Design and Economic Analysis of a Grid-connected Rooftop Solar PV System for Typical Home Applications in Oman

Abstract

This paper presents a techno-economic investigation of an integrated rooftop solar PV system for typical home applications in Oman that reduces the power consumption from the grid and export excess PV generated power back to the gird. Since renewable energy systems design technically depends on the site, this study selects a typical two-story villa in Al-Hamra, Oman as the site. Temperature is one of the critical parameters in this design as it varies widely over the day and has a considerable variation from one season to another in Oman. With the effect of temperature variation, the PV system has designed using system models for the required load of the home. The available rooftop space and the grid-connection availability are two main design constraints have realized in this study. This research also evaluates the economic feasibility of the design system considering the energy export tariff as per the Bulk Supply Tariff (BST) scheme in Oman. The design outcome reveals that the designed PV system can supply the load energy requirement in a year. In addition, the rooftop solar PV system can sell surplus energy back to the grid that generates additional revenue for the owner of the system. The economic performance indices such as payback period, internal rate of return, net present value, and profitability index ensure the financial feasibility of the designed rooftop solar PV system for the selected home.