Photovoltaic System Design Project.

Andrew Moon
09025459

EN0550-Photovoltaic System Technology

MSc Electrical Power Engineering

Module Tutor Nicola Pearsall

Contents
1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. 2. Building Integrated Photovoltaic Systems .............................................................................. 1

PV System Design .......................................................................................................................... 1 2.1. Building Specification............................................................................................................. 2 Design ............................................................................................................................. 2 Energy demand ............................................................................................................... 2

2.1.1. 2.1.2. 2.2.

Planned and Test Array ........................................................................................................... 3 Geographical Location and Sun Path .............................................................................. 3 Module Panels ................................................................................................................. 4 PV System Components...................................................................................................... 5 Module Panels ................................................................................................................. 5 Modules........................................................................................................................... 6 Inverters .......................................................................................................................... 6 Ingecon Sun 6 TL Inverter .............................................................................................. 6 PVI-6000-OUTD Inverter ............................................................................................... 7

2.2.1. 1.1.1. 2.3. 2.3.1. 2.3.2. 2.3.3.

2.3.4.

Irradiation Data and Available Energy ........................................................................... 7

Sub-Arrays at 80.139 tilt ............................................................................................................... 8 Sub-Arrays at 83.185 tilt ............................................................................................................... 9 3. 4. Discussion and Conclusions............................................................................................................ 9 Recommendations ......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Appendix ............................................................................................................................................... 11 References ............................................................................................................................................. 14

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1. Introduction
The aim of this study is to determine if the Swiss Re Tower, 30 St. Mary Axe, London, can be retro fitted with a building integrated photovoltaic system (BIPVS). The building currently has up to 50% of heating and cooling requirements met by a passive cooling system (RWG Associates, 2008). It is hoped that a similar claim can be made regarding the buildings electricity requirements which would help showcase the buildings sustainability credentials. Some of the benefits of a BIPVS, to the building owner, are lower energy bills and, due to conveyed environmentally friendly image, higher office space demand. This study is a preliminary photovoltaic (PV) project. The eventual goal is to cover enough of the outer glass surface with PVs in order to supply 25% of the buildings electricity requirements. Since the building shape is iconic, the full study will first model 4 out of the 162 planned glass panels in order to assess: How the passive heating/cooling system is affected. The impact on the outer appearance. How much energy is generated per annum.

This preliminary study will only concentrate on the PV systems electrical characteristics however. 1.1. Building Integrated Photovoltaic Systems BIPV is essentially installing photovoltaic panels within the roof or faade structure, so they form part of the building (Messenger & Ventre, 2010). Since the PV panels are part of the building they can additionally function as roofs, tiling, walls or other building elements. The advantages of BIPV systems are (Rawlings, 2000): They require no additional land footprint. An absence of moving parts, leading to less maintenance through wear and tear, with completely silent running. Energy is delivered at point of use. No emissions from energy conversion. Multifunctional potential due to building integration. i.e. offset construction costs. They are equally suited to urban and extra urban locations. They can offset the cost of the additional building materials due to the functions they replace.

2. PV System Design
In this section the system design, that will best suit the requirements of meeting the buildings 25% electrical energy demand, will be discussed. Currently the Swiss Re buildings electrical energy demand is entirely supplied by energy from the grid. Since the building is situated in an urban

environment, connecting the PV system to the grid should be feasible. The following sub section outlines the building design, current energy requirements and then discusses the available ambient radiation energy available. From the discussion in these sections, a specific basis of what PV system will be required shall be formulated.

2.1. Building Specification

2.1.1. Design

Figure 1. 30 St Mary Axe, Swiss Re Building. The building has 41 floors with window panes below the 12th floor (check) having their normal axes orientated towards the ground, making these surfaces unsuitable for PV panelling.

