Design optimization of a large scale rooftop

photovoltaic system
Xiangyang Gong
a
, Manohar Kulkarni
b,
*
a
Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
b
Mechanical Engineering, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA
Received 29 September 2003; received in revised form 16 August 2004; accepted 17 August 2004
Available online 21 September 2004
Communicated by: Associate Editor T.M. Razykov
Abstract
This paper presents the optimization process of a grid connected photovoltaic (PV) system, which is intended to
replace a large-scale thermal solar system on the rooftop of a Federal oce building. A PV energy conversion model
is described. Based on this model, array surface tilt angle and array size are optimized. The optimization method is
based on maximizing the utilization of the array output energy, and, at the same time, minimizing the electricity power
sold to grid. An eectiveness factor is introduced that takes into account both of these parameters. The array cong-
uration and the output parameters are determined by comparing several PV modules. A 43.2kW PV system is designed
and operational problems such as harmonic eects and anti-islanding are discussed. Finally, the system performance is
simulated and through economic analysis it has shown that the cost of PV system can be recouped in 13years under the
current renewable energy incentive program by the state of Illinois.
2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Photovoltaic system; Optimization; Array; Solar radiation; Tilt angle; Eectiveness factor; Performance; Harmonic eect;
Islanding
1. Introduction
In the past two decades the photovoltaics has devel-
oped into a mature technology and has become accept-
able worldwide. As a promising renewable energy
resource, photovoltaic technology enjoys substantial
government supports in research and application in
several major industrial countries. The international
competition, along with years of experience in manufac-
turing, research and development, has resulted in im-
proved photovoltaic module eciency, cost reduction
and productivity increase. According to (Holihan,
2003), the worldwide photovoltaic shipment increased
four times in 1990s and reached a peak megawatts gen-
eration of 201MWp in 1999, while the price of photo-
voltaic modules has dropped from $30/Wp in 1970s to
$5/Wp now. Although this price is somewhat acceptable,
the cost of entire system still remains relatively high
0038-092X/$ - see front matter 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.solener.2004.08.008
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 701 777 2571; fax: +1 701
777 2271.
E-mail address: Manohar.Kulkarni@mail.und.nodak.edu
(M. Kulkarni).
Solar Energy 78 (2005) 362374
www.elsevier.com/locate/solener
compared with traditional power generation technology.
The high cost necessitates that the design parameters,
such as surface tilt angle and array size, should be
optimized.
A grid connected photovoltaic system eliminates the
need for a battery storage bank resulting in considerable
reduction of the initial cost and maintenance cost. The
photovoltaic system instead uses grid as a bank where
the excess electric power can be deposited to and
when necessary also withdrawn from. When the photo-
voltaic system is applied in buildings, the PV modules
usually are mounted on rooftop and facade, which
can reduce the size of mounting structure and land
requirements.
This paper presents the design optimization processes
for a large-scale rooftop photovoltaic system, which will
be used to retrot the existing thermal solar system on
the rooftop of Federal Oce Building in Carbondale,
Illinois. This building was built in 1978 as one of only
three prototypic thermal solar buildings in the United
States. The roof of this building was designed to have
a slope of 42 to maximize the reception of solar radia-
tion. After 17years of operation, the hydronic thermal
solar system on the building rooftop was shut down in
1995. Hundreds of thermal solar modules and the racks
still remain on the roof. As shown in Fig. 1, the thermal
solar modules are arranged on three roof zones of the
building. The southwest array is the largest one with
dimension of 14.33m (47 feet) by 28.96m (95 feet).
The northwest array is the smallest having the dimen-
sion of 10.67m (35 feet) by 21.34m (70 feet). The dimen-
sion of east array is 14.63m (48 feet) by 21.34m (70 feet).
The study of the thermal solar system and the justica-
tion for the proposed photovoltaic system replacement
has been reported by (Gong and Kulkarni, submitted
for publication).
This paper discusses the photovoltaic energy conver-
sion model and the methodology to optimize the array
surface tilt angle, array size and conguration. The opti-
mal PV system is designed and the anticipated PV
operational problems such as the harmonic eects and
anti-islanding are discussed. Finally, the performance
of this optimal system is simulated and the techno-
economical benets are analyzed.
2. Climate data
The strength of solar radiation is the primary consid-
eration in selecting location for PV installation. The
electricity output of a PV array is directly proportional
to the radiation input. Local climatic and environmental
factors such as temperature extremes, humidity, precip-
itation, and wind will constrain the output of PV array.
Nevertheless, these are all secondary eects when com-
pared with insolation intensity. The total yearly insola-
tion changes with latitude at dierent locations.
Photovoltaic performance calculation requires the
incoming solar radiation, ambient air temperature and
local humidity. The Illinois Weather Bureau has
recorded the detailed meteorological data for Carbon-
dale from 1989. The meteorological data such as air
temperature, humidity, solar radiation, wind speed, pre-
cipitation, etc. are recorded hourly. Ten years of meteor-
ological data (from 1991 to 2001, data of 1999 are
unavailable) were analyzed and compiled to obtain the
monthly local radiation, temperature and humidity data
as shown in Table 1.
Nomenclature
T
r
reference temparature
b temperature coecient of energy conversion
eciency
I
C
instantaneous solar radiation per unit area
incident on the array
(sa) solar radiation transmittance-absorptance
product of the array
g average energy conversion eciency
weighted in proportion to the solar
radiation
I
C
the sum of three radiation components cor-
responding to the beam, diuse, and
ground-reected radiation
I monthly average hourly radiation per unit
area on a horizontal surface which is esti-
mated from monthly average daily radiation
data
h
p
array surface tilt angle from horizon
T
a
monthly average hourly temperature
I
0
the extraterrestrial radiation of an hour
k
t
the ratio of the horizontal solar radiation to
the extraterrestrial radiation

