Residential Solar Energy Research Articles

Solar power and policy powerlessness − perceptions of persuasion in distributed residential solar energy policy development

Distributed residential solar energy (photovoltaic) technologies have been praised as a mechanism to not only increase the penetration of renewable energy but engage the community in a clean energy revolution. In spite of this it is unclear how much potential there is for stakeholders to influence processes around the adoption of solar energy, including policy development and regulation. As part of a wider research project assessing the social acceptance of residential solar energy in Western Australia a variety of stakeholders, including public servants, network operators, Members of Parliament, energy advocates, renewable energy industry members and community members, were asked whether they thought they had the potential to influence solar policy. The objective of this research was to highlight positions of influence over policy development. In total 23 interviews with regional Western Australian householders and 32 interviews with members of industry and government were undertaken between May and October 2015. Most respondents believed that they had previously, or could in future, influence solar policy by taking advantage of networks of influence. However, stakeholders perceived as having policy influence did not necessarily demonstrate the capacity to influence policy beyond providing information to decision-makers, namely Cabinet members. Instead, networks of renewable energy advocates, industry and community members could apply political pressure through petitions, media coverage and liaising with parliamentarians to develop support for policy changes. Furthermore, while policies for the promotion of solar energy, and renewable energy more generally, could be implemented at various levels of government, only those policies delivered at the state level could address socio-political barriers to renewable energy adoption. These barriers include: a lack of political will and funding to overcome technical issues with network connection; reductions in fossil fuel subsidies to encourage an “even playing field”; and removal of regulatory barriers for innovative renewable energy solutions.

On the utility death spiral and the impact of utility rate structures on the adoption of residential solar photovoltaics and energy storage

Today, many electric utilities are changing their pricing structures to address the rapidly-growing market for residential photovoltaic (PV) and electricity storage technologies. Little is known about how the new utility pricing structures will affect the adoption rates of these technologies, as well as the ability of utilities to prevent widespread grid defection. We present a system dynamics model that predicts the retail price of electricity and the adoption rates of residential solar photovoltaic and energy storage systems. Simulations are run from the present day to the year 2050 using three different utility business models: net metering, wholesale compensation, and demand charge. Validation results, initialized with historical data for three different cities, agree well with expert forecasts for the retail price of electricity. Sensitivity analyses are conducted to investigate the likelihood of a “utility death spiral”, which is a catastrophic loss of business due to widespread grid-defection. Results indicate that a utility death spiral requires a perfect storm of high intrinsic adoption rates, rising utility costs, and favorable customer financials. Interestingly, the model indicates that pricing structures that reduce distributed generation compensation support grid defection, whereas pricing structures that reward distributed generation (such as net metering) also reduce grid defection and the risk of a death spiral.

A low-cost power management system design for residential hydrogen & solar energy based power plants

This study focuses on developing a low-cost power management system for residential solar–hydrogen power plants. The proposed power management system is designed as a hybrid control system consisting of a microcontroller and a Labview data acquisition card. Most of the controllers have some boundaries for power management, and providing a practical solution for hybrid power plants has some limitations. The proposed controller checks the total energy demand of the hybrid power plant in real time and operates the solar/hydrogen energy based power plant for the local load. The implemented electronic control card monitors the hybrid system and operates the related switches to select the proper energy source for the local load. The proposed real-time management system also provides a low-cost power management for the residential power plants, and the experimental results prove that the developed hybrid power management system is easy to implement and is suitable for residential applications.

Modelling of a Residential Solar Energy Recuperation System Setup

Increased pollution levels have caused damage to our planet. Many scientists are now warning on the long term effects. Green houses gases causes more of the sunlight to be trapped within the Earth’s atmosphere and thus causing increased Earth temperature. Individuals, governments, and private entities are now acting on fixing this problem. One of the most promising solutions is installing an array of solar cells in residential areas. Doing so makes sense for areas with abundant sunlight as the dependency on the grid can be minimized and even completely illuminated while providing a feasible economic perspective at the same time. This paper presents the modelling of a residential setup as a complete system along with an electric vehicle. The modelled components include: Photovoltaic Cells, Home Load Usage, Electric Vehicle, High-Voltage battery as an energy storage, Boost, and Inverter. The presented analysis will help engineers and system designers do better cost analysis. The study can also be used as a basis for maximizing the solar energy usage and perform component optimization.

Comparison of Residential Wind and Solar Energy Generation in the Island of Puerto Rico

Comparison of Residential Wind and Solar Energy Generation in the Island of Puerto Rico

Access and Use of Data Lead to Innovative Ways to Reduce Energy Consumption, Officials Say

Aaron Woro was selling residential solar energy systems in 2006 and performing site surveys in the San Francisco Bay Area for individual rooftops that required precise measurements due to roof geometry and shade from trees. One day, while standing on the rooftop of a large home, balancing a tape measure in one hand and a shade tool in the other, he slipped and fell, crashing through tree branches and bushes that partially broke his fall.