Commissioned by Swiss Re, one of the worlds leading reinsurance companies, the tower is41 storeys and provides 76,400 m of accommodation, including offices and a shopping arcade accessed from a newly created public plaza. The building provides 450,000 square feet (41,810 square meters) of net office space (Architecture Week, 2005).The top floor offers a 360-degree panorama view (Foster & Partners, 2005). The outside of the building consists of 24,000 m of glass arranged in diamond-shaped panes, which consists of roughly 5,500 flat triangular, diamond-shaped glass panels. The maximum circumference of the tower is only 2 meters less than its height (EMPORIS, 2010). 2.1.2. Energy demand The Building Research Establishments (BRE) annual energy consumption guideline for lowenergy mixed-mode offices is 175 kWh/m (19.977 Wm ). It is anticipated that Swiss Res new building will surpass this figure by up to 25 kWh/m using 150 kWh/m (17.123 Wm ) in its optimal low energy configuration. Since the building has a used floor space of 76,400 m the total energy use of the building is estimated at 1.308 MW of power. A PV array may need to supply 0.327 MW of power. Since some of this energy is used for heating and cooling, perhaps 20%, a lower estimate of 0.262 MW can be used.

2.2. Planned and Test Array

2.2.1. Geographical Location and Sun Path The location of the tower is in Lond England, with coordinates of 5130'52.11"N by 0 London, 4'49.26"W. Figure 1 shows the equinox, summer and winter sun paths for London. Be Because London is situated well into the northern hemisphere, the sun rises in the North East and sets in the North West in summer. In the winter it rises in the South East and sets in the South West.

Figure 2. Path of sun showing summer (green) and winter (blue) paths (GAISMA, 2010).

The location of the solar PV panels on the building faade should be situated such that panels draw the maximum amount of sunlight energy over the year with the minimum surface area to year, hopefully meet 25 % of the electrical energy requirements of the building. Since the building is a curved cone, any panels situated below the 13th floor would be facing downwards which limits the downwards, amount of direct sunlight they would receive. Additionally, due to the silver bands situated outside floors 33 and 34, combined with the fact that floors 35 and above require a clear 360 view for their 360 function, solar panelling shall be restricted between and including the 13th and 30th floors. A compromise is sought between summer and winter by limiting the panels reach to only 90 from tween south. To reduce the number of diff different orientations the module panels shall have one tilt angle every two floors. For the final PV array this will require 9 tilt angles. A total of 20 azimuthally angles shall . 0 finally be used. This equates to a total of 18 different azimuth angles each requiring panels at 9 tilt angles, which requires a total of 162 irradiation data sets Figure 3 shows the Swiss Re tower with s sets. outline of the PV array module panels. Planned modules panels are in white and the test module panels, which are the focus of this report are in red. , report,

Figure 3. Planned arrangement of PV array (white), with location of test array (red).

1.1.1. Module Panels Because the tower is circular and has a curved upward taper, the solar panels cannot all be arranged in one plane. After the test modules have been assessed, each level shall have 18 modules of ach equal size and shape. Since the tower is 180m tall with 41 floors, each level is approximately 4.39 m tall, in height. The outer glass skin has flat glass panes at each level, facing outward each at a un panes, unique orientation. These diamond shape glass panels are arranged in rings of 72, so the centres are shaped their separated by 5 azimuthally. Each solar module will overlay four complete diamond window panes, so that their centres are separated by 10 azimuthally. 10

Figure 4. Panel size parameters. The figure shows a side and front profile of a PV (blue) module panel overlaying the outer glass surface of the Swiss Re tower, with the module support brace (gray).

Error! Reference source not found. shows a generic module overlaying the outer glass panels of the Swiss Re tower. To reduce the amount of custom module panels and orientations reduce needed, each module overlays two floors and diamond glass panes 3 and 4. They are mounted in a . 4

brace, attached to the side of the building. This method still allows for a curved appearance, though it is raised and has a slightly coarser appearance than the original glass beneath. Each module pane has a tilt angle 90 = 90 ( + )/2, where and are the angles of glass panes 1 and 2 in Error!

