Feasibility Study of a Grid-Tied Photovoltaic System for Household in Pakistan: Considering an Unreliable Electric Grid

Increasing power demands and equally growing environmental problems have lead the people to think, develop, and implement new and clean sources of energy to address both the issues. This article presents an optimal system configuration for reliable power generation for unreliable grid-tied photovoltaic power system for a household in Larkana, Pakistan. The study utilizes HOMER Pro((c)) simulation software along with the required inputs to achieve the set objective. The impact of scheduled and unscheduled power outages, ambient temperature, and PV module tilt angle is considered on the economics of the proposed system. The residential, deferrable, and peak loads are taken as 13.2 kWh/day, 0.52 kWh/day, and 0.6 kW, respectively. Results indicate that the COE of standalone unreliable grid power system with battery storage is 48% more costly compared to unreliable grid/PV system. The proposed system is found to be economically and environmentally more feasible compared to stand alone unreliable grid with battery storage system. (c) 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 38:e13031, 2019