Design and performance analysis of a novel office building integrated photovoltaic system

This paper describes a novel office building attached photovoltaic (OBAPV) system consisting of the photovoltaic (PV) array, office building, electric vehicle and power grid. Impact evaluation of three factors is launched, including the photovoltaic module layout, the tilt angle of PV module and the number of energy storage batteries (ESBs). The evaluation results show that the OBAPV system with twenty ESBs, two rows arranged horizontally and 10 degrees PV module tilt angle is more superior. The operation characteristics, energy flow and economic performance of the OBAPV system are analyzed. The analysis results reveal that the OBAPV system has an annual active electricity production of 219 MWh, of which approximately 54.6 MWh is used by the office electrical equipment, and 164.4 MWh is transmitted to the power grid. The OBAPV system has an annual performance ratio of 73.8%. The operation time with average PV module temperature of 0 similar to 45 degrees C occupies 93% of the annual total operation time of the PV array. The active electricity output and energy loss account for 78.1% and 21.9% of the annual total electricity production. The levelized electricity cost and payback period of the OBAPV system are 0.03575 $/kWh and 7.6 yrs, revealing reasonable economic feasibility.