A Solar-Based Stand-Alone Family House for Energy Independence and Efficiency

The paper presents the design of a realistic standalone microgrid-type system to supply power to a family house using solar power and battery storage. A scaled-down version of the designed system is implemented and tested to obtain further understanding of the designed system effectiveness. The results show that the designed system is effective in supplying all the household energy needs. One interesting finding is that the net energy stored in the battery is maximized when around 65% of the solar power output is used to supply loads and 35% is used to charge the battery. For mid-size families with monthly 2502-kWh energy usage, a 13.14-kW solar system and a 27-kWh battery can essentially satisfy their energy demand. The system is profitable where its investment cost can be recovered in about 9-12 years while the system lasts 15-25 years.