While photovoltaic research conducted to date has been primarily in the areas of utility peak shaving, residential applications, and stand alone applications, this research examines photovoltaic potential as a commercial customer initiated demand side management tool and develops a methodology which can be used to evaluate the value of a PV storage system. The primary focus is on the effect photovoltaic orientation and utility billing practices have on overall system value. Using a year's worth of 10 minute data collected at the Virginia Tech Solar Experimental Station and an academic building load, the effects of array orientation on clear sky photovoltaic production and the match between that production and the building load profile are discussed. The performance of five photovoltaic array configurations for both building energy and demand reduction were simulated. It was shown that arrays facing south-southwest and southwest have lower performance that a south facing array in spite of the presence of an afternoon building load peak. The impact of battery storage as a supplement to a PV system has been examined. The affect of battery efficiency, array orientation, and battery dispatch setpoint on ovarall system value has been investigated. Based on economic assumptions and billing schedules obtained from a medium sized utility, the present value of the various array performances were evaluated. It was found that O&M costs could significantly effect the value being assigned to array configurations with superior performance. Due to the variability of the available insolation, smaller arrays have a greater value than larger arrays. It was shown that the value of a PV storage system is greater than either of the two component systems taken alone. By adding battery storage to the PV system, the optimum system size was increased. / Master of Science

A methodology is developed to study the interrelations between photovoltaics (PV) and storage systems in the context of demand side management. This study concentrates on the most prominent types of storage systems and photovoltaic technologies, which are lead acid batteries and single crystalline silicon cells and amorphous silicon cells, respectively. The methodology concentrates on the daily operating cost of the system. Only from a detailed comparison of alternatives can we develop a system that maximizes the benefits of photovoltaics and storage systems, while remaining cost competitive. This methodology consists of several steps that include; simulation runs to determine yearly energy production and consumption, life cycle costing, and analysis of daily cost graphs. During the analysis several items including photovoltaic and storage system technologies, different demand limits and demand charges, and different amounts of load control and purchased electricity as well as different PV and electricity costs are discussed, and the following conclusions are reached. The type of photovoltaics used plays an important role in the system design. The amorphous cells seem to have a lower performance degradation in cloudy or hazy conditions, but single crystalline cells have a lower operating cost especially when there is high sunlight. The cost of photovoltaics also has a great effect on the daily operating cost. By keeping the cost of photovoltaics low (around $2.00/watt), the overall daily operating cost decreases while increasing the photovoltaic array size. This shows that photovoltaics can have a positive economic benefit. The effect of battery cost and on the daily operating cost is minimal. This is because its cost per day is a small part of the total daily operating cost. On the other hand, the demand limit and demand charge greatly effect the magnitude of the daily operating cost. The main component of the daily operating cost is purchased electricity. The daily operating cost increases as the cost of purchased electricity increases. / Master of Science

No description available.

This dissertation introduces a new operational tool for integrating a photovoltaic (PV) system into the utility's generation mix. It is recognized at the outset, that much of the existing research concentrated on the central PV system and its operations have concluded that technical problems in PV operation will override any value or credit that can be earned by a PV system, and that penetration of a PV plant in the utility will be severely limited. These are real problems and their solutions are sought in this dissertation. Judging from the drawbacks of the static approach, it is felt that a new approach or methodology needs to be developed which would give a central station PV plant its due share of credit. This dissertation deals mainly with the development and implementation of this new approach -- a dynamic rule-based dispatch algorithm which takes into account the problems faced by the dispatch operator during a dispatch interval and channels those into a knowledge base. The new dynamic dispatch requires forecasts of photovoltaic generations at the beginning of each dispatch interval. A Box-Jenkins time-series method is used to model the sub-hourly solar irradiance. The irradiance data at any specific site is stripped of its periodicities using a pre-whitening process which involves parameterization of certain known atmospheric phenomena. The pre-whitened data series is considered stationary, although some non-stationarity might be introduced by the discontinuities in the data collection during night hours. This model is extended to yield forecast equations which are then used to predict the photovoltaic output expected to occur at certain lead times coinciding with the economic dispatch intervals. A rule-based (RB) dispatch algorithm is developed in this dissertation. The RB is introduced to operate as a substitute for the dispatch operator. Some of the dispatcher's functions are routine jobs, while some require specialized knowledge or experience. The RB is given these two qualities through a number of rules. This algorithm works in tandem with a conventional economic dispatch algorithm. The functions of the two are coordinated by another algorithm which oversees the now of information and records them. The RB gives one of 16 possible solutions as and when required. These solutions are written as rules which manipulate the non-committable generation to achieve an optimal solution. The RB system during its operation supervises the fact that the PV generation are kept at the maximum level possible under all constraints. The case study revealed that the thermal generating units which are scheduled by the unit commitment are able to absorb most of the small to medium variations present in the PV generations. In cases of large variations during a single interval, the thermal generators reach their response limits before they can reach their maximum or minimum generation, thus causing mismatches in the load and generation. The mismatches are then picked up by the non-committable sources of generation, comprised of pumped storage units, hydro generation plant, or by interconnection tie-lines. If none of these are sufficient, changes are made in the PV generation schedule. It is concluded that results depend on the time of the year and the specific utility. The time of the year information is reflected in the load demand profile. Most utilities in the U.S. have single peaks in summer and double peaks in winter. Also, the time of the peak load occurrence varies with season. The utility generating capacity mix influences the results greatly. / Ph. D.