Do Incentives Work?: An Analysis of Residential Solar Energy Adoption in Miami-Dade County, Florida

En el umbral de las predicciones científicas sobre los efectos nocivos del cambio climático, es fundamental promulgar políticas energéticas eficaces que puedan con éxito llevar a la sociedad humana de los combustibles fósiles a las fuentes renovables. En este estudio hemos querido identificar cuáles, si algunas, características demográficas en el Condado de Miami-Dade, Florida tipificaron a propietarios frente a los no-propietarios de unidades de energía solar y qué factores influyeron en su decisión de comprar o no comprar unidades solares. También hemos tratado de determinar su conocimiento de los incentivos. A través de una combinación de encuestas individuales por correo y análisis de SIG de datos demográficos y de propiedad solar del Condado, encontramos diferencias significativas en la propiedad solar y el conocimiento de incentivos basados en ingresos, pero no en hispanidad. Los datos de la encuesta también mostraron una fuerte correlación entre el conocimiento de los incentivos y la propiedad de las unidades solares. La mayoría de los encuestados que compraron una unidad indicaron que lo hicieron por razones económicas y ambientales.

도심 수목이 분산형 주거 태양광에너지 잠재량에 미치는 영향

본 연구는 미국 샌프란시스코시 수목 음영이 개별 건물 지붕 및 옥상에 입사되는 태양에너지 잠재량에 미치는 영향을 LiDAR를 이용한 고해상도 3차원 수치모델을 이용하여 공간적으로 정량화하였다. 최근 분산형 태양광 발전이 기후변화 대응에 중요한 부분으로 주목받고 있으나, 이러한 도심 태양광 발전은 주변부의 지형, 건물, 지붕모양, 수목 등의 음영에 의해 발전량이 제한되는 특성이 있다. 특히 건물 주변의 수목의 경우 도시열섬현상의 저감, 냉난방 에너지 수요량의 절감 등의 순기능과 태양광 발전량 감소의 역기능을 동시에 가지고 있어 두 가지 효용의 상충을 최소화하기 위해 해당 위치에 대한 공간적 분석이 요구된다. 샌프란시스코시 전체 건물 지붕면적의 태양에너지 총량은 년간 18,326,671 MWh으로, 수목의 음영에 의한 감소량은 326,406 MWh로 총량의 1.78%에 해당하였다. 건물지붕의 단위 면적당 일조량은 <TEX>$34.4kWh/m^2/year$</TEX>에서 <TEX>$1,348.4kWh/m^2/year$</TEX> 범위로 산출되었다. 본 연구를 통해 도심 수목에 의한 건물별 일조에너지 감소량의 공간자료가 구축되었으며, 개별 건물지붕에 일조량의 변이를 주변 수목의 밀도, 평균수고, 수고의 분산값을 이용한 회귀모델을 통해 설명하였다. 본 연구는 도심수목의 환경적 순기능을 유지함과 동시에 태양광 발전 감소량의 최소화 할 수 있는 방법을 제공함으로써 지속가능한 도시를 구축하는데 기여할 것으로 기대된다. This study spatially assesses the impact of trees on residential rooftop solar energy potential using urban three-dimensional models derived from Light Detection and Ranging(LiDAR) data in San Francisco, California. In recent years on-site solar energy generation in cities has become an essential agenda in municipal climate action plans. However, it can be limited by neighboring environments such as shade from topography, buildings and trees. Of all these effects, the impact of trees on rooftop photovoltaics(PVs) requires careful attention because improper situation of solar panels without considering trees can result in inefficient solar energy generation, tree removal, and/or increasing building energy demand and urban heat island effect. Using ArcMap 9.3.1, we calculated the incoming annual solar radiation on individual rooftops in San Francisco and the reduced insolation affected by trees. Furthermore, we performed a multiple regression analysis to see what attributes of trees in a neighborhood(tree density, tree heights, and the variance of tree heights) affect rooftop insolation. The result shows that annual total residential rooftops insolation in San Francisco is 18,326,671 MWh and annual total light-loss reduction caused by trees is 326,406 MWh, which is about 1.78%. The annual insolation shows a wide range of values from <TEX>$34.4kWh/m^2/year$</TEX> to <TEX>$1,348.4kWh/m^2/year$</TEX>. The result spatially maps the locations that show the various levels of impact from trees. The result from multiple regression shows that tree density, average tree heights and the variation of tree heights in a neighborhood have statistically significant effects on the rooftop solar potential. The results can be linked to municipal energy planning in order to manage potential conflicts as cities with low to medium population density begin implementing on-site solar energy generation. Rooftop solar energy generation makes the best contribution towards achieving sustainability when PVs are optimally located while pursuing the preservation of urban trees.

