Performance Evaluation of 5.5KVA Solar Power system in Semi-Arid Climate condition: A case study of Usen community, Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the performance of a 5.5KVA stand-alone

solar photovoltaic system to determine the cell operating factor and

cell efficiency of the system. The stand-alone solar photovoltaic

system was made up of 48V inverter, twenty (20) solar panels of 80W,

12V each, eight (8) deep cycle batteries of 150Ah, 12V each, a 60A

Tristar solar controller, A digital multimeter was used for measuring

the voltage produced by the solar panels and an analog panel meter

for measuring the current produced by the solar panels. The study

was conducted for four months, from January through April, 2022

and voltage and current readings were taken hourly for all days from

6.00am in the morning to 7.00pm in the evening. Maximum power

output, fill factor and efficiency were then calculated. The average

cell operating factor or fill factor for the twenty solar panels was

found to be 0.49 while the average efficiency was obtained to be

9.05%. These values are however lower than the laboratory or

theoretical values