DESIGN, ANALYSIS AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A 3.5KVA STANDALONE SOLAR POWER SYSTEM

ABSTRACT

Equitable access to energy is an important factor in eradicating energy poverty. Electric energy production using renewable energy sources (RES) has seen an upscale in recent years because of the numerous advantages of RES which include non-pollutant, raw materials are free, environmentally friendly and cost efficient. To maximize production and efficiency, types of RES are correlated to geographical locations with abundance of such types of resources. Intermittent supply of electricity to residential buildings has led many occupants/owners to source for alternative sources to complement the epileptic supply from the National Grid. This energy can easily be converted to electric power for use in both residential areas and industrial sectors through solar photovoltaic (PV) system. Hence, the aim of this project is to carry out the design, analysis and implementation of a 3.5kVA solar power system. In this project, load analysis of power requirement of the building was first carried out. Sizing, evaluation and installation of a 3.5kVA photovoltaic power system was done using solar PVs, charge controller and batteries and the inverter integrated in correct sequence as designed. However, the willingness to adopt solar system is high but it is hindered by initial high-cost implementation of the system. The study's findings contribute to the growing literature in the adoption of renewable energy for electricity generation, highlighted the major barriers hindering this for effective solutions to be proffered. It also provides a prospective market for those interested in the solar energy market as the integrated device sourced from the open market properly connected was tested and found to perform satisfactorily as it was loaded to about 30% of the design loading