National Central University

Master of Science in

Environmental Sustainable Development

SIMULATION AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

OF BATTERY BASED STAND-ALONE
PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS OF MALAWI

獨立型充蓄太陽能發電系統在馬拉威的模擬與性能表現評估

By

Lameck Kabambalika Nkhonjera

Advisor: Jiunn-Chi Wu

June 2009
 Chinese abstract

獨立型充蓄太陽能發電系統在馬拉威的模擬與性能表現評估

馬拉威目前積極地推廣太陽光電系統，在 2002-2008 年間公共與私人安裝的系統數

量大幅增加。而為了確立系統的標準與可靠性，政府於 2004 年制定獨立型充蓄太陽光
發電系統（BSPVS）的國家標準，但是目前對安裝系統的技術性能缺少相關資訊。為
了縮小此差異，因此本文將對馬拉威的充蓄太陽能發電系統進行性能分析。本研究以
TRNSYS 軟體進行 BSPVS 的性能模擬，並利用在台灣得到的實驗數據來驗證模擬結
果。本文說明位在 Chitedze 和 Mzuzu 二地區模擬系統的性能表現。結果顯示若是系統
依據馬拉威國家標準設計，則整年的平均性能比（mean performance ratio）可達 0.68，
太陽電池陣列的生產因子（production factor）為 0.88，系統整體效率則為 78%。而在
系統可靠性方面可發現其和當地的日照情形有關，以模擬的兩地區 （Chitedze 和
Mzuzu）為例，Mzuzu 的負荷損耗概率(loss of load probability)為 0.13，而 Chitedze 為
0.09。此外，當白天系統運作時，若將對電池充電設定為系統的優先作動順序，則整體
系統的可靠性可提升 40%。如果系統發電量低於負載的需求（under-designed），將會
使性能比明顯的下降、可靠性變低及電池長期處於未完全充電。

關鍵詞：獨立型充蓄太陽光發電系統，系統性能，TRNSYS 軟體

i
 Abstract
The promotion of photovoltaic (PV) systems in Malawi yielded an increased number of
institutionally and privately owned installed PV systems during 2002-2008. The national
standards for battery-based standalone PV systems (BSPVS) were written in 2004 in order to
ensure high standard and thus reliable systems. However, there had been information gap on
technical performance of the installed system. To narrow the gap, a study was made with an
aim of analyzing performance of PV systems in Malawi. As such, the BSPVS of Malawi were
simulated using a TRNSYS simulation model which was validated by data measured from
actual operating PV system in Taiwan. This study reports on performance results of the
simulated systems located at Chitedze and Mzuzu in Malawi. The results showed that if the
system is designed in accordance to procedures stipulated in Malawi standards then it is
capable of operating annually with mean performance ratio of 0.68, PV array production
factor of 0.88 and system efficiency of 78%. Regarding reliability, it was found that
difference of radiation within locations in Malawi has an impact on system’s reliability. For
the two simulated locations, loss of load probability of systems in Mzuzu city was 0.13 and
for Chitedze was 0.09. It is further found that during daytime, if the battery charging is given
priority then overall system’s reliability is improved by 40%. If the system is under-designed,
it was found that its performance ratio is reduced considerably, it is less reliable and its
battery remains in low state of charge for long periods.

Keywords: Battery-based stand-alone PV systems, BSPVS performance, TRNSYS

ii
 Acknowledgements
First and foremost I would like to express my gratitude to Taiwan International
Cooperation Fund (Taiwan ICDF) for financially supporting this research and my entire
master program. I am also grateful to Dr. Jiunn-Chi Wu for his commendable supervision of
this research and for giving me a sense of direction when I was stuck. Further
acknowledgement goes to the oral examination committee-Professor Shu-San Hsiau and
Professor Li Ting Tung-for their constructive suggestions which helped to improve the quality
of this report. I will also like to thank my class mates, colleagues in the Solar Energy
Laboratory and all my friends for tirelessly supporting me. To my Mum, Dad, brothers and
sisters, I appreciate the love and care you showed during my two year stay away from you.
On a special note, I thank my sweetheart Annie for patiently waiting for me and for the
support she rendered towards the completions of this work. Above all, I give honor and glory
to Almighty God for giving me good health and intellectual power to successfully complete
this study.

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 Table of Contents
Chinese abstract ........................................................................................................................... i

English abstract...........................................................................................................................ii

Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................iii

Table of contents ....................................................................................................................... iv

List of Tables and Figures ......................................................................................................... vi

Nomenclature...........................................................................................................................viii

Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1

1.1 Background of Photovoltaics .................................................................................. 2

1.2 Organization of thesis ............................................................................................. 5

Chapter 2 Review of battery-based standalone PV systems....................................................... 6

2.1 Rural electrification using BSPVS .......................................................................... 6

2.1.1 Lessons learnt ........................................................................................... 6

2.1.2 Future prospects ....................................................................................... 8

2.2 Technical Performance ........................................................................................... 8

2.3 Efforts for performance improvements ................................................................. 11

2.3.1 Battery management .............................................................................. 12

2.3.2 Charge control algorithms ...................................................................... 13

2.4 BSPVS in Malawi ................................................................................................. 14

Chapter 3 Rationale of study .................................................................................................... 16

3.1 Problem Statement ................................................................................................ 16

3.2 Justification of the study ....................................................................................... 16

3.3 Goal and Scope of the Study ................................................................................. 18

Chapter 4 Theory and calculation ............................................................................................. 20

4.1 Sizing of Battery based stand alone photovoltaic systems ................................... 20

4.2 Performance analysis of BSPVS ........................................................................... 23

iv
 4.2.1 Derivation of PR, PF, and ηsys ................................................................ 23

4.2.2 Loss of load probability ......................................................................... 26

4.3 Simulation of BSPVS............................................................................................ 27

Chapter 5 Methodology ............................................................................................................ 30

5.1 Experimental methods........................................................................................... 30

5.2 Simulation Methods .............................................................................................. 35

5.2.1 Weather data reader component ............................................................. 37

5.2.2 PV array component............................................................................... 39

5.2.3 Battery Component ................................................................................ 41

5.2.4 Regulator/Inverter .................................................................................. 43

5.3 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 43

Chapter 6 Results and discussion ............................................................................................. 45

6.1 Experimental results and discussion ..................................................................... 45

6.1.1 Results .................................................................................................... 45

6.1.2 Discussion .............................................................................................. 51

6.2 Simulation results and discussion ......................................................................... 52

6.2.1 Validation of simulation model.............................................................. 52

6.2.2 Simulation results ................................................................................... 55

6.2.3 Discussion .............................................................................................. 62

Chapter 7 Conclusions and recommendations.......................................................................... 65

7.1 Conclusions ........................................................................................................... 65

7.2 Summary of contributions ..................................................................................... 66

7.3 Recommendations ................................................................................................. 66

7.4 Future Research..................................................................................................... 67

References ................................................................................................................................ 68

Appendix .................................................................................................................................. 72

v
 List of Tables and Figures

List of Tables

Table 2-1: Regional population of people living without electricity.......................................... 6

Table 2-2: Requirements for maximum battery depth of discharge ........................................ 13
Table 5-1: Installation condition of the experimental BSPV ................................................... 31
Table 5-2: Specification of PV module used in the experiment ............................................... 32
Table 5-3: Specification of battery used in the experiment ...................................................... 32
Table 5-4: Specifications of charge controller and inverter ..................................................... 33
Table 5-5: Measuring instrument and the data it measured...................................................... 35
Table 6-1: The 6 month mean of the analyzed experimental BSPVS ...................................... 50
Table 6-2: Summary of performance indicators of simulated systems .................................... 61

List of Figures

Figure 1-1: Location of Malawi.................................................................................................. 1

Figure 1-2: Schematic of BSPVS connected components.......................................................... 3
Figure 2-1: Failure rates on 421 PV systems Puno-Peru .......................................................... 11
Figure 2-2: Plot of battery charging efficiency for PWM and ON/OFF controllers ............... 14
Figure 4-1: TRNSYS simulation studio ................................................................................... 29
Figure 5-1: Schematic of apparatus for experimental BSPVS ................................................. 30
Figure 5-2: Captured photos of apparatus for the experiment ................................................. 31
Figure 5-3: Solar charging stages for PWM charging ............................................................. 33
Figure 5-4: DAQFactory’s user interface ................................................................................ 34
Figure 5-6: Photo of micro weather station .............................................................................. 35
Figure 5-7: TRNSYS simulation project for BSPVS. ............................................................. 37
Figure 5-8: Equivalent electrical circuit in the four-parameter model ..................................... 40
Figure 6-1: Solar irradiance at National Central University..................................................... 45
Figure 6-2: Profile of daily charge demanded by the load ...................................................... 46
Figure 6-3: Daily performance ratio from 11/21/08 to 04/30/08 ............................................. 47
Figure 6-4: Plot of irradiance, array and battery currents for selected days. ............................ 48
Figure 6-5: Daily production factor from 11/21/08 to 04/30/08 .............................................. 49
Figure 6-6: Daily system efficiency from 11/21/08 to 04/30/09 .............................................. 50
Figure 6-7: Monthly loss of load probability from November 08 to April 09. ........................ 51

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Figure 6-8: Comparison of measured and simulated array currents ......................................... 53
Figure 6-9: Comparison of measured and simulated battery currents ...................................... 54
Figure 6-10: Comparison of measured and simulated battery voltages ................................... 54
Figure 6-11: Hourly solar irradiance received at Mzuzu in Malawi ....................................... 55
Figure 6-12: Daily performance ratio for simulated BSPVS located at Mzuzu ...................... 56
Figure 6-13: Daily system efficiency for simulated BSPVS located at Mzuzu ...................... 56
Figure 6-14: Daily array production factor for simulated BSPVS located at Mzuzu............... 57
Figure 6-15: Annual battery state of charge ............................................................................ 58
Figure 6-16: Comparison of loss of load probability .............................................................. 59
Figure 6-17: Load demand and battery’s SOC during days of autonomy ................................ 59
Figure 6-18: Comparison of performance ratio of systems at Mzuzu and Chitedze ................ 60
Figure 6-19: Under designed system for Mzuzu city .............................................................. 61

