ECE514 NREL System Advisor Model Tutorial
ECE514 NREL System Advisor Model TutorialDate: DATE \@ "yyyy-MM-dd" 2012-04-06.By: Juan M RussoProblem Description:Make a simulation of a new PV system in terms of performance and financials using the following characteristics: Location:The system will be located in Tucson, AZ where state sales taxes are 5.6%, city taxes are 3.5%. Also, property tax assessments are not affected by the added value of a PV system in this jurisdiction.Utility rate is to be considered flat at 12.1 cents/kWh. There is no time of use or demand charges. The cost of electricity is expected to escalate 0.15% per year in the next 30 years.Customer:The system will be specified by component and its intended customer is a home owner.The homeowner has access financing via equity of the home (HELOC or mortgage) at 6% APR. The homeowner will finance the whole system for a term equal to the life of the system.The homeowner has investment vehicles that can give him/her 7% APR in returns (discount rate). Inflation is assumed steady at 1.5% APR for the term.The homeowner has a federal income tax rate of 25% and a state income tax rate of 5%.House has a flat roof with a 27% grade south facing (tilt = 15 degrees). The roof is coated with an elastomeric compound with 40% reflectance.Federal and local Incentives:Federal Incentives are at 30% of the system cost with no limit.State incentives are set at 30% up to $1k maximum benefit.The utility offers an incentive of 15% of the upfront costs (not taxable) with a $6k limit.System Performance:Overall degradation of performance rate is to be set at 0.25%.The system will be down for maintenance 1% of the time.DC capacity =>3kW.Mounted flat on roof with fixed mounting.System ComponentsPanels: Sharp ND-216U1F at $700 per unit.Inverter: SMA America SB3000US at $1800 per unit.System lifetime is expected to be 30 years.Modeling standards:The Radiation model to use is Total and DiffuseTilt Radiation is Isotropic SkyLoss: 0.5% in diodes, 1% in wiring (half in DC and half in AC side), 6% in soiling and the panels can perform up 4% lower than the nameplate capacity. No other losses are specified.Shading: The customer has a deciduous tree (Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug and Sept) that casts 10% of shadow over the site from 8am to 10am.Installation Costs:The installer estimates a labor rate of $30/hr per worker. Also, the installer estimates a total of 5 workers taking 2 days (16 hours) + $0.60/W for overhead.Balance of System expenses run at $0.60/W. (Includes wiring, etc.)Only 25% of the direct expenses have applicable sales taxes.There are no permitting, connections, land, etc. expenses.Maintenance Costs:The installer has offered (and the customer agreed to) a yearly check up and maintenance service plan for the system at a fixed rate of $50/year.Questions: Note: when showing plots provide a concise description.Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) and other Costs:Provide a stack plot for the (real) LCOE for the system as described. The stack is to be divided by system component. Provide a stacked plot of cost per watt. The stack is to be divided by system component. Compare the LCOE with and without incentives. Compare these values with the cost of energy of the utility.PerformanceShow a graph of monthly generation of energy (in kWh AC) for one year:Looking at the Energy Flow plot (produced by default by SAM), what can you tell the customer of why the AC annual energy he/she gets is less than the nominal DC values? (Remember that the customer paid for the DC Watts).Run the simulation again but assume manual tracking (i.e. manually adjustable mount that the customer will change seasonally). The mount will ADD $0.50/W to the Balance of System Cost and will allow for the tilt to change from flat on the grade of the roof (for summer) to up to 50 degrees (in winter). What happens with the LCOE? Does it make sense to make this extra expense at the given financial environment? ................
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