Integration of solar energy into low-cost housing for sustainable development: case study in developing countries

Abstract

The United Nations Development Program reported that two-thirds of the world's population will be living in cities by 2050, which would account for more than 60% of the world's energy consumption. Developing countries experience substantial urbanization and informal settlements compared with other parts of the world. This indicates a paradigm shift in the global energy landscape, which heralds an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. According to Indonesia's National Energy General Plan (PR 22), solar panels are expected to cover at least 25% of rooftops. In Uganda, the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) program aims to ensure high penetration of solar energy in the country. This study aims to integrate clean energy into low-cost housing development for sustainable cities in Uganda and Indonesia. We propose an optimal energy system and examine the most significant design parameters that exhibit a desirable performance ratio and energy yield. This project was undertaken in two stages: energy yield estimation and detailed energy system design using two different software programs. Stage 1 aimed to estimate the energy yield based on the available roof area considering existing homes in Uganda and Indonesia. A photovoltaic (PV) array was designed with suitable inverters, tilt angles, and orientations. Stage 2 was intended to determine the optimal tilt angles. Five different PV systems were developed and tested using the optimal tilt angle determined earlier. Finally, an optimizer was integrated into the PV system to investigate potential improvements in the energy yield. The inclusion of an optimizer significantly increased the energy yield from 0.5% to 5.3%. For Uganda, the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) with and without an optimizer ranged

Economic and Technological Efficiency of Renewable Energy Technologies Implementation

“…The levelized cost of electricity has dropped significantly in many developing countries, with current levels of USD 0.29/kWh in Uganda and USD 0.27/kWh in Indonesia, for example [68]. The operating lifetime of photovoltaic panels is estimated at 15-20 years in Australia; after which, waste management must be enforced [69].…”

Study on the Spatial and Temporal Evolution of High-Quality Development in Nine Provinces of the Yellow River Basin

“…Many countries around the world have made different efforts to achieve sustainable development [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42], and high-quality development represents active exploration of sustainable development in China. As the Yellow River Basin is an important ecological barrier and economic zone in China, this paper is devoted to the study of HQD in the YRB.…”

“…Their study found that energy consumption had a positive and significant impact on economic growth in both groups of countries. Thadani and Go [30] researched the integration of clean energy into low-cost housing developments in sustainable cities in Uganda and Indonesia and found that integrating solar energy into low-cost housing was a viable option. Yang et al [31] focused on the impact of energy consumption on economic growth in East African power pool countries and argued that energy contributed to economic growth in general, while non-renewable energy reduced economic growth in the selected countries.…”

Exploring Energy Security and Independence for Small Energy Users: A Latvian Case Study on Unleashing Stirling Engine Potential

“…Solar energy use in households and the commercial sector is increasing [84,85]. The change from energy consumer to energy producer and consumer (the so-called prosumer) and its impact on the way individuals use energy plays a significant role in the case of energy security [86,87].…”