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 Nomenclature

AC Alternate current

Ah Ampere-hour

BARREM Barrier Removal to Renewable Energy in Malawi

BSPVS Battery-based standalone photovoltaic systems

Cb Battery capacity

CFL Compact fluorescent lamps

DC Direct current

DDOD Daily depth of discharge

DF De-rating factor

DOD Depth of discharge

e Open circuit voltage

Eday Daily Energy

f Fractional SOC of the last hour of previous month

g Electrolyte coefficient

G Global solar radiation

Gb Beam radiation

Gd Diffuse radiation

GEF Global Environmental Facility

Go Global solar radiation of value 1000W/m2

Gpoa Global solar radiation on the plane of array

GT Total irradiance

viii
HVAC Heating, ventilation and air conditioning

HVC High voltage connection point for ON/OF controllers

HVD High voltage disconnection point for ON/OFF controller

Ia PV array current

Ib Battery current

Icons Current consumed by charge controller

IDC DC current

IL Module photocurrent

Io Nominal PV array current

ID Diode reverse saturation current

Isc Short circuit current

kWh kilo-watt-hour

LLP Loss of load probability

LVD Low voltage disconnection point

LVR Low voltage reconnection point of ON/OFF controller

N Number of data points

P Power

PAC AC power

Pl Load power

PF Production factor

PR Performance ratio

PSH Peak sunshine hours

PV Photovoltaics

ix
PWM Pulse width modulation

q Electron charge constant

Qa PV array electrical charge

Qb Electrical charge delivered by battery

Qd Electrical charge demanded by load

Ql Electrical charged delivered to load

Qp PV array potential electrical charge

Qs Electrical charge supplied by system

Quse Useful electrical charge of the system

Quse,PV Useful electrical charge directly supplied by PV array

Rd Ratio of diffuse radiation on tilted surface to that on a horizontal surface

Rdir Ratio of the load directly met by PV array to the total load demand

RMSE Root mean square error

Rs Series resistance

SOC State of charge

t Time in hours

Tc Module cell temperature

Vb Battery voltage

Vb,nom Nominal battery voltage

Vr Regulation voltage

VAC AC voltage

VRLA Valve regulated lead acid

W Watts

x
Wh Watt-hour

Wp Array’s power at maximum power point at standard test conditions

Yaq PV array charge normalized to rated current of the PV array

Yfq Final useful charge normalized to rated current of the PV array

Yrq Potential charge of the array normalized to rated current of the PV array

Greek Symbol

 Angle of incidence of beam radiation

z Solar zenith angle

 Emperical PV curve fitting parameter

g Ground reflectance

 Slope of surface

ηb Battery charging efficiency

ηinv Inverter efficiency

ηsys System efficiency

Subscript

aq Array charge

b Battery

c Charging

d Discharging

day Time from 0:00 -24:00

xi
fq Final charge

m Monthly

rq Rated charge

sys System

xii
 Chapter 1 Introduction

Malawi, a developing country in sub-Saharan region (Figure 1-1), has a population of

13,066,320 (National Statistical Office of Malawi 2008). Only 7% of the population has access to

electricity of which 1% belongs to the rural areas (UNDP 2008). To increase the number of people

with access to electricity, the government promotes use of photovoltaics (PV) in rural

electrification. However, in broader sense, the performance analysis of the installed PV systems has

not technically been carried out. In order to give a technical insight of the performance of battery-

based standalone PV systems (BSPVS) in Malawi, simulations of BSPVS were conducted and this

thesis reports on the results of performance analysis of the simulated systems.

Figure 1-1: Location of Malawi

1
1.1 Background of Photovoltaics

The principal of PV dates back to 1839 when Edmund Becquerel, the French experimental

physicist, discovered the photoelectric effect while experimenting with an electrolytic cell made up

of two metal electrodes placed in an electricity-conducting solution where he observed that

generation increased when exposed to light. Sequentially, various scientists evolved Becquerel’s

discovery which consequently gave birth to production of electricity from the solar energy, widely

referred to PV. Today, PV production and installations are increasing. In 2008 annual installations

were 3 GW worldwide, up nearly 500 % from just four years earlier (Energy Business Reports

2008). PV is applied in different areas, for example; powering homes, powering small electronic

gadgets, tied to the grid, water pumping, powering automobiles, powering space satellites,

powering telecommunication devices in remote areas, just to mention a few. The PV systems are

broadly divided into grid-tied and standalone systems. Grid-tied systems feed electric energy into

the public electricity grid while standalone supply power directly to electrical equipment.

BSPVS can be used to power homes in remote areas, an option which is viable in

developing countries where majority of the population does not have access to electricity. The

number of BSPVS in developing countries is increasing and this can be attributed to the Global

Environmental Facility (GEF) which funds projects that foster BSPVS for rural electrification in

developing countries. Besides, different developing countries with their partner funding bodies use

BSPVS in a bid to provide electricity to rural areas. A typical BSPVS used in the rural

electrification is as shown in Figure 1-2. The major components are; PV array which convert the

solar energy to electricity; charge controller which controls the charging of the battery; battery

which stores the generated energy for use in the night and during cloudy days; and the inverter

which converts the battery’s direct current (DC) to alternate current (AC). The most recent inverters

are equipped with a function of controlling battery discharge.

2
 Figure 1-2: Schematic of BSPVS connected components

Much as BSPVS are able to provide electricity, they have set of challenges which limit their

dissemination. Firstly, the systems have higher installation cost which translates to higher cost per

kWh (kilo-watt-hour) than conventional electricity generators. The higher costs are accounted for

high production costs of PV panels followed by their low efficiency. Secondly, most of installed

BSPVS have low reliability level which can be attributed to poor system design, maintenance, poor

battery performance and use of substandard components (Gumbo et al., 2003; Mulugetta, et al.,

2000). The most vulnerable component in BSPVS is the battery. Several stress factors lead to

battery’s poor performance and shorter life. These include frequent discharging to higher depth of

discharge (DOD), operating the battery at low state of charge (SOC) for long period, excessive

overcharging and higher battery temperatures. The malfunctioning or incorrect type of charge

controller also affects the health of the battery in the sense that the battery’s charge/discharges are

ineffectively and inefficiently controlled.

PV scientists are not leaving the shortfalls of BSPVS unchecked. Research efforts are

constantly being made in order to make PV competitive. In the PV manufacturing technology, new

3
techniques, which lower the cost of production and increasing efficiency, are being discovered. For

instance Green et al. (2008) reported crystalline silicon solar cells of efficiency 24 % which is better

than the efficiency of the commercially available crystalline silicon solar cells that hovers around

15%. Regarding shorter battery life, studies are being carried out to develop long-life batteries at

prices competitive to current lead acid batteries. Besides, research is continually conducted in the

area of improving life of lead acid batteries through effective and efficient battery charging and

discharging controls and through other battery management systems. In BSPVS, battery charging

can either be controlled by using shunt or single-stage series (ON/OFF) or diversion or pulse width

modulation (PWM) controllers. The shunt controller prevent overcharging by ―shunting‖ or short

circuiting the PV array when the battery is fully charged. ON/OFF controller prevent battery

overcharging by switching the PV array off when the battery voltage reaches charge termination set

point. Diversion controllers automatically regulate the charging currents depending on the battery’s

SOC by diverting excess charging current to a resistive load. PWM controller controls battery

charging by providing charging current in pulses and holding the charging voltage constant when

the battery reaches full charge. According to Morningstar Corporation (2000), PWM controller is

most efficient amongst the 4 controller types.

The goal of this thesis was to simulate BSPVS with PWM charge controller operating under

Malawi weather conditions and analyze their performance. The simulation was done in TRNSYS

16 simulation software, commercial simulation software which is developed for simulation of

transient systems including PV systems and multi-zone buildings. The simulated results were

validated by measured results from a BSPVS experimental system which was mounted at National

Central University in Taiwan. The validated model was then used to simulate BSPVS at two

different locations in Malawi. The results show that BSPVS, if systematically designed, can operate

at an annual mean performance ratio (PR) of 0.68, system efficiency (ηsys) of 78%, array production

factor (PF) of 0.88% and loss of load probability (LLP) of 0.08. It is further revealed that a system

4
which has battery charging as a priority operate more reliably than the system with load as a

priority. The under-designed system is less reliable and its battery undergoes partial cycling at low

SOC for over 60% of the time subjecting the battery to accelerated hard sulphate formation which

shortens its life.

1.2 Organization of thesis

This thesis is divided into 7 chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the thesis through a brief

statements of problem being addressed, background of PV, research efforts in BSPVS and results.

A detail report of the relevant literature reviewed is given in chapter 2. The chapter is subdivided

into 4 sections which respectively reports on the literature reviewed in relation to rural

electrification using BSPVS, technical performance, efforts for performance improvements, and

BSPVS in Malawi. Chapter 3 is about rationale of study in which three main subtopics are

discussed namely problem statement; justification of study; and goal and scope of study. The

relevant theories and calculation formulae used in the study are expounded in chapter 4. It starts by

giving the procedure of BSPVS sizing and is followed by formulation of how the performance

indicators were calculated from the measured/simulated variables and finally it briefly describes the

TRNSYS software used in simulation of BSPVS. Chapter 5 reports in detail the methods and

materials which were used to meet the objectives of this study. It is subdivided into section which

deals with methods followed in experiment and another section which reports step by step methods

followed in the simulation. Finally, a brief explanation on how data was analyzed is outlined. The

results for both experimental and simulation parts of the study are given in chapter 6. It is followed

by a discussion. Chapter 7 is about conclusions drawn from the study. It further gives list of new

contribution this study has offered; recommendations and finally further research areas are

suggested. Details of references cited in the text are followed in the reference section and details of

other important information are appended in appendix.

5
 Chapter 2 Review of battery-based standalone PV systems

BSPVS have been in existence for decades as a source of electricity in remote areas where

grid electricity is inaccessible. Their field performances are progressively been studied and

improved. In this chapter, review on BSPVS for rural electrification; technical performance; efforts

for performance improvement; and case of Malawi, are given.

2.1 Rural electrification using BSPVS

In the world, about 25% of the population has no access to electricity (Table 2.1), out of

which 35% are from Sub-Saharan Africa. BSPVS are proved to be viable technologies for rural

electrification in Sub-Sahara African most especially in areas where grid extension deem expensive

(Macias and Ponce 2006; Rabah 2005; Van der Plas and Hankins 1998; Wamukonya 2007). In Sub-

Saharan Africa, countries like Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya use BSPVS as one of

solutions in their rural electrification programs. Some of the lessons learnt from and future

prospects of BSPVS are given in sections 2.1.1 and 2.1.2 respectively.

Table 2-1: Regional population of people living without electricity, Source: Shah (2009)
Region Millions without electricity
South Asia 706
Sub-Saharan Africa 547
East Asia 224
Other 101

2.1.1 Lessons learnt

Various authors including Gustavsson (2004); Mulugetta et al. (2000); Nieuwenhout (2001)

Van der Plas and Hankins (1998) have reported about the lessons learnt from BSPVS installed in

the bid to provide electricity to the rural areas. The lessons can be divided into positive and negative
6
experiences. The positive experiences are those that bring satisfaction to the owners and amongst

them are;

1. Increased productive time: With the provision of improved lighting, the system users

extend their productive tasks into the night. In addition, night study period for students

is prolonged.

2. Improved livelihood: installed solar lighting (sometime solar refrigeration) boost

income generation through longer selling hours and in case of solar refrigeration,

perishable products are stored for longer periods thereby reducing losses incurred

through product perishing.

3. Improved communication: BPVS are used to power radios, television and re-charge

mobile phones/laptop computers; gadgets which are essential for effective

communication. As such the rural dwellers are kept updated with latest information

4. Provision of better home entertainment: Apart from communication purposes, radio

cassettes and televisions are used for home entertainment.

On the other hand, negative experiences are those that bring dissatisfaction to the owners and

amongst reported negative experiences are;

1. Poor system reliability: Most installed systems have proved to be unreliable because of

systems’ under designing and/or over usage which lead to premature system failure

most especially the battery.

2. Poor back up services: systems which are installed by registered PV installers (mostly

for project bases systems) lack back-up services by the installers which render the

systems to premature failures.

7
 3. Lack of enforcing standardized components: There exist cheap and substandard

components on the market that are often bought by the system owners due to their

financial constraint and ignorance.

2.1.2 Future prospects

Solar electricity is real and realistic option for rural and peri-urban households. However, its

high upfront cost hinders the rapid spread of technology in rural areas of the developing countries.

In order for the future of BSPVS in rural electrification to remain bright, Mulugetta et al. (2002);

Karekezi and Kithyoma (2002) recommended that

1. Policies should emphasize on a broader range of renewable energies and targeting

income-generating activities.

