Future solar home systems

Matching energy supply with energy demand

Master thesis (2017)

Authors

T.J.G. den Heeten Industrial Design Engineering

Contributors

J.C. Diehl Design for Sustainability - IDE (supervisor 1)
S. Silvester Applied Ergonomics and Design - IDE (supervisor 1)
N.S. Narayan DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage - EEMCS (supervisor 1)
J. Popovic DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage - EEMCS (supervisor 1)
Faculty
Industrial Design Engineering
Copyright: © 2017 Thomas den Heeten
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Published Date

16-03-2017

Language

English

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Faculty

Industrial Design Engineering

Abstract

1.3 billion people in the world lack access to electricity (International Energy Agency (2013). The largest share of this group is poor and lives in the developing world, and has to deal with unmet basic needs. Having the possibility to use reliable and clean energy is seen as a driver for social development and environmental sustainability. Having access to energy is also often linked to economic growth and has a positive impact on health. (Gradl & Knobloch, 2011) Improving energy access is therefore a hot topic worldwide.
With a Solar Home System (SHS), energy can be generated and used on a household level at places where the electric grid does not reach. The main components of a SHS are a solar panel for the generation of electricity, a battery for energy storage and balance of system (BoS) components, including power electronics, to coordinate the flows of energy. SHS are offered by multiple companies worldwide, and come in various configurations. The smallest SHS are capable of powering for example LED lights, phones and/or a radio, while larger SHS can power for example televisions and fans.
Generally speaking, SHSs are increasing in size. This is due to dropping prices of system components. Where in 2003 a SHS of 20 Wp was economically competitive with kerosene lamps, in 2015 this was already 70-80 Wp. (Chattopadhyay, Bazilian and Peter Lilienthal, 2015) The conventional technologies are likely to dominate the SHS the upcoming years. Proven technologies are favourable as reliability is key for SHSs. This means that most of the SHSs in the future will rely on crystalline silicon panels and lead-acid batteries. In the future, li-ion battery technologies will become competitive as prices are dropping...