Evaluation of Centralized Management and Distributed Deployment of Photovoltaic System for Domestic Households

Availability of smooth power supply for the industrial and residential consumption is a major resource that assists the economic and social development of a nation. Automation and intelligent systems are energy intensive and the adequate electricity is required in order to operate such systems. However, there are electricity generation and distribution challenges in most of the developing countries as a result of disparity in the energy supply & demand and the absence of improved infrastructure. Pakistan being the 5th most populated developing country has the substantial demand of energy, accounting for 56% of total generation whereas thermal energy accounts for 61% of all electricity generated in Pakistan. Therefore, it is required to look for the feasible alternate solutions to address these challenges by incorporating renewable energy and the net metering. In first phase of this study, a survey was conducted to collect the feedback from the photovoltaic (PV) consumers and in second phase, market assessment was performed and the electricity systems were designed & analyzed using cost benefit analysis to measure the financial performance as well as carbon credits. Analysis was performed using Meteonorm, Google Maps and Helioscope Simulation software. Following the objective of this study, a self-sustaining power distribution system for a housing society using net metering is proposed to balance the energy production and consumption, combating greenhouse gases emissions from the energy produced by fossil fuels and to upgrade the existing electricity distribution system. The results indicate a remarkable performance of the centralized power distribution system. Till date, no specific study has proposed a sustainable centralized model for addressing energy issues as a self-sustaining power distribution system in a housing society. The proposed integrated model can aid in maximizing the use of PV system.