Design and analytical evaluation of a centralized PV power system for a Thai Village

Abstract

A sample village with 100 households in a rural area of Thailand is selected for design of a centralized PV power system with stand –alone type. This paper focuses on the design and analytical evaluation of PV system for a typically rural Thai villages based on climatic data at the design location, daily load demand, I-V characteristic of solar module and so on. Prediction of PV system performance using a computer programme, especially the best matching between the array size and storage battery capacity has been done. The daily electrical energy needs of a village can be broadly designed into four categories, namely [a] for each household, [b] for community centre, [c] for control and battery room and [d] for public used. A mini grid system within the village is designed for a case study the according to the farthest household from a control building. Conductor sizes, types of cable, grounding and lightning conductor have been calculated. Although this design does not minimize system cost mathematically, it gives a feasible design at the practical level on the basis of experiential knowledge