Solar panel selection using an integrated analytical hierarchy process and multi-objective optimisation by ratio analysis: an empirical study

Abstract

A solar panel is a vital element of a photovoltaic (PV) system. Hence, it is essential to study the reduction of material costs of a solar panel without compromising the efficiency of it. Selection of solar panel is a complex problem due to the presence of various quantitative and qualitative parameters. This paper deals with the development of a mathematical model by combining analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and multi-objective optimisation by ratio analysis (MOORA) for the evaluation and ranking of solar panels. The AHP method is utilised to fix compromise solution with incommensurable and contradictory criteria, consisting of five potential solar panels and eight selection parameters. The AHP technique is adopted for calculating the criteria weights based on the relative importance. Consequently, MOORA method is used for ranking and selecting the solar panel alternatives. The proposed AHP and MOORA approach is found to be effective for the evaluation and ranking of solar panels as it produces comparable results with VIKOR method. In the VIKOR method, alternatives are ranked based on closeness to positive ideal solution.