Development of Software for Life Cycle Cost Analysis of Solar Photovoltaic and Diesel Generator Systems in Nigeria.
ABSTRACT
In making a choice of solar Photovoltaic or diesel generator system as an alternative for power generation, life cycle costs (LCC) analysis is considered to be potentially important to such a decision. It incorporates all costs arising from owning, operating, maintaining and ultimately disposing of a project. In this study, a software computer program is developed to determine life cycle cost of solar Photovoltaic and diesel generator systems in Nigeria.
The software is developed through an approach involving load determination, energy resources determination, system sizing and a typical residential building. Depending on the user’s needs, selected location, material and criteria, the result of the software will show cost difference between solar Photovoltaic and diesel generator power systems as well as cost variation in different designers’ specifications for either of the systems.
This study adopts a process of requirements engineering, (RE), to complement object oriented (OO) modeling using the Unified Modeling Language, (UML). The RE process generates structured layers of textual requirements at each level of development and is supported by the UML. It incorporates use case diagram and activity diagrams as the unified modeling language tool.
The Key methodology adopted for providing a structured approach to the UML is evolutionary prototyping which focuses on vertical dimension approach. Using the vertical dimension in the evolutionary prototyping, the study, presents a logical detail of the data processing function of the system. All the coding used to develop the software is done in python programming language.
INTRODUCTION
An adequate and reliable electricity supply system is essential for any developing country. In Nigeria, the electricity situation can best be described as epileptic. This epileptic power situation affects the manufacturing, service and residential sectors of the economy which in turn affects the country’s economic growth. At present about twenty million households out of about one hundred and fifty million inhabitants lack access to grid electricity and for those who have access to grid electricity, the supply is very poor.
The erratic power supply and frequent outages in the country’s electric power system has compelled a large percentage of the populace to rely on solar energy and diesel power generators as alternative means of power generation. Solar energy is energy from the sun. The solar energy conversion into electricity takes place in a semiconductor device, called a solar cell. A solar cell is a unit that delivers only a certain amount of electrical power.
In order to use solar electricity for practical devices which requires a particular voltage or current for their operation, a number of solar cells have to be connected together to form a solar panel also called a PV module. For large-scale generation of solar electricity, the solar panels are connected together into a solar array. Based on semiconductor technology, solar cells operate on the principle that electricity will flow between two semiconductors when they are put into contact with each other and exposed to light (photons).
This phenomenon, known as the photovoltaic effect, was first discovered by Edmund Becquerel in 1839. Actual development of PV technology began in the 1950s and gained greater impetus through the NASA space program during the 1960s. Research continues today at national laboratories and within private industry, focusing on increasing conversion efficiencies and mass production strategies to further lower the cost of producing PV modules.
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