k
t
the ratio of I to I
0
k
sa
factor which accounts for the dependence of
the array transmittance-absorptance prod-
uct with solar radiation incidence angle
W
p
capacity of PV module rated at standard
testing conditions
X. Gong, M. Kulkarni / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 362374 363
3. PV energy conversion model
The output of PV system can be estimated based on
the methods developed by (Siegel et al., 1981), and
(Clark et al., 1984). The monthly average hourly array
output, E, can be determined by
E AI
C
gk
sa
1
Various parameters that appear on the right hand side
of the above equation are discussed next. Parameter A
is the array area which includes packing factor and I
C
is the long-time average hourly solar radiation per unit
area incident on the array. I
C
is calculated as the sum
of three radiation components corresponding to the
beam, diuse, and ground-reected radiation. Accord-
ing to Due and Beckman (1991) I
C
can be expressed
as
I
C

_
I 1
_
I
d
_
I
_ _
R
b
C
_
I
d
_
I
1 cosh
p

2
_ _ _
q
1 cosh
p

2
_ __
2
where
_
I is the monthly average hourly radiation per unit
area on a horizontal surface. It is estimated from the
monthly average daily radiation data given in Table 1.
The monthly average diuse fraction
_
I
d
_
I
is developed by
(Erbs et al., 1982), as
_
I
d
_
I
1:317 3:023K
t
3:372K
2
t
1:769K
3
t
3
Fig. 1. Layout of thermal solar arrays on the rooftop of federal building.
Table 1
Monthly average climate data for Carbondale, Illinois
Radiation
(kWh/m
2
*
day)
Temperature
(C)
Humidity
(g/kg dry air)
Jan. 1.966 0.103 2.900
Feb. 2.825 3.283 3.400
March 3.941 7.130 4.100
April 4.993 12.956 5.900
May 5.724 18.186 9.000
June 6.405 22.317 12.200
July 6.530 24.031 14.200
Aug. 5.860 23.600 13.800
Sept. 4.753 18.789 10.100
Oct. 3.845 13.656 6.900
Nov. 2.212 6.867 4.400
Dec. 1.714 2.130 3.300
364 X. Gong, M. Kulkarni / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 362374
where K
t
is the average ratio of the horizontal solar radi-
ation to the extraterrestrial radiation.
The parameter R
b
in Eq. (2) is the ratio of beam radi-
ation on the aperture plane to that on a horizontal sur-
face, C is the concentration ratio, h
p
the array tilt angle
with respect to the horizontal, and q the ground reect-
ance. This concludes the explanation of all parameters in
Eq. (2) above and the term I
C
in Eq. (1).
Now the parameter g in Eq. (1), is the average energy
conversion eciency weighted in proportion to the solar
radiation. It can be evaluated by the following equation
per (Siegel et al., 1981), and (Clark et al., 1984).
g g
r
g
pt
1 bT
a
T
r

