See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/317166386

A stand-alone Photovoltaic System Design and Sizing: a Greenhouse Application

in Sabha City: Case study in Libya

Conference Paper · August 2016

CITATIONS READS

10 5,314

8 authors, including:

Kamaruzzaman Bin Sopian Abdelnaser Elbreki

Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS Libyan Authority for Scientific research
1,364 PUBLICATIONS   37,922 CITATIONS    53 PUBLICATIONS   547 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

M.H. Ruslan Ali Najah Al-Shamani

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University
221 PUBLICATIONS   7,561 CITATIONS    55 PUBLICATIONS   1,597 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Optoelectronic Properties of Nanofibres Zn-doped and Zr-doped Perovskite-type as Transparent and Conductive Oxide Films View project

Polycrystalline growth of Ge and SiGe on Si nanostructures View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Bashir Elhub on 26 May 2017.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Proceeding of The 3rd Engineering Science And Technology ISSN 2548 8902 Vol. 3
International Conference (ESTIC) 2016, Padang Indonesia Published Januari 2017

A 013
A stand-alone Photovoltaic System Design and Sizing: a Greenhouse
Application in Sabha City: Case study in Libya
K. Sopian1*, A.M Elbreki1, 2**, M.H. Ruslan1, Ali Najah Al-Shamani1,3, B. Elhub1, Azher M.
Abed1, HusamAbdulrasool Hasan1, M. M. S. Dezfouli4
1
Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Malaysia
2
Electrical and Electronic Technical College, Benghazi, Libya
3
Al-Musaib Technical College, Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University, 51009 Babylon, Iraq
4
Institute of Product Design & Manufacturing (IPROM), Universiti Kuala Lumpur, 56100 Kuala Lumpur, Federal
Territory of Kuala Lumpur
* Corresponding authors: [*ksopian@ukm.edu.my, **nasirburki@yahoo.com]

Abstract During the last decade, there has been an increased interest to develop renewable energy
technologies that could contribute to our ever-increasing energy needs. This concern was due mainly to the
rising price of conventional energy sources and their limited supply. Renewable energy technologies were
becoming, if not immediately at least for the close future, as technically and economically viable and
environmentally friendly. In this study, a design of a stand-alone system for supplying the electrical load for a
greenhouse in Sabha city at remote desert areas in Libya was presented. Sizing each component used in the
stand-alone system that will power all electric appliances at a medium-energy-consumption greenhouse in Sabha
city based on Watt-hour demand were presented. This paper elaborates early research works in this area. In
addition, the costs of all system parts are included and the total cost is estimated. From the results, the most
important conclusion is the cost of running these generators can be quite expensive when factoring in fuel
availability and transportation costs. It is currently not economically feasible to extend the grid to such
locations. The power must be generated locally. The purpose of this work was to analyze the feasibility of PV
power generation for such a remote setting. It is shown that the PV generation system can be competitive
compared to current diesel powered installations.

Keywords: greenhouse: stand-alone PV systems: PV sizing: cost evaluation.

