Photovoltaic Systems for the Supply of Video Surveillance Equipment in Urban Environment

Standalone photovoltaic systems are traditionally deployed far from urban centers, where the conventional electric grid is not available. In such cases, the need to maintain a battery bank implies in high investments, which are only justified when they are more cost-effective than expanding the power grid. However, in this paper we propose a new approach, as we suggest deploying standalone photovoltaic systems to supply critical loads in urban centers, instead of using the electricity from the grid. We choose a video surveillance system as our critical load, in a region of Brazil with high levels of crimes against property. Surprisingly, it has been demonstrated that, once some eligibility criteria are satisfied, the presented solution is economically feasible, with a payback of 14 years, compared to 25 years of the PV generator lifetime and with an internal rate of return of 9%, against a real average attractiveness rate of 3.1%. The PV system sizing and its electric performance proved to be able to be satisfactory, indicating that it can safely and continuously feed the loads. Consequently, solar power generation may help to avoid economic and life losses due to the inoperability of the surveillance system, in places exposed to the lack of reliability of the electric power grid.