size—6 kWp, installation type—roof mount, PV module type—c-Si—monocrystalline silicon, efficiency—18.9%, orientation of PV modules -Azimuth 0° and Tilt 30°, inverter 95.9% (Euro efficiency), and no transformer. The results show: meteorological parameters—global horizontal irradiation (GHI) 1659.3 kWh/m2, direct normal irradiation (DNI) 1610.6 kWh/m2, air temperature 20.6 °C; performance parameters—annual PV energy 8639 kWh, Specific annual yield 1403 kWh/kWp, performance ratio (PR) 74.9%, avoided CO2 emissions 5662 kg/year, and solar fraction 42.5%. Others are economic performance parameters—levelised cost of energy (LCOE) 0.1147 USD/kWh, internal rate of return (IRR) 17,671 USD/kWh, and return on investment (ROI) 11%. The results show that the proposed solar PV system under the current conditions is both economically and technically viable for household electrification in Durban North, South Africa.
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Abbreviations
- ALB:
-
Surface albedo
- CAPEX:
-
Capital expenditure
- CDD:
-
Cooling degree days
- CF:
-
Capacity factor
- D2G:
-
Ratio of diffuse horizontal irradiation and global horizontal irradiation
- DIF:
-
Diffuse horizontal irradiation
- DNI:
-
Direct normal irradiation
- GHI:
-
Global horizontal irradiation
- GTI:
-
Global tilted irradiation
- HDD:
-
Heating degree days
- IRR:
-
Internal rate of return
- LCOE:
-
Oevelised cost of energy
- NPV:
-
Net present value
- OPEX:
-
Operating expenses
- PPA:
-
Power purchase agreement
- PR:
-
Performance ratio
- PREC:
-
Precipitation
- PV:
-
Photovoltaic
- PVOUT:
-
Photovoltaic power output
- PWAT:
-
Precipitable water
- RH:
-
Relative humidity
- ROI:
-
Return on investment
- SNOWD:
-
Snow days
- TEMP:
-
Air temperature
- WS:
-
Wind speed
- Dirθ,α :
-
Direct insolation from the sun map
- θ :
-
Centroid at zenith angle
- α :
-
Azimuth angle
- S Const :
-
Solar constant
- β :
-
Transmissivity of the atmosphere
- SunDur θ,α :
-
Time duration represented by the sky sector
- SunGap θ,α :
-
Gap fraction for the sun map sector
- m(θ) :
-
Is the relative optical path length
- AngInθ,α :
-
Angle of incidence between the centroid of the sky sector and the axis normal to the surface
- G z :
-
Is the surface zenith angle
- G a :
-
Is the surface azimuth angle
- θ 1 and θ 2 :
-
Bounding zenith angles Sky sector
- Div azi :
-
Number of azimuthal divisions in the sky map
- PV OUTspecific :
-
Specific photovoltaic power output
- G i :
-
Mum of direct, diffuse, and ground-reflected irradiance incident
- H i :
-
In-plane irradiation
- E out :
-
Energy output
- P o :
-
Array power rating
- L c :
-
Array capture losses
- Y R :
-
Reference yield
- Y F :
-
Array yield
- G CC :
-
Clean reference solar cell irradiance
- G DC :
-
Dirty reference solar cell irradiance
- GL :
-
Soiling loss
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Acknowledgements
The authors hereby acknowledge the Research and Postgraduate Support Directorate, Institute for Systems Science, and the Management of Durban University of Technology, South Africa, for their continuous support.
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Ebhota, W.S., Tabakov, P.Y. Assessment of solar PV potential and performance of a household system in Durban North, Durban, South Africa. Clean Techn Environ Policy 24, 1241–1259 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-021-02241-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-021-02241-6