1. Introduction they are installed on a tracker that follows the

The sun provides the energy to sustain life movement of the sun; however, it is an expensive
in our solar system. In one hour, the earth receives process. For this reason they usually have a fixed
enough energy from the sun to meet its energy needs position with an angle called tilt angle ( ). This angle
for nearly a year [1]. Photovoltaic is the direct varies according to seasonal variations.
conversion of sunlight to electricity. It is an attractive
alternative to conventional sources of electricity for 1.1 Literature review
many reasons: it is safe, silent, and non-polluting, Photovoltaic systems represent a silent, safe,
renewable, highly modular in that their capacity can not pollutant and renewable source of electrical
be increased incrementally to match with gradual energy [4]. Harnessing solar energy to power
load growth, and reliable with minimal failure rates electrical appliances starts by converting the energy
and projected service lifetimes of 20 to 30 years [2]. from the sun to electricity. Photovoltaic (PV) is the
It requires no special training to operate; it contains direct conversion of solar energy into electricity. PV
no moving parts, it is extremely reliable and virtually systems can be used to exploit the solar energy in
maintenance free; and it can be installed almost almost all applications. With fossil fuel resources
anywhere. A photovoltaic system is a complete set of expected to be depleted this century, PV Power
interconnected components for converting sunlight systems provide a means of providing electricity to
into electricity by photovoltaic process including the developing world without concern for fuel supply
array, balance-of-system, and load. Over the last security [4]. Today, more than 1.4 billion people all
three decades, steady advances in technology and over the world lack access to electricity. About 42%
manufacturing have brought the price of photovoltaic of the people are from Sub-Saharan African, with
modules down significantly to about $4-$5 per peak over 76 million in Nigeria and some 69 million in
watt [3]. The intensity of the sunlight that reaches the Ethiopia and most of the rest in developing Asia [5].
earth varies with time of the day, season, location, Furthermore, 85% of these people live in rural areas.
and the weather conditions. The total energy on a To improve access to electricity in the rural areas in
daily or annual basis is called irradiation and Libya, a decentralized off-grid extension is
indicates the strength of the sunshine. Irradiation is considered in form of solar PV. An Off-grid PV
expressed in Wh.m-2 per day or for instance kWh.m-2 systems are systems which use photovoltaic
per day. Photovoltaic panels collect more energy if technology only and are not connected to a utility
August, 30th-31st 40
Proceeding of The 3rd Engineering Science And Technology ISSN 2548 8902 Vol. 3
International Conference (ESTIC) 2016, Padang Indonesia Published Januari 2017

grid. The systems use the DC output of the PV addition to an expected enormous increments in
modules to power DC loads, while a bank of battery demand for electricity, GEC is planning to install a
is used to store energy for use when there is demand. new PV plant of 476 MW at Jabal Al-Hasouna, north
The DC output of the batteries can be used of Sabha, as a large-scale power plant for electricity
immediately to run certain low DC Voltage loads generation. Technical analysts have shown that the
such as lighting bulbs or refrigerators or it can be construction of a PV plant introduced new
converted by an inverter to AC voltage to run AC- technologies, created more jobs, reduced pollution
loads that constitutes most appliances. Stan-alone PV and promoted even more investment in solar energy.
system provides affordable electricity in area where On the basis of the rival plants' lifetime of 20 years,
conventional electricity grids are unreliable or non- the PV plant was more economic, due mainly to
existing [6]. In addition, there are also other requiring no fuel and having low operating and
applications to assess PV in cathodic protection (CP) maintenance costs. It is obvious that it was the best
has been made by Saleh et al. [7]. In such cases, the option available to the country when considering
cathodic protection (CP) stations are usually far away future utilities.
from electric grid. CP station may be located more
than 2Km from 11KV transmission line. The total 1.2 Area of Study
PV system in this field was around 300 systems by Libya is an oil exporting country located in
the end of 2005, with total installed PV systems of the middle of North Africa, with 6 million
540 kWp. The second study conducted in 2006 by inhabitants distributed over an area of 1,750,000
Saleh et al. on PV systems was on rural Km2. The daily average of solar radiation on a
electrification source to electrify rural areas horizontal plane is (7.1 kWh/m2/day) in the coastal
consisting of electrifying scattered houses, and water region, and 8.1 kWh/m2/day in the southern region,
pumping, which was done in several sites in Libya, with average sun duration of more than 3500 hours
some of these villages are: MrairGabis village, per year. The national electric grid consists of a high
Swaihat village, etc. The installation of photovoltaic voltage network of about 12,000km, a medium
systems started in the middle of 2003. The total voltage network of about 12,500 km and 7,000 km of
number of systems installed by General Electricity low voltage network. The installed capacity is 5600
Company of Libya (GECOL) was 340 with total MW with a peak Load of 3650 MW, for the year
capacity of 220 kWp. A review of PV technology was 2004 [9]. Despite; there are many villages and
carried out by Jadi et al. [6] in which a survey on remote areas located far away from these net- works.
photovoltaic systems, its installation and applications Economically these areas cannot be connected to the
in Libya between 1976 and 2005 were presented. The grid, owing to its small population, and small amount
review provides a comprehensive analysis of of energy required. In the past these facts dictate the
experience on rural electrifications, social impacts, use of diesel generators as a power supply. For these
and future prospects of photovoltaic in Libya. PV reasons we are pushed to look into some other
system was first put into use in 1976 to supply sources like renewable energy.
electricity for a cathodic protection (CP) station.
Since then; the use of photovoltaic systems is widely 1.3 Problem statement
used in size and applications such as (rural Sabha floats on sea of water and in some
electrification, and water pumping) and a very high areas we can obtain the water at low depth. For this
reliability was recorded. The total peak power reason we plan to build a greenhouse in Sabha city in
installed in Libya was developed from less than 20 order to get benefit from the advantage of the water
p by to cool these greenhouses and can be using for
the year 2005. The study concluded that here is a Irrigation as well. Sabha located in an area rich by
good potential of PV systems which can be used in solar and wind energy resources; so, we can get the
different applications at very low running cost or benefit from these resources to produce electricity at
even no cost at all most especially the solar energy these remote areas.
based PVS. When compared with the diesel
generators in terms of ease of operational 1.4 Objectives of the study
technicalities and power delivery, the PVS is the The main objectives of this study can explain as
preferred option. follows:
Al-Shamani[8]presented thecomponents required for 1. Aiming to design a power system that will
the design of a stand-alone photovoltaic system that produce electricity for greenhouse in the
will power all electric appliancesat a medium- country, such as greenhouses in Sabha as a part
energy-consumption residence in Hilla City. One of of solving the problem of electricity in different
the initial studies on the applications of PV presented desert regions of the country.
by Eljrushi, Zubia[7] had introduced a proposal and 2. To determine the optimal configuration of power
recommended the construction of a photovoltaic sources relevant to greenhouse.
power plant (PVPP) near Sebha city, this is due to 3. To sizing each components used in the stand-
the fact that Libya has limited fossil fuel resources in alone system based on Watt-hour demand.

