DAY 30: SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM; LOAD SIZING

Day 30 of #100daysofsolarNuggets

LOAD SIZING

The first thing to do in designing a solar power system is to determine the load of the system (power consumption of the system). This can be gotten by getting the power ratings of individual appliances/devices that would be connected to the system.

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LOAD

What do we mean by load?

In solar Energy system, whenever we use the word load we are referring to the amount of electrical power that would be used by the devices/appliances connected to the system. House hold appliances like fans. Light bulbs, TV, Refrigerator and the likes are referred to as load.

IMPORTANT.

You would need to create a table with the list of all the appliances being used and their respective power ratings.

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 Sample table

S/N	Item	Power Rating (Watts)	Quantity	Hrs/day	Total power consumption(Watt-hours/day)
	LIGHT LOADS
1	Ceiling fan	15	4	6	360
2	Light bulbs (energy saving)	18	5	4	360
3	Laptop	30	3	3	270
4	Television set	65	2	3	390
	TOTAL				1380
	HEAVY LOADS
5	Air conditioning Unit	1000	3		3000
6	Washing Machine	1450	1		1450
7	Refrigerator/freezer	450	1		450
8	Water heater	1500	1		1500
9	Pressing Iron	1200	1		1200
10	Micro Wave	1200	1		1200
	TOTAL

*Please note; the values in the table above may vary from actual appliance found in one’s home/office.

Above is a sample table of appliances (load) that would be connected to a particular system, their respective power ratings, hours of use and the total power consumption for a given day (Measured in watt-hours).

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Power Rating (Watts)

This the amount of electrical power in watts (W) required by a device, It is determined by the manufacturer and is usually written in the manual of the device/appliance or on the body of the device/appliance.

Once you have created this table, you would have a general idea of your overall energy needs and this information is needed to accurately plan the next phase.

Day 30 of #100daysofsolarNuggets