_
b
sa
I
C
U
1 g
r
g
pt

_
I
C;Max
0
I
2
C
PI
C
dI
C
_
4
Here T
a
is the monthly average hourly temperature
which is estimated in terms of the monthly average daily
temperature based on the model developed by (Erbs
et al., 1983). The parameters g
r
and g
pt
are array
reference energy conversion eciency and eciency of
the power tracking equipment, respectively. The other
terms in Eq. (4) are explained in the Nomenclature
section.
The integral in Eq. (4) has been evaluated by (Klein
and Beckman, 2001). The results are shown as Eq. (5).
_
I
C;Max
0
I
2
C
PI
C
dI
C
a
1
I
2
0
_
kt;max
0
k
2
t
Pk
t
dk
t
a
2
I
2
0
_
kt;max
0
k
2
t
I
d
I
_ _
Pk
t
dk
t
a
3
I
2
0
_
kt;max
0
k
2
t
I
d
I
_ _
2
Pk
t
dk
t
5
where k
t
is the ratio of horizontal solar radiation, I to
the extraterrestrial radiation, I
0
. Parameters a
1
, a
2
, a
3
are constants for given hour and month. They can be
evaluated by Eqs. (6) through (8).
a
1
R
b
C
2
qC1 cossR
b

q
2
1 cosh
p

2
4
6
a
2
R
b
C1 cosh
p
2R
b
C
q1 cosh
p
2R
b
C
1 cosh
p

2
7
a
3

1 cosh
p

2
R
b
C
_ _
2
8
The instantaneous diuse fraction
I
d
I
is a function of k
t
as
explained by (Due and Beckman, 1991). The long-
term probability distribution of k
t
is a known function
of

k
t
, dened as

k
t

I
I
0
, which can be determined
by daily radiation data listed in Table 1. The integrals
in Eq. (5) have been evaluated by (Liu and Jordan,
1960).
_
kt;max
0
k
2
t
Pk
t
dk
t
0:1551 0:9226

