Financial Impact of Energy Efficient Retrofits on Design of Grid Tied Solar Systems in Pakistan

Pakistan is an energy starving country. To eliminate the electricity's demand and supply gap, both energy conservation and energy generation is required. Demand side load reduction by energy efficient retrofits has gained attention in last few years. Consumers are encouraged to install LED lights, inverter based split air conditioners and energy efficient fans to reduce the electricity consumption. Besides electricity conservation, solar photovoltaic power systems are also widely installed to reduce the utility bills and grid dependency. Often both retrofitting and solar system are considered to implement simultaneously but consumers perceive it expensive and financially nonviable. This study is based on financial analysis of solar power system for a public institute. It includes comparison of two solar systems; one for existing load of institute and the other for retrofitted load. The study concludes that solar system for retrofitted load is economic and it also increases the distribution capacity of the existing electrical network. Installation of solar system on retrofitted load reduces the energy drawn from grid, likewise energy bills and stress on distribution and transmission lines.