Abstract
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has a large solar and wind energy resource. Through its Vision 2030 to exploit such resources, KSA is planning to install 9.5 GW of renewable energy power generation systems by 2030, through a mix of solar and wind energy. The government is planning to invest 109 billion US$ over the next 20 years for solar energy. The focus will be on solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar technologies at a national level. So far, the electricity demand in KSA is almost entirely dependent on fossil fuels for generating power. This paper addresses the potential to utilize the solar radiation resource at a different scale and reduce the power demand from the grid, bringing collateral benefits for householders and the government alike. The work presents the results from monitoring the electricity consumption of two typical domestic buildings (villas) in Jeddah, KSA. The electricity consumption observations were associated with indoor environmental conditions to study how and when cooling demand affects final demand. The study investigated options to serve the observed demand profile of the villas with simulated power generation from arrays of PV panels installed on two buildings’ roofs. Finally, a model of dynamic solar radiation simulation was developed to assess the hourly electricity generation, and a cost-benefit analysis was conducted for different capacity PV systems scenarios. The results indicate that locally used rooftop PV output could reduce the household electrical demand from the grid by around 80% at the housing level and in combination with building refurbishment solutions, could result in additional energy savings. The economic analysis discusses the implications of a proposed feed-in tariff with the associated payback periods and ROI, as well as proposals for PV system deployment at a large scale on the roof of buildings in KSA.
Highlights
Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s largest producers of oil, and it was the 10th global consumer of total primary energy in 2016 [1]
If Scenario 1, as discussed above, is selected, where no feed-in tariff is available and net metering study were kept under uncomfortable conditions, in terms of temperature, relative humidity levels (RH), and CO2 levels
If scenario 2 is selected, by introducing units were kept off most of the day, especially in the unoccupied areas, while the occupied areas a feed-in tariff (FiT) of 0.18 Saudi Riyal (SR), the payback period will decrease to 4.8 years
Summary
Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s largest producers of oil, and it was the 10th global consumer of total primary energy in 2016 [1]. This paper provides knowledge to support this gap, addressing solar power applications in domestic houses in Saudi Arabia It presents data on real electricity consumption, gathered for. Electricity and environment measurements were used to create a half-hourly power demand profile for the villas, to be able to understand the energy consumption behaviour of the occupants. This profile was compared against the electricity generation potential of rooftop PV modules. The results section presents the measurement of temperature, relative humidity, CO2 , and power demand in Villa 1 It presents the solar radiation simulation, the energy consumption profiles, and the power production from solar PV systems. The summary and conclusion present the findings and recommendations for future work
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