SOLAR SYSTEM

This project looks into the designing and installation of solar PV system to power some appliances in a five bedroom bungalow building. This is necessary because of unreliable power supply. Solar energy is a clean and endless source of power from the sun, unlike electricity from utility companies which can be limited and affect daily activities. In this project, we designed a solar PV system which consists of PV cells, charge controller, inverter, batteries.The size of the solar panels, battery capacity, and other components needed to run the appliances efficiently was calculated. Then testing of each part of the system was carried out to make sure it worked properly before putting it all together. The photovoltaic cells were used to capture sunlight and convert it into electricity. This electricity is then sent to the charge controller and then to the inverter which then charges the batteries. The stored charges in the batteries can be used to power our appliances even when the sun isn’t shining. The system is designed specifically for powering home equipment like fans, light bulbs, fans etc. The final system was tested in the University of Benin, Benin City, (6.3998° N, 5.6099° E). It was successfully used to power some home appliances like light bulb, fan. From the test, graphs of current (amps) against time (hrs) and power (watts) against time (hrs) were plotted it was then observed that at the earlier hours of the day, the current and likewise the power from the panel increases and it is maximum at 1:30pm. It begins to reduce from 2pm. This is due to the reduction of the irradiance of the sun. The weather becomes a bit cloudy and towards evening there is minimal sunlight resulting in lesser current. The more the sunlight, the higher the current and vice versa. This shows that solar power can be a reliable way to run home equipment, even in places with frequent power outages. Overall, the project demonstrates that solar energy has the potential to reduce reliance on traditional electricity from utility companies.