Session 07:

General Mini-Grid
Design Principles

1
 Content
1. System design principles
2. Establish design criteria
3. Design Process
4. Determine system configuration
5. Design iteration and optimization
6. Drawings and bill of materials

2
 System design principles

• The system is safe and meets regulatory requirements.

• The system meets the requirement of the user.
• The provision for anticipated energy demand in near future
• The details of design depends on complexity and cost of the system
• The design is robust and resulted into a reliable system.

3
 Establish Design Criteria

• Upfront or capital cost

• Life cycle cost
• Critical loads
• System must operate safely
• High reliability
• Low maintenance
• Minimum environmental effect (mostly
applicable to the hybrid system)
• System must conform to applicable
standards
• Consideration of the availability of spare
parts and services
• Product availability in the local market

4
 Design Process
Step 1: Energy demand assessment and load profile
Step 2: Solar and temperature data & site information
Step 3: System component sizing
Step 4: Selection of MPPT and matching with PV array
Step 5: Design criteria for array mounting structure
Step 6: Determine system protection and safety requirement
Step 7: Determine cable size and calculate voltage drop
Step 8: Distribution grid network system
Step 9: Prepare bill of quantity
Step 10: Battery bank room and ventilation

5
 Determine System Configuration
Factors to be taken into account while Different configurations for off-grid solar PV systems
determining the system configuration for
an off-grid PV system. • d.c. bus configuration without DG set

• Type of application and appliances • d.c. bus system integrated with DG set in series configuration

• Load size • d.c. bus system integrated with DG set in switch configuration
• Time of operation
• d.c. bus system integrated with DG set in parallel configuration
• Installed cost and maintenance costs
• User-specific preferences • a.c. bus configuration without DG set
• Local regulations/ constraints/ benefits
• a.c. bus system integrated with DG set in parallel configuration
• PV only or hybrid generation
• a.c. bus system integrated with DG set and distribution grid in
• Future expansion
parallel configuration
• Consideration of integration to grid

6
 Determine System Configuration
Sl. No. Considerations d.c. bus configuration a.c. bus configuration
All d.c./ a.c. or mix of d.c. and a.c.
1 Type of application and appliances All a.c. appliances
appliances
2 Load size Smaller Larger
Loads are predominantly operated Loads are predominantly operated
3 Time of operation
during night time during daytime
4 Upfront and maintenance costs Lower than a.c. bus Higher than d.c. bus
5 User specific preferences Less flexible More flexible
Local regulations/ constraints/ Difficult to integrate with the Easy to integrate with the DISCOM
6
benefits DISCOM grid grid
Suitable for PV only and hybrid
7 PV only or hybrid generation Largely used for PV only
generation
8 Future expansion/ upgradation Limited scope Easy to expand/ upgrade
Consideration of integration to Not possible or major modification Possible with minor or no
9
distribution grid required modification required

7
 Determine System Configuration

d.c. bus system integrated with

d.c. bus configuration without DG set
DG set in series configuration

8
 Determine System Configuration

d.c. bus system integrated with d.c. bus system integrated with
DG set in switch configuration DG set in parallel configuration

9
 Determine System Configuration

a.c. bus configuration without DG set a.c. bus system integrated with
DG set in parallel configuration

10
 Determine System Configuration

a.c. bus system integrated with

a.c. bus system without DG set DG set in parallel configuration
integrated with grid integrated with grid

11
 Design Iteration and Optimisation
• Design optimization may include the variation of the
following parameters through iteration:
 Battery capacity
 PV array capacity
 System control strategies
 System configuration and connection strategy
 Battery technology and DOD

• Through design iterations, the following outputs must be

reviewed for comparison:
 Budget matching
 Life cycle cost minimization
 Ensuring all design criteria are satisfied

12
 Drawings and bill of materials
• A variety of drawing types will be involved
in the design of an off-grid PV system. Four
type of drawings are:
• Plan Drawing
• Electrical Schematic
• Wiring Diagram
• Block Diagram

Block Diagram

13
 Drawings and bill of materials
Wiring Diagram
The following information should be
included in a wiring diagram:
• The function of each component
• The wire types, sizes and colours
• The circuits leading to and from
the unit
• The ratings of protective and
switchgear equipment

14
 Drawings & bill of materials

15
 Thank you
Maitreyi Karthik
[email protected],
[email protected]

Centre for Science and Environment

41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi-110062
 Session 08
Sizing
Session 08:
System
Sizing System Equipment
Equipment
Off-Grid PV Systems Design and Installation

1
Design Steps – Mini-grids

PV system design proceed in reverse direction of energy flow

• Step 1 : Load estimation
• Step 2 : Inverter sizing
• Step 3 : Battery sizing
• Step 4 : Solar radiation estimation
• Step 5 : PV panel sizing
Load estimation

Following parameters are considered while estimating load

requirement
• Type of load (AC or DC)
• Number of Loads
• Power rating of each load
• Hours of operation
• Energy requirement per day(wh/day)
Load estimation

Households Number of
Wattage Hr/day Number Wh SME loads Wattage Hr/day Wh
Load business
LED 4 5 2 40 Milling and
1100 3 1 3,300
FAN 40 8 1 320 pressing
TV 150 5 1 750 Welding
2500 6 1 15,000
1,110 workshop
Total energy required per day
wh/day 18,300
Total energy required per day
wh/day
Inverter sizing

• The input voltage ranges in the multiple of 12 volts because power

feed to inverter comes from battery bank and battery comes in 12 , 6
and 2 Volt.
• The total energy required in a day(wh/day) must be divided by
inverter efficiency.
Standalone inverter range
Deciding system voltage

• Inverter input voltage is decided by battery terminal voltage.