2. The system owners should be trained on the good management of the systems.

3. There should be professional back up services of the installed systems which should

include routine monitoring of the systems’ performance;

2.2 Technical Performance

A typical BSPVS as shown in Figure 1-2 can be classified into three categories, namely

systems with purely DC loads; systems with purely AC loads; and systems with both DC and AC

loads. With exception of purely DC load system, BSPVS contains DC/AC inverter component. One

of the performance indicators of BSPVS which is found in literature is performance ratio (PR)

which is the measure on how efficiently does the system utilizes the potential power of the solar

panel. Jahn et al. (2000) conducted performance analysis of the BSPVS for France and it was

observed that PR of systems without back-up varied from 0.1 to 0.6 while systems with buck-up

their PR ranged from 0.3 to 0.6. Comparing to PR of grid tied systems which ranged from 0.6 to

8
0.8, it can be concluded that BSPVS which solely depends on solar energy for its battery charging

is less efficient.

In comparison, systems with purely DC loads are more efficient than systems with AC loads

for there is no extra power loss in the inverter. However, experience learnt from DC systems is that

DC operated appliances are rarely available on market, a situation which had led to upgrading of the

purely DC load system to purely AC load system by incorporating DC/AC inverter into the system.

In most cases, this upgrading is done by users themselves. These occurrences had also led to poor

performance of such modified systems because incorrect types of inverters are often bought

(possibly because the owners only look for the cheapest inverters on the market without considering

technical implications). In additional, Celik et al. (2008) report that, all variable held constant, the

performance of PV systems from economic perspective varies with weather condition of the PV’s

location. Therefore, weather data must be taken into consideration if one is to optimize PV system

design.

Regarding components’ performance, solar panel is the least problematic. However, its

energy conversion efficiency still remains low. For the silicon based solar cell, which are widely

used in BSPVS of developing countries, the efficiency hovers around 15%. Despite being less

problematic in terms of component’s break down, the performance of solar panel is site dependant

and its efficiency varies with daily temperature. On the other hand, the reflection losses are

independent of geographical latitude if the module is mounted with latitude tilt (Bucher, 1997; Diaz

et al., 2007). Further, solar panel’s performance is reduced by shading resulting from poorly located

panels and dust accumulation as a consequence of lack of routine maintenance.

In BSPVS, battery is the weakest performing component and is prone to short life because

of long period at low SOC; partial cycling in low SOC; rare full charges; and elevated temperatures

(Svoboda, et al., 2007). Batteries which are purely designed for solar systems if well managed can

9
stay in operation for over 5 years. Nonetheless, system owners opt to use cheap automobile batteries

which have been proven to perform badly when used in solar systems. Besides, there is significant

decrease of battery’s capacity after one year operation as experienced in BSPVS in Lundazi,

Zambia (Gustavsson and Mtonga, 2005). In addition, due to financial constraints, self installed

BSPVS are commonly installed without battery charge controllers, which result into accelerated

battery ageing and thus lowering system performance. Besides, most system owners bypass a

charge controller once it becomes faulty. They do this at the expense of shortening the battery life.

In the study to see the effect of charge controllers on the performance of BSPVS, Diaz and

Egido (2003) reported that the battery performance thereby the system’s performance is affected by

the mismatching of battery and charge regulator types. Further, the regulation set voltages affect the

performance of systems. For instance, if there is too much gap between disconnection and

reconnection points, the system performance is reduced.

The DC/AC inverters (Munoz and Lorenzo, 2005) have been reported to perform at the

rated nominal power output and falls within the grid frequency fluctuation of 2% with a highest

reported conversion efficiency of 91%. However their output voltage regulation is not good and in

case of modified sine wave inverter, total harmonic distortion (THD) reaches as much as 50%. In

spite of high THD in modified sine wave inverters, the voltage distortion neither hampers the

operation of the permitted loads nor puts their reliability in danger though the impact on lifetime of

the appliance is not yet measured.

Evaluation of BSPVS in Puno-Peru (Figure 2-1) showed high rate of failure in fuses and

battery failure is noticed after 1 year but becomes the second most replaced component after fuses

at the end of third year. Failure of charge controllers was relatively low while PV modules remained

reliable component in the systems for no failure occurred.

10
 Figure 2-1: Failure rates on 421 PV systems Puno-Peru (Egido et al., 2004)

2.3 Efforts for performance improvements

The feedback got from the shortfalls of the installed BSPVS had brought about research

questions which scientists put effort to answer. Solar panel, which are more efficient than the

currently silicon based panels used in BSPVS in developing countries, have been discovered (Green

et al., 2008). However, their technology is not well developed to be available on the market at

prices competitive to conversional silicon based panels. Therefore, the conventional silicon based

solar panels are still to be used in the BSPVS until such more efficient solar cells are fully

developed. Similarly, batteries, for example nickel-cadmium, which are more efficient and have

longer life than lead acid batteries are available on the market but their exorbitant prices, hinder

their application in BSPVS in developing countries. Hence, lead acid batteries remain, for

unforeseeable future, commonly used in BSPSV. Regarding AC/DC inverters, their state of art

technology offers inverters which are more than 90% efficient (Munoz and Lorenzo, 2005) thus

making them acceptable for the use in BSPVS without much compromise in systems performance.

Therefore battery life’s improvement through an efficient and effective charging and discharge

control remain an immediate solution to achieve a more reliable BSPVS. Sections 2.3.1 and 2.3.2

11
are reviews of works done regarding battery management and charge control algorithms

respectively.

2.3.1 Battery management

Kaiser (2007) developed an intelligent battery management system that can reduce the

negative influence of low SOC and partial cycling at low SOC on the battery life. The system

decides how many battery strings are to be connected to charging at a particular point of time and

how many battery strings are to be subjected to intensive charging by being isolated from the

system. However, this management system works well with system having battery bank, implying

that it cannot work well with the BSPVS in developing countries which, in most cases have a single

battery. Besides, for optimal battery management and anti-fraudulent use, Lemaire-Potteau et al.

(2006) developed an integrated battery and regulator component for use in small and medium-size

PV systems. This innovation is still on development stage for there are other technical issues to be

resolved before it is commercially available. Further, Krauter and Ochs (2003) developed an

integrated solar home system with solar array, charge regulator, battery all assembled in the factory

making it a ―plug-in and use‖ solar device. This innovation eliminates the unprofessional

installation of solar home systems. It has an addition feature of water heating which in turn reduces

cell temperature thereby improving the performance of the system. Its experimental testing showed

a provision of an additional 9% of electrical power.

In Thailand a system was developed where batteries from users are charged centrally. The

owners take their drained batteries to central charging station for charging at a fee. However, this

innovation was unsuccessful because most users use cheap shallow cycled car batteries, which were

usually over discharged before taken for recharge that ultimately reduced the battery life. Hence the

customer satisfaction was highly affected (Sriuthaisiriwong and Kumar, 2001). Nevertheless, this

strategy can improve performance of the systems if the users are well trained and the central

charging station is professionally operated.

12
2.3.2 Charge control algorithms

Studies conducted by Morningstar Corporation (2000) show that charge controllers with

pulse width modulation (PWM), as opposed to ON/OFF controllers, increases the charge

acceptance of the battery (Figure 2-2) thereby increasing battery life. In addition, they claim that

their PWM charge controllers have ability to recover lost battery capacity; maintain high average

battery capacities; equalize drifting cells; reducing battery heating and gassing; automatically adjust

for battery aging; and self-regulate for voltage drops and temperature effects in solar systems. In

another development, Sanidad et al. (2000) concluded that On/Off charge controllers limit the use

of PV energy hence resulting in lower battery SOC. Stevens et al. (1993) reported that ON/OFF

charge regulator limits the ability of the PV system to perform as designed. In order to achieve

higher battery life and better energy supply of batteries, Diaz and Egido (2003) recommended that

for ON/OFF charge controllers, end of charge voltage at 25oC should be limited between 13.8 to

14.4 V and the load connection point should be between 0.9 and 1.2 V higher that load

disconnection voltage. He further recommended the maximum depth of discharge for different

kinds of batteries (Table 2-2).These findings render PWM charge controller superlative.

Table 2-2: Requirements for maximum battery depth of discharge (Diaz and Egido, 2003)

13
Figure 2-2: Plot of battery charging efficiency for PWM and ON/OFF controllers (source:

Morningstar Corporation, 2000)

2.4 BSPVS in Malawi

Malawi is one of Southern African countries which is implementing rural electrification

program. The target of the nation is to increase the contribution of renewable energy in the energy

mix from 0.2% in 2002 to 7% in 2020 (Malawi, Department of Energy, 2003). Amongst other

alternatives, BSPVS are promoted for electrifying rural areas whose connection to the grid is more

expensive than cost of BSPVS installation. The number of BSPVS installed through this program is

not quantified due to unavailability of published literature. On the other hand, BSPVS had been

widely promoted through World Bank/GEF funded Barrier Removal to Renewable Energy in

Malawi (BARREM) project. During the tenure of BARREM project, at least 2997 BSPVS had been

installed under the auspices of the project (Banks and Gondwe 2008). Further, individuals privately

buy and own solar home systems and the exact number of systems installed in this way is
14
unavailable in literature. However, judging from the rate at which solar modules are being privately

bought on Malawi market, the number of privately installed systems is increasing.

Through the BARREM project, Malawi developed her specifications and code of practice

on BSPVS. According to these specifications and code of practice (Malawi Bureau of Standards

2004a; 2004b), the minimum recommended components for BSPVS are:

1. Crystalline silicon based PV modules with voltage at maximum power point ranging

from 16.5 V to 18V.

2. ON/OFF Charge controllers with low voltage disconnect (LVD); low voltage reconnect

(LVR); high voltage disconnect (HVD); and high voltage reconnect (HVR) set points

and should have temperature compensation feature.

3. Deep cycle vented or sealed (valve regulated) with maximum depth of discharge of

80%.

4. Sine wave or modified sine wave DC-AC inverters with output voltage of 240

VAC±10%. Having a low voltage shut down function.

15
 Chapter 3 Rationale of study

3.1 Problem Statement

Malawi has national grid electricity of capacity lower than demand. Only 7% of the

population is connected to grid electricity (UNDP 2008). The vulnerable are the rural dwellers in

the sense that they are mostly away from the grid thus making connection to the grid very

expensive. Only 1% of the rural households and institutions are connected to grid. Electricity

generation from renewable energy sources is found to be an alternative to rural electrification. Solar

energy is one of the abundant sources of renewable energy in the country and surrounding region.

As such, government promotes PV in rural electrification. Through her rural electrification

program, some of government health centers and schools in remotest areas where grid electricity is

inaccessible are being installed with PV systems, basically for lighting and vaccine refrigeration to

improve the health services and standard of living of people working there.

However, according to the Malawi Department of Energy (2003), in 2000 about 50% of PV

systems installed in the homes and other remote institutions failed. From personal experience, much

as people in the rural areas applaud PV systems, there is a general outcry of system’s unreliability

mostly especially for unprofessionally installed systems in private homes. The premature system

failures are making people to lose confidence in the promoted PV systems. Consequently, the

penetration of PV technology is stagnating and is frustrating the whole idea of encouraging people

to use PV for rural electrification. Therefore the problem of rural areas lagging behind in

electrification process is persisting and thus their standard of living remains lower than their

counterparts in urban areas.

