Design of a Photovoltaic System for Self-consumption in Buildings at High-Altitude Cities Located in the Equator

Abstract

In recent years, many countries have opted for the use of non-conventional and environmentally friendly renewable energies as an alternative to gradually reduce the use of conventional energies, specifically those coming from fossil fuels. In Ecuador, a country located at the Equator, where the solar radiation is perpendicular throughout the year, an alternative to be considered is obtaining electrical energy using photovoltaic solar panels, especially at high-altitude cities such as Cuenca. This research presents the design of a photovoltaic installation in a building of the Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, at Cuenca, Ecuador, based on a consumption profile corresponding to a typical day, it is analyzed the architectural condition of building, identifying in the rooftop the elements that can produce shadows, to determine the minimum separation of the photovoltaic modules from these obstacles and define an effective surface for the installation, such that at midday the installation is free of shadows. The performance ratio (PR) obtained for the installation was 83.4%, which is considered satisfactory from the point of view of energy and based on the building demand conditions. The contribution of the facility was 36.35%, significantly reducing the dependency from the network.