August, 30th-31st 41
Proceeding of The 3rd Engineering Science And Technology ISSN 2548 8902 Vol. 3
International Conference (ESTIC) 2016, Padang Indonesia Published Januari 2017

4. To design of a stand-alone photovoltaic system

that will power all electric appliances at a 2.3 Sizing the PV solar array
medium energy consumption greenhouse in To calculate the array size needed to meet
Sabha city. our predicted energy consumption, divide the daily
kWh consumption by the average daily peak sun-
hours to get the approximate array size in Kw. That
2. Material and Method efficiency
The electrical greenhouse (loads) available factor:
at the proposed greenhouse in Sabha city were first
itemized with their power ratings and time of
operation during the day to obtain the total energy
demand in Watt-hour per day. The total energy
demand obtained was then used to determine the
proposed stand-alone photovoltaic system
components sizes. The total DC current (Idc) needed can be calculated
by dividing the peak power by the DC- voltage of the
2.1 Basic design elements of greenhouse in Sabha system [12].
city
The greenhouse is assumed to be located in
Sabha Libya with optimum tilt angle is 30o. Photo of
the 39 m x 9.0 m with an area 351m2 with its long
dimension or ridge a long a north-south line. The Modules must be connected in series and parallel
greenhouse constructed of metal framing and according to the need to meet the desired voltage and
fiberglass covering while the fan and pad evaporative current in accordance with:
cooling system was used for cooling. Ventilation was First the number of series modules which equals
achieved by two exhaust fans located on the south- the DC voltage of the system divided by the
end of the greenhouse, and incoming air was forced rated voltage of each module Vr[13].
through 12 m2 (2m*6m) of 10 cm thick cooling pads
set on the north end of the greenhouse. The rated
ventilation rate for each of the two fans was
36000m3/hr.The geographical location of the Sabha
city makes it one of the relatively sun-rich regions in Second, the number of parallel modules which
the globe. It is located in southern region of Libya; it equals the whole modules current divided by the
has a geographic coordinate that reads 27°01' North rated current of one module Ir[13].
latitude and 14°26' E East longitude with an annual
average incident solar irradiance of about
5.49kWh/m2/day. The available global horizontal
radiation on the North Western Africa is shown in
Fig.1[10]. Or we can calculate the Np by using equation (6)
[14].