3.2 Justification of the study

From technical point of view, it is imperative to analyze the performance BSPVS because

the results of the analysis form the basis of improving the systems. Work on analyzing technical
16
performance of installed BSPVS in certain parts of the word had been carried out. For instance Jahn

et al. (2000) evaluated BSPVS of France. However, performance of PV systems is site-dependent

implying that BSPVS in different locations perform differently. The field or simulated information

on technical performance of BSPVS in Malawi is lacking in literature. No system designed and

installed according to Malawi’s set standards (Malawi Bureau of Standards 2004a; 2000b) had been

evaluated to verify its conformance to the expected performance. There was a need to get a

technical insight on how the installed BSPVS in Malawi perform and the results would form a base

data from which system improvements can be build on. To achieve this, it was justifiable to carry

out an investigation on the performance of BSPVS designed and managed according to

recommended Malawi’s specifications and code of practice. In addition, it had been known from

literature that PWM charge controller are better than ON/OFF controllers. Since Malawi standards

recommend ON/OFF controllers chances are high that the controllers used in the systems in Malawi

are of ON/OFF type. This meant that there is a room of improvement of the systems if the PWM

controllers are used hence the PWM controllers were chosen as the working controller in the

simulations of this study.

Additionally, there are a number of reasons why it was worthwhile to investigate the

performance of BSPVS in Malawi. Firstly, the findings of the investigation will add valuable

information on improvement of system’s reliability in Malawi. The improved reliability of the

system will stimulate people in the remote areas to confidently invest in PV technology.

Consequently technology dissemination will be enhanced and the standard of living in rural areas

will increase. In addition, it would be easy to coax those who are grid connected to invest in solar

technology either as backup power or grid tied. This will increase electricity production base

thereby smoothening electricity supply.

Secondly, the recommendations drawn from the findings of this study will be helpful for

system designers as they will be guided on what factors are essential for good performance of the

17
system. On the other hand it will help PV system inspectors to only approve the system which can

render good performance. Further, the findings can be used to train users on how they can manage

their systems to yield best performance. The findings can also be used to teach students who study

the subject of solar energy technology.

Thirdly, the study results will be instrumental in the revision of code of practice and

specifications of Malawi Bureau of Standards (2004) which specify the guideline on how a battery

based PV system should be designed for the system to continue working for a period of between

three to five years without problems.

Fourthly, the simulation model used in this study can be used to access the performance of

any BSPVS at any place in Malawi provided the weather data and other input data are available

which, during preliminary evaluation of the system can reduce the travel time and cost to site.

3.3 Goal and Scope of the Study

The goal of the study was to analyze the performance of typical BSPVS in Malawi and it

had the following specific objectives:

1. Simulate and carry out performance analysis of PV system sized according guidelines

stipulated in Malawi Bureau of Standards (2004a; 2004b) to meet typical rural

residential demand.

2. Simulate and examine the effect of under-designing BSPVS.

3. Carry out performance analysis of actual BSPVS with advanced PWM charging

algorithm installed in Taiwan.

The study was however limited to residential BSPVS being installed in Malawi which

majority have array nominal capacity of up to 100 Wp with systems’ voltage of 12 V. Taking into

consideration that AC domestic appliances are commonly found on market as opposed to DC

18
appliances, the study was limited to performance analysis of the system with DC-AC inverter. The

simulation was also limited to Malawi’s climatic data. Therefore the results can only be applicable

to regions which share similar climatic data with Malawi. In addition, the study was limited to

VRLA type of batteries and silicon crystalline PV arrays.

19
 Chapter 4 Theory and calculation

This chapter is centered on the formulations of mathematical expressions which were used

in this study. It starts by giving a step-by-step procedure of system sizing. It later tries to give the

derivation of mathematical formulae which were used to calculate the PR, PF, ηsys and LLP. It

finally gives a brief description of the simulation software used in the study.

4.1 Sizing of Battery based stand alone photovoltaic systems

Sizing of BSPVS can be approached in different ways but all approaches have at least three

common steps and these are load estimation; battery sizing; and PV array sizing. The procedure

given by Solar Energy International (2007) is to sequentially estimate the electric load, size the

battery, size the PV array, specify charge controller, specify DC/AC inverter, and perform system

wire sizing. The approach given in Australian Standards (2002) follows 7 steps given in their order

of occurrence as load determination; selection of battery capacity, first approximation of tilt angle;

determining insolation of the location; first approximation of array size optimizing array tilt angle

and optimizing array size. On the other hand, Chapman (1987) approaches the PV system sizing by

firstly defining site-specific and application-specific parameters then determining battery storage

and finally determining the array size.

The following sub-sections will give a detail BSPVS sizing basing on approach by Malawi

Bureau of Standards (2004a) for load estimation, battery sizing and array sizing while using

approach by Solar Energy International (2007) for charge regulator and inverter sizing.

Step 1: Load estimation

The daily load estimation is accomplished if the electrical devices, their power rating, number

of operated hours in a day are known. If P is the power rating of electrical device in Watts (W), N is

the number of electrical devices of type i and t is the daily number of hours for which a particular
20
device operates then the total daily load (Eday) in Wh is estimated by equation (4.1). Equation (4.2)

is then used to calculate the daily load (Qd) demand in terms of electrical charge in Ah.

Eday   PNt
i (4.1)
i

Eday
Qday  (4.2)
Vb ,nom

where Vb, nom is the system’s nominal battery voltage.

After the daily load is estimated, the actual hours of the day at which the electrical load is

expected to be operated should be established in order to know the loading profile to which the

system will be subjected to.

Step 2: PV array sizing

First it is assumed that during solar window1 load demand is directly met by PV array output

and from the loading profile established in Step 1, the load demand expected to be directly met by

PV array is known. The required generated power from PV array (Qa) is then calculated by

 (1  Rdir ) 
Qa  Qday  Rdir   (4.3)
 b 

where Rdir is the ratio of the load directly met by PV array to the total load demand and ηb is the

battery charging efficiency. If DF is the PV’s de-rating factor and PSH is location’s peak sunshine

hours then equation (4.4) is used to calculate the expected maximum power output of the array
Qa  Vb,nom
Wp  (4.4)
DF  PSH
Step 3: Battery sizing
The battery is used to supply electrical energy during night and cloudy days. In cloudy days

there is little if any battery charging. Therefore, depending on location, any BSPVS must be

1
Solar window is the timeframe within which solar radiation is optimally collected which is generally between 9am to

3pm

21
designed with battery capacity to meet at least 2 days of autonomy. Therefore, if the desired depth

of discharge is DOD and the desired days of autonomy are n then the battery is subjected to daily

depth of discharge (DDOD) equal to DOD divided by n. From the daily load charge demand and

DDOD, the expected battery capacity (Cb) is calculated by equation (4.5)

Qday 1  Rdir 
Cb  (4.5)
DDOD
Step 4: Sizing of charge controller

Since the controller is specified by the operating current, then maximum current from the PV

array which is expected to pass through the controller must be determined. This is calculated by

equation (4.6)

I controller  1.25I sc N P (4.6)

where Isc is the short circuit current of PV module, Np is the number of modules connected in

parallel and 1.25 is the factor of safety recommended by Solar Energy International (2007).

Step 5: Inverter sizing

The inverter is usually specified by the continuous and surge powers. Therefore in order to

specify the right inverter, the total power of AC load (PAC,tot) is used as the continuous power while

the surge power is roughly estimated as 3 times the continuous power (3PAC,tot) suggested by Solar

Energy International (2007) as a safe estimate. In addition, it is necessary to calculate the

continuous DC current that will be supplied at the DC input of the inverter. This is calculated by

dividing PAC, tot by nominal battery voltage (equation 4.6).

PAC ,tot
I DC  (4.7)
Vb ,nom

22
4.2 Performance analysis of BSPVS

Performance analyses of BSPVS are often done using energy balance parameters while their

energy reliabilities are measured through loss of load probability (Markvart, 2000) .The calculation

of PR, PF and ηsys of the PV system based on energy parameters are given in Commission of the

European Communities (1997a; 1997b) and International Standard IEC 61724 (1998). Munoz et al.

(2006) further proposed and recommended use of charge parameters in performance analyses of

BSPVS without maximum power point tracker. These performance indicators based on charge

parameters can be calculated from measured or simulated global solar radiation on plane of array

(Gpoa), array output current (Ia), current drawn from the battery (Ib), battery voltage (Vb) and load

power demand (Pl) as detailed in section 4.2.1 and 4.2.2.

4.2.1 Derivation of PR, PF, and ηsys

In charge parameter method, PR is defined as the ratio of useful output charge to the charge the

PV array can potentially produce at its nominal rating while PF is the ratio of actual array output to

the charge PV array can potentially produce at its nominal rating and ηsys is the ratio of useful

output charge to actual array output charge. Equations (4.8) through (4.10) give the mathematical

definitions of the PR, PF and ηsys evaluated over a day’s period

Y fq
PR  (4.8)
Yrq

Yaq
PF  (4.9)
Yrq

Y fq
 sys  (4.10)
Yaq

where Yrq, Yaq and Yfq are respectively array potential yield, array yield and final yield all

normalised to array’s nominal current (Io). See equation 4.11, 4.12 and 4.13. These normalised

yields enable systems of different sizes and at different location to be successfully compared.

23
 Qp
Yrq  (4.11)
Io
Q
Yaq  a (4.12)
Io
Quse, PV
Y fq  (4.13)
Io
where Qp is potential array charge at nominal rating, Qa is array output charge, Quse, PV is useful

charge output, and I0 is the nominal PV array current.

Since nominal rating of PV array are normally at standard temperature conditions where

global solar radiation on the plane of array is Gpoa, then Qp can be found by multiplying Io with the

location’s PSH where PSH can be evaluated from the quotient of integral of Gpoa and radiation at

STC (Go) (equation 4.14) while Qa is found by integrating Ia over the day’s period as given in

equation (4.15).

G poa dt
Qp  I o  PHS  I o  day
(4.14)
Go

Qa   I dt
day
a (4.15)

In the BSPVS, if the charge controller consumes Icons current then the daily charge (Qb,in) fed

into the battery can be calculated by equation (4.16) and the daily charge (Qb,out) drawn from the

battery can be found by integrating Ib (equation 4.17). The net charge supplied to the battery Qb, net

is given as the difference between Qb,in and Qb,out (equation 4.18)

Qb,in   I
day
a  I cons dt (4.16)

Qb ,out   I dt
day
b (4.17)

Qb,net  Qb,in  Qb,out (4.18)

Since electrical power is voltage multiplied by current, then the daily charge demanded by the

load (Ql) can be calculated from the load’s power (Pl) and battery voltage as given in equation

(4.18).

24
 Pl
Ql   V dt
day b
(4.19)

For the system’s operation in a day, charge directly used by the load plus the net charge

supplied to battery are regarded as useful charge. Therefore useful charge (Quse) can be calculated

by equation (4.20) where ηb is the battery charging efficiency. The daily charge supplied by system

(Qs) is given by equation (4.21) where the absolute value of Qb, net is the magnitude of charge

supplied from the previous storage.

Ql  bQb ,net for Qb ,net  0


Quse   (4.20)
Ql
 for Qb ,net  0

Qa  Qb,net
 for Qb,net  0
Qs   (4.21)

Qa for Qb,net  0

Therefore the daily useful charge directly supplied by PV array (Quse, PV) is given by equation

(4.22) where Qa/Qs is the measures of how much PV array contributes to total useful charge in a

day.
Qa
Quse, PV   Quse (4.22)
Qs

Using equations (4.15) through (4.21), Quse, PV can be expressed in terms of Ia, Ib, Vb and Pl as

given in equation (4.23).

