Practical Troubles and Safeguards

149

Chapter 12

PRACTICAL TROUBLES AND SAFEGUARDS

12.1 Technology Perspective

A complete PV system comprises of several components that are essential to the safe operation of the system. Each component requires safe operational standard for long and useful life of the system. Some components are more prone to hazards than the others, and the user must become familiar to them in order to avoid problems arising from incorrect usage. There are two types consumer for solar PV application in the rural area. With a solar PV lighting system, the rural commercial enterprise can extend the working hours in the shop and also occasionally use a radio cassette player. For the rural home the use of the solar PV system would be primarily for evening lighting, in addition to watch Television. Both of these users are interested in un-interrupted reliable service from the system. Due to lack of information about the system in use, sometimes their expectation higher, causing overall disappointment. Such situation can be avoided through adequate information on the hardware in use. Use of Batteries

Battery use for every day and special event is widespread in rural Bangladesh. Most common uses are in flashlight and radios. About 23% of households earning more than Tk 2000 per month are using batteries rated 12V, 9V and 6V. These rechargeable lead acid batteries are used mainly for watching TV, RCP, and Microphone etc. These are generally reconditioned auto batteries with no warranty. On the other hand, even the established manufacturers of automotive batteries are reluctant to give warranty for batteries used with solar PV system. Rural consumers are not familiar with the cost and benefits of deep cycle Batteries, which is typically used with a standard PV system. They are also not familiar with the consequences of a well-designed system as opposed to a poorly designed system. Therefore, for safe operation and necessary maintenance of a PV system is an important to provide adequate information to the user on limitation of battery usage. Maintenance of batteries in rural area is nearly non-existent. They need to be transported nearest town when malfunction though quality control of their service is questionable.

Study of Solar Module & Its Efficient Use in Bangladesh

ot C

op y

Practical Troubles and Safeguards Therefore the problems associated with batteries can be attributed to Unavailability of good quality batteries Unavailability of proper maintenance service Users are not familiar with solar modules for battery charging Users are not familiar with the performance and the cost of deep cycle batteries Manufacturers warranty is usually not valid for the rural consumers Inverter In the photo voltaic electric power system the output is dc. This power has limited applications such as battery, fuel cell, dc machines etc. But in most cases ac power is used. So this dc power has to be converted to ac for its wide application. Usually DC-to-AC converters are known as inverter. The function of an inverter is to change a dc input voltage to a symmetrical ac are output voltage of desired magnitude and frequency. The output voltage could be fixed or variable at a fixed or variable frequency. A variable output voltage can be obtained by varying the input dc voltage and maintaining the gain of the inverter constant. On the other hand, if the dc input voltage is fixed and it is not controllable, a variable output voltage can be varying the gain of the inverters, which is normally accomplished by pulse-width-modulation (PWM) control within the inverter. The inverter gain may be defined as the ration of the ac output voltage to dc input voltage. The output voltage waveforms of an ideal inverter should be sinusoidal. However, the waveforms of practical inverters are non sinusoidal and contain certain harmonics. For low and medium power applications, square-wave or quasi-square-wave voltage may be acceptable; and for high power applications, low distorted sinusoidal wave-forms are required. With the high-speed power semiconductor device. The harmonics content of output voltage can be minimized or reduced significantly by switching techniques. Solar Module The most innovative item of PV power generation to the rural people is the solar module itself. Apart from its unavailability, there is a lack of knowledge among the rural people, even in the vicinity of its regular use; the solar module is unnoticed by the people since it is not accessible for the rural homes. The potential application of a rural commercial enterprise is to have evening lighting in the shop and use of Radio. For the rural home the use of solar PV system would be primarily for evening lighting, in addition to watch TV. In order to receive adequate charger for the battery, the solar module is exposed to the sun during the day, in location away from shades of trees, Tilt angle and direction of the solar panel is fixed by
Study of Solar Module & Its Efficient Use in Bangladesh

150

ot C

op y

Practical Troubles and Safeguards the installer based upon the latitude of the location of interest. Significance of these important parameters should be understood by the user. Sometimes the branches of trees are to be removed in order to reach the optimum location for mounting a solar panel, which can create a problem for the user if there is insufficient communications. The solar panels are constructed with adequate design features to withstand natural wear and tear caused by weather. However, vandalism pose a typical; problem in protecting solar panels, which are typically left outside the house. Controller This component controls the solar PV systems depending upon the state of charge of the battery. Although the controllers ensure long life for the battery, it also provides indirect benefits to the appliances. Since voltage remains within a controlled range, the lamp and other devices connected to the rated voltage of the battery have a longer operating life. If the potential rural user does not understand the objective and function of controller, then there is a possibility of tempering. It has been found that the user tends to bypass the controller in order to avoid the low voltage cutoff, which causes premature end of the useful life of the battery. Such circumstances should be handled with caution and requires adequate communication with the user. PV Module [33]

151

One should not attempt to disassemble the module, and do not remove any attached nameplates or components. Doing so will void the warranty. Selecting the proper mounting structure and hardware one should observe all instructions and safety precautions included with the mounting system to be used with the module. One should not drill holes in the glass surface of the module. One should not drill additional mounting holes in the module frame. Doing so will void the warranty. Modules must be securely attached to the mounting structure using four mounting points for normal installation. If heavy wind or snow loads are anticipated, additional mounting points should also be used. Load calculations are the responsibility of the system designer or installer. The mounting structure and hardware must be made of durable, corrosionand UV-resistant material.

