Traditional photovoltaic system and hybrid photovoltaic system: A comparative study for a residence

Abstract

A comparative study was carried out between the costs of a traditional photovoltaic system and a hybrid photovoltaic and solar heating system, in order to evaluate the advantages of a hybrid system. The sizing was performed for a generic residence in the city of Recife with an average monthly consumption of 800kWh. Of this total, 225kWh monthly were consumed by an electric shower. Thus in the hybrid system, the monthly installment of 575kWh will be provided by a photovoltaic generator connected to the grid, and the remainder referring to the electric shower by a solar water heating system. In order to size the systems, the existing literature and the solarimetric data obtained from the CRESESB Sundata were used. The cost survey focused on the most valuable equipment. In this case, the photovoltaic panel, the frequency inverter, the solar collector and the thermal reservoir. Prices were searched from 58 resellers on web pages during the first half of 2017. The hybrid system proved feasible and cost less than the pure system in almost all comparisons, gaining an advantage of between 11% and almost 14% in the total cost. However, aggressively low prices or good buying opportunities compared to photovoltaic panels balance the final cost. Another advantage of the hybrid system is the removal of a high consumption equipment and a low load factor from the electrical system, especially at peak consumption times.