Finally, the total number of modules Nm equals

the series modules multiplied by the parallel
ones:

Nm = No of series modules × No of parallel

modules = Ns * Np (7)

Fig.1 Insolation Map of North Africa[10] 2.4 Sizing of the Battery Bank
The battery type recommended for using in
2.2 Determining the power consumption demands solar PV system is deep cycle battery. Deep cycle
The first step in designing a solar PV system battery is specifically designed for to be discharged
is to find out the total power and energy consumption to low energy level and rapid recharged or cycle
of all loads that need to be supplied by the solar PV charged and discharged day after day for years. The
system by adding the Watt-hours needed for all battery should be large enough to store sufficient
appliances together to get the total Watt-hours per energy to operate the appliances at night and cloudy
day which must be delivered to the appliances [11]. days [15]. The amount of rough energy storage

August, 30th-31st 42
Proceeding of The 3rd Engineering Science And Technology ISSN 2548 8902 Vol. 3
International Conference (ESTIC) 2016, Padang Indonesia Published Januari 2017

required is equal to the multiplication of the total

power demand and the number of autonomy days
[15]. The term days of autonomy means the number Then number of parallel paths (Np) is obtained
of days a battery bank can provide the appliances you by dividing the total number of batteries by the
have connected to the system without a recharged by number of batteries connected in series [11]:
the solar panels.

Erough = Energy storage required * No of autonomy

days = E *D (8)
For safety, the result obtained is divided by the
maximum allowable level of discharge (MDOD)
[15]: 2.5 Sizing the voltage regulator
According to its function on controls the
flow of current. A good voltage regulator must be
able to withstand the maximum current produced by
the array as well as the maximum load current.
Sizing of the voltage regulator can be obtained by
multiplying the short circuit current of the modules
At this moment, we need to make a decision connected in parallel by a safety factor (Fsafe). The
regarding the rated voltage of each battery (Vb) to be result gives the rated current of the voltage regulator
used in the battery bank. The capacity of the battery (I) [15]:
bank needed in ampere-hours can be evaluated by
dividing the safe energy storage required by the DC I = Np* Isc* Fsafe (14)
voltage of one of the batteries selected [15]:
The factor of safety is employed to make sure that
the regulator handles maximum current produced by
the array that could exceed the tabulated value. And
to handle a load current more than that planned due
to addition of equipment, for instance. In other
words, this safety factor allows the system to expand
According to the number obtained for the slightly.
capacity of the battery bank, another decision has to
be made regarding the capacity (Cb) of each of the 2.6 Sizing the inverter
batteries of that bank. The battery bank is composed An inverter is used in the system where AC power
of batteries that are connected in series and in output is needed. The input rating of the inverter
parallel according to the selected battery voltage should never be lower than the total watt of
rating and the system requirements. The total number appliances. The inverter must have the same nominal
of batteries is obtained by dividing the capacity (C) voltage as your battery. For stand-alone systems, the
of the battery bank in ampere-hours by the capacity inverter must be large enough to handle the total
of one of the battery (Cb) selected in ampere-hours amount of Watts that will be using at one time. The
[11]: inverter size should be 25-30% bigger than total
Watts of appliances [15]. In case of appliance type is
motor or compressor then inverter size should be
minimum 3 times the capacity of those appliances
and must be added to the inverter capacity to handle
surge current during starting.
The connection of the battery bank can be then
2.7 Demand loads
easily figured out. The number of batteries in series
Table 1 presents the AC loads used by the
(Ns) equals the DC voltage of the system divided by
proposed greenhouse with their power ratings and
the voltage rating of one of the batteries selected
time of operation during the day to obtain the
[11]:
average energy demand inWatt-hour per day as
follows:

August, 30th-31st 43
Proceeding of The 3rd Engineering Science And Technology ISSN 2548 8902 Vol. 3
International Conference (ESTIC) 2016, Padang Indonesia Published Januari 2017

Table 1 Greenhouse Loads and Daily Energy

Appliance K1 K2 K3= (K1*K2) K4 K5=(K3*K4)

Rated Power Quantity power (W) Hours per day Energy per day
(Watt) used
Fluorescent Lamps 15 10 150 10 1500
TV and Recorder 150 1 150 16 2400
Refrigerator 100 1 100 24 2400
Computer with accessories 125 1 125 10 1250
Heater 2500 1 2500 8 20000
Circulation Pump (0.75Hp) 59 1 59 16 944
Air Fans (1.5Hp) 1000 2 2000 16 32000
Water pump 350 1 350 4 1400
Total energy demand per day (sum of K5) 61,894kwh/day
Maximum AC power requirement (sum of K3) 5434W
Total summer 2934W
Total winter 5334

