The operations of domestic stand-alone Photovoltaic (PV) systems are mostly dependent on storage systems due to changing weather conditions. For electrical energy storage, batteries are widely used in stand-alone PV systems. The performance and life span of batteries depend on charging/discharging cycles. Fluctuation in weather conditions causes batteries to charge/discharge quite often, which decreases the operational life and increases the maintenance cost. This paper proposes a domestic stand-alone PV system with Hybrid Energy Storage System (HESS) that is a combination of battery and supercapacitor. A new Fuzzy Logic Control Strategy (FHCS) is implemented to control the power flow of the battery and supercapacitor. Simulation studies are performed with real data collected in Sultanpur, India to investigate the proposed system’s performance (Latitude [N] 26.29 and Longitude [E] 82.08). The results show that FHCS successfully controls the power flow of HESS components to increase the system efficiency. The developed system is validated to provide an effective alternative that would enhance the battery life span and reduce the system maintenance cost. While considering the prohibitive upfront costs for rural systems, such an improvement helps to electrify more underserved communities.

No abstract

This paper presents comparative analysis of old, recycled and new PV modules. It is possible to recycle even very old products by modern standard processes in a value-conserving manner. About 90% of the materials recovered from solar panels can be recycled into useful products. Carbon emission and energy cost are low in manufacturing recycled SPV. Modules can be manufactured with recycled materials and reinstalled in systems as a full quality product with today's technology good for another 25-30 years. Analysis of all the models of PV module is done with the help of MATLAB. This helps in comparison and proves the effectiveness of the recycled PV module based systems.ª 2014 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.

No abstract

No abstract