 Pl
  I a dt  V dt
 day day b
for  I a  I cons  I b   0
   I cons  I b dt
Quse,PV   day (4.23)

  Pl 
   V  b  I a  I cons  I b  dt for  I a  I cons  I b   0
 day  b 

Therefore PR, PF and ηsys can be given in terms of measured or simulated global solar

radiation on Gpoa, array output current (Ia), current drawn from the battery (Ib), battery voltage (Vb)

and load power demand (Pl) as follows:

25
  P
 Go  I a dt  l dt
V
 day day b
for  I a  I cons  I b   0
  I oG poa dt   I cons  I b dt
 day day
PR   (4.24)
 G  Pl    I  I  I  dt
  Vb b a cons b 
 o day
 for  I a  I cons  I b   0


 IoG poa dt
day

Go  I dta

PF 
day
(4.25)
day
 I oG poa dt

 P
 day I a dt day Vbl dt
 for  I a  I cons  I b   0
   I cons  I b dt  I a dt
 day day
sys  (4.26)
  Pl    I  I  I  dt
  Vb b a cons b 
 day
 for  I a  I cons  I b   0

 day
 I a dt

4.2.2 Loss of load probability

The loss of load probability (LLP) is defined as the ratio between the energy not supplied to

the users and the energy demand and is usually through an energy balance over long periods. In

analysis of BSPVS, monthly LLP values are more appropriate, since the lack of energy in stand-

alone PV systems is more probable in certain periods of the year, with lower solar radiation (or high

consumption) (Diaz et al., 2007). The monthly LLP can be calculated using equation (4.27).

 Energydeficit
LLPm  month
(4.27)

month
Energydemand

The monthly energy deficit is calculated as the difference of monthly charge demanded

(Qd,m) and the monthly charge available for supply (Qa,m). Equations (4.28) and (4.29) respectively

calculate monthly charge available for supply and monthly charge demand.

26
 Qa ,m  b  
month
I a dt (4.28)

1 Pl
Qd ,m 
inv
  V
month b
dt (4.29)

where ηb is battery charging efficiency, ηinv is the inverter efficiency.

If n is the number of days since the system was installed, then at n=0, the battery capacity is

Cbi. To take into consideration ageing of battery, assume that its capacity declines at the rate of D%

per day. Then the battery capacity (Cbn) after n days is given by equation (4.30). Using equations

(4.28) and (4.30), the monthly charge which the system can supply is written as equation (4.31).

n
 D 
Cbn  1   Cbi (4.30)
 100 

Qs ,m  f  Cbn  b  
month
I a dt  Qmin (4.31)

where f is the fractional SOC of the last hour of previous month, Qmin is the minimum charge to

which the battery can be discharged to and is defined in equation (4.32), Cbr and DOD are rated

battery capacity and depth of discharge respectively.

Qmin  1  DOD  Cbr (4.32)

But energy deficit is the positive difference of charge demanded and charge supplied,

therefore using equations (4.29), (4.31) and (4.32) then equation (4.27) can be re-written as

1 Pl  
inv
  V  dt   f  Cbn
  b   I a dt  Qmin 
  0 for numerator  0
LLPm  month b month
 (4.33)
1
 
Pl
dt  (0,1] for numerator  0
inv month Vb

4.3 Simulation of BSPVS

There are several commercially available simulation programs which are used to simulate

BSPVS. This section introduces TRNSYS simulation program which can be used to simulate

BSPVS. TRNSYS is an acronym derived from transient systems given to a complete and extensible

27
simulation environment for the transient systems. It is used to validate new energy concepts

including alternative energy systems and can be applied to solar systems (solar thermal and PV);

low energy buildings and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning); renewable energy

systems, cogeneration, fuel cells and anything that requires dynamic simulation.

It has a powerful feature that allows users to easily add custom component models, using all

common programming languages. Besides, it has a flexible visual user interface (called simulation

studio) where a project can easily be set up by connecting components graphically (Figure 4-1).

Each type of component is described by a mathematical model in the TRNSYS simulation engine

and has a set of matching Performa’s in the simulation studio. In addition, the user can specify the

values and units of parameters and constants inputs in dialogue box shown in the simulation studio

of Figure 4-1. The simulation studio also include an output manager from where the user can

control which variables are integrated, printed and/or plotted, and a log/error manager that allows

the user to study in detail what happened during a simulation. The simulation of BSPVS can be

easily achieved in the TRNSYS because the original components of the program include PV array,

charge controller, inverter and battery which are the major components of BSPVS. These

components come with their original source codes which can be used to modify the components to

meet the user’s desired needs.

28
Figure 4-1: TRNSYS simulation studio

29
 Chapter 5 Methodology

This chapter is about the methodology which was followed to meet the objectives of the

study. The study was divided into experimental and simulation parts and each part followed its own

method. Sections 5.1 and 5.2 report the methods which were used in the experiment and simulations

respectively. Section 5.3 explains how measured and simulated data were analyzed.

5.1 Experimental methods

The experiment comprised of PV array, charge controller, battery, inverter, electrical

multimeters, load and timer switch (Figures 5-1 and 5-2) and was designed to collect data which

was later used to analyze its performance and to validate simulation model.

Figure 5-1: Schematic of apparatus for experimental BSPVS

30
Figure 5-2: Captured photos of apparatus of the experiment (a) outdoor 65 Wp PV module (b)
indoor system components

The experimental BSPVS was installed at National Central University in Jhongli City of

Taiwan which is at latitude 24.49oN, longitude 121.5oE and altitude 130 m. A more installation

conditions of the experiment are given in Table 5-1.

Table 5-1: Installation condition of the experimental BSPV

Location National Central University, Taiwan
Latitude 24.49oN
Longitude 121.5oE
Altitude 130 m
PV array tilt angle 25o
Direction of PV array South
Room condition of installed indoor components Air conditioned

The system was sized following the procedure given in section 4.1.The daily load was 20

W, the calculated PV array size was 69 W and calculated battery size at 3 days of autonomy was

100 Ah. The actual size of PV module used was 65 Wp of crystalline silicon type manufactured by

31
Kyocera. Table 5-2 gives general specification of the module used and detailed data sheet can be

found in Appendix 1.
Table 5-2: Specification of PV module
Manufacture Kyocera Corporation
Model KC65T
Type Silicon crystalline
Characteristics at standard test conditions (STC)
Open circuit voltage 21.7 V
Short circuit current 3.99 A
Voltage at maximum power point 17.4 V
Current at maximum power point 3.76 A
STC: 1000 W/m2, spectrum of 1.5 air mass and cell temperature of 25 oC.

Two parallel connected batteries of nominal capacity 50 Ah each were used. The nominal

capacity was rated at 20 h. The nominal battery voltage was 12 V. The type of the battery was valve

regulated lead acid (VRLA) manufactured by Yausa Corporation. Table 5-3 contains the

specifications of the battery type used and detailed data sheet is given in Appendix 2.

Table 5-3: Specification of batteries used in the experiment

Manufacturer Yuasa Corporation
Model REC-50
Nominal capacity 12 V at 50 Ah (20h)
Internal resistance <8.5 mΩ
Grid type Lead calcium

The charge controller and inverter sizes that met the minimum specifications calculated

using methods in sections 4.1.4 and 4.1.5 were selected. The charge controller used was of PWM

charging type manufactured by Morningstar Corporation. Its charging algorithm has 4 stages

(Figure 5-3) namely bulk charging, PWM absorption, float and equalization stages. During bulk

charging, the controller allows full PV array current to be delivered to the battery for charging and

32
it starts tapering the current when the battery voltage nears pre-set regulation voltage (Vr). At PWM

absorption stage, charging continues at a constant voltage equal to Vr while current to the battery is

sent in pulses of widths which vary with the state of charge of the battery. For the type of the

battery used in this study, Vr was set to 14.15V. The controller was set to initialize battery

equalization at 28 day interval and temperature compensation was set at -0.03V/oC deviation from

25oC. The float voltage2 was set to 13.7 V. The battery discharge control was achieved through the

inverter which buzzed when the battery voltage fell below the minimum allowed battery voltage.

The specifications of charge regulator and inverter are given in Table 5-4.

Figure 5-3: Solar charging stages for PWM charging (Source: Morningstar, 2006)

Table 5-4: Specifications of charge controller and inverter

Controller
Manufacturer Morningstar Corporation
Model Tristar-45
Rated current and operating voltage 45 A, 12 V
Inverter
Manufacturer Son Dar Electronic Technology
Model DPI 330 W/12033
Power rating (Continuous/Surge) 330/700 W
Rated VAC output 110 V

2
Float voltage is the voltage to which the battery voltage is lowered to when it is fully charged to prevent further

gassing

33
 The experimental data was acquired through data logger which is integrated in the Tristar

charge controller and the measured data was logged into the computer at 15 minute interval using

DAQFactory software. Figure 5-4 shows real time plotting in DAQFactory software user interface.

However, the data logger only measured variables on the charging side of the system. Therefore,

multimeters were used to measure electrical variables on the discharging side (refer Figure 5-2 (b)).

The data measured by the multimeters were recorded manually. The global horizontal radiation was

obtained from the data measured by micro weather station (Figure 5-5) which is installed within the

same premises where the PV array was installed. This is a compact all-in-one weather station (WS-

GP1) from Delta-T Devices. It comprised of solar radiation sensor (D-PYRPA-CA), combined

wind sensor (D-034B-CA), combined air temperature sensor (RHT3nl-CA) and CoGP1 data logger

which logged the measured data, at 30 minute interval, directly into computer using DeltaLink

software. Table 5-5 gives the instrument’s name and the type of data which it measured.

Figure 5-4: DAQFactory’s user interface showing real time plotting of voltage and currents.

34
Table 5-5: Measuring instrument and the data it measured
Instrument Data Measured
Tristar data logger Array voltage, array current, battery terminal voltage, voltage across the
controller terminals, regulation voltage, controller temperature, battery
temperature, total Ah since installation, total hours since installation,
controller’s duty cycle
Multimeters Current drawn from the battery and AC current drawn from DC/AC inverter
CoGP1 data logger Global horizontal radiation, horizontal diffuse radiation, wind speed, wind
direction, ambient temperature, relative humidity, rainfall

Figure 5-6: Photo of micro weather station

5.2 Simulation Methods

Transient System Simulation Program version 16 (TRNSYS 16) was used to simulate the

BSPVS operating in Mzuzu and Chitedze areas in Malawi. Geographically, Mzuzu is located at

11.43oS, 34.02oE and 1254 m above the sea level while Chitedze is located at 13.97oS, 33.63oE and

1149 m above the sea level. Results from experimental BSPVS discussed in section 5.1 were used

to validate the simulation model.

System sizing procedure given in sections 4.1.1 through 4.1.6 was used to size a solar home

system for Malawi which typically operates 6 CFL (compact fluorescent lamps), color TV and

radio/cassette player. It was assumed that a daily load profile is constant throughout the year and

Figure 5-6 depicts the daily load profile which is considered to be close to actual operation of most

35
solar home systems in Malawi. In order to meet this load demand the calculated solar array size was

found to be 160 Wp, the battery capacity with 3 days of autonomy was calculated as 200 Ah, a

charge regulator of 13.5 A minimum current rating was found to suffice and inverter of at least 130

W continuous power was found to be appropriate. Therefore, in the simulations of systems of

Malawi, four 40 Wp KC40T solar modules, four 50 Ah Yuasa REC-50 batteries and 15 A charge

controller and 150 W (continuous power) modified sinewave DC/AC inverter were used.

Figure 5-6: Daily load profile of typical Malawi’s solar home system

In order to simulate the BSPVS, a TRNSYS simulation model shown in Figure 5-7 was used.