• Normally system voltage is in multiple of 12 i.e. 12, 24, 48..96 and so
on.
• High system voltage should be chosen to minimize losses in cables.
• High system voltage leads to more number of panels and batteries,
increasing project cost.
Example

Let us design a PV system for the load profile discuss previously.

19410
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑟 = = 21566.66 𝑤ℎ/𝑑𝑎𝑦
0.9

Let us take system voltage 96 volt

Battery sizing

Batteries are storage devices.

Parameters which are considered while sizing battery bank

• DoD (depth of discharge)
• Battery rated power
• Autonomy
• Efficiency
Depth of Discharge

• It is a measure of how much energy has been taken from battery.

• It is expressed as percentage of full capacity of battery.
• State of charge= Full capacity – DoD
• It ranges from 50% to 80 %.
• For solar application deep discharge(DoD around 80%) batteries are
used
Autonomy

• It is defined as number of days the battery should be able to supply

power to load even when there is no sunshine in those days.
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐴ℎ 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 = 𝑋 ∗ (𝑛 + 1)

X= total charge(ah) required without autonomy

n= number of days of autonomy
Example

• Lets us take
• 12 V and 100 Ah battery
• Battery DoD= 80 %
• Days of autonomy= 2 days

21567 ∗ 3
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝐴ℎ 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 = = 842.46𝐴ℎ
.8 ∗ 96
Battery sizing
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑘𝑊ℎ ∗ 𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑦
𝑅𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝐴ℎ =
𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑚 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑉 ∗ 𝐷𝑜𝐷

21567∗3
= = 842.46𝐴ℎ
96∗0.8

𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦(𝐴ℎ)

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑙 =
𝐵𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 (𝐴ℎ)
842.46
= = 8.42 = 8 𝑏𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠
100

𝑆𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 (𝑉) 96

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 = = =8
𝐵𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 12

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 = 64

Without autonomy
Total number of batteries is 24= 3 in parallel, 8 in series
With 1 day autonomy
Total number of batteries is 40 = 5 in parallel, 8 in series
Sizing of PV panels

Following parameter must be considered for PV panel sizing

• PV module Voltage, Current, wattage

• Solar radiation of a location
• Efficiency of charge controller, MPPT and Batteries.
Peak sunshine hour
Calculate Peak sunshine hour

• Let on a particular day, a particular location receives

radiation Hour
325 w/m2 4
450 w/m2 5
740 w/m2 3
Solar radiation estimation

Estimation of solar
radiation :

5500 wh/m2.day= 5.5 hours

Select a Module..
• Let us take a module of 400 Wp
Series and parallel connection of PV panels
Sizing of PV panels without autonomy
𝐷𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑃𝑉 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑠
𝑤ℎ
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦( )
𝑑𝑎𝑦
=
𝐵𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 ∗ 𝑀𝑃𝑃𝑇 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 ∗ 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦

21567
= = 26625 𝑤ℎ/𝑑𝑎𝑦
.9 ∗ .95 ∗ .95

𝐷𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑃𝑉 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑠

𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑃𝑉 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑠 =
𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 𝑠𝑢𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 ∗ 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒

26625
= = 50 𝐴
96 ∗ 5.5
Sizing of PV panels without autonomy

𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑃𝑉 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑦 50

𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑉 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑙 = = = 5.08~5 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠
𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑒 9.83

𝑆𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 96
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑉 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑆𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 = = = 2.4~3
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑒 40.7

Total number of modules required= 15

Total PV capacity = 6000 W
Sizing of PV panels with 1day autonomy
𝐷𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑃𝑉 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑠
𝑤ℎ
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦( )
𝑑𝑎𝑦
=
𝐵𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 ∗ 𝑀𝑃𝑃𝑇 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 ∗ 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦

43134
= = 53251𝑤ℎ/𝑑𝑎𝑦
.9 ∗ .95 ∗ .95

𝐷𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑃𝑉 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑠

𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑃𝑉 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑠 =
𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 𝑠𝑢𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 ∗ 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒

53251
= = 100 𝐴
96 ∗ 5.5
Sizing of PV panels with 1 day autonomy

𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑃𝑉 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑦 100

𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑉 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑙 = = = 10.17~10 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠
𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑒 9.83

𝑆𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 96
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑉 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑆𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 = = = 2.4~3
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑒 40.7

Total number of modules required= 30

Total PV capacity = 12 kW
Sizing of PV panels with 2 day autonomy
𝐷𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑃𝑉 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑠
𝑤ℎ
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦( )
𝑑𝑎𝑦
=
𝐵𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 ∗ 𝑀𝑃𝑃𝑇 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 ∗ 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦

64701
= = 79877 𝑤ℎ/𝑑𝑎𝑦
.9 ∗ .95 ∗ .95

𝐷𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑃𝑉 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑠

𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑃𝑉 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑠 =
𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 𝑠𝑢𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 ∗ 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒

79877
= = 151 𝐴
96 ∗ 5.5
Sizing of PV panels with 2 day autonomy

𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑃𝑉 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑦 151

𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑉 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑙 = = = 15.3~15 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠
𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑒 9.83

𝑆𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 96
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑉 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑆𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 = = = 2.4~3
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑒 40.7

Total number of modules required= 45

Total PV capacity = 18 kW
 Thank you

Centre for Science and Environment

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Vivek Solanki