Saturday, September 23, 2017

What is the Cost of Using Solar Energy



A techno-economic assessment will prove the economic feasibility and sense of buying a solar electric system.

First, let’s consider grid-tied systems.

If you are planning to buy, build yourself or have built a grid-tied system, such an evaluation should by all means take into account expected future price of grid electricity over the period of the guaranteed solar system lifecycle, along with any potential income from other existing investment options.

The evaluation of a grid-tied system will provide you with enough data to compare the overall net income of your investment in solar PV system (like RENOGY SOLAR SUITCASE ) with other existing alternative options to invest your money taking into account:
price of solar hardware
installation costs
annual operational expenses
generated ‘free’ solar energy offsetting these expenses.

By assessing how much money you can save from solar electricity you can take an informed decision whether it is worth investing in solar electricity or your money would be better invested in other financial instruments, i.e. bank accounts or other possible investment options you can find at your disposal.

First of all, by performing a techno-economic assessment, you are going to find out:
What is the cost of using solar energy
How to calculate total solar power you need to use and install
How to determine how much area you need to install your PV modules and which type of PV modules to choose taking into account:
Your solar installation area
Various types of modules available on the market
Your budget

Once you have chosen your type of PV module, you will find out how to calculate how many PV modules you need to install and the overall cost of your solar system.

Then you are going to find out:
How to calculate your solar energy production costs
How much you can save by a PV system over its guaranteed life cycle
The payback period of your system.

The peak photovoltaic power needed to be installed on your roof can be calculated by the formula:

Installed solar power, Wp = Daily energy target, Wh x PSHx SLF

This formula however can be expressed otherwise:

Daily energy target, Wh = Solar generated electricity, Wh =

= Installed solar power, Wp x PSH x SLF

Let’s assume you have an area on your roof, enough to install 30 solar modules, of rating 150 Wp each. The installed ‘peak’ solar power of the PV array is:

Installed solar power = 30 modules x 150 Wp each =

= 4,500 Wp or 4.5 kWp

If you assume system losses factor for your grid-tied system 0.75, and the average annual value of PSH for your location is 4, then the 30-module solar array will generate:

Installed solar power x PSH x SLF = 4.5 kWp x 4 x 0.75 = 13.5 kWh of energy daily

Your possible next step can be to estimate how much money you would get for this amount of energy.

If for electricity you export to the grid you get paid $0.08 per kWh, then each day you will get on average:

13.5 kWh x $0.08 per kWh = $1.08,

which means that per year you will get:

365 days x $1.08 per day = $394.2

If you multiply the daily energy offset target by the electricity residential rate, you will get the money you could save by implementing a grid-tied solar system.

If your daily energy target is 7.7 kWh and the residential electricity price is $0.07 per kWh, then you are going to save

7.7 kWh x $0.07 per kWh = $0.54 per day

and

$0.54 x 365 days = $197.1 per year

By comparing these two values you can estimate which option is the preferred one for you:
Either export the whole solar energy generated to the grid, and get paid while still using grid electricity and cashing on the difference, or
Export just the surplus of solar energy generated during some hours of the day to the grid to offset the money you pay the grid when solar energy is not available, i.e. at night.

It should be noted that annual electricity production might vary from year to year due to natural variations in weather and climate.

If your utility offers net metering, you will probably get paid the full retail price for the excess electricity produced by the PV system

Now, let’s deal with stand-alone systems.

You will find out how maintenance cost of a stand-alone system is calculated by the example below.

Let’s have as an example the following stand-alone system:
840 Wp installed solar power,
1,012 kWh annual energy output or 2,770 Wh daily energy output,
It is able to charge a 24V-battery bank with capacity of 470 Ah.

The system will require an inverter with rated continuous power of at least 840 W.

If your stand-alone system contains an inverter, it should be replaced after 12-15 years of operation. So, if a stand-alone system has a lifespan of 25 years, the cost for inverter replacement should be included in the maintenance cost.

If we assume inverter cost of $1 per watt, based on the needed inverter with 840 W rated continuous power, the inverter will cost:

840 W x $1/W = $840.

Such a price distributed over 25 years of operation will result in average inverter maintenance costs per year as follows:

$840 ? 25 years = $33.6 or about $34.

More important however are battery maintenance costs.

A lead-acid battery is to be replaced after every 5 years of operation. At the moment a typical battery price is $1 per Ah.

So, the task is to calculate the costs for batteries during the stand-alone system’s lifecycle.

We assume that the battery cost for the first 5 years is included in the system cost.

If battery cost of $1 per Ah is assumed, for the next 25 year of the system lifecycle the costs for a battery bank of 470 Ah would be:

470 Ah x (25 years x 5) x $1/Ah = $2,350.

Such a cost distributed over 25 years of operation will result in the following average battery maintenance costs per year:

$2,350 x 25 years = $94.

Furthermore we could assume an MPPT charge controller with estimated price of $700.

MPPT charge controllers come with a typical warranty of 5 years. We could assume that you would need at least one additional charge controller for replacement.