3. Consumption AC wiring derate of 0.98 and 0.99; module soiling

derate = 0.95; module mismatch derate = 0.98;
Case Study: Build a Greenhouse in Sabha-City system availability derate = 0.99.
Overall system efficiency factor = 0.95 * 0.96 * 0.88
3.1 Sizing the PV array
For sizing the PV array we have to find the following * 0.98 * 0.99 * 0.95 * 0.98 * 0.99 = 0.72
factors: the total daily energy required in Watt-hours Then,
(E) which is equal to 61,894KWh/day from table 1,
the minimum peak sun-hour per day T min=5.5, and
the dc-voltage of the system VDC =24v. Once these
factors are available we move to the sizing process = KW
staring from Eq (1-7). To avoid under sizing, losses The total current needed for a DC- voltage of 24 is:
must be considered by dividing the total power
demand in (Wh/day) by the product of efficiencies of
all components in the system to get the required
energy. To calculate the array size needed to meet
our predicted energy consumption, divide the daily According to the selected panel Mitsubishi PV-
kWh consumption by the average daily peak sun- MF180UD4 poly-crystalline 180W, 24V, 7.45A, the
hours to get the approximate array size in (kW). That number of panels connected in series are:

factor:

The numbers of panel connected in parallel are:

To calculate the power needed from the PV array we So, the number of panels needed is:
have to divide the average daily power consumption 2*43 = 86 modules
by the overall system efficiency factor as follows: With total cost:
The efficiency factor can be obtained based on the Total cost= 86 * 120$= 10320$.
following assumptions: average solar access of 95%
(shading derate factor); inverter efficiency of 96%; 3.2 Sizing of battery bank
module temperature derate factor of 0.88; DC and
August, 30th-31st 44
Proceeding of The 3rd Engineering Science And Technology ISSN 2548 8902 Vol. 3
International Conference (ESTIC) 2016, Padang Indonesia Published Januari 2017

The minimum number of days of autonomy that PV array and batteries. A good voltage regulator
should be considered is taking as 3.5 days and the must have enough capacity to handle the current
maximum allowable depth of discharge is taken as from PV array.
75%. Batteries used in all solar systems are sized in
ampere hours under standard test condition of 25oC.
Battery manufacturers usually specify the maximum
allowable depth of discharge for their batteries. The
depth of the discharge is a measure of how much of
the total battery capacity has been consumed. The
amount of energy storage required is:

Fig.3 Xantrex C Series - C35, C40 & C60 Charge

Controllers

In our design, the safety factor Fsafety is taken to

be=1.25and the short circuit current for the selected
module isIsc=8.03A. The rated current (I) of the
The capacity of the battery bank in ampere-hours regulator is given by:
I = Nmp*Isc * Fsafe = 4 * 8.03 *1.25 = 41A
required assuming we select a battery voltage of 12 Based on the selected regulator type (Xantrex C-60,
V is: 24-V, 60-A, and a price of $140) [33]. The number
of regulators required is:

Nreg =41/60=0.68 1 voltage regulator.

According to the selected battery type (Rolls series
4000 batteries, 12MD410P) as shown in Fig.2 and In this case we need eight regulators connected in
the price of each one is $165). parallel with a total cost

Total cost = 1 * $140 = $140.

3.4 Sizing of the Inverter

In sizing the inverter, the actual power drawn from
the appliances that will run at the same time must be
determined as first step. Secondly, we must consider
the starting current of large motors by multiplying
their power by a factor of 3. Also to allow the system
to expand, we multiply the sum of the two previous
values by 1.25 as a safety factor [11].
Fig. 2 Rolls 12EHG375P Series 4000 The power of appliances running simultaneously:

The number of batteries needed is: Prs= (10*15+150+100+59+125) =584W

Nbatteries=6078/410 16 batteries. And the appliances with large surge currents that
include motors are:
With DC-voltage of 48 V, the number of batteries in
series is: PLsc = [2500+2000 +350] *3 = 14550W
Nsbatteries= Vsystem/Vbattery = 48/12=4 batteries.
The input rating of the inverter should never be lower
Nparallel branch =Nbatteries/Nseries=16/4= 4batteries. than the total watt of the appliance.

