Performance evaluation of a decentralized rooftop solar photovoltaic system with a heat recovery cooling unit

Duraivelu, Revati; Elumalai, Natarajan

Performance evaluation of a decentralized rooftop solar photovoltaic system with a heat recovery cooling unit

2021

Duraivelu, Revati | Elumalai, Natarajan

The present work represents a detailed performance analysis of a 5-kWₚ on-grid solar photovoltaic rooftop system installed on a flat roof of a hospital building at a height of 12 m from the ground level, located at Perambalur (latitude 11° 23′ N and longitude 78° 93′ E), Tamilnadu, India. The daily, monthly and annual average performance parameters of the PV system including energy output, final yield, reference yield, array yield, photovoltaic array efficiency, system efficiency, inverter efficiency, performance ratio and capacity utilization factor have been analysed. The environmental benefit analysis and the payback period of the installed solar photovoltaic plant are also discussed. This solar photovoltaic power plant generates around 7144 kWh per annum of electrical energy, which is fed into the grid, and the annual average array, inverter, system efficiency, capacity utilization factor and performance ratio of the plant are found to be 12.15%, 97.12%, 11.72%, 16.31% and 76.83%, respectively, during the year 2019. The overall PV module electrical efficiency has been increased by 1.21% by applying the forced air circulation mechanism and 2.31% by applying the forced water circulation mechanism. Subsequently, the heat gained by the system can be utilized for heat load application. The installed solar photovoltaic power plant has a positive impact on greenhouse gas emissions with a reduction of 11.287 t of CO₂, 8.86 kg of SO₂, 18.50 kg of NOₓ and 485.792 kg of ash per annum. The water-based cooling in photovoltaics can potentially generate an output energy of 7310 kWh, which is relatively higher than the energy generated by the photovoltaic module with air cooling.

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