Professional Documents
Culture Documents
8/28/2009
PHOTOVOLTAIC PROJECT
Prepared for Nicole and Ret Taylor 156 Northeast 59th Street Seattle, WA 98105
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The customers home at 156 Ne 59th St in Seattle, WA has been owned by the current owners since 2005. They were fortunate this house has had no additions and minimally invasive remodels since its construction in 1909. Being its century year, the owners have sought to do an extensive remodel by lifting its 990 square feet main floor off its original foundation, raising it by 3 feet, upon setting it back down. This will double its conditioned square footage by allowing the current basement to become livable space. Conservation measures such as passive day lighting, increased insulation, improved circulation, the addition of a heating system, and replacement of the existing hot water system, and with the possibility of adding solar electric generation will all be incorporated into the remodel.
CUSTOMER NARRATIVE
As a class Project Photovoltaic at Shoreline Community College has agreed to review the analyze of cost, efficiency, feasibility, and return of investment using a roof mounted solar photovoltaic module array.
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CUSTOMER OBJECTIVES
The customers objective is to look into the feasibility and long-term return on investment of a roof-mounted solar photovoltaic array. The owners believe the retail expense of power in the Seattle area is relatively inexpensive. However; both owners believe making decisions for the good of our community for the future, needs to be evaluated. The prospect of current energy prices increasing in the near future is also of concern. And with the incentives being offered by our government on federal and state levels coupled with the incentives being paid by the local power distribution companies for selling electricity to them; generating their own solar power becomes an attractive venture.
Over all else, the owners would like to know if they are getting a good return on investment by putting their capital towards solar power versus investing in a security such as a secured bond or growth equity.
Costs (for a solar electric system) between $8,000 and $10,000 per kilowatt (average residential systems are 1 to 3 kilowatts).
Is eligible for incentives offered by Washington State of $0.15 to $0.54 cents per kilowatthour (kWh) generated (by a solar electric system) with a cap of $5,000 per year (HB6170).
Is eligible for a federal tax credit equal to 30% of the system cost.
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To maximize the PV system investment (by purchasing as little electricity as possible) additional conservation steps will be taken to reduce electrical consumption.
Electrical conservation will be achieved primarily through the migration of thermal loads from electrical to natural gas devices.
LOAD CALCULATIONS
27% less electricity will be consumed due to the combination of these upgrades at an initial cost of about $5,500. A federal tax credit of $1,640 for the 2009 2010 tax years will be earned due to the combination of these upgrades.
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Replace electric hot water heater with high volume tankless natural gas unit
CONSERVATION OPPORTUNITY
ASSESSMENT HARDWARE SELECTION
Solar Availability
What we do know about the Seattle solar window can be explained and analyzed with some basic tools of our solar industry.
One is the SunEye by Solmetric. The second device used was Solar Pathfinder by Solar Pathfinder. Pathfinder provided mathematical precision for accurate shading assessment, solar system sizing, collector placement, and component specification.
SITE ASSESSMENT
Sun Chart: Determination of Solar Exposure
Orientation. Azimuth Angles. Altitude Angles. Completing the Sun Chart Reading the Sun Chart - Client Assistance Memo (CAM) 417 and 420
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SHADING ANALYSIS
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East Roof
96.1%
West Roof
89.8%
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In the City of Seattle, the department of Planning Development (DPD), there are two client assistance memo (CAMs) for solar systems covering both Photovoltaic and Thermal designs.
CAM 417 Sun Chart: determination of Solar Exposure CAM 420 Solar Electric Systems Permit Requirements
Electrical Permit Building Permit
Interconnection and Net Metering Requirements Net Metering Benefits Net Metering Required Forms Installation Considerations Solar Access, Sizing and Performance Mounting Solar Modules Structural Considerations Electrical Considerations
SYSTEM DESIGN
Typical utility interconnected solar electric system (with optional backup battery storage)
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$8,880
$4,440
$1480
$1480 $16,280
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In 1980 the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC) was incorporated as a non-profit organization with the primary purpose being the development and implementation of certification programs and national rating standards for solar energy equipment. A simple installation of several PV solar arrays on this project could use the equivalent sun hours per day based on SRCC certification data as table 1 from the Average Daily Total Solar Radiation for City of Seattle with two tilt angles. The infrastructure of the entire system on your roof needs to meet the CAM requirements of the City of Seattle.
Table 1 Average Daily Total Solar Radiation for U.S. Cities
City
MJ/mday 23 Tilt
MJ/mday 45 Tilt
Btu/ftday 23 Tilt
Btu/ftday 45 Tilt
Seattle
11.65
11.63
1026
1024
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Flat-Plate PV Systems
The most common array design uses flat-plate PV modules or panels. These panels can either be fixed in place or allowed to track the movement of the sun. They respond to sunlight that is either direct or diffuse. Even in clear skies, the diffuse component of sunlight accounts for between 10% and 20% of the total solar radiation on a horizontal surface. On partly sunny days, up to 50% of that radiation is diffuse. And on cloudy days, 100% of the radiation is diffuse. One typical flat-plate module design uses a substrate of metal, glass, or plastic to provide structural support in the back; encapsulates material to protect the cells; and a transparent cover of plastic or glass. The simplest PV array consists of flat-plate PV panels in a fixed position. The advantages of fixed arrays are that they lack moving parts, there is virtually no need for extra equipment, and they are relatively lightweight. These features make them suitable for many locations, including most residential roofs. Because the panels are fixed in place, their orientation to the sun is usually at an angle that practically speaking is less than optimal. Therefore, less energy per unit area of array is collected compared with that from a tracking array. However, this drawback must be balanced against the higher cost of the tracking system .
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I strive to obtain the best price and best technical product for our clients. Moreover, this site could be a net producer of electrical power using any of several systems. Every kilowatt-hour produced will earn at least 18 cents. If the solar modules and inverters are manufactured within the state of Washington the incentive raises to 54 cents per kilowatt-hour. Silicon Energy LLC of Arlington produces such modules, and has been self certified by National Laboratory met this requirement. The new Silicon Energy design array is highly efficient and the solar cells are encapsulated between two tempered glass plates. With 228 square feet of available roof and modules being 16 square feet each, a total of 8 panels could be installed on your roof with an output of 1.48 kW. Panel size: Silicon Energy = 47 inches by 47 inches Power output: Silicon Energy = 0.165 kW per panel
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BACK-UP SLIDES
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INDIVIDUAL PROJECT DURING THE COURSE EACH STUDENT WILL SELECT A PV INSTALLATION OF THEIR CHOICE AND DEVELOP AN APPROPRIATE SYSTEM DESIGN, THIS WILL INCLUDE A SITE ASSESSMENT, SHADING ANALYSIS, LOAD CALCULATIONS, CONSERVATION OPPORTUNITY ASSESSMENT HARDWARE SELECTION, WIRE SIZING, WIRING DIAGRAMS
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This diagram shows a simple parallel circuit to increase current or power. Assume that we are using 12 volt batteries. The power of all 3 batteries add to give us the effect of a battery 3 times as powerful but the voltage stays the same at 12 volts. Parallel wiring increases current but the voltage does not change. This is the wiring used when jump starting a car for example.
The voltage of all 3 batteries add to give us the effect of a battery 3 times the voltage or in this case a very large 12 volt battery. In this circuit the current is the same as the current in just 1 of the batteries. But since the 4 volt industrial batteries are very large, we have in effect created a huge 12 volt battery.
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This diagram shows a combination series and parallel circuit to increase both the battery current and voltage level at the same time. Assume this time we are using 12 volt batteries