So, With DC-voltage of 48 V, four parallel branches Ptot = (584 +14550) * 1.25 = 18.918kW
are established according to the equation Np= 4 each =18.92KVA.
branch contains 4 series batteries. The storage
batteries price amounts to $2640. The inverter to be used for this system should be able
to handle about 18.92KVA and nominal voltage of
3.3 Sizing of the Voltage Regulator 48VDC, and the list price for this inverter is
The voltage regulator as shown in Fig.3 is typically 2200$ [35].
rated against amperage and voltage capacities. The
voltage regulator is selected to match the voltage of 3.5 Sizing of the system wiring

August, 30th-31st 45
Proceeding of The 3rd Engineering Science And Technology ISSN 2548 8902 Vol. 3
International Conference (ESTIC) 2016, Padang Indonesia Published Januari 2017

By selecting the perfect size and type of wire this

will improve the performance of the system and This means any copper cable of cross sectional
reliability as well. The DC wires linking between the area39.33mm2, 438A and resistivity m
PV modules and the batteries through the voltage can be used for the wiring between the battery bank
regulator must be handle the maximum current and the inverter.
produced from these modules.
Calculating of cable size between the inverter and
Calculating of cable size for PV modules through the the load
batteries voltage regulators Let the maximum length of cable Lcable=20m. The
The max current can be calculated as following: maximum current from inverter at full load on the
phase (line) is given by [14]:
Imax= Np* Isc* Fsafe = 4 * 8.03*1.25 = 41A
,
The cross sectional area of the cable is given by the
equation [14]:
and the maximum voltage drop

Where, This means any copper cable of cross sectional

area , 50A and resistivity m
m according to American wire gauge (AWG) can be used for the wiring between the inverter and
and the cable length assumed to be 1m. The the load. The whole system wiring configuration
maximum voltage drop for the Dc wiring is taken not simulated as shown in Fig.4for the designed
to exceed the 4% [14]. And can be calculated by the proposed system.
following formula:

This means any copper cable of cross sectional

area , 41A and resistivity m
can be used for the wiring between PV modules and
batteries through the voltage regulator.

Calculating of cable size between the battery bank Fig.4 Wire configuration
and the inverter
In case of calculating the size of the AC- wire 4. Summary to the system components
from the inverter to the electric panel of the The results obtained from the sizing of the proposed
greenhouse we have to make sure that it will stand-alone system can me summarized as shown in
withstand the maximum current produced by the Table 2.
inverter output. The current is given by the following
formula for a rated AC voltage of 220Vac at power Table 2. Summary to the system components
factor of 80% [17]. Description of the
Component Result
component
Load
Total load estimated 61,894kwh/day
estimation
Capacity of PV
The maximum voltage drop (Vd) for the AC wiring is kW
array
taken not to exceed the 4%: Number of modules
2
in series
PV array
Number of modules
43
in parallels
Total number of
By assuming the cable length L=5m we can 86
modules
determine the cable size as follows: Battery Battery bank
6078Ah
bank capacity

August, 30th-31st 46
Proceeding of The 3rd Engineering Science And Technology ISSN 2548 8902 Vol. 3
International Conference (ESTIC) 2016, Padang Indonesia Published Januari 2017

Number of batteries 4 Capacity of the

Inverter 18.9KVA
in series inverter
Number of batteries Between the PV
4
in parallel modules and the ,
Total number of batteries through 41A
16
batteries required voltage regulators
Wires
Capacity of voltage Between the battery ,
41A
Voltage regulator bank and inverter 438A
regulator Number of voltage Between the inverter
1 , 50A
regulators required and the load
The equipment's used to build up the stand-alone photovoltaic system for the suggested greenhouse described
above are summarized with some details and specifications in Table

Table 3 Summarized of the equipment's used

Size Unit price Warranty
Component Type Component Rating Weight
US$ Year
W/Ah A V
Mitsubishi
MF180 UD4 7.4
PV panel 180W 24 1658 *834 * 46mm 120 17kg 25
poly- 5
crystalline
Rolls
12EHG375P 310H *337W* 105kg
Batteries 410Ah - 12 165 1
Series 4000 552L (mm)