It comprised of a connected weather data reader, solar array, charge controller & inverter, battery

and output printer components. The system was simulated at an hourly interval for the period of one

year. At every time step, each component sent data to and/or received data from its connected

components. Weather data reader sent global radiation on tilted surface; ambient temperature; slope

of tilted surface; and incident angle of solar radiation on tilted surface to solar array through link 1

and sent global radiation on tilted surface to the output printer via link 2. Solar array sent array

current and voltages to charge controller and output printer via links 3 and 4 respectively. The

battery’s fractional SOC; voltage; charge cut-off voltage; discharge cut-off voltage; power

corresponding to charge; and discharge cut-off voltages, maximum power for charge and discharge;

were sent to charge controller through link 6 and battery voltage was sent to the output printer

36
through link 9. The load profile component sent the load power to charge controller & inverter

component via link 7. The charge controller & inverter sent power (array power or load power) to

the battery through link 8 and sent load current and load power to output printer through link 10.

The output printer logged to an external text file the data values of global radiation on tilted surface;

array currents and voltages; battery voltage, load current and load power. The logged data were then

used for further analysis in MATLAB. Sections 5.2.1 through 5.2.3 outlines mathematical models

used in weather data reader, solar array, battery and charge controller components.

Figure 5-7: TRNSYS simulation project for BSPVS.

5.2.1 Weather data reader component

This component read hourly weather data from an external TMY2 data file then converted

the read data to required TRNSYS units and calculated the tilted surface radiation and angle of

incidence. The data file contained measured horizontal solar radiation, ambient temperature,

relative humidity and wind speeds. At every time step, the component calculated the solar altitude

angle and clearness index which were then used alongside the received ambient temperature,

37
horizontal radiation, and relative humidity to estimate the horizontal beam and diffuse radiation

using the relationships developed by Reindl (1990). Then the total radiation of tilted surface was

calculated as follows
cos 
G poa  Gb  0.5G 1  cos    g  Gd Rd (5.1)
cos  z

where Gb is the horizontal beam radiation, Gd is the horizontal diffuse radiation, G is the horizontal

solar radiation, θ is angle of incidence of beam radiation, θz is solar zenith angle, β is slope of

surface, ρg is the ground reflectance, and Rd is the ratio of diffuse radiation on tilted surface to that

on a horizontal surface and was calculated using Perez model (Perez et al., 1988). A detailed

mathematical formulation of this component can be found in volume 5 of TRNSYS 16 manual.

The standard TRNSYS weather data reader component can use maximum of 4 parameters,

receive 3 constant inputs and produce 23 outputs. Parameters which defined the fixed tracking

surface and Perez model for diffuse radiation were used. The inputs were ground reflectance, slope

of the surface and azimuth of the surface. A ground reflectance of 0.2 (as recommended by

TRNSYS developers for ground not covered by snow) was used, slope and azimuth of the surface

depended on the location of simulated system (see Table 5-6 for the values used). The outputs used

were total radiation of tilted surface; slope of tilted surface; beam radiation of tilted surface; sky

diffusion radiation on tilted surface; angle of incidence of beam radiation on tilted surface; and

ambient temperature. These outputs were variables which varied at each simulation time step.

Table 5-6: Parameters, inputs and outputs of weather data reader component
Value Comment
Parameter
Data reader mode 2 2 means component reads standard weather file
in the TMY2 format
Sky model for diffuse radiation 4 4 is the value that tells the component to use
Perez model for diffuse radiation
Tracking mode 1 1 means that the simulated surface is fixed
Inputs
Ground reflectance 0.2 The reflectance of the ground above which the
surface is located. Typical values are 0.2 for
ground not covered by snow and 0.7 for ground
covered by snow
38
 3
Slope of surface NCU = 25o
4
MZ = 15o
5
CHZ = 15o
Azimuth of surface NCU = 0o 0o implies that the surface faced south while
MZ = 180o 180o implies facing North.
CHZ = 180o
Outputs
Total radiation on tilted surface Variable
Slope of tilted surface Same as input
slope of
surface
Beam radiation on tilted Variable
surface
Angle of incidence for beam variable
radiation

5.2.2 PV array component

The use of silicon based PV array in Malawi PV systems is prevalent. In addition, Malawi

Standards MS695 specifies the silicon crystalline PV module as the standard module in the PV

applications in Malawi. Therefore a model of silicon crystalline modules was used in the

simulations. A standard PV array component in TRNSYS utilizes four-parameter model

(Townsend, 1989; Duffie and Beckman, 1991) to calculate current (I) and voltage (V) relationship

of the PV array. Figure 5-8 is the equivalent electrical circuit used in four-parameter model from

which the I and V relationship are given by equation (5.2)

  q  
I  I L  I D exp  V  IRs    1 (5.2)
   kTc  

where IL is module photocurrent, ID is diode reverse saturation current, Rs is module series

resistance, γ is empirical PV curve-fitting parameter, q is the electron charge constant, k is

Boltzmann constant; and Tc is the module cell temperature.

Various values read from PV manufacture’s catalogue plus weather data were used to

evaluate equation (5.2). A detailed mathematical formulation of the four-parameter model can be

3
Values for simulated system located at National Central University, Taiwan
4
Values for simulated system located at Mzuzu, Malawi
5
Values for simulated system located at Chitedze, Malawi

39
found in volume 5 of TRNSYS 16 manual. Simulations for Malawi location used KC40T while

that for Taiwan location used KC65T both are crystalline PV modules. The component used 19

parameters, received 7 inputs and calculated two outputs. The values parameters, inputs and outputs

are contained in Table 5-7.

Figure 5-8: Equivalent electrical circuit in the four-parameter model

40
Table 5-7: Parameters, input variables and outputs of the PV array component
Systems in Malawi System in Taiwan
Parameter
Module short-circuit current 2.65 A 3.99 A
Module open-circuit voltage 21.7 V 21.7 V
Temperature at STC 298 K 298 K
2
Insolation at STC 1000 W/m 1000 W/m2
Voltage at max. power point at STC 17.4 V 17.4 V
Current at max. power point at STC 2.48 A 3.75 A
o
Temperature coeff. of Isc at STC 0.00106 A/ C 0.00159 A/oC
Temperature coeff. of Voc at STC -0.0821 V/oC -0.0821 V/oC
Number of cells wired in series 36 36
Number of module in series 1 1
Number of module in parallel 4 1
6
Module temperature at NOCT 298 K 298 K
Ambient temperature at NOCT 293 K 293 K
2
Insolation at NOCT 800 W/m 800 W/m2
Module area 0.3087 m2 0.4847 m2
Incidence angle modifier correlation7 -0.9 -0.9
Semiconductor band gap 1.12 ev8 1.12 ev
Slope of I-V curve at Isc 0 0
Inputs
Total incident angle variable variable
Array slope variable variable
Beam radiation variable variable
Diffuse radiation variable variable
Incidence angle of beam radiation variable variable
Ambient temperature variable variable
Load voltage variable variable
Outputs
Array currents variable variable
Array voltage variable variable

5.2.3 Battery Component

The degradation of battery capacity due to aging was not considered in this simulation,
it was assumed that the battery’s capacity remained constant all year through. The battery

6
Nominal operating cell temperature
7
An algorithm which is used to correlate the radiation’s incident angle on the array in order to improve the
accuracy of the model and its value equals the product of transmittance and reflectance of the module. The value
0.9 used is recommended by TRNSYS developers as a good estimate for most PV modules and the negative
value means that the incidence angle modifier correlation was enabled
8
Electron volt which is a measure of electrical energy.

41
component was modeled basing on Shepherd Model (Sherphard 1965) where the voltages (V)
during charging and discharging were calculated as follows
  mc H 
eqc  g c H  Irqc  1   for I  0
  Qc / Qm  H 
V  (5.3)
e  g H  Ir 1   m H 
 for I  0
d
 qd qd 

d
  Qd / Q m H 
where eqc, eqd are the open circuit voltage (charge, discharge), gc, gd are the electrolyte
coefficient (charge, discharge), rqc, rqd are the internal resistance (charge, discharge), mc, md
are the battery type coefficient (charge, discharge), Qc, Qd are the capacity coefficient
(charge, discharge), I is the current, Qm is the nominal capacity, H is the depth of discharge (1
– Q/Qm), and Q is the battery capacity in current state.

The charge and discharge curves (Refer Appendix 1) of Yuasa VRLA batteries-REC
series were used to empirically determine values of parameters eqc, eqd, gc, gd, rqc, rqd, mc, md,
Qc, Qd whose values are presented in Table 5-8. The TRNSYS parameters, inputs, derivatives
and outputs which were used in the battery component appear in Table 5-9.

Table 5-8: Values of Shepherds parameters for REC-50 Yuasa battery

Discharge parameter Value Charge parameter Value
eqd 2.11 V eqc 2.25 V
gd 0.135 V gc 0.0428 V
rqd 0.004 Ω rqc 0.04 Ω
md 1 mc 1.4921
Qd -6.1664 Qc -1.7140

Table 5-9: TRNSYS parameters, inputs, derivatives and outputs used in battery component
Systems in Malawi and System in
Taiwan
Parameter
Nominal battery capacity 50 Ah
Batteries in parallel 4/2
Cells in series 6
Charging efficiency 0.8
Maximum current per cell charging 1.667 A
Maximum current per cell discharge -1.667 A

42
Maximum charge voltage per cell 2.35 V
Discharge cut-off voltage per cell 1.75 V
Derivative
Initial state of charge 50Ah
Input
Current Variable
Output
State of charge Variable
Fractional state of charge Variable
Battery voltage Variable
Battery current Variable

5.2.4 Regulator/Inverter
The charge regulator component was modeled to simulate PWM battery charging
algorithm. PWM simulation was modeled to follow the PWM charging stages shown in
Figure 5-3. The PWM voltage regulation was set to 14.15 V, the float voltage was set to 13.7
V. The equalization was not considered for the cell voltages were assumed to be always
equal. Since the simulated system assumed that inverter was directly connected to the battery
and that inverter had low voltage control function, then the low voltage disconnection point
was set to 11.5 V. The values were set as per recommendations by Morningstar Corporation
(2006) for VRLA batteries. At pulse modulation absorption stage the component was
modeled in such a way that when the charging voltage reaches 14.15 V, charging should
proceed at constant voltage and charging current (I) tapered as follows (Morningstar
Corporation, 2000):
I  I i et (5.4)
where Ii was taken as the charging current received at the beginning of a time step, and t is
time in seconds with t=0 at beginning of time step and t=3600 seconds at the end of time step.

5.3 Data Analysis

Using the mathematical formulation given in section 4.2, the measured and simulated
array currents and voltages; battery currents and voltages; load power and radiation on plane
of array were used to calculate the system’s PR, PF, ηsys and LLP. For calculation of PR, PF
and ηsys, controller’s self consumption current equal to 0.02A was used as quoted from the
manufacturers’ and verified by measurement. Inverter self consumption was found by
measurement and it equaled to 0.22 A, which is a value used in the analysis. For the loss of
load probability, it was assumed that battery capacity at the start of system’s operation was

43
equal to its rated capacity. To carter for aging of the battery, a linear loss of battery capacity
was assumed and the assumed rate used was 0.04%, which translated to battery life of 2yrs
which is typical of lead-acid batteries used in Malawi BSPVS. These calculated data were
then analyzed using MATLAB software.

44
 Chapter 6 Results and discussion
This chapter gives the results for both experiment and simulation. It starts by giving
results of the analyzed experimental BSPVS. Subsequently, the presented experimental results
are discussed. The second half of the chapter reports on the simulation results thereafter a
discussion of the reported results is given.

6.1 Experimental results and discussion

6.1.1 Results
The experimental results which are presented here are; solar radiation received during
the experimental period, PR, PF, ηsys, and monthly LLP.
1. Solar Radiation

The solar irradiance which was incident on the solar panel for the period 11/21/08 to
04/30/09 is as plotted in Figure 6-1 (a). Figure 6-1 (b) shows the irradiance frequency
distribution from which it was found that about 70% of the irradiance received was within
100 W/m2. This however includes the nights where irradiance is zero. Solar irradiance above
1000W/m2 occurred only for 0.5% and irradiance in the range 100-200 W/m2 were received
for 7% of the time while the remaining 22.5% of the solar irradiance received was in the
range of 300-900 W/m2.