k
t
9
_
k
t;max
0
k
2
t
I
d
I
_ _
Pk
t
dk
t
0:1456 0:0544 ln

k
t
10
_
kt;max
0
k
2
t
I
d
I
_ _
2
Pk
t
dk
t


k
t
0:2769 0:3184

k
t
11
By substituting Eq. (6) through (11) into Eq. (5), then
plugging the Eq. (5) into Eq. (4), g thus can be obtained.
The one remaining term in Eq. (1) is a factor k
sa
which accounts for dependence of the array transmit-
tance-absorptance product with solar radiation inci-
dence angle. This factor is evaluated by (Due and
Beckman, 1991).
Submitting the values of k
sa
, g, I
C
and A into Eq. (1),
the monthly average hourly array output, E, can now be
determined.
4. Parameter optimization
As mentioned in introduction section, the slope angle
of this building is 42, and three roof zones are available.
Whether the angle is the best angle to maximize the
yearly power production? How much is the dierence
between the maximum power production at an optimal
angle and the currently roof angle? Whether all the roof
zones need to be used for PV installation? These ques-
tions shall be investigated. Array surface tilt angle and
array size are two important parameters in photovoltaic
system. The selection of these parameters will greatly
aect the system economics. These parameters need to
be optimized before designing a PV system.
4.1. Surface tilt angle optimization
The radiation received by a PV array on earth can
be divided into three categories: direct, diuse, and
reected. The diuse radiation approaches array
surface from all unobstructed angles, while direct
radiation strikes array surface from only one angle.
Since the atmospheric constituents scatter a portion
of the total beam radiation from the sun, some diuse
radiation always exists even when the sky appears very
clear.
The orientation of a surface on earth is dened by
two angles: the surface tilt or slop angle and the surface
azimuth angle. The surface tilt angle indicates how far
up from the horizontal a given surface is sloped, while
the azimuth angle denotes how the surface is located rel-
ative to the true northsouth and eastwest coordinates
(due south represents an azimuth angle of 0, due east
is 90, north is 180, and west is 90). A horizontal
X. Gong, M. Kulkarni / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 362374 365
surface receives the maximum diuse radiation but only
a minimum reected radiation. When a south-facing sur-
face is tilted up from horizontal, the amount of diuse
radiation received decreases. However, the receipt of
radiation reected o the ground increases.
For the Federal Building in Carbondale the azimuth
angle of building /
p
is zero. The incidence angle of sun h
i
depends on the geographical location (latitude 3746
0
and longitude 8914
0
) and time of the year. The aim of
design optimization is to determine the optimal tilt angle
h
p
for each season in order to obtain maximum output
from the PV array.
According to Mathew (Buresch, 1983) the optimal
tilt angle for a south facing surface equals the sites lat-
itude. This surface would receive optimum amount of
direct-beam solar radiation over the entire year. If the
maximum solar energy is expected to be received dur-
ing the winter month, the surface tilt angle should
approximately equal the latitude angle plus 11; conse-
quently, the best tilt angle during the summer month is
the sites latitude angle 11. When compared with lat-
itude angle of Carbondale, 3746
0
, it can be observed
that the roof angle of 42 for the Federal Building
was designed for maximizing solar energy received in
fall and winter. In winter the radiation strength
becomes lower. At the same time, the thermal solar col-
lectors lose signicant amount of heat to environment.
Conversion eciency of thermal solar collectors be-
comes lower. However, for a PV system this angle
may not be the best because the eciency of PV mod-
ules increases when the ambient temperature decrease,
such as in winter. In addition, the diuse and reected
components of solar radiation were neglected in the
above analysis. It should be noted that tilting a surface
up from horizontal decreases the diuse radiation and
increases the reection received from the ground which
makes an optimum tilt angle for PV dierent that from
the angle for Solar-Thermal.
Using the climate data presented in Table 1 in the
photovoltaic analysis software developed by Klein and
Beckman, 2001, the PV electricity output from a
954.6m
2
array at dierent tilt angles from 22 to 48
can be calculated. The PV outputs are plotted in Fig. 2
and Fig. 3 for illustrating the eect of tilt angle on
Monthly and Yearly PV output, respectively.