Reference source not found.. The area of the module panel is a trapezoid and is given by the equation = (2 sin(5 ) + 2 sin(5 )), (1)

where is the height of the module, which depends on the tilt angle. Table 1 shows the area of each module panel type, with its vertical location and planned number. 2.3. PV System Components 2.3.1. Module Panels The total planned area of module panels (including brace structures) is 6201.86 , which

covers 25.84% of the buildings external surface. Since the power output from only four module panels of types M21/22 and M23/24 are to be tested, ringed in red in Table 1, we are left with an active area of 139.99 Panel Ref
M13/14 M15/16 M17/18 M19/20 M21/22 M23/24 M25/26 M27/28 M29/30 Levels 13 -14 Levels 15 -16 Levels 17 -18 Levels 19 -20 Levels 21 -22 Levels 23 -24 Levels 25 -26 Levels 27 -28 Levels 29 -30 8.782 8.788 8.799 8.832 8.842 8.912 8.965 9.027 9.050 4.905 4.838 4.739 4.572 4.390 4.124 3.808 3.442 3.059 4.938 4.905 4.838 4.739 4.572 4.390 4.124 3.808 3.442 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18

, which provides 2.5% of the planned module area. Location h(m) b(m) c(m) No. No. of Modules
16 15 -

Table 1. Module panel specification and placement, with test module panel types enclosed in red. The code M##/## specifies the levels overlaid i.e. vertical location.

Module Serial M21/22-P07p5 M21/22-N07p5 M23/24-P07p5 M23/24-N07p5

Tilt () 83.185 83.185 80.139 80.139

Azimuth () 7.5 -7.5 7.5 -7.5

Area ( 39.623 39.623 37.933 37.933

Active Area ( 34.59 34.59 32.43 32.43

Table 2. Module serial codes and tilt angles. Module serial number indicates positive or negative azimuth angle and value.

Table 2 shows area orientation and tilt angle of the four module panels to be tested. To determine how much energy can be drawn from them at a point in time, monthly irradiation data is required. 2.3.2. Modules To gain the most amount of power from the PV system, mono c-Si modules are chosen. A PV module with mono c-Si cells is the SPR-415E-WHT-D, manufactured by SunPower. These modules provide 415 Wp and have the dimensions 2.067 m x 1.046 m x 0.046m. Since the modules are rectangular and they are to fit into a trapezoid panel, some area will contain no module. In Table 1 it is shown that panels M21/22 and M23/24 contain 16 and 15 modules respectively. Therefore, the array, made up of panels M21/22 and M23/24, provides 12.865 kW of nominal power. 2.3.3. Inverters

To determine which inverters are best suited to the array, the output voltages of the modules at various conditions need to fall within the input range of the inverter. Focusing on a single module, its temperature coefficient is used to correct its voltage values using the equation ( ) = (25) + where V is the voltage, T is the cell temperature and ( 25) , (2)

is the voltage temperature coefficient. The . Therefore, from

voltage temperature coefficient of the SPR-415E-WHT-D module is 0.284 /

Equation (2), the maximum power point (MPP) voltage at high cell temperature (60 ) is (60) = (25) + (60 25) ,

= 72.2 0.284 (60 25) = 62.26 . Conversely the open circuit voltage, (10) = , at the lower temperature of 10 (25) + (60 + 10) , is

85.3 0.284 (10 25) = 95.24 .

The MPP voltage,

, at standard test conditions (STC) of 25 (60

is 72.2 , which should

be well within the input voltage range of the inverter. minimum input voltage of the inverter. (10

) should be higher than the

) should be lower than the maximum system

voltage. Finally, the system current should be lower than the maximum for the inverter. These conditions impose restrictions on how many modules can be connected in strings. Ingecon Sun 6 TL Inverter For the Ingecon Sun 6 TL inverter, the minimum number of modules in string, calculated as follows , is

= where

= 2.008 3 , , is

is the minimum input voltage. The maximum number of modules is string, = = = 4.723 4 .

