Riverdale NetZero Project

Healthy Sustainable NetZero Energy

Appendix H. Solar PV System Design and Details

To achieve a net zero energy home in an urban setting, a PV system will almost
always7 be required. The size of this system is dependant on the home's electricity
consumption plus the deficit space and domestic water heating required after accounting
for active and passive solar heating. Since solar PV is presently the most expensive of
home-sited energy considerations, the design process focussed on how to minimise the
size of the PV system.
The Riverdale NetZero PV system is in a grid-dependent configuration, which
means that it does not have any on-site battery storage, and depends on the electrical
grid for its operation. As shown in the PV system schematic in file "6.3 Solar PV System
Schematic.pdf" in Section 6, its major components consist of a PV array, a DC
disconnect switch, a DC to AC grid-dependent inverter and an AC disconnect switch.
Minor components include wiring, module racking, miscellaneous electrical fittings and
an optional kWh meter.
A 30 m2 array of solar PV modules is mounted on the roof to minimise the
likelihood of any shade from trees and buildings. The array contains 24 modules
mounted at the annual optimum solar radiation angle, 53, in Edmonton. This high tilt
angle minimises the likelihood of snow sticking to the array for long. The PV modules
selected are the SunPower SPR-220, which has an efficiency of 17.7%, the highest
efficiency terrestrial modules that are presently commercially available. This high
efficiency permits the smallest area PV array possible. The modules have a present-day
price of around $6.20 per watt of rated generating capacity, but this will likely be
dropping somewhat over the coming months as the world's PV supply capacity
increases.
Using our in-house PV system calculator spreadsheet (shown in the "PV System
Configuration Calculator.pdf" file in Section 6), we selected a Fronius IG 5100
grid-dependent inverter. With recent inverter designs, they now feed performance data
directly into web sites (such as Fat Spaniel and Sunny Portal) so that the system
performance can be tracked.
Estimated cost of the PV system is $47 000 given a quote on the SunPower
modules of $6.17 per rated watt of capacity.
A further evaluation is going to be done to determine whether a simple angle
adjustment system can be employed. This would see the array angle changed twice a

It is unlikely that a microwind turbine will be permitted in a typical urban setting due to looks,
noise, height, shadow flicker, and possible bird and bat kill. Microhydro resources are not
typically available in an urban setting. Sustainable sources of energy-containing waste (such as
wood or manure) are similarly not typically available as yet.

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Riverdale NetZero Project

Healthy Sustainable NetZero Energy
year from within the house from a winter tilt angle of between 70 and 90 to a summer
angle of 25 to 30.
As with all grid-dependent PV systems there is no battery bank. For this reason
the PV system automatically shuts down during electrical outages. A very attractive
battery-based sub-system called the Sunny Island is available from SMA, which works
with any grid-dependent PV system to allow it to continue to operate during outages.
This will be evaluated to determine whether it will assist in marketing the house as being
energy secure.
Since the solar PV system is grid-connected, it will export onto the electrical
distribution system of the Wire Service Provider, EPCOR Distribution and Transmission,
likely 75% of the electricity that it generates. Though the grid does not store any energy
(instead the exported electricity feeds the nearest neighbours), it effectively appears to
serve as an electrical storage device.
In following the Alberta government regulations, the electricity exported by the PV
system will be sold to the Alberta Electric System Operator at the System Marginal
Price, which ranges from 4 /kWh to 100 /kWh depending on the time of day and any
system-wide electrical shortages or surpluses. Alberta has a complex regulatory
process in order to get any grid-connected generator interconnected with the utility and
PV systems are given no special treatment. Mr. Howell, a member of the Riverdale
NetZero project team, is Alberta's pre-eminent specialist in the grid-connection of PV
systems and will handle the regulatory paperwork (which are outlined in
www.gridconnect.ca). We are in discussion with EPCOR regarding new metering
policies that they are developing.

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