From Fig. 2, it can be observed that the power out-
put increases gradually from January to a maximum in
July and then decreases gradually from July to Decem-
ber. As explained before, Fig. 3 shows that the current
roof angle (42) is not the best surface tilt angle for pho-
tovoltaic PV array in Carbondale. The best tilt angle in
Carbondale is about 30. From Fig. 3 we can see that the
output of PV array rst increases with surface tilt angle
up to an angle of 30 but then decreases as the tilt angle
is increased further.
The surface tilt angle optimization can also be used
to determine dierential energy and cost savings at other
angles. These benets then can be used to oset potential
costs associated with any solar tracking mechanism for
the PV panels. Using the output at current roof angle,
42 as reference, a series of energy savings can be deter-
mined. As compared with the PV output at current roof
angle of 42, the lifetime (20 year) energy savings and
monetary savings at other tilt angles are shown in Table
2. The relationship of surface tilt angle and lifetime sav-
ings is plotted in Fig. 4. Fig. 4 shows the same trend as
Fig. 3. The lifetime dierential saving increase with sur-
face tilt angle until it reaches maximum at the angle of
30, and then decreases if the tilt angle increase. As
shown in Table 2, the lifetime cost savings for the opti-
mal tilt angle 30 is about $4800 for the PV array of
954.6m
2
.
Fig. 2. The eect of tilt angle on monthly PV output.
366 X. Gong, M. Kulkarni / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 362374
4.2. Array size optimization
It is recommended that the PV system in Federal
Building be a grid-connected system. The advantage of
this system is that when array output surpasses the
building electric load, the surplus electricity can be fed
to grid. The electricity sold can be taken as credit. When
array output is less than building electric load, the grid
can supply the make up electricity. It should be realized
that signicant savings can be achieved if the system de-
sign does not include a battery storage system. However,
there is another item to consider. The electricity sold to
the grid fetches about 4/kWh, while the electricity
bought from the grid costs almost 9/kWh (considering
tax and the demand charge) in Midwest region. Moreo-
ver, the average photovoltaic electricity generation cost
is about 12/kWh. Therefore the optimal PV system is
one where the array output matches the electricity loads
very well and the electricity sold to grid is minimized.
Thus the load prole of the building and power output
prole of proposed PV array should always be studied
in combination.
Two years of utility bills (year 2000 and 2001) for the
Federal building were collected. The electricity data was
obtained from these bills. The hourly normalized elec-
tricity demand (kWh/h) during the on peak and o
peak periods is shown in Fig. 5.
Fig. 5 shows that the electric load reaches a peak in
July when the on peak load is 40.07kWh/h and o peak
load is 48.21kWh/h. The load reaches the lowest point in
Fig. 3. The eect of tilt angle on yearly PV output.
Table 2
Dierential energy and cost savings vs. surface tilt angle (array area 954.6m
2
, baseline 420, energy price 9/kWh)
Surface tilt angle Yearly total
(kWh)
Yearly energy
saving (kWh)
Lifetime energy savings
(20years) (kWh)
Lifetime cost
savings ($)
22 136919 1579 31578 2842
24 137402 2062 41240 3712
26 137747 2407 48132 4332
28 137947 2607 52140 4693
30 137995 2655 53104 4779
32 137899 2559 51184 4607
34 137667 2327 46544 4189
36 137296 1956 39114 3520
38 136784 1444 28888 2600
40 136136 796 15912 1432
42 135340 0 0 0
44 134415 925 18504 1665
46 133357 1984 39670 3570
48 132164 3176 63522 5717
X. Gong, M. Kulkarni / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 362374 367
either March or November. It is reasonable because nat-
ural gas is used for both heating and domestic hot water
boilers in this building. Therefore, the load is high in
summer and low in spring and fall.
As discussed earlier, the array size should be optim-
ized according to electric load prole of the building.
Hourly PV output should match the electric load to in-
crease the economic benet of the investment. The out-
put of PV system changes hourly as well as loads. The
electricity generated by PV may be used by the building
totally or partially. In order to study the utilization frac-
tion of PV system, an eectiveness factor is dened. This
eectiveness factor is equal to array output that is uti-
lized by the building over total PV array output, as
shown in the following equation:
f
e

