A Low Cost Reliable Stand-Alone Photo-Voltaic System

Stand-alone PV systems are increasingly being used in rural areas to drive basic loads typically less than 300 VA. Such systems are beneficial where grid electricity is unreliable or not present at all. A 250 VA battery integrated stand-alone PV system is proposed here. This PV system is based on simple hardware structure. It is possible to design this system at lower cost with higher reliability. DC link capacitor is selected for longer life time. The overall reliability of the whole system is estimated using the data from Military Handbook. It is shown that the proposed system has higher life time than other conventional PV systems. Open loop control is proposed for inverter output voltage control, thereby making it possible to implement on low cost micro-controller with fewer sensing components. The proposed system can be designed for a 12 V or 24 V PV panels, which are commonly used in rural areas. Efficacy of the whole system is verified in PSCAD and simulation results are provided. A hardware prototype is built for actual implementation of the PV system.