Xantrex C 25.4 cm *12.7 cm

Regulator - 60 24 140 1.4kg 2
Series - C60 * 6.35 cm
Pan power 48/220/
Inverter 670*330*695mm 3
SSI20KVA 20KW - 380 2200 39kg

Cost estimated of the designed system BOS Cost = 20% of total price = 20% * 15300=
3060$
is summarized in Table 4 and has been calculated The operating costs for solar PV installations are
as follows: negligible, but the annual maintenance cost may
Cost per Component = Quantity * Unit price amount to 0.5% to 1% of the capital cost of the
From Table 4 other Balance of System Component system.
(BOS) can be calculated as follows: Maintenance cost of the PV system= 0.5% *

Table 4
Component Type Quantity Unit price $ Cost per component ($)
PV panel Mitsubishi MF180 UD4 poly- 86 120 10320
crystalline
Batteries UB-8D Absorb Glass Mat 16 165 2640
(AGM)
Regulator Xantrex C Series - C60 1 140 140
Inverter Panpower SSI20KVA 1 2200 2200
Total price 15300
Other BOS costs such as 3060
(Wires, fuses, circuit breakers, etc.)
PV system Maintenance cost 100
Overall cost 18460$
The greenhouse has a 4KW diesel generator used
Estimated Cost of the Fuel (Diesel) Generator used to charge the batteries when no sun is available.
by Greenhouse in Sabah City The hours used estimated to be equal to 5 hours.

August, 30th-31st 47
Proceeding of The 3rd Engineering Science And Technology ISSN 2548 8902 Vol. 3
International Conference (ESTIC) 2016, Padang Indonesia Published Januari 2017

The total estimated hours used per annum and batteries through the voltage regulators must
= 5 * 365 = 1825 hours withstand the maximum current produced by these
modules. This current is 41A, and the optimum
The total estimated fuel (diesel) wire type for this current is any copper wire of
consumptions per hour = 3 liters per hour cross sectional area 1.47mm2. The DC wire
The total estimated fuel (diesel) between the batteries and the inverter must
consumptions per annum = 3 * 1825 = withstand the maximum current from battery at full
5475 liters load supply. This current is 438A, and any copper
Cost of diesel with transportation = 0.5$ wire of cross sectional area 39.33 mm2 can be used.
The total estimated cost of fuel (diesel) The AC wire from the inverter to the load must
used per annum = 0.5$ * 5475 = 2738$ withstand the maximum current produced by the
inverter. This current is 50 A, and the optimum
The total estimated cost of maintenance
wire type for this current is any copper wire of
per annum = 200$
cross sectional area 4mm2. It can be observed from
The total running cost per annum = 2738
Table 4 that the modules, the batteries and the
+200 = 2938$
inverter are the most costly components of an off
Cost of purchase of generator = 800$. grid photovoltaic system. Increasing the size of
So, the total estimated cost of the diesel and the these components will increase the overall cost of
generator for the first year is
the system. A cost estimate of the system provides
the payback period of the system is estimated to be
=2938 + 800 = 3738 $
5 years.
Payback period calculation
The payback calculation is calculated using the 6. Conclusion
following equation: In this study, the electrical energy demand
(load) of greenhouse at Sabha city in Libya was
estimated. The estimated load is 61,894kWh/ day.
System sizing and specifications were provided
based on the estimated load. There results show
that a 15.6kW PV array capacity of 86 modules, 16
(12V, 375Ah) batteries, 18.9KVA, 48V inverter
and 60A, 24Vvoltage regulator are needed to
5. Discussions supply the electrical load of the greenhouse. The
The daily electrical energy demand (load) proposed off grid PV system requires copper wires
for a greenhouse in Sabha city was estimated based of cross-sectional area 1.47mm2, 39.33 mm2 and 4
on the watt-hour rating of the appliances mm2 for its installation. The cost of the system
considered. The results of the estimated daily estimated is relatively high but when we compared
energy demand are shown in Table 1. The to the lifespan of the selected PV modules which is
estimated load is 61,894kWh/ day. The proposed 25 years it would be satisfied. The recommendation
stand-alone PV system was designed based on the would be that the system can be made utility-
estimated load. The results as shown in Table 2 interactive to enable the purchase of surplus solar
show that greenhouse requires 86 panels type energy from users. The most important conclusion
Mitsubishi MF180 UD4 Poly-crystalline, 180W, is the cost of running these generators can be quite
24V to produce a PV array capable of generating expensive when factoring in fuel availability and
15.6kW of electrical energy for the greenhouse. transportation costs. It is currently not
The parallel and series configurations of the economically feasible to extend the grid to such
resulted PV array are 43 modules and 2 modules to locations. The power must be generated locally.
produce the required current and voltage The purpose of this work was to analyze the
respectively (Table 2). For storage of energy for feasibility of PV power generation for such a
use when there is demand, the greenhouse requires remote setting. It is shown that the PV generation
16 of Rolls 12EHG375P Series 4000 batteries of system can be competitive compared to current
battery bank capacity 6078Ah diesel powered installations.
which comprises 4 batteries in parallel and 4
batteries in series. To safely charge the batteries 7. References
and to maintain longer lifetime for them, the [1] Messenger R, Abtahi A. Photovoltaic
greenhouse requires a voltage regulators of systems engineering: CRC press; 2010.
capacity 41A. The capacity of the inverter required [2] Markvart T. Solar electricity: John Wiley &
by the proposed system to convert its DC current to Sons; 2000.
AC current is 18.9kVA. The resistivity of the [3] Patel MR. Wind and solar power systems:
copper wire selected for this design is design, analysis, and operation: CRC press;
m. The DC wires between the PV modules 2005.

