A Comparative Analysis of Various Simulation Software for grid-connected Residential Building: A Case Study at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Saudi Arabia receives significant energy daily from solar radiation, making it one of the best places to use solar energy to meet its energy needs. Grid connected Photovoltaic (PV) systems provide the electrical energy available from the solar radiation into the grid. Different simulation tools are currently available used to assess the performance of solar PV systems. The present study was conducted to design and evaluate the performance of 15 kW grid-connected solar PV system under climatic conditions of in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Two simulation models, Helioscope and PVsyst were used in the analysis and the results were then compared. The annual energy production, specific production, energy injected into grid, and annual performance ratio (PR) are evaluated by the software’s around a whole year at the same climatic conditions. Results showed that the maximum annual solar irradiation in May was 2212 kWh/m2. The PR based on PVsyst simulation (78.04 %) was higher than that of the Helioscope simulation (74.8%) by about 4.15%. The maximum energy production in May was about 6.1 kWh. The energy production from the PVsyst and Helioscope is 28.98 and 25.9 MWh/year with 289.8 and 259.13 MWh/year energy injected into the grid, respectively.