The maximum number of modules of model SPR-415E-WHT-D that will fit into the trapezium shape is 15. Therefore a maximum power generated by the sub array is 6.225 kWp. Since is 3, 5 modules will have to be connected in parallel to fill the panel with the maximum number of modules. Using 6 modules in parallel, the total current is = 5 = 6.09 5 = 30.45 ,

which is less than the maximum input current of 33 A. The inverter ratio is 5.4 10 /(6.225 10 ) = 0.867. PVI-6000-OUTD Inverter For PVI-6000-OUTD model of inverter, we calculate and in the same

manner as for the Ingecon Sun 6 TL model of inverter. The minimum number of modules in string is = = = 1.446 2 ,

The maximum number of modules is string is = = = 6.090 6 .

The maximum number of modules of model SPR-415E-WHT-D that will fit into the trapezium shape is 16. Therefore a maximum power generated by the sub array is 6.640 KWp. Since is 2, 8 modules could be connected in parallel to fill the panel with the maximum number of modules. Using 8 modules in parallel, the total current is = 8 = 6.09 8 = 48.72 ,

which is greater than the maximum input current of 36 A. Therefore using 4 parallel strings of 4 modules gives an output current of 24.36A, which is acceptable. The inverter ratio is 6 10 /(6.640 10 ) = 0.906. 2.3.4. Irradiation Data and Available Energy Since the power produced by the array depends on the number and energy of photons falling on it, the performance of the array at the location and orientations available must be determined over a specified time period. Figure 5 shows the irradiation data for the sub-arrays at the four orientations in Table 2. It can be seen in Figure 5 that the average monthly irradiation is identical for azimuth angles -5 and 5. Therefore only two performance calculations are required for the sub arrays, which can be used to establish the performance of the whole array. 7

Figure 5. Irradiation Data for Four Module Panel Orientation (a) Tilt angle of 80.139 and azimuth angle of 5. (b) . Orientations. Tilt angle of 80.139 and azimuth angle of -5 (c) Tilt angle of 83.185 and azimuth angle of 5.(c) (d) Tilt angle of

83.185 and azimuth angle of 5.

Sub-Arrays at 80.139 tilt The M23/24-P07p5 panel has a nominal power output of 6.225 kWp. The total area of the modules P07p5
within the panel is = 2.162 15 = 32.43 m . The equation for the module efficiency, ,

, is given by (3)

= 100 where is the total a.c. energy output and

is the average daily irradiation over the period .

Since the irradiation values vary over the month, so does the module efficiency (see Figure A 1). The module efficiency also varies with temperature. Since the modules are held in place slightly away from the outer glass panels, the m module can easily be air ventilated. Therefore an operating temperature of 25C is assumed as a reasonable mid mid-range value. As the irradiation increases so does the module efficiency. The efficiencies are used to calculate the AC energy output of the modul for module every month of the year, shown in Table A 4. The total panel AC energy output over the year is 4.55 . This module is at an azimuth of 5. It can be seen in Figure 5 that the irradiation data for

azimuth angles 5 and -5 are identical. Therefore the total module AC energy output per year from the sub array, at tilt angle 80.139 is 2 4.55 = 9.10 80.139, .

Each M21/22 type panel will have one Ingecon Sun 6 TL inverter. All inverter efficiencies . vary with input power. Figure A 2 shows the efficiency curve for Ingecon Sun 6 TL inverter. This efficiency is used to amend the AC power input into the inverter to obtain a system output of 8.38 to

for the panel at a tilt angle of 80.139. The performance ratio, PR, of the panel and inverter

system can be calculated on a month by month basis using the equation = 100 where , (4)

is the array power rating, which is 6.225 kW for the M22/24 panels. Table A 4 shows the