August, 30th-31st 48
 Proceeding of The 3rd Engineering Science And Technology ISSN 2548 8902 Vol. 3
International Conference (ESTIC) 2016, Padang Indonesia Published Januari 2017

[4] Bockris JOM, Reddy AK. Modern

Electrochemistry 2B: Electrodics in
Chemistry, Engineering, Biology and
Environmental Science: Springer Science &
Business Media; 2001.
[5] Ishaq M, Ibrahim U, Abubakar H. Design Of
An Off Grid Photovoltaic System: A Case
Study Of Government Technical College,
Wudil, Kano State. International Journal of
Technology Enhancements and Emerging
Engineering Research. 2013;2:175-81.
[6] Al-Jadi ISI, EKhlat M, Krema N.
PHOTOVOLTAIC IN LIBYA
APPLICATIONS, AND EVALUATION.
The International Conference on Renewable
Energy for Developing Countries-20
Available: http://www udc
edu/docs/cere/PHOTOVOLTAIC% 20IN%
20LIBYA pdf.
[7] Eljrushi GS, Zubia J. Photovoltaic power
plant for the southern region of Libya.
Applied energy. 1995;52:219-27.
[8] Al-Shamani AN, Othman MYH, Mat S,
Ruslan M, Abed AM, Sopian K. Design &
Sizing of Stand-alone Solar Power Systems
A house Iraq. 2015.
[9] Saleh IM. Prospects of renewable energy in
Libya. Solar Physics and Solar Eclipses
(SPSE 2006)2006. p. 153-61.
[10] Nizam M, Anwar M, Salema AA, Baieka
MM, Esmaio AE, Atia HM. Optimization of
surface orientation angles to receive
maximum solar radiation at Sabha city,
Libya. Proceedings of the Joint
International Conference on Electric
Vehicular Technology and Industrial,
Mechanical, Electrical and Chemical
Engineering (ICEVT & IMECE): IEEE;
2015. p. 206-11.
[11] Almansuri A, Dowdle D, Curwell S. The
Effects of Passive Design and Renewable
Energy in Producing Low Energy Efficiency
Architecture and Special Identity (Case
Study Libyan Desert Zone Ghadames).
[12] www.solarexpert.com.
[13] Strong SJ, Scheller WG. The Solar Electric
House: Energy for the Environmentally
Responsive. Energy-Independent Home
Sustainability Press, Massachusetts. 1993.
[14] Almansuri A, Dowdle D, Curwell S. The
Effects of Passive Design and Renewable
Energy in Producing Low Energy Efficiency
Architecture and Special Identity (Case
Study Libyan Desert Zone Ghadames).
2015.
[15] Abu-Jasser A. A stand-alone photovoltaic
system, case study: a residence in Gaza.
Journal of Applied Sciences in
Environmental Sanitation. 2010;5:81-91.

August, 30th-31st 49

View publication stats