Figure 6-1: (a) Solar irradiance at National Central University, Taiwan from 21 Nov 08 to
04 April 09, (b)Irradiance frequency distribution.

45
 2. Daily load demand

The profile of the charge demanded by the load for 161 days (11/21/08 to 04/30/09) is
presented in Figure 6-2. The demand ranged from 0 to 31.2 Ah with the highest demand
occurring on 04/17/08 resulting from the load which was not switched off after its set number
of hours elapsed due to timer switch malfunction. Besides, most load demand fell between 5
and 15 Ah per day with a mean daily load demand of 8.24 Ah.

Figure 6-2: Profile of daily charge demanded by the load from 11/21/08 to 04/30/09

3. Performance ratio

The PR ranged from 0.34 to 0.86 (Figure 6-3) with a mean daily PR of 0.65. However,
due to technical problems of data logger, data for certain periods could not be logged and thus
the indication of missing data in Figure 6-3. The PRs for 1/23/09 and 3/16/09 were considered
to be inconsistent with the other data because their values were 3 times greater than the
standard deviation. For these inconsistent days, a further analysis regarding irradiance, array
output currents, and battery output currents was done and the results are as shown in Figures
6-4 ( b) and (f) respectively.

From Figure 6-4 (b) it can be shown that during that day, array output current was
almost zero and the current supplied to the load was constant at about 1A. With the low array
output, it means that a large fraction of the load’s demand was met by battery’s previous
storage. Hence evaluation of equation (4.22) resulted into a very small fraction of charge

46
provided by PV which gives an insight as to why the PR was low. On the other hand, from
Figure 6-4 (f), it can be seen that the irradiance falling on the solar array does not much with
the array current output. It was expected that the array current output should follow the trend
of irradiance but in this case the array current constantly decreases with the increasing solar
irradiance. Consequently the potential array yield Yrq was exceedingly larger than potential
final yield Yrf in equation (4.8) yielding to lower PR. This can be attributed to error possible
PV array shading.

Figure 6-3: Daily performance ratio of system at NCU from 21 Nov 08 to 30 April 08

47
Figure 6-4: Plot of irradiance, array and battery currents for (a) 11/24/08, (b) 1/23/09, (c)
3/7/09, (d) 3/9/09, (e) 3/11/09, and (f) 3/16/09.

4. Production factor

The results of daily array’s PF are given in Figure 6-5. The PF values ranged from
0.47 to 1.1 with average value of 0.88. The results had the same missing data as for PR and
had 3 days of incontinent values whose further analysis are plotted in Figure 6-4 (a), (b) and
(f). Figures 6-4 (a) and (b) depict a daily array current output of almost zero which when
plugged into equation (4.25) had an effect of reducing the value of the numerator far more
than the effect Gpoa on the denominator, hence the lower evaluated PF. For the case of Figure
6-4 (f), the unusual lower array current output in relation to high irradiance yielded to a lower
array output charge than could have normally been the case thereby resulting to a lower PR on
that day. On the other hand, on 12/12/08 and 03/22/09 (Figure 6-4), the PF is slightly greater
than 1 implying that the operating condition of the array on that day was better than the
standard test condition environment from which the potential array charge is calculated.

48
 Figure 6-5: Daily production factor for system at NCU from 21 Nov 08 to 30 Apr 08

5. System efficiency

The plot of daily system efficiency from 11/21/08 to 04/30/09 is presented is Figure 6-6.
The system efficiency was on average 75%, however the daily values varied from 53% to
84%. The efficiencies on 03/07/09, 03/09/09 and 03/11/09 were more than 3 times the
standard deviation. Consequently, the charge flow during these days were further analyzed
and the results are as shown in Figures 6-4 (c), (d) and (e). It is shown that on these days, the
system’s load was off and the generated current was low (less than 1A in all cases) implying
that the useful charge was very small for much of the smaller generated charge was lost due to
battery’s charging inefficiency. On the other hand, the highest efficiency was on 148th day
which coincides with the day when the daily load demand was highest (Figure 6-2).

49
 Figure 6-6: Daily system efficiency for system at NCU from 21 Nov 08 to 30 Apr 09

6. Loss of load probability

The system was able to meet the demand for all months except in January and March
(Figure 6-7). In January, the system failed to meet 20% of the load demand and in March
about 6% of the load demand was not met. The 6 months average performance ratio,
production factor, system efficiency and loss of load probability of the analyzed system are
presented in Table 6-1.

Table 6-1: The 6 month mean of the analyzed experimental BSPVS

Performance ratio 0.65
Production factor 0.88
System efficiency 75%
Loss of load probability 0.04

50
 Figure 6-7: Monthly loss of load probability from November 08 to April 09.

6.1.2 Discussion
The results of the experiment reveal that performance of the BSPVS varies from day-
to-day and is dependent on radiation received and the loading profile. The array’s potential
charge varies with the solar radiation received. The higher the radiation received the higher
the array’s potential charge and vice-versa. However, low radiation received alone does not
contribute to low performance indicators. It is complimented by the amount of useful charge
the system delivers. Therefore, the balance of the two is essential for the improved
performance of the system. For instance, referring to Figures 6-2 and 6-6 it is observed that
the maximum system efficiency occurred when delivered charge to the load was maximum,
implying that optimum system efficiency can be achieved if the system is optimally loaded.
Therefore, at design stage, the loading profile should be optimally designed to prevent the
system from being underutilized or overloaded. Optimum system loading will also ensure
high PR. Hence the importance of optimum load profile cannot be overemphasized.

Regarding PF, the average of 0.88 (Table 6-1) achieved in this analysis is reasonable
because array’s capture losses are inevitable. Considering that no maximum point tracker
(MPPT) was used in the system, it follows that the array power output depended on the
battery voltage and this caused power loss as maximum power of the array could rarely be
captured if no MPPT is used. Therefore, the lower PF can partly be attributed to lack of
MPPT in the system.

The mean PR of 0.65 (Table 6-1) falls on the higher side if compared to 0.1-0.6 range
of standalone systems evaluated by International Energy Agency (Jahn et al., 2000). This can
be attributed to PWM charge regulator which is believed to increase the charge acceptance of
the battery (Morningstar 2000) thereby decreasing charging efficiency and in effect increasing

51
useful charge. As for the ηsys, which measures the ratio of output useful charge to array’s
actual output, the mean of 75% (Table 6-1) obtained in this experiment is reasonable.
However, the inverter efficiency was found to be 86% and charging efficiency was averaged
to 90% translating to 90.4% of losses being accounted during charging and in inverter. The
remaining 9.6% is accounted for power losses due to voltage drops in connections and in the
charge regulator. Hence if a more efficient inverter is used, the system efficiency can be
greatly improved. For instance, if inverter of 90% efficiency is used, the system losses can be
reduced by 3.6%.

For an approximate period of 6 months within which this system was under study, it
proved to be highly reliable. When we base on LLP of 0.04, it means that that out of total
load demand, the system could not meet 4% of demand. The high number of days of loss
power is attributed to low insolation received during the study period. As can be noticed
from Figure 6-1, for about 70% of the time, the irradiance received was within a band of 100
W/m2, which is low. With high insolation months, LLP of less than 0.04 can be achieved.

6.2 Simulation results and discussion

This section reports on simulation results and a discussion of the presented results is
followed. The section is subdivided into three. The first part is about validation of the
simulation model while the second part presents results of the simulated systems for Malawi
case. The final part is a thorough discussion of the simulated results.

6.2.1 Validation of simulation model

In order to ascertain validity of simulation model, an experimental system was
simulated and the simulated results were compared to measured ones. Array currents, battery
currents and voltages were the key variables which were used in the analysis of the systems.
As such the comparison of the simulated and measured variables was only done for these
variables. Figures 6-8 through 6-10 depicts the degree of agreement of the compared values.
With reference to Figure 6-8, the measured and simulated array currents are quite
satisfactory. Using equation (6.1), the calculated root mean square error (RMSE) of the array
currents was found to be 0.37 A.
1
1 N 2 2
RMSE     Ci  M i  
 N i 1  (6.1)
where Ci, is the calculated value at i point, Mi is the measured value at ith point, and N is the
th

number of data points.

52
 Figure 6-8: Comparison of measured and simulated array currents at RMES=0.37 A.

From Figure 6-9, the difference between simulated and measured battery currents is
acceptable as can be evidenced by the calculated RMSE value of 0.28A. It should be noted
that the wider discrepancies between the simulated and measured battery currents (for
instance around 01/31/09 in Figure 6-9) occurred when the simulation model limit the current
supplied to load to avoid battery over discharge while in practice the load could be supplied
with constant current.

53
 Figure 6-9: Comparison of measured and simulated battery currents at RMES=0.28 A

Regarding battery voltages (Figure 6-10), the agreement of measured and calculated
values is considered fair. The calculated RMSE value was 0.49V which is relatively high as
far a 12V PV system (whose operating voltages are within 3V band) is concerned. However,
for type of simulations where the general behavior of the system is sought (as the case in this
study), the simulated battery voltages are acceptable.

Figure 6-10: Comparison of measured and simulated battery voltages at RMES=0.49 A

54
 In conclusion, from the results of validation process simulation model is deemed
acceptable and warranted the authors a mandate to continue with the simulation of BSPVS
basing on Malawi case.

6.2.2 Simulation results

To meet the objective of measuring performance of BSPVS in Malawi, the results of
how the simulated systems faired in terms of PR, PF, ηsys, battery SOC, and LLP are shown in
Figure 6-12 through 6-18.

The solar irradiance received at Mzuzu for the year 2008 (Figure 6-11) was on average
240 W/m2 with a highest record of 1190 W/m2. Concurring with Madhlopa (2006), abundant
radiation was received during the dry season (May through October) when the clearness index
is high.

Figure 6-11: Hourly solar irradiance received at Mzuzu, Malawi in 2008

The trend of performance ratio and system efficiency throughout the year remained
the same as can been seen in Figures 6-12 and 6-13. The values highly fluctuated in the first 4
months and last month of the year. In between, the values remain steady. As observed in the
experimental results above, the low performance ratio (0.38 & 0.41) and system efficiency
(43% & 47%) on 03/27/08 and 12/05/08 respectively were similar to scenario of Figures 6-3

55
(c) , (d) & (e) where low solar radiation was received that lead to load cut-off and
consequently the day’s useful charge was low. The mean annual performance ratio and
system efficiency were respectively 0.72 and 82%.

Figure 6-12: Daily performance ratio for simulated BSPVS located at Mzuzu city in Malawi
(2008)

Figure 6-13: Daily system efficiency for simulated BSPVS located at Mzuzu city in Malawi
(2008)

56
 The production factor fluctuated between 0.86 and 0.89 as shown in Figure 6-14. It
was however steadily increasing from first day until it reached the maximum on or around
160th day and steadily decreased to the last day. Its annual average was 0.88.

Figure 6-14: Daily array production factor for simulated BSPVS located at Mzuzu city in
Malawi (2008)

Figures 6-15 (a) and (b) respectively portrays the annual variation of battery’s SOC
for a system where the load is given priority over battery charging and where battery charging
is given priority over load. For a system where load is given priority, battery remain in low
SOC during the months of low solar radiation and remain in high state of charge during
months of high solar radiation. On contrary, the system where charging is given priority, the
battery frequently reaches full state of charge throughout the year and it remains in high state
of charge for the most of the period. In addition, LLP is higher in the system with load priority
than in system with charge priority (Figure 6-16). In general the loss of load probability is
high in months of low insolation and 0 in months of high insolation.

