Relationship between load profiles and Grid Parity in the residential solar energy

In the residential sector, grid parity has been reached or is close to be reached in many countries, which means that the cost of electricity from residential photovoltaic installations is equal to or less than the retail price of electricity. However, not all installations are equally profitable. The objective of this paper is to analyze the economic performance of residential self-consumption systems, and, in particular, the effect of electric load profiles on that performance. For this, a simulation model is proposed that allows a comparative analysis of the profitability of different configurations of a residential solar system connected to the grid. The model is applied to several differentiated load profiles, as well as to different configurations of photovoltaic panels and batteries. The analysis shows the impact of different load profiles on self-consumption, autarky and, ultimately, the grid parity of the installation. © 2019 Publicaciones Dyna Sl. All rights reserved.