Self-Use Solar PVCase study

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Project profi le:

Group: Solar BackupLocation: Melbourne, Australia Partners: Setec, NedapProject status: Complete

Overview:

As energy prices increase and feed-in tariffs go down ‘self-use’ solar PV systems are increasing in popularity. Solar customers are now moving towards this type of confi guration so they can take advantage of its benefi ts allowing the user to generate, store and use their own energy. This type of solar confi guration has become far more popular since many of Australia’s feed-in tariff’s have either been reduced signifi cantly or removed completely.

Self-use solar PV works by allowing you to optimise your energy consumption through solar generation, battery storage and grid usage. With a correctly confi gured system you can use solar derived energy at peak generation times and store the remainder of energy in the self-use batteries.

This allows for the system to provide energy from the batteries until a pre-determined depth of discharge (DoD). Any power generated that isn’t either used or can’t be stored in the batteries is then fed back to the mains grid.

Essential to any self-use solar PV setup at home or business is a smart power inverter such as the Nedap PowerRouter. With its unique technology, the PowerRouter controls whether to use the energy directly, store it in batteries or feed it back to the grid. The PowerRouter takes self-use a step further by allowing you to directly monitor your usage using the included software, myPowerRouter.com.

With myPowerRouter.com you have the ability to optimise the use of your own self-generated energy by seeing exactly where and when you use power in your home. myPowerRouter.com will show you how much mains grid electricity you consume and allow you to shift your energy consumption to more effi cient solar generation timeframes (reducing your dependence on the power companies).Product features:

The PowerRouter is available in 5.0kW, 3.7kW and 3.0kW versions. In this project the 5.0KW version was used. Its features are:

• Integrated 24 Vdc lead-acid battery manager• Compact, easy to install, all-in-one system• Compatible with all modern PV technologies, including thin fi lm• 2 fully independent MPP trackers• Monitoring and management via integrated internet connection

A key goal of self-use solar PV is to optimise energy usage, myPowerRouter.com is an essential element. myPowerRouter.com allows you to:

• See your own energy consumption patterns• Manage your consumption usage• Maximise usage of your peak solar generation times• Create your own consumption targets

Project application and outcome:

The project involved 40 x 190W solar panels in two orientations (East and West). The opposite orientation arrays of this 7.6KW system allows for more panels to be added than a North only array. This is evident on solar yield where the peak AC production (from solar yield) on a clear sky autumn day is below 5kW, but the daily production is 30kWh.

The batteries used in this system are OPzV deep cycletubular cell and have been programmed to last more than 12 years with daily discharge cycles. These batteries integrate with the PowerRouter’s self-use mode by only discharging to a depth of 20-30%.

The consumption in most households occurs in the evening, while most solar energy is generated during the day. The PowerRouter gets more out of self-generated solar energy by storing excess power in batteries for later use. The more self-generated energy you use yourself (optimisation of up to 70%), the less dependent you are on the grid and rising energy prices.

Images from left: Solar panels installed on roof, the Nedap PowerRouter, an example of ‘self-use’ data obtained from myPowerRouter.com