Networked Urban Climate Governance: Neighborhood-Scale Residential Solar Energy Systems and the Example of Solarize Portland

With this paper I investigate the role of civil society groups in speeding the urban adoption of green technologies (in particular, renewable energy systems) by creating economic niches, and catalyzing market transformations. I focus on a qualitative case study of Solarize Portland, a community-managed solar energy program that has transformed the local and regional market for solar energy in Portland, OR. This case study is analyzed through the lens of recent theories of public participation that emphasize the multiplicity and complexity of participatory processes in practice. I conclude that—thanks to their flexibility, risk tolerance, and locally embedded understanding of technological change—civil society groups have the capacity to design and implement significant urban sustainability projects. They achieve this by creating niches within the urban landscape that allow local small and medium-sized enterprises to develop and refine their businesses practices; by coordinating novel partnerships between state, community, and private-level actors; and by grounding technological change in the broader social networks that give them meaning and momentum. These findings speak directly to the way that cities approach the complex sociotechnical transitions involved in reshaping urban infrastructure to respond to the challenge of climate change.

Z Source Inverter for Photovoltaic System with Fuzzy Logic Controller

In this paper, the photovoltaic system is used to extract the maximum power from sun to get the dc voltage. The output dc voltage is boost up into maximum voltage level by using the SEPIC converter. This converter voltage is fed to Z source inverter to get the AC voltage. The Z source inverter system can boost the given input voltage by controlling the boost factor, to obtain the maximum voltage. PWM technique which is used as to given the gating pulse to the inverter switches. Modified system is very promising for residential solar energy system. In stand-alone systems the solar energy yield is matched to the energy demand. Wherever it was not possible to install an electricity supply from the mains utility grid, or desirable, stand-alone photovoltaic systems could be installed. This proposed system is cost-effective for photovoltaic stand-alone applications. This paper describes the design of a rule based Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) for Z Source inverter. The obtained AC Voltage contains harmonics of both odd and even harmonics of lower and higher order. Higher order harmonics are eliminated with the help of Filters. Here the impedance network act as a filter to reduce the lower order harmonics obtained in the system. So with the help of FFT analysis this value is obtained to be 15.82%. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijpeds.v2i4.335

Study on the Application Pattern of Solar Energy of Rural House in the Cold Area

China's rural residential energy consumption increase constantly, and explore practical rural residential solar energy application technology, solve the energy problem of heating in winter, improve the living standards of the people, and improve the quality of life, to accelerate the pace of China's overall energy conservation of the building is of vital importance. Through investigation method, the cold areas of the present situation, the rural housing live characteristics, the peasant's living standard, the solar energy application investigated. The sun room types, characteristics, collection hot parts design points are analyzed. At present, the passive solar houses, because of its simple structure, low cost, is suitable for application in rural areas, the highly development prospects.

Microencapsulated phase change slurries for thermal energy storage in a residential solar energy system

Phase change materials (PCMs) are attractive for use in thermal energy storage applications and thermal regulation/control due to their high-energy storage density over a small temperature range. The direct use of phase change materials for energy storage and/or heat transfer applications has been limited due to the low thermal conductivity of the PCM particularly when solidifying on the heat transfer surface. A Phase change slurry (PCS) consists of small micro-encapsulated PCM particles suspended in a carrier fluid which enhances the heat transfer to the PCM. The PCS can serve not only as the thermal storage media but also as the heat transfer fluid, and hence may have many potentially important applications including in the field of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC), refrigeration, solar energy and heat exchangers. A test system to examine PCS performance in residential thermal energy storage applications has been developed to both observe and characterise the thermal processes that occur in a thermal store with a helical coil heat exchanger. These test results will be used to improve the system design and identify limitations when used for intermittent application.

Determinants of pro-environmental consumption: The role of reference groups and routine behavior

This paper investigates the determinants of pro-environmental consumption, focusing on the role of reference groups and routine behavior. We study the factors that explain whether or not people have installed residential solar energy equipment or have subscribed to green-electricity programs, and the factors that influence the intensity of buying organic food. In addition to demographic characteristics and environmental attitudes, we consider the following categories of determinants: economic and cognitive factors (income, estimated price premium, level of information on environmentally-friendly goods); consumption patterns of reference persons; own consumption patterns in the past. Using a unique data set from a survey conducted in the region of Hanover, Germany, we find the following: (1) Economic and cognitive factors are significant covariates of all three kinds of pro-environmental consumption. Their influence is greatest in the case of green electricity. (2) Consumption patterns of reference persons are significant covariates of all three kinds of pro-environmental consumption. Their influence is greatest in the case of organic food. (3) The intensity of buying organic food is greater the longer people have been consumers of these goods.

Sharp for complete residential solar energy systems

Sharp is offering a complete residential PV system with the addition of new inverter: the JH-3500U Sunvista Inverter. With a 3.5 kW output, it is engineered to blend power from up to three input strings. Available in a unique, practical form factor, the JH-3500U meets UL and IEEE 929 standards. This is a short news story only. Visit www.re-focus.net for the latest renewable energy industry news.

Optimum design for residential photovoltaic‐thermal binary utilization system by minimizing auxiliary energy

AbstractPossible designs for a self‐sufficient residential binary solar energy include a side‐by‐side system, a PVT hybrid system, and a side‐by‐side PVT hybrid system. We designed and performed an annual performance simulation of three systems: PV with flat plate collector (PV/FPC), photovoltaic‐thermal hybrid (PVT), and PV with photovoltaic‐thermal hybrid (PV/PVT) including an electrical auxiliary heat pump. In this paper, the solar energy fraction (SEF) or auxiliary energy fraction (AUX) is used as a figure of merit for system evaluation. These indices are shown to be affected by the COP (coefficient of performance) of AUX and by the ratio of the DHW (domestic hot water) load to the annual synthetic load.The best results were achieved by the side‐by‐side PV/PVT hybrid system. Using PVT with PV leads to an improvement of the SEF or AEF compared with the PVT system alone. Glazing is found to be indispensable for the PV/PVT system with an AUX COP of 1, but is unnecessary for a PV/PVT system with a higher COP. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 137(1): 28–35, 2001

Assessing the Impact of Peak-Load Electricity Pricing and the Solar Tax Credits on the Adoption of Solar Energy

An assessment of the impact of state and federal legislation on the development of residential solar energy considers the Energy Tax Act of 1978 and the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 in particular. A model estimates life-cycle cost for resistance electric heat, heat-pump, and active solar energy systems and assesses the impact of these costs of the federal solar tax credit, peak-load electricity pricing policies, and state property tax exemptions for solar systems. The study concludes that the peak pricing policy conserves capital resources but consumes nonrenewable energy, and would overwhelm the solar tax credit designed to promote use of renewable energy. If lawmakers intended to provide a major stimulus to solar energy in lieu of other options, the policy set needs to be reconsidered. 6 references, 5 tables.

Regulatory options for solar incentives offered by public utilities

Utilities are being called upon to accelerate the adoption of residential solar energy systems by providing financial incentives. The form such incentives may take and their cost vary widely. The principal alternative mechanisms are reviewed: 1. (1) bill credits or cash payments, 2. (2) interest subsidies and favorable loan terms, and 3. (3) direct utility investment programs. The relative costs of these mechanisms to the rate payer and the consumer are compared. There are tests of appropriate cost to be applied by the regulators evaluating utility solar incentives. These tests will be reviewed and their application discussed. All solar incentive cost tests require estimates of the marginal cost of energy that utilities can avoid if customers adopt solar energy or reduce consumption. Noneconomic factors influencing the choice of utility solar incentive program are discussed. The principal issues are consumer protection/quality assurance, competitive impact on the solar vendors, and income distribution effects.

Exploring the Consumer Decision Process in the Adoption of Solar Energy Systems

This study examines residential solar energy systems within an adoption and diffusion of innovations framework. The findings indicate considerable differences between adopters and nonadopters on many measures. Multivariate nominal scale analysis is used to develop classification models based on both attribute perceptions of solar energy systems and demographic characteristics.

Toxicological assessment of heat transfer fluids proposed for use in solar energy applications, II

Ten commercially available solar heat transfer fluids as well as three samples of used fluids (an ethylene glycol, a propylene glycol, and a silicone fluid) obtained from operating solar hot water systems were evaluated for acute oral toxicity in female rats and for dermal and ocular irritation in female rabbits. Mutagenicity testing was conducted in the Salmonella mutagenicity assay (TA 1538, TA 98, TA 1535, TA 100). Oral LD 50 values ranged from 7.0 g/kg for ethylene glycol-based products to >24 g/kg for propylene glycol, hydrocarbon oils, and silicone fluids. None of the solar fluids was mutagenic at the concentrations tested nor caused more than a slight ocular or dermal irritation. No appreciable differences were observed in evaluations between used and unused fluid samples. The results indicate that the fluids may be considered relatively safe for residential solar energy applications, although based on toxicity testing propylene glycol should be preferred over ethylene glycol. Trifluoroethanol (Fluorinol 100) was included in these studies because of its probable use as a working fluid in organic Rankine cycle waste heat recovery systems. Trifluoroethanol had an LD 50 of 0.21 g/kg, was not irritating to rabbit skin nor mutagenic in Salmonella, but demonstrated severe ocular toxicity.

Residential Solar Energy Policies: Extent of Public Support

Residential Solar Energy Policies: Extent of Public Support