12.2 Safety precautions for installing a solar photovoltaic system [33]

Solar modules produce electrical energy when exposed to sunlight. DC voltages may exceed 30V on a single exposed module. Only connect modules with the same rated output current in series. If modules are connected in series, the total voltage is equal to the sum of the individual module voltages. Only connect modules or series

Study of Solar Module & Its Efficient Use in Bangladesh

ot C

op y

Practical Troubles and Safeguards combinations of modules with the same voltage in parallel. If modules are connected in parallel, the total current is equal to the sum of individual module or series combination currents. Completely cover all modules with an opaque material during installation to prevent electricity from being generated.

152

12.3 Temperature Precaution [34]

One important thing to mention is warm water, hot water. When the sun is shining here, it can get so hot in here that this water in there would become steam. So, sometimes here, in Texas, it is needed that I have really to watch it that it gets not too hot. And, when you use hot water, that brings here your well water, and then these pipes can clog up with limestone with lime in there very soon. Because lime in the water falls out at about 120 to 130 degrees. So, if it gets hotter than that, the lime will clog inside these pipes and the pipes will get smaller and smaller and after a while it will be not working any more. What we use here is our rainwater system, because we run the rainwater through here. Rainwater has no lime in it, no problems with calcium no problems with clog up. So, that's the reason why it can stay for 30 years and nothing happens to it. And the copper pipes can handle the rainwater without any problems so I would recommend using hot water in solar water heating with soft water or rainwater. Sure you can use a water softener too, but don't run hot water through a system like this, because after a few years you will have problems and it will cost you a lot of money.

The cost of a solar system typically born by the user at the beginning of its useful life. Full cost of a 35Ah system is found to be approximately Tk 22000 at current market prices. The life of a solar panel is 20 years, although other components are known to last much less. There is minimal operating and maintenance cost of a solar PV system in comparison with a diesel generator set. The life cycle cost (LCC) of a solar PV system essentially constitute of replacement of the batteries every 5 to 8 years under a well managed system, in addition to replacements of the controller and the appliances as required within 20 year useful life of a system. Rural homes need to spend around Tk 2000-50000 for new rechargeable lead acid batteries. In case of deep cycle batteries the cost raises to Tk. 8000 for 100Ah battery. Therefore, significant investment is necessary for a rural home to own a solar PV system at cash price. According to the , market assessment survey (1) for solar PV system, only 4.7 and 7.6 percent of the households are willing to purchase with case or credit respectively, while 70 percent expressed interest in paying for monthly service. Therefore a large part of the problem with implementation of the solar PV system in

Study of Solar Module & Its Efficient Use in Bangladesh

12.4 Financial Perspective

ot C

op y

Practical Troubles and Safeguards rural Bangladesh lies in the removal of first cost barrier. In case of Diesel charging, the user of rechargeable batteries used for watching television spends nearly 80 to 100 Tk per month including transport. Standalone diesel generators are often used for this purpose. Significant part of the charging cost is found to be the transport cost of battery ranging from Tk 25 to 45 per month. Although the average cost of energy is the order of 15 to Tk 20/KWh, for the user a monthly expenditure of Tk 100 is more affordable than the solar PV system. However, studies have shown that the users are reluctant to transport batteries to a charging station beyond a distance of 20km. Therefore a favorable financial cost structure for solar PV system will be acceptable to many users. Pay for service is found to be the most favored option for payment, where the service provider remain the owner of the PV system, and the user pays on a month basis. Such financial considerations are essential to the success of any rural solar PV program.

153

12.5 Socio Economic Perspective

12.6 Geographic Perspective

Variation of geographical terrain of rural Bangladesh, including marshy lands, off-shore and river islands, hilly and distant areas pose extra burden on the installation of solar PV system. In the absence of efficient infrastructure, the systems are carried manually by the local people. This process is labor intensive and may become costly for an installer. Early planning considering the human resource, accessibility and costs is essential for maintaining the proper schedules.

Study of Solar Module & Its Efficient Use in Bangladesh

Unlike the regular income pattern, a rural household only receive revenue on a seasonal basis. Therefore the economic considerations are tied to the harvest, weather and other factors which are not common in the urban situation. According to survey, it is found that nearly 40% of the rural household earn less than Tk 2000 per month and are considered to be poor. No practical solution is available today for serving households for modern lighting. On the other hand household with a monthly earning between Tk 2000 to 6000, show a preference for small SHS of 35W p with mode of payment on a monthly basis. Income group is higher than Tk 6000 per month desire to use a large SHS of 75 . Although this income group prefers to pay for service, these households are also willing to purchase a solar PV system for cash or credit. Nearly 96 percent of the surveyed households suggested that their children education would benefit the most from better lighting. Therefore, a wide band of socio-economic factors are active in the process of decisions making for adoption of solar PV service for lighting.

ot C

op y

Practical Troubles and Safeguards

154

12.7 Conclusion
The world is now going through a major power crisis. Traditional efficient fossil fuel based power system is now unable to meet the global energy crisis because of limited source. To mitigate the growing crisis Solar System has few advantages over others. It is the quickest to install. It may not be the most efficient one but it is clean and green. It has high initial set up cost which is little challenging for a country like ours. But there is nothing more expensive than no energy production. Bangladesh is a country where we get the sun for long hours round the year and from the geographical consideration we are in an advantageous position. Calculation shows even 5 rotation of the panel provides a great enhancement in terms of output power. Our 42 panel tracking module which can be made from easily available parts can be a good solution for the efficient use of solar module in Bangladesh.

Study of Solar Module & Its Efficient Use in Bangladesh

ot C

op y