_
365
0

24
n0
P
i
n

24
n0
P
s
n
_ _
dm
_
365
0

24
n0
P
i
n
_ _
dm
12
Here, f
e
is the eectiveness factor for a year. p
i
n
is hourly
PV output, p
s
n
is hourly electricity sold to the grid; n is
number of hours in a day; m is number of days in a year.
The hourly load and daily radiation, temperature and
humidity (Table 1) data are known. These data are ap-
plied to photovoltaic analysis model and the electricity
sold and bought every month can be calculated. The re-
sults are plotted in Fig. 6. The eectiveness factors at dif-
ferent array areas can be determined when the electricity
sold to the grid is known. The results are plotted in Fig. 7.
Fig. 4. Lifetime dierential savings vs. surface tilt angle.
Fig. 5. Electric load prole of the building.
368 X. Gong, M. Kulkarni / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 362374
Fig. 6 shows that the output of PV increases with the
array area. However, the electricity sold to grid begins to
increase sharply when array area is larger than 450m
2
.
The electricity bought from grid decreases with increas-
ing array area. However, the slope of this decrease is less
than array output growth. This can be seen from the
slope dierence of buy line and output line. Fig. 6
also indicates that the output, sell and buy lines
are almost identical when the tilt angles are 30 and 42.
To evaluate how much of the output is used by the
building alone, the eectiveness factor must be consid-
ered. Fig. 7 indicates that the eectiveness factor be-
comes lower when array area increases. When array
area is larger than 600m
2
, the eectiveness factor is less
than 80%. A lower eectiveness factor means a longer
payback time and lower usable fraction of PV array.
To enhance the investment benet, the eectiveness fac-
tor should be greater than 80%. So, the array area of
proposed PV system for Federal Building should be less
than 600m
2
. However, when the array area is too small,
the hourly power output in the daytime will become
much less than the load. A case study has been carried
out when array area is 350m
2
. Hourly output and load
are compared in Fig. 8.
The eectiveness factor at 350m
2
is 0.969. From Fig.
8, it can be observed that for the array area of 350m
2
,
even the array peak power output is less than average
hourly load in August. The situation is the same in Jan-
uary when both load and PV output are least in a year.
This unmatched output vs. load shows that the array
Fig. 6. Performance of PV array at dierent area (tilt angle: 42 and 30).
Fig. 7. Eectiveness factor at dierent array area (tilt angle: 42 and 30).
X. Gong, M. Kulkarni / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 362374 369
area is not big enough and part of available roof areas
would be wasted. Therefore, the prole of power sold
to grid at each month needs to be considered. The
monthly performance of PV array at dierent areas
are evaluated and plotted out in Fig. 9.
From Fig. 9, it can be seen that when the array areas
are between 400m
2
(f
e
= 0.945) and 540m
2
(f
e
= 0.848),
the electricity sold to the grid is kept to a minimum while
ensuring that the peak power output of array is a bit lar-
ger than the load (power sold to the grid is positive).
The roof of the Federal building has three zones
available for PV array installation (Fig. 1). Their areas
are 228m
2
, 313m
2
and 415m
2
respectively. The combi-
nation of any two areas would be 541m
2
, 643m
2
and
728m
2
. There are two feasible options in choosing array
areas. One is using only the southwest rooftop (95
0
47
0
,
415m
2
) for PV array and the other is to use both north-
west rooftop (70
0
35
0
, 228m
2
) and east rooftop
(70
0
48
0
, 313m
2
) for PV array. The second option, with
a combined array area of 540m
2
, is a reasonable choice
for array area because some surplus power output dur-
ing the peak hour can be made by taking advantage of
large roof area available. However, 540m
2
is the sum
of east roof zone (228m
2
) and Northwest roof zone
(313m
2
). These two zones are separated by walls and
stair room. This means that two separated arrays will
need to be built. Considering the module size available
in current market and the dierent dimensions of the
two roofs, we designed several dierent array layout
for these two zones and found that the array outputs
Fig. 8. Hourly array average output and load for the area of 350m
2
(tilt angle = 42).
Fig. 9. Electricity sold to grid at dierent array areas (tilt angle=42).
370 X. Gong, M. Kulkarni / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 362374
such as voltages, currents and power output would be
dierent due to the dimension dierence. The additional
inverter and transformer will be needed if two separated
arrays are built. The connecting wire will also be compli-
cated because these two arrays are separated by stair
room and walls.
Moreover, when the hourly load and output of