Photovoltaic solar cells can generate electricity directly from sunlight without emitting harmful greenhouse gases. This makes them ideal candidates as large scale future energy producers for the global energy economy. Ideally, solar cells should be efficient and inexpensive to compete in the global energy market. Unfortunately, a number of fundamental limitations exist for the efficiency due to fundamental loss mechanisms of the semiconductor materials used to make solar cells. One of the dominant loss mechanisms from a conventional silicon solar cell is the transparency of sub-bandgap near-infrared photons. Up-conversion is an optical process involving the sequential absorption of lower energy photons followed by luminescence of a higher energy photon. This mechanism could be exploited to minimise photovoltaic sub-bandgap losses. Rare-earth doped materials have ideal up-conversion luminescent properties and have been utilised for many near-infrared to visible applications. This thesis investigates the near-infrared to near-infrared up-conversion processes required for the sub-bandgap photon utilisation within a silicon photovoltaic device. Various sodium yttrium fluoride phosphors doped with rare-earths were characterised theoretically and experimentally. Erbium doped phosphors were found to be ideal for single wavelength power dependent investigations for the non-linear up-conversion processes. The radiative and non-radiative rates of various erbium doped sodium yttrium fluoride phosphors have been approximated and compared with experimental photoluminescence results. These phosphors have been applied to the rear of a bi-facial silicon solar cell and an enhancement in the near-infrared region has been demonstrated. An external quantum efficiency close to 3.4% was measured at 1523nm under 6mW laser excitation. The non-linear dependence on incident pump power has been investigated along with the dominant up-conversion mechanisms involved. It can be concluded that up-conversion phosphors can enhance the near-infrared spectral response of a silicon device. These phosphors have high luminescent efficiencies once up-conversion occurs, but suffer from poor infrared absorption and low up-conversion efficiencies. The results from this study show that relatively high doping levels of selected rare-earths into low phonon energy crystals can improve the absorption and luminescent properties of the phosphor.