Hence, the price of the additional MPPT charge controller average annual maintenance costs would be:

$700 x 25 years = $28

The total average annual maintenance cost of an off-grid system comprising a battery, an inverter and a MPPT charge controller would be:

Total average annual maintenance costs =

= Average annual inverter maintenance costs + Average annual charge controller maintenance cost + Average annual battery maintenance costs = $34 + $94 + $28 = $156
The next question is how to calculate the energy production costs.

For a grid-tied system without power backup, to calculate how much money you can save by selling electricity to the grid you need to assess your costs for producing solar electrical energy.

For a stand-alone system however, the most important is to buy a system that matches best your daily energy consumption target. Then on the basis of the cost of the energy generated, and on the basis of the large amount of money saved from paying for utility interconnection, you can calculate the money you save from being off the grid.

The energy production costs averaged over the lifespan of the off-grid solar system are calculated as follows:

Solar electricity production costs =

[Solar system initial cost + (System lifespan x Operating costs per year)] x (Annual solar electricity production x System lifespan)

PV system initial cost, a.k.a. CapEx, is the cost for implementing the whole system, including: site survey, system design, construction works, obtaining permits, equipment delivery and installation, and system commissioning
System lifespan is assumed 25 years
Operating costs, a.k.a. OpEx per year, are system maintenance costs. The most essential part of the operating costs is related to battery and inverter replacement. During a 25-year lifecycle the inverter should be replaced at least once, the charger controller might be replaced at least once, while the battery should be replaced every 5 years.

Costs for implementing an off-grid system are always higher than costs for implementing a grid-tied system without power backup due to the higher complexity of the former.

If system implementation cost is estimated $7 per watt-peak and the installed solar power is 840 Wp, the initial cost of the solar system is:

$7/Wp x 840Wp = $5,880.

Furthermore if:
System lifespan is 25 years,
Yearly generated energy is 1,012 kWh under existing environment conditions, and
OpEx is $156 as described in the section about calculating showing the average annual maintenance costs,

the energy production costs over total lifespan of the solar system are calculated as follows:

Solar electricity production costs =

= [Solar system initial cost + (System lifespan x Operating costs per year)] x (Annual solar electricity production x System lifespan) =

= [$5,880+ (25 years x $156)] x(1,012 kWh x 25 years) = $0.39/kWh,

which results into annual costs incurred by solar generated electricity as follows:

Annual solar electricity production x Energy production costs =

= 1,012 kWh x $0.39/kWh = $395
Now, it’s time to asses how much you could save from being off the grid.

Let’s say you have to pay $8,000 to get connected to your local utility grid. Let’s also assume the current grid electricity price of $0.125, along with a 5% rate of increase thereof.

This means that for a period of 25 years the average grid electricity price is $0.25, while at the end of those 25 years the grid electricity price will be $0.42.

If the energy generated annually by your system is 1,012kWh, then upon average grid electricity price of $0.25 which corresponds to current electricity price of 0.125 raised with 5% per year, within 25 years you would pay for grid electricity:

1,012 kWh x 25 years x $0.25/kWh = $6,325

So, the total cost for getting connected to the utility grid and use the grid electricity to cover your daily energy needs would be:

$8,000 + $6,325 = $14,325.

The just calculated value is actually the total savings from being off the grid during the system’s lifecycle.

Your annual spend on grid electricity would be

$14,325 x 25 years of operation = $573.

The just calculated value is actually the annual savings from being off the grid or in other words your potential annual expenses on grid electricity.

As a follow-up of the above example, your annual cost incurred by solar generated electricity would be:

Solar electricity production costs x Annual solar electricity production = $0.39/kWh x 1,012KWh = $395.

So, within a 25 year period you would save annually:

Annual spend on grid electricity – Annual costs incurred by solar generated electricity = $573 – $395= $178.

Here comes the ultimate question: what is the payback period of an off-grid system?

Considering the above examples, if solar system implementation costs are $5,880, and your potential annual expenses on grid electricity are $573, the payback period of the solar system, compared to the situation if you were connected to the grid, would be:

System payback period, years =

[Solar system initial cost + (System lifespan x Operating costs per year)] x Annual spend on grid electricity = ($5,880 + (25 years x $156)) ? $573 = 17 years.

If your odds to be connected to the grid however are from zero to none, and hence calculating payback period in regard to grid does not suit you, you might want to explore the payback period of your off-grid system with included maintenance expenses. In such a case the payback period of your system would be:

System payback period, years =

[Solar system initial cost + (System lifespan x Operating costs per year)] x Annual cost incurred by solar generated electricity = ($5,880 + (25 years x $156)) ? $395 = 25 years.

If the herein provided method for estimating feasibility of your investment in solar energy looks kind of cumbersome, you can use our handy, simple and fast online calculator included in the Gold Package for advanced evaluation of off-grid systems.

XRX 300CC Gas Electric Start Go Kart by Trail Master

This is a great gas go kart (as  COLEMAN GO KART )that you are sure to have fun in. I have taken a couple of rides in one of these and the...