calculated PR month by month. The best performance occurs during the summer months of highest irradiation, with a yearly average of 0.79. Sub-Arrays at 83.185 tilt The module panels M21/22, which also have an azimuth angles 5 and - 5 also have one PVI-6000-OUTD inverter each (See Table A 1 for data sheet). Performing identical calculations using Equations (3) and (4), the total yearly AC and DC energy outputs can be calculated with performance ratios. Table A 5 shows the outputs from the PV panel M21/22 and the total system output for each panel. Efficiency data on the inverter was taken from the PVsyst software (Mermoud & Lejeune, 2010) . The module output from each M21/22 is 4.59 / , giving a total of 9.18 / / from

the panels at 83.185 tilt. The output from each PVI-6000-OUTD inverter is 4.27 output of 8.54 /

a total

from the panels at 83.185 tilt. The average performance ratio over the year

is 0.79, which is identical to the M23/24 panels. This is due to two factors. Despite the M23/24 panels having a lower tilt angle, thus receiving higher irradiation, the attached inverters are less efficient than the PVI-6000-OUTD inverters. The two competing factors cancel out, leaving a similar performance value. The total output from the 4 panels is 18.28 / .

3. Discussion and Conclusions

The aim of this report was to test whether it is feasible to supply 25% of the energy requirements of 30 St Mary Axe from a PV array. The 25% building electrical energy requirement is 0.262 MW, or 2296.6 MWh/yr. The four panels modelled gave an AC output of 18.28 / . These panels only

represent 2.5% of the planned area. An unrealistic assumption would be that the panels give the same output per unit area when covering the rest of the planned area (white in Figure 3 ). If this were the case, the estimated output from the complete array would be 731.2 an estimated 9172.546 / / . Since the building uses

of electrical energy, the PV array could only meet around 8% of the

buildings electrical energy needs. This PV array output is unrealistic however because the majority of remaining panels will be at higher negative and positive azimuth angles, reducing the incident radiation. Therefore it will not possible to attain even 8%, but a more probable 6% if the building energy use is to remain fixed.

It is therefore recommended that the building owner undertake further energy efficiency measures, change the building use from office and commercial to a less energy intensive role, or accept the 6% electrical energy from PV figure.

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Appendix
Model Nominal Power at STC SPR-415E-WHT-D 415 Wp 6.09 A 5.69 A 85.30 V 72.90 V 25 C 1000 Total 128 Manufacturer Cell Type Number of Cells In parallel 1 Module Dimensions (mm) Length 2067 Width 1046 Thickness 46 In Series 128 SunPower Si-mono Cell Area ( 1.548 Module Area ( 2.162 Module Weight (kg) 25.40 ) )

Table A 1. SPR-415-WHT-D Module Data Sheet (Mermoud & Lejeune, 2010).

Figure A 1. Efficiency of SPR-415-WHT-D Module With Varying Ambient Temperature and Incident Irradiation (Mermoud & Lejeune, 2010).

Figure A 2. Ingecon Sun 6 TL Inverter Efficiency Curve (Mermoud & Lejeune, 2010).

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Model Min MPP Voltage Min. V for P Nom. Nom. MPP Voltage Max. MPP Voltage Power Threshold Nom. AC Power Grid Voltage

Ingecon Sun 6 TL 125 Wp 171 V 340 V 450 V 27.00 W 5.40 kW 230 V

Manufacturer No. of DC Inputs

Ingeteam 4

Inverter Weight (kg) 25.40 Max Efficiency 96.1% Depth (mm) 280 Width (mm) 370 Height (mm) 430

Table A 2. Ingecon Sun 6 TL Data Sheet (Mermoud & Lejeune, 2010).

Figure A 3. PVI-6000-OUTD Inverter Efficiency Curve (Mermoud & Lejeune, 2010) Model Min MPP Voltage Min. V for P Nom. Nom. MPP Voltage Max. MPP Voltage Power Threshold Nom. AC Power Grid Voltage PVI-6000-OUTD 90 Wp 170 V 360 V 580 V 30.00 W 6.00 kW 230 V Depth (mm) 190 Manufacturer No. of DC Inputs Inverter Weight (kg) 26.00 Max Efficiency 97.0% Width (mm) 325 Height (mm) 740 Power One 4

Table A 3. PVI-6000-OUTD Data Sheet (Mermoud & Lejeune, 2010).