Orientador: Gilberto de Martino Jannuzzi / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-21T07:52:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Lima_BrunoWilmerFontes_M.pdf: 4773788 bytes, checksum: 512d3e82e0e392f642f77b5b058267c2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: O consumo de eletricidade no Brasil cresceu 47% na última década e estima-se que aumente outros 55,6% até 2020. A geração da maior parte da eletricidade no país é baseada no modelo de grandes usinas hidrelétricas, distantes dos centros de consumo, assim como a expansão da capacidade de geração para atender o aumento da demanda, mantendo as grandes perdas na transmissão e distribuição da eletricidade. Uma forma de reduzi-las é através do maior uso da geração distribuída, em que a eletricidade é gerada próxima ou no próprio local de consumo, como por exemplo, integrada a edificações. A partir da viabilização deste modelo de geração e dos edifícios eficientes, criou-se o conceito dos chamados Edifícios de Energia Zero (EEZ). EEZs são edifícios com baixas necessidades energéticas e que, ao longo do ano, geram toda a energia que consomem a partir de fontes renováveis de energia. Em 2010, as edificações foram responsáveis por 46,9% do consumo de eletricidade no Brasil e esta participação deve aumentar até o final da década. Dessa forma, um maior emprego da geração distribuída através de fontes renováveis em edificações e também de novos EEZs pode atender parte desta crescente demanda, e consequentemente, adiar ou evitar a construção de novas grandes hidrelétricas e termelétricas movidas a combustíveis fósseis, e reduzindo os impactos socioambientais causados pela sua construção e operação. Esta dissertação propõe uma metodologia para o projeto de sistemas de geração de energia elétrica em EEZs, visando auxiliar engenheiros e arquitetos no dimensionamento destes sistemas, permitindo uma maior adoção deste tipo de edificação. A metodologia consiste de alguns passos simples, que incluem a análise do consumo de energia do edifício e do potencial energético local, o dimensionamento e simulação do sistema de geração, concluindo com a avaliação dos resultados para averiguar se a energia gerada seria suficiente para classificar o edifício como EEZ. Adicionalmente, a metodologia propõe ferramentas para auxiliar na escolha de um sistema de geração, dentre diversas opções de arranjos e tecnologias, como o custo do sistema, da eletricidade produzida por ele e do tempo de retorno de energia. Esta metodologia foi aplicada em um laboratório de ensino, que será construído na Unicamp e tem como meta ter o menor impacto ambiental durante sua construção e operação além de ser um Edifício de Energia Zero. Foi avaliada a viabilidade e contribuição potencial da geração de eletricidade por fontes renováveis de energia no projeto deste laboratório, no caso energia solar fotovoltaica e pequenas turbinas eólicas, como forma de atender a meta EEZ. Também foram avaliados três sistemas fotovoltaicos, cotados com empresas especializadas durante o projeto do laboratório. Adicionalmente, buscando entender melhor a influência da tecnologia e do posicionamento dos sistemas fotovoltaicos na geração de eletricidade, foram realizadas simulações de sistemas com 1kWp, utilizando diferentes tecnologias e orientações. As simulações foram realizadas utilizando o software Homer Energy, de distribuição gratuita / Abstract: Electricity consumption in Brazil increased 47% in the last decade, and it is estimated that it will increase 55.6% until 2020. Most of the electricity generated in the country is based on large hydroelectric dams, located away from the major cities. The planned expansion of the generation park to meet this increase in the demand is also based on this model, leading to great transmission and distribution losses. One way to reduce these losses is through a greater use of distributed generation, where the electricity is generated near or at the point of consumption, e.g., integrated to buildings. With the viabilization of this model of electricity generation and of energy efficient buildings, the concept of Net Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB) was created. A ZEB is a building with low energy needs which, through the course of a year, generated all the energy which it consumes from renewable energy sources. In 2010, the building sector was responsible for 46.9% of all electricity consumption in Brazil, and this share will increase until the end of the decade. That way, a larger use of the distributed generation from renewable sources integrated to buildings and of new ZEB can meet part of this growing demand, and thus postpone or avoid the construction of new large hydroelectric dams and thermoelectric power plants running on fossil fuels, reducing the social and environmental impacts caused by its construction and operation. This dissertation proposes a methodology for the project of electricity generation systems in ZEBs, aiming to help engineers and architects in the dimensioning of these systems, allowing a greater adoption of this kind of building. The methodology consists of a few simple steps, which includes an analysis of the building energy consumption and of the local energy potential, sizing and simulation of the generation system and comparing the results in order to conclude if it is possible for the building to become a ZEB. Additionally, the methodology proposes tools to help choosing the better option among different systems sizes and technologies, including the cost of the system, of the electricity produced by it and the energy payback time. The methodology will be applied to a university's laboratory, which will be built at Unicamp, which aims to have the lowest environmental impact possible during its construction and operation and to be a Net Zero Energy Building. It was addressed the viability and potential contribution of electricity generation from renewable energy sources, solar photovoltaic and small wind turbines, in the laboratory's project as an strategy to reach the ZEB target. Three photovoltaic systems quoted from specialized companies during the project were also analyzed. Also, in order to address the influence of the technology and positioning of the photovoltaic systems on its performance, several simulations of systems with 1kWp were carried out, in different tilts and orientations, and using different technologies of photovoltaic modules. These simulations were performed using the Homer Energy software, which is free of charge / Mestrado / Planejamento de Sistemas Energeticos / Mestre em Planejamento de Sistemas Energéticos