57
Figure 6-15: Annual battery state of charge (a) load is the first priority for array current, (b)
battery charging is the first priority for array current

58
Figure 6-16: Comparison of loss of load probability for systems located at Mzuzu with load
priority and charge priority and for a system located at Chitedze with load
priority

A system was simulated without solar array in order to find out how long the battery
(assuming an initial full charge condition) would be able to meet the lord. From Figure 6-17,
if DOD is taken to be 60%, then the battery can only support the system for 53 hours of
autonomy.

Figure 6-17: Graph showing how long from battery’s full state of charge can the system’s
load remain supplied in days of total cloud cover

59
 Results of the impact of difference in locations (within Malawi -implying virtual
difference in solar radiation) on PR and LLP are shown in Figures 6-18 and 6-16 respectively.
Referring to Figure 6-18, PR for system at Mzuzu and Chitedze are technically the same.
However, if LLP (Figure 6-16) of system at Chitedze with load priority is compared to load
priority system at Mzuzu, then Chitedze system is more reliable. It failed to fully meet the
load for 5 months while its counterpart at Mzuzu fails to fully meet the load for 7 months.

Figure 6-18: Comparison of performance ratio of systems at Mzuzu and Chitedze

The under-designed system (load profile same as other simulation but having battery
capacity and array power half those of other simulations) was simulated for Mzuzu city and
results are given in Figure 6-19. The daily performance ratio ranges from as low as 0.1 to 0.6
with a mean of 0.3. The battery state of charge Figure 6-19 (b) depicts that full SOC cannot be
attained with under-designed systems and battery remains in low state of charge for over 60%
of the time. The trend of LLP in Figure 6-19 (c) is similar to the one observed in Figure 6-16
in a sense that it is higher for the first four and last two months i.e. for the months with low
insolation. However, the values of LLP for under-designed system are high and the system is

60
incapable of supplying at least 50% of the load demand for each month. The annual PR, PR,
ηsys and LLP of the simulated system are summarized in Table 6-2.

Figure 6-19: Under designed system for Mzuzu city (a) daily PR, (b) battery state of charge
over a year, (c) Monthly loss of load probability.

Table 6-2: Summary of performance indicators of simulated systems

PR (Mzuzu) 0.72
PR (Chitedze) 0.72
PF 0.88
ηsys 82%
LLP (Mzuzu load priority) 0.13
LLP (Mzuzu charge priority) 0.08
LLP (Chitedze load priority) 0.09
LLP (under-designed system) 0.58

61
6.2.3 Discussion
The solar radiation received at Mzuzu is adequate for the BSPVS or bigger PV
system. As discussed in experimental results, the higher insolation at Mzuzu and most parts of
Malawi is accountable for higher PR, and ηsys if the system is well designed. However, it
should be noted that the 82% system efficiency (Table 6-2) is unrealistic because the
simulated system supposedly used array, battery, charge controller and inverter of the type
used in experiment. Therefore, it is expected that the losses in the battery and inverter alone
should account for at least 20%. For that reason the realistic ηsy should at most be 80%. The
error is possibly due to carried over error between the simulation and experimental results. If
simulation error is used to correct PR and ηsy then their corrected values become 0.68 and
78% respectively, which indicate better performance than the evaluated stand-alone PV
systems in France found in Jahn et al (2000).

It is further noted that for the two chosen location in Malawi (Mzuzu and Chitedze),
insolation had no impact on the PR but do have a great impact on the reliability of the system.
Chitedze receives relatively more insolation and its reliability is found to be more than the
same system installed at Mzuzu (Figure 6-17). From this result, it is important for system
designers in Malawi to use specific radiation of the site (or nearest site possible) rather than
using the mean annual radiation given in Malawi Standards (2004) for designing a system for
any location in Malawi. Further on the reliability, the results show that system with priority
given to charging is more reliable than the system where priority is given to load. So the
designed system should, as practically as possible, have battery charging as a priority. Not
only does this improve the reliability of the system, it also extends the battery life.

As shown in Figure 6-15, a system with load as a priority renders battery to be at low
state of charge for longer periods and thus accelerating hard/irreversible sulphation.
Consequently, the battery life is shortened. In Svoboda et al (2007), time at a low SOC is
defined as the cumulative operating time in percentage of the time of the year at SOC below
35%. A long time at a low SOC accelerates hard/irreversible sulphation thereby shortening
battery’s life. With reference to Figure 6-15, the calculated % at low state of charge was
found to be 22%. With this long time at low state of charge, battery’s health is jeopardized
and it is likely that such system will experience a higher rate of battery failure. On contrary,
system with charge priority has less time in low SOC of charge. With reference to Figure 6-15
(b), with definition of time at low SOC given above, it can be shown that the system never

62
went to low SOC all year through. This has an advantage of prolonged battery life, hence
reduced system cost. On the other hand, the use of the load during the day is mostly
disadvantaged for the system with charge priority.

The array’s annual mean PF of 0.88 is the same as PF obtained for the measured data.
As already mentioned, its conversion factor can be increased if MPPT is used in the system.
Therefore an inclusion of MPPT in the system is far more advantageous than an extra cost
which has to be born in investing for the device.

From Figure 6-17, it is shown that if a DOD of 60% is desired and assuming that the
system enters the day of autonomy with its battery fully charged, the battery can sustain the
load for 53 hours, almost 1 day less than the 3 days of autonomy it was designed for.
Furthermore, it should be noted that this is an ideal case because the system will not always
enter the day of autonomy when its battery is fully charged. From this result, it is imperative
to design a system with at least 1 day more than the required days of autonomy. This can
improve the system reliability but at an expense of added system cost.

Apart from institutional projects, most BSPVS in homes of Malawi are under-
designed mainly due to involvement of unprofessional personnel for designing and installing
the systems. As seen in Figure 6-19, repercussions of under-designed systems are low systems
performance ratio, low system reliability and unhealthy battery conditions. Comparing the PR
of Figures 6-13 and 6-19 (a), it is shown that system sizing has an impact on the performance
of the system. The reduction of the battery capacity and array size by half while maintaining
the load profile yielded to lowering of PR from an average of 0.72 to 0.3 translating to 58%
performance degradation. The optimum PR is achieved when a system is optimally designed
and operated. However, for low capacity system, a number of independent loads which when
operated simultaneously exceeds system’s capacity can be operated, without affecting
system’s PR, if load shedding program that is well designed and consistently followed is put
in place.
Regarding system’s reliability and with reference to Figure 6-19 (c), under-designed
system will not be available for about 50% of the time, which is dissatisfying to the users.
This elucidates the importance of optimal system design to meet users’ satisfaction. However,
in line with Celik et al. (2008), the cost of the system varies with LLP level. In order to attain
a more reliable system, the cost of investment should be high. Therefore, with low income
levels of people in rural areas, where electrification using PV is earmarked, it is rare that a
more reliable system would be realized. However, prudent operation and maintenance of the

63
relatively high LLP systems applicable in Malawi can bring much user satisfaction. In
addition, batteries in under-designed systems hardly reach full SOC (Figure 6-19 (b)) and are
therefore operated at partial cycling. If degree of under-designing is high (as the case for
under-designed system in this study) then the battery remains in low state of charge for long
period. Partial cycling at low SOC is detrimental to the battery. It subjects the battery to
accelerated hard sulphation of the active mass (AM) and electrolyte stratification. In addition,
it leads to preferential discharge of the electrodes leading to accelerated ageing of certain AM
regions. Consequently, the battery life is shortened. Observation from the system owners in
Malawi, they complain about frequent battery failures. In addition to inappropriate battery
types used in their solar home systems, the under-designing of the system is another major
contribution of such frequent battery failures.

64
 Chapter 7 Conclusions and recommendations
This chapter draws the inferences emanated from results of this study. It has three
sections with the first one giving list of conclusions drawn from the results of the study and
which have direct link to the problem statement. The second section is the summary of
contributions which the study had made and it followed by list of recommendations. The final
section recommends the future research which should follow this study.

7.1 Conclusions
This study aimed at analyzing performance of battery-based standalone PV systems in
Malawi designed according to procedures stipulated in Malawi Standards MS 695 and MS
696 and the following conclusions are drawn from the results got out of the study.

 BSPVS in Malawi, can operate with an annual mean performance ratio of 0.68 and the
difference in location of the two places simulated had no impact on the performance
ratio

 The array’s production factor does not vary with difference in solar radiation from
place to place. For the solar array used in this study, its production factor was found to
be 0.88. Operating the solar array at points lower than its maximum power point is
found to be the main cause of the loss in production factor.

 Battery and DC/AC inverters are the main components that lower system efficiency.
With the type of battery and inverter used in this study, a system efficiency of about
78% can be attained.

 BSPVS designed according to procedures found in MS 695 and MS 696 does not
guarantee a 100% reliable system. The loss of load probability, a measure of
reliability, varies considerably with differences of solar radiation received in a month.
Amongst system configurations simulated for Malawi, a LLP of 0.08 was found to be
the best.

 BSPVS in which battery charging is given priority over load has higher reliability and
its battery life is longer than the system where load is given priority over battery
charging.

65
  The number of autonomy days designated during design stage can hardly be met in
practice. A 72 hours of autonomy desired in this study could not be met even in
idealistic condition, only about 53 hours of autonomy were achieved.

 The under-designed systems in Malawi are less efficient, more unreliable and have
shorter battery life than a systematically designed system. Halving solar array and
battery capacities of a systematically designed system while maintaining its load
profile yield to LLP of about 0.5 and PR reduced by 58%.

7.2 Summary of contributions

No evidence exists in literature about performance analysis of BSPVS in Malawi.
Therefore, the following are the key contributions this study has made.

 If a BSPVS in Malawi is well designed then it can operate with an annual performance
ratio of 0.68, a system efficiency of 78% and loss of load probability of 0.08.

 A system which prioritizes battery charging is in effect more reliable and has longer
battery life resulting into a less costly system.

7.3 Recommendations
From the outcomes of the study, the author suggests that the following
recommendations would help to improve PV systems in Malawi.

 Compiling an inventory of PV systems in Malawi. The inventory which should

include location, size of system and date of installation would be essential for
evaluation and research purposes.

 Establishment of easily accessed database of solar radiation covering areas in Malawi

as much as practical. The location-based solar radiation data would be better data to
base on when designing an optimal system of the location in question.

 The government, through Department of Energy should have standardized guidelines

for system design. Like in building sector, every designed PV projected should be
submitted to the Department of Energy which would scrutinize the project basing on
their standardized guidelines. This will help to pinpoint errors before actual
installation and thus reducing costs.

66
  The existing Malawi standards for battery based PV systems should be updated and be
enforced on imported PV components in order to curb the influx of substandard
components.

 There is a need to instituting a legal framework for grid-tied PV systems that will
enable people to feed PV power to the grid. This will boost PV application in Malawi
as opposed to current situation where PV is understood to be for the remote people.

7.4 Future Research

Stemming from the results of this study, the author suggests that a further research
work should be done along the following areas:

 Performance analysis of actual systems in Malawi sampled to represents radiation map

of Malawi.

 Improving the simulation model to incorporate battery aging and degradation of other
component so that a thorough performance and cost analysis of system for its life span
can be predicted with high degree of confidence.

67
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 Appendix

1. Data Sheet of range of Kyocera Modules

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2. Data sheet of Yuasa REC-50 VRLA Batteries

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74
3. Charge-Discharge curves of REC-series of Yuasa batteries

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