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[[Category:Parras 2007]] | |||
Revision as of 05:06, 5 August 2007
Photovoltaics Feasibility Study for Local Grocer:
A local grocer in Parras is interested in harnessing the ample year-round sunshine that Parras recieves to power his store. The grocer is willing to invest in a photovoltaic system, but first needs to determine the economic feasibility of the project. Our goal is to design a system suited to the grocer´s needs and conduct a thorough study to determine the feasibility of the project. A concise list of our criteria for success includes:
- accurate
- thorough
- comprehendable
- visual - with pictures and diagrams
- components sourced at lowest possible price
- meets the energy demand
- simple as possible
- source recycled materials if possible
Method
Our first task was to discover the energy demand of his business. It was difficult to determine at first, since his house and the store were both connected. But he gave Mel and I a copy of his highest bill of the year, and we went from there. We decided to go through the store and do an energy audit just to make sure that the bill was really the highest demand. it wasn't too difficult considering that he didn't run much in his store. We came to some pretty close numbers, and decided to run with it.
| Load | Run Watts | Hours/day | Days/week | Total wattage |
| Criotec Refrigerator | 460 | 6 | 7 | ? |
| LaLa Refrigerator | 498 | 6 | 7 | ? |
| Freezer | 460 | 8 | 7 | ? |
| Television | 60 | 8 | 7 | ? |
| T8 Lights X 4 | 128 | 6 | 7 | ? |
| CFL Light | 24 | 6 | 7 | ? |
| Total: ? |
Our next task was to hit up the Comisión Federal de Electricidad, to see if grid-intertie is legal in Mexico. After much research we found that connection to the grid to draw power when the PV system isn´t meeting the demand is legal, but feeding excess energy into the grid is not. We thus decided to design two systems (one with batteries and one with a manual switch to use grid power in absence of sun) and do a feasibility study for each. We then had to search for the peak sun hours of Parras. There's some information about Saltillo and Monterrey, but since Parras is such a small town, it was difficult to track down the information we needed. It wasn't until we were able use RET Screen and the NASA website that we had breakthrough.
Materials
We decided to source the materials from the system from Mexico, if possible. That was difficult. Based on the energy need of the store, we wanted to use some kind of 12V battery. Using the RET Screen System made things a lot easier for us. We were able to input the battery size and price, and even calculate the effect of the tilt of the sun during the year.