540m
2
array is studied, the result indicated that the peak
power output is higher than load. Based on the above
analysis, it is recommended that a single array on the
southwest roof zone (95
0
47
0
, 415m
2
) should be used.
5. System design and consideration
At current photovoltaic market, BP Solar, ASE
Americas, Shell (Siemens) Solar, Solarex and United-So-
lar account for more than half of the United State pho-
tovoltaic market. The types of the modules vary from
several watts to hundreds of watts. The sizes vary from
several square inches per module to 3500 square inches
per module. For the large array areas, the big module
is the best choice. They have the advantages in installa-
tion and maintenance.
5.1. Array conguration
Four large size PV modules in the current market
were compared in order to setup an array of 415m
2
(95
0
47
0
). Dierent array congurations have been
tried, which generated dierent type voltages and cur-
rents. The results are shown in Table 3. According to
National Electric Code, 600V is recommended as upper
limit for open circuit voltage in photovoltaic system.
Further, 150A is recommended as the maximum accept-
able short current for 45kW inverter. Based on above
two standards and comparing the array output volatges
and currents listed in Table 3, we nd that Module 1
may be the best choice. Therefore, Module 1 is recom-
mended for building the array. A 45kW is selected for
the system.
5.2. Grid connected photovoltaic system
A grid connected photovoltaic system is designed as
shown in Fig. 10. The chief components in this system
are: 288 modules of type 1, a 45kW inverter (output
208V), an isolation transformer (208V/480V), an array
combiner, DC/AC disconnect switches, electric meters,
Table 3
Array conguration comparison
Module Size No. of modules Output V
mp
I
mp
V
oc
I
sc
Module 1 41.7
0
93.3
0
288 43.2kW 414V 104.4A 583V 142.5V
Module 2 43.5
0
92.6
0
154 43.9kW 555V 78.4A 745.8V 109.6A
Module 2 47.8
0
89.1
0
297 44.55kW 374V 118.8A 539.5V 162A
Module 3 48.5
0
95.3
0
228 26.5kW 570V 25.3A 927.5V 72A
Fig. 10. Scheme of grid connected photovoltaic system.
X. Gong, M. Kulkarni / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 362374 371
etc. The DC currents generated by the PV array are
organized by combiner to form a more powerful DC cur-
rent. This current ows to the inverter and is converted to
208V AC current. The voltage of AC current rises to
480V after the isolation transformer and then is con-
nected to 480V Building bus by disconnection switch.
The meters in the system record the power generated
by PV array and the power bought from the grid. The
sensors on the roof measure the insolation and climate
data and feed it to data acquisition system, which records
the operational status of PV array simultaneously.
5.3. Operational considerations
Harmonic eect. The quality of power generated by
grid-connected PV systems must meet utility power
requirement in order to be accepted by the grid. The rip-
ple currents created in the DC to AC conversion proc-
esses should be ltered and the distortion of inverter
output current should be within the range of the require-
ments, which are specied in the IEEE 519 Recom-
mended Practice. When a topology of circuit is
selected, the major trade-os that inuence power qual-
ity are the transistor switching frequency used and the
output lter components. Higher switching frequencies
result in higher power quality; however, it is at the ex-
pense of higher switching losses.
The selected 45kW inverter utilizes loop IGBT PWM
drive circuits in converting DC to AC. This unit includes
an AC line lter that removes harmonic currents and
high frequency harmonic current components at the util-
ity system interface to control current quality.
Islanding possibility. Islanding phenomenon refers to
the possibility of an inverter causing a utility island
operation when a utility power outage occurs. An island
condition is dened as grid tied inverter maintaining
operation and supporting a load that has been isolated
from the utility power source. This requires the load to
be closely balanced to the output power of the inverter
as well as having a resonant frequency close to 60Hz.
The requirements are too restrictive to be realizable.
When the frequency of output power of inverter di-
verges far away from 60Hz and become unstable, it
may damage the equipments in HVAC systems of the
building. Needless to say, islanding operation shall be
avoided.
The 45kW inverter selected in this system contains an
active phase-shift-loop algorithm, which destabilizes a
balanced load. Otherwise, the balanced load may be
capable of maintaining inverter operation in the absence
of grid. This algorithm will bring the inverter o-line,
when power outage happens.
6. Performance simulation and economic analysis
Now the output of this PV system design can be simu-
