JOHN, TEMITOPE MERCY and Covenant University, Theses (2017) DEVELOPMENT OF A SOLAR SYSTEM DESIGN CALCULATOR. Masters thesis, COVENANT UNIVERSITY.
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Abstract
In this dissertation, the development of a Solar System Design Calculator has been explored. One of the challenges faced in the Solar Power industry in Nigeria is the challenge of proper sizing of solar equipment to be installed. The installed solar systems in many homes in Nigeria are undersized; this leads to the underperformance of such systems. This and many other reasons have led to consumer skepticism and reluctance in installing solar power systems for their energy requirement. The purpose of this developed Smart Calculator is to help ascertain; to a large extent, the minimum solar requirement to be installed for any home or business in Nigeria. The calculator estimates the number and wattage of solar panels required, the quantity and rating of the batteries needed, the rating of the inverter and charge controllers to meet any energy requirement. The calculator results are displayed on a MATLAB GUI. The user can also print out the results of the calculator on an excel spreadsheet. The results from the calculator were also compared with Solar Installation catalogs from two Nigerian companies, to check for similarities and deviations. The results show that 52.2% of the measurements comparing company 1 result and SSDC were out of range, while 43.5% of the measurements were within range for panel size measurement, battery size and inverter size calculations and 62.5% and 25% for panel size measurement and battery size measurement respectively for company 2. The calculator was also used to estimate the solar requirement for a rural community for the current energy demand and a futuristic growth rate of 0.8, 1.2 and 1.5% was considered. The developed calculator shall assist solar system engineers and installers, home and business owners and other enthusiasts make better estimates
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Solar calculator, Rural Electrification, Solar Power, MATLAB GUI |
| Subjects: | T Technology > T Technology (General) T Technology > TK Electrical engineering. Electronics Nuclear engineering |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Engineering, Science and Mathematics > School of Engineering Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Mrs Hannah Akinwumi |
| Date Deposited: | 24 Mar 2020 10:29 |
| Last Modified: | 24 Mar 2020 10:29 |
| URI: | http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/id/eprint/13247 |
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