Pre-installation design simulation tool for grid-connected photovoltaic system using iterative methods

Abstract

The paper presents a simple technique in pre feasible design of grid-connected photovoltaic systems for the application in all energy sectors. A user-friendly simulation tool named Pre-Installation Design for GCPV (PIDGCPV) was developed to assist PV installer or any energy consumer in preliminary evaluation on PV system sizing to avoid over/under size of system. The developed simulation tool uses an iterative method embedded in Macro Excel integrated with Microsoft Visual Basic application. The simulation tool covers three constraints, which are space, energy requirement and budget. The iterative method is used for the selection of optimal number of photovoltaic (PV) module and inverter for a proposed system. In addition, a database for PV modules, inverters, and meteorological data for each state in Malaysia is also embedded in the software. The analysis shows straightforward comparison between the simulated result and the actual installed data based on the constraint selection. It indicates that the capability of the developed simulation tool is giving higher accuracy and can be used as pre installation design tool.