lated using the photovoltaic energy conversion model.
Applying climate data (Table 1), actual array size
361.2m
2
(41.7
0
93.3
0
), array conversion eciency
Fig. 11. Hourly output simulation of the 43.2kW PV system.
372 X. Gong, M. Kulkarni / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 362374
11.91%, and the tilt angle of 42 into the simulation soft-
ware, the performance of this system can be evaluated.
The hourly output simulation of the proposed PV
system is plotted in a 3-D graph as shown in Fig. 11.
The monthly performance of the system is shown in
Fig. 12. From Figs. 11 and 12, it can be seen that output
of PV array reaches peak point in July where the load is
close to the peak of a year. The array output can be used
almost completely by the building in the peak months of
summer. The output peak months of PV system corre-
spond to the on-peak months stipulated by a regional
utility company from June to September.
Performance calculations show that when array tilt
angle is 42, the yearly generation of this system
is 59,622kWh. Out of this total output, about
55,521kWh is used by the building itself and 4101kWh
is sold to the grid. When array tilt angle is 30, the yearly
generation of this system is 60,825kWh (about
56.955kWh is used by the building and 3870kWh is sold
to the grid). Comparing output at tilt angle, 30 with
that at 42, we nd that arrays yearly output at optimal
tilt angle is 1203kWh higher than that at current roof
angle 42. The output dierence between these two dif-
ferent tilt angles accounts for 2.0% of array yearly
output.
The electricity price is roughly 9/kWh in southern
Illinois region; while the average price for the power sold
to the grid is 4/kWh. From the market survey, total
cost of installation of this PV system can be obtained.
In addition, the project does qualify for the grant
of 60% project cost from the Renewable Energy initia-
tive of the Illinois State and 20% project cost from
Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation. Eco-
nomic analysis has been carried out with results shown
as follows:
PV array size 361.2m
2
PV module eciency 11.96%
PV array peak power output 43,200W
Annual PV system output 59,622kWh
Eectiveness factor 93%
Annual benet $5161
PV system expected life 20years
PV modules $165,025
Power conditioning devices $55,400
Support structure and wiring material $47,900
Design and installation $32,400
Insurance, and other cost $24,700
PV system total cost $325,425
PV system cost (after grant) $65,085
System simple payback time (considering grant) 12.6years
7. Conclusions
This paper described the PV energy conversion model
and presented design optimization processes for a large-
scale photovoltaic system on the rooftop of a Federal of-
ce building. A 43.2kW grid connected photovoltaic
system was designed and its performance at local climate
conditions was simulated. The operational problems of
the photovoltaic system were discussed and economic
analysis was performed. Based on the, the following
conclusions can be reached:
Array surface tilt angle aects PV system output.
When azimuth angle of building is zero (Building facing
south), the optimal PV array surface tilt angle is close to
the sites latitude, but somewhat less than the sites
latitude. The best PV array surface tilt angle is 300 in
Carbondale, Illinois rather than the current roof tilt an-
gle of 42.
Fig. 12. Monthly performance simulation of the 43.2kW PV Array.
X. Gong, M. Kulkarni / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 362374 373
To enhance economic benets of the photovoltaic
system, the array output should match the electric load
of the building. An eectiveness factor was introduced.
The utilization fraction (eectiveness factor) for the
power generated by photovoltaic system should be lar-
ger than 80%. Array size shall be decided according to
the available roof area and the eectiveness factor. In
this proposed system, the eectiveness factor is 93%.
Inverter is a key equipment in the grid connected
photovoltaic system. A proper inverter enables the sta-
ble and reliable operation of a PV system. Qualied
inverters should utilize technical procedures to reduce
harmonic eects while satisfying the requirements of
the grid and should also possess the functional capabil-
ity of anti-islanding.
Under the current incentive from the renewable en-
ergy initiative of Illinois State, using the proposed pho-
tovoltaic system to provide electricity for the Federal
building is feasible both in terms of technology and
economics.
Acknowledgments
The grant support provided by the Energy Eciency
Initiative by U.S. Department of Energys Rebuild
America and also from the Bureau of Energy & Recy-
cling of Illinois Department of Commerce and Eco-
nomic Opportunity (IDCEO) is greatly appreciated.
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