Residential rooftop PV power generation to support cooling loads and national targets in Saudi Arabia
Residential rooftop PV power generation to support cooling loads and national targets in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia (SA) has a high per capita electricity consumption, predominantly supplied from fossil fuels. The residential sector accounts for about 50% of total electricity consumption with approximately 70% of which is used for air-conditioning (AC) loads. This research investigates the role of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems to displace cooling loads, hence reducing residential electricity demand. Daily and annual electrical demands were monitored in a villa in Jeddah, and a range of PV systems were modelled to determine their ability to support AC and other household loads. Seasonal performance data of such systems were compared to monitored load variations to understand variability and yields. The monitored electrical demand of the villa was in the range 66-167 kWh/day which was used to estimate the required PV systems' capacities. The results indicate that PV systems in the range 2-10 kWp present significant shortfall to support the full demand. However, a 15kWp system was found to meet the daytime total loads. These results indicate that appropriately sized rooftop PV-systems can shave-off peak air-conditioning loads. The paper discusses the importance of utilising building integrated PV in such applications in SA, and highlights the need for dissemination at scale through country wide policy framework.
solar photovoltaic, Rooftop PV, Cooling load, sustainability
Alam, M.
4ae5e89d-1588-461f-be4c-8bdbc39b8b2c
Alghamdi, A.S.
d83e195d-a09b-44fd-bdc0-1c33d06e0256
Bahaj, A.S.
a64074cc-2b6e-43df-adac-a8437e7f1b37
James, P.A.B.
da0be14a-aa63-46a7-8646-a37f9a02a71b
Blunden, L.S.
28b4a5d4-16f8-4396-825b-4f65639d2903
18 November 2021
Alam, M.
4ae5e89d-1588-461f-be4c-8bdbc39b8b2c
Alghamdi, A.S.
d83e195d-a09b-44fd-bdc0-1c33d06e0256
Bahaj, A.S.
a64074cc-2b6e-43df-adac-a8437e7f1b37
James, P.A.B.
da0be14a-aa63-46a7-8646-a37f9a02a71b
Blunden, L.S.
28b4a5d4-16f8-4396-825b-4f65639d2903
Alam, M., Alghamdi, A.S., Bahaj, A.S., James, P.A.B. and Blunden, L.S.
(2021)
Residential rooftop PV power generation to support cooling loads and national targets in Saudi Arabia.
Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2042, [012097].
(doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2042/1/012097).
Abstract
Saudi Arabia (SA) has a high per capita electricity consumption, predominantly supplied from fossil fuels. The residential sector accounts for about 50% of total electricity consumption with approximately 70% of which is used for air-conditioning (AC) loads. This research investigates the role of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems to displace cooling loads, hence reducing residential electricity demand. Daily and annual electrical demands were monitored in a villa in Jeddah, and a range of PV systems were modelled to determine their ability to support AC and other household loads. Seasonal performance data of such systems were compared to monitored load variations to understand variability and yields. The monitored electrical demand of the villa was in the range 66-167 kWh/day which was used to estimate the required PV systems' capacities. The results indicate that PV systems in the range 2-10 kWp present significant shortfall to support the full demand. However, a 15kWp system was found to meet the daytime total loads. These results indicate that appropriately sized rooftop PV-systems can shave-off peak air-conditioning loads. The paper discusses the importance of utilising building integrated PV in such applications in SA, and highlights the need for dissemination at scale through country wide policy framework.
Text
Alam_2021_J._Phys.__Conf._Ser._2042_012097
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Published date: 18 November 2021
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
This work is part of the activities of the Energy and Climate Change Division and the Sustainable Energy Research Group in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Southampton (www.energy.soton.ac.uk), UK and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, King Abdulaziz Journal University of Physics: (KAU), Conference Saudi Arabia. The work is funded 2042by(2021) Ministry 012097 of Education doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2042/1/012097 in Saudi Arabia through project number 714, coordinated through the Deputyship for Research and Innovation, KAU.
Venue - Dates:
2021 International Hybrid Conference on Carbon Neutral Cities - Energy Efficiency and Renewables in the Digital Era, CISBAT 2021, , Lausanne, Virtual, Switzerland, 2021-09-08 - 2021-09-10
Keywords:
solar photovoltaic, Rooftop PV, Cooling load, sustainability
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 473601
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/473601
ISSN: 1742-6588
PURE UUID: 305b80c6-e1a2-45c6-b81f-dfb18c439371
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Date deposited: 24 Jan 2023 17:47
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 03:15
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Author:
M. Alam
Author:
A.S. Alghamdi
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