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Module Area ( ) 32.43 32.43 32.43 32.43 32.43 32.43 32.43 32.43 32.43 32.43 32.43 32.43

Irradiation Module Days (s) ( ) Efficiency 42.92 15.64% 2678400 66.25 16.23% 2419200 102.08 16.71% 2678400 120.00 16.89% 2592000 127.08 16.97% 2678400 126.25 16.99% 2592000 123.75 16.97% 2678400 127.50 16.93% 2678400 123.33 17.01% 2592000 90.83 16.95% 2678400 60.00 16.69% 2592000 31.25 16.15% 2678400 ( / )

Inverter Efficiency ( 83.71% 90.25% 92.78% 93.21% 93.42% 93.37% 93.27% 93.53% 93.37% 92.12% 89.96% 79.55%

PR
)

583.02 843.57 1481.68 1703.70 1873.24 1803.05 1824.10 1874.95 1763.46 1337.33 841.76 438.37

4.19

488.05 761.33 1374.70 1588.02 1749.98 1683.50 1701.34 1753.64 1646.55 1231.94 757.25 348.73 PR av.
.

0.68 0.76 0.81 0.82 0.83 0.83 0.82 0.82 0.83 0.81 0.78 0.67

0.79

Table A 4. Total Energy Output of PV Module M23/24 at a Tilt Angle of 80.139 and Azimuth Angle of

Module Area ( )

Irradiation ( )

Module Efficiency

Days (s)

Inverter Efficiency

PR ( )

34.59 34.59 34.59 34.59 34.59 34.59 34.59 34.59 34.59 34.59 34.59 34.59

42.08 64.58 98.75 114.17 119.58 118.33 115.83 120.42 118.33 88.33 58.75 30.83

15.65% 16.19% 16.7% 16.87% 16.92% 16.91% 16.88% 16.93% 16.91% 16.57% 16.07% 15.25% (

2678400 2419200 2678400 2592000 2678400 2592000 2678400 2678400 2592000 2678400 2592000 2678400 / )

610.20 875.01 1527.93 1726.89 1874.66 1794.16 1811.58 1888.84 1794.16 1356.12 846.51 435.65

83.81% 90.52% 93.44% 93.95% 94.13% 94.09% 94.04% 94.17% 94.03% 93.25% 89.51% 83.42%

511.41 792.06 1427.70 1622.41 1764.62 1688.13 1703.61 1778.72 1687.05 1264.58 757.72 363.42 PR av.
.

0.68 0.76 0.81 0.83 0.83 0.83 0.83 0.83 0.83 0.80 0.75 0.66

4.27

0.79

Table A 5. Total Energy Output of PV Module M21/22 at a Tilt Angle of 83.189 and Azimuth Angle of

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References
Architecture Week (2005) Swiss Re Tower by Foster and Partners. [Online]. Available at: http://www.architectureweek.com/2005/0504/design_1-2.html. EMPORIS (2010) 30 St Mary Axe. [Online]. Available at: http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=building&lng=3&id=100089. Foster & Partners (2005) Swiss Re HQ, 30 St Mary Axe. [Online]. Available at: http://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/1004/default.aspx. Mermoud, D. A. & Lejeune, D. T. (2010) PVSyst (5.11) [Computer Program]. Distributor: University of Geneva [Online]. Available at: http://www.pvsyst.com/5.2/index.php (Accessed:06/04/2010). Messenger, R. A. & Ventre, J. (2010) Photovoltaic systems engineering. 3rd edn. Rawlings, R. (2000) Understanding building integrated photovoltaics. RWG Associates ( 2008) 30 St Mary Axe. [Online]. Available at: http://www.30stmaryaxe.com/.

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