Abstract
A building integrated photovoltaic (PV) and fuel cell (FC) system is proposed for assessment of the energy self-sufficiency rate in a city in Japan. The electricity consumed in the building is mainly supplied by solar panels, while the gap between the energy demand and supply is solved by the FC that is powered by the H2 produced by water electrolysis with surplus power of PV. A desktop case study of using the proposed system in Tsu city which is located in central part of Japan, has been conducted. The results found that the self-sufficiency rates of PV system to electricity demand of households (RPV) during the daytime in April and July are higher than those in January and October. The results also reveal that the self-sufficiency rate of FC system to the electricity demand (RFC) is 15% - 38% for the day when the mean amount of horizontal solar radiation is obtained in January, April, July and October. In addition, it is found the optimum tilt angle of solar panel installed on the roof of the buildings should be 0 degree, i.e., placed horizontally.
Highlights
Fossil fuel reserves are limited and intensive burning of hydro-carbon based fuel sources are impacting on global climate
The electricity consumed in the building is mainly supplied by solar panels, while the gap between the energy demand and supply is solved by the fuel cell (FC) that is powered by the H2 produced by water electrolysis with surplus power of PV
The results reveal that the self-sufficiency rate of FC system to the electricity demand (RFC) is 15% - 38% for the day when the mean amount of horizontal solar radiation is obtained in January, April, July and October
Summary
Fossil fuel reserves are limited and intensive burning of hydro-carbon based fuel sources are impacting on global climate. There is continuous encouragement to increase the penetration of environmental friendly energy sources for fulfilling growing energy demand and to minimize the use of hydro-carbon based power plants. Integrating/installing solar panels on the roof and/or side wall of the buildings is a typical way to make the building energy self-sufficient. Such kind of building integrated that PV systems (BIPV) have been studied by many researchers [27]-[37]. The self-sufficiency rate of power supply of the proposed BIPV system to electricity demand has been estimated in the case study
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