Orientador: Luiz Carlos Pereira da Silva / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Elétrica e de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T01:49:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Geraldi_Douglas_M.pdf: 3918130 bytes, checksum: a6b640b4707af6b9173674deab29eece (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Existe atualmente um consenso de que as Redes Inteligentes favoreçam a solução de diversos problemas presentes no dia a dia das concessionárias distribuidoras de energia elétrica, tais como a gestão inteligente do carregamento e o gerenciamento automático na recuperação do fornecimento de energia (self-healing). Por outro lado, a implantação de tecnologias de redes inteligentes também pode criar novas dificuldades para as distribuidoras. Especial atenção deve ser dada à facilidade do acesso ao sistema elétrico por parte da microgeração - quer seja solar, eólica, micro turbinas a gás, etc. - possibilitada pela substituição dos medidores atuais por medidores inteligentes e por legislação específica recentemente publicada pela ANEEL. Neste trabalho busca-se apontar e quantificar alguns impactos técnicos relacionados à injeção de potência em um circuito secundário de distribuição. Através do estudo de cenários com crescente nível de penetração de microgeradores fotovoltaicos residenciais (tetos solares) são analisados os impactos na curva de carga do prossumidor, no perfil de tensão da rede, nas perdas elétricas e no desequilíbrio de tensão. As simulações dos cenários supracitados são realizadas através do software livre Gridlab-D, desenvolvido pela Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) para estudos de aspectos de redes inteligentes via simulação computacional. Uma das vantagens desse pacote é a integração com base de dados meteorológicos, permitindo, por exemplo, a estimativa da geração fotovoltaica mês a mês para um determinado ano constante na base de dados / Abstract: Nowadays, there is a consensus that the Smart Grid can promote the solution of various problems present in distribution utilities, such as intelligent load management and self-healing. How-ever, the deployment of smart grid technologies can also create new difficulties. Special attention should be given to the open access to the electrical grid from the micro-generation plants, such as solar photovoltaic, wind turbines and gas micro-turbines, which will be possible with the re-placement of the current meters for smart meters and by specific regulation recently published by ANEEL. This work intends to identify and quantify some technical impacts related to power injection from micro-generators in a secondary distribution circuit. Through the study of scenarios with increasing penetration of residential photovoltaic micro-generators (solar roofs) some impacts are analyzed: impacts on the load profile of the prosumer; impacts on the voltage profile of the network; impacts on the electrical losses and voltage imbalance. The simulations of the above scenarios are performed by using Gridlab-D, free software developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to study aspects of smart grids via computer simulation. One ad-vantage of this package is the integration with meteorological database, enabling, for example, the estimation of photovoltaic generation every month for a given year contained in the database / Mestrado / Energia Eletrica / Mestre em Engenharia Elétrica

M. Tech. (Engineering, Electrical, Department Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology), Vaal University of Technology / In order to facilitate sustainable development, it is necessary to further improve and increase the energy efficiency and use of renewable energy and its related technologies. The main limiting factors to the extensive use of photovoltaic (PV) modules include the high initial investment cost and the relatively low conversion efficiency. However, other factors, such as an increase in ambient temperature, exert a considerable negative influence on PV modules, with cell efficiencies decreasing as the cell’s operating temperature increases. Higher PV module surface temperatures mean lower output voltages and subsequent lower output power. Therefore, this dissertation focuses on optimizing the available output power from a PV module by investigating and controlling the effect that the PV module’s surface temperature exerts on the amount of electrical energy produced. A pilot study was conducted by using a PV module set to three different tilt angles with an orientation angle and temperature sensors placed at different points. This was done to determine temperature distribution on the PV module surfaces as well as identify which tilt angle produces the highest PV module surface temperature. The main study was designed to investigate the electrical performance of a PV module with different cooling systems (water and forced air) as against a referenced measurement (no cooling). The cooling systems will be switched on and off at specific time intervals with the help of an electronic timer circuit incorporating a PIC microcontroller. The pilot study was conducted for a 50 week period where the results indicated a direct correlation between temperature rise and voltage decrease. The PV module’s temperature is highest at a tilt angle of 16° during the day and lowest at night time. It further reveals that the PV module’s front and back surface temperature can be distinctly different, with the highest recorded values occurring at the back of the PV module. The main study was conducted for a period of 15 weeks with results indicating that the water cooling system resulted in an average higher output power of 49.6% when compared to the reference system (no cooling system). Recommendations are made that sufficient space should be included between the module frames and mounting structure to reduce high operating temperatures owing to poor air circulation.

Thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Renewable and Sustainable Energy at the Stellenbosch University. / Thesis (MScEng (Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This project investigated the feasibility of incorporating photovoltaic cells into plastic roof tiles using injection moulding. Such tiles have the potential to provide robust and distributed electricity contained within the building envelope. Current-voltage curves of amorphous silicon modules were measured under illumination using the PVPM 2540C power measuring instrument, both before and after moulding. The efficiency after moulding was reduced by 53% to 88%, with modules that were heated for longer being degraded more. Thus the duration of exposure to high temperatures affected the extent of performance reduction during moulding. This suggested that faster moulding at a lower temperature or faster cooling could solve the problem. Economic feasibility was examined by calculating the levellised cost of electricity provided by the tiles. A large-scale development in the Western Cape was simulated using a typical meteorological year of weather data and using the anisotropic diffuse irradiance model of Perez et al. (1988). Avoided costs due to replaced roofing, avoided costs due to electricity distribution infrastructure, and Clean Development Mechanism credits were accounted for. The cost of energy calculated was R11/kWh in 2010 rands, which did not compete with the price of conventional grid-based electricity at R1.8/kWh. The importance of the cost of balance-of-system components, such as the inverter, and not only of the photovoltaic modules, was highlighted for future cost reductions. Several clear guidelines for manufacturing photovoltaic roof tiles were discovered. The most important of these was that many bypass diodes make the system more robust. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie projek het die haalbaarheid van die integrasie van fotovoltaïse selle in plastiek dakteëls deur spuitvorming ondersoek. Sulke dakteëls het die vermoë om robuuste en verspreide elektrisiteit te lewer, sonder om die gebou se vorm te verander. Stroom-spanning kurwes van struktuurlose silikon eenhede is onder verligting gemeet met die PVPM 2540C kragmeet instrument, voor en na spuitvorming. Die doeltreffendheid na spuitvorming is met 53% tot 88% verminder, met groter vermindering in die eenhede wat langer warm was. Dus het die duur van blootstelling aan hoë temperature die mate van vermindering van doeltreffendheid beïnvloed. Dit het suggereer dat óf vinniger spuitvorming by laer temperature óf vinniger verkoeling die probleem kan oplos. Ekonomiese haalbaarheid is ondersoek deur die koste van die elektrisiteit wat deur die dakteëls gelewer is te bereken. ’n Groot behuisingsontwikkeling in die Wes-Kaap is gesimuleer deur ’n tipiese weerkundige jaar van weerdata en die anisotroop model vir verspreide ligstraling van Perez et al. (1988) te gebruik. Vermyde kostes van vervangde dakteëls, vermyde kostes van elektrisiteit distribusie infrastruktuur en krediete van die Meganisme vir Skoonontwikkeling is in ag geneem. Die elektrisiteitskoste was R11/kWh in 2010 se randwaarde, wat nie mededingend met die R1.8/kWh koste van gewone netwerk elektrisiteit was nie. Die belang van die kostes van die res van die installasieonderdele, soos die wisselrigter, en nie net die fotovoltaïse eenhede nie, is beklemtoon vir kostevermindering in die toekoms. Verskeie duidelike riglyne vir die vervaardiging van fotovoltaïse dakteëls is voorgestel. Die belangrikste van hierdie was dat meer omloopdiodes die installasie meer robuust maak. / Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies

Project report presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering at the University of Stellenbosch. / Thesis (MScEng (Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / Three SunSlates™ were investigated to predict the performance of a fully installed system. The three slates were mounted on a fixed tilt of 30°, but with different orientations. The tilt is close to latitude of the Stellenbosch site, which is 33.92°. The one faces due east, another due west and last due north. This is to determine the effect that orientation has on the energy from the SunSlates™. Another slate, also facing north, was mounted on an adjustable framework. The framework was used to adjust the tilt angle of the slate, the orientation of the slate was constantly north. This slate was used to determine the effect of tilt on the total daily energy produced by the slate. To determine the performance of the slates daily measurements of temperature, solar insolation and wind was taken. These were used to investigate the effects on the SunSlates™. During the test period, which scheduled from September to November, the results show a difference, smaller than commonly believed, in the daily and annual energy delivered from the differently orientated slates. The slates facing east and west, however, have similar energy outputs, even though the power profiles differ. The north facing slate has the highest annual energy output, as expected. It was found that during the months of summer, November to January, the optimal tilted slate (Slate tilted to have a incidence angle of 0° from solar rays at noon) had a slightly lower energy output, but higher maximum power output per day than the 30 degree tilted slate. This is in contrast to the energy output predictions for the winter months where in the winter the energy can be as much as double that of the 30 degree tilted slate. The thorough testing and expert installation of the SunSlates™ are essential. From the case study it can be seen that some problems during installation, possibly a single faulty slate or shadowing, can cause a complete system to lose 30% of its efficiency. / Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies