Energy management system of a solar powered home.

Abstract

As the costs of centralized energy rise, users are seeking out alternative energy sources to o set these costs. Solar is becoming widely available and can be used whether a home is grid connected or as a standalone system. However, solar isn’t e ciently utilized by users. In most cases such systems are undersized or not optimally designed to match demand, supply and storage. In some cases, the systems are oversized which makes systems expensive and frustrates more users. Thus, there is need to develop a system which guides both users and developers. Some users will only use their solar when mains electricity is o or only during the nights for lighting. A system is therefore needed ensure proper utilization of energy resources and to be used for updating your energy needs from the raw data collected. Solar home energy management reconciles how much solar is generated versus that which is utilized. This ensures solar energy being generated is e ciently utilized by users. Adoption of a Solar Home System with Energy Management promises a signi cant 20% to 30% reduction in saving residential grid energy consumption. Electricity consumption was determined by carrying out face to face and use of questionnaires on various homes. A home was modeled in Simulink to imitate the appliance consumption in a home. There were three home types modeled including a home with grid only, a home with both solar power and grid and nally a home with grid, solar and an energy management system. The power consumption over a period of 24 hours was observed for various scenarios. The results obtained showed that addition of SHEMS to the home reduces the grid usage and signi cantly increases solar power system utilization. Economic analysis carried out with HOMER also further shows that having a combined system with grid and solar reduces the overall cost per kWh of energy. Thus a Solar Home Energy Management system should be installed with solar system deployment in homes.