The large variability and unpredictability of energy production from photovoltaic power microinstallations results from the dependence on the current weather conditions. These conditions depend on a number of factors and are variable over the time. Despite this specificity, photovoltaic micro-installations are becoming more and more popular in the world and in Poland. This is mainly due to the fact that the generation of energy from renewable sources has numerous advantages, the energy is free, renewable in time and ecological, and its production on its own gives partial independence from energy supplies from the power grid. In addition, the observed significant prices decrease of solar modules has further accelerated the development of the use of this energy source. Concern for this method of energy production among households has increased significantly in Poland after introducing the prosumer in the legal framework and the use of administrative and financial support. The implemented prosumer mechanisms allowed, for example, the net balancing of the energy consumed and produced by the micro-installation through storage in the power grid. The article describes the problem of balancing sources using solar energy, based on micro-installation used in the household (the so-called prosumer installation). The conducted analyses compared the load profile of a typical household and the energy generation profile from a photovoltaic installation, determining the real balancing formation level of such a system.
Using renewable energy sources for electricity production is based on the processing of primary energy occurring in the form of sun, wind etc., into electrical energy. Economic viability using those sources in small power plants strongly depends on the support system, based mainly on financial instruments. Micro-installations, by using special instruments dedicated to the prosumer market may become more and more interesting not only in terms of environmental energy, but also financial independence. In the paper, the term hybrid power plant is understood to mean a production unit generating electricity or electricity and heat in the process of energy production, in which two or more renewable energy sources or energy sources other than renewable sources are used. The combination of the two energy sources is to their mutual complementarity, to ensure the continuity of the electricity supply. The ideal situation would be if both sources of energy included in the hybrid power plant continuously covered the total demand for energy consumers. Unfortunately, due to the short-term and long-term variability of weather conditions, such a balance is unattainable. The paper assesses the possibility of balancing the hybrid power plant in daily and monthly periods. Basic types of power plants and hybrid components and system support micro-installations were characterized. The support system is based particularly on a system of feed-in tariffs and the possibility of obtaining a preferential loan with a subsidy (redemption of part of the loan size). Then, an analysis of energy and economic efficiency for a standard set of hybrid micro-installations consisting of a wind turbine and photovoltaic panels with a total power of 5 kW, were presented. Fourteen variants of financing, economic efficiency compared with the use of the method of the simple payback period were assumed.
The energy efficiency of photovoltaic modules is one of the most important aspects in energetic and economic aspects of the project related to system installations. The efficiency of modules and the electricity produced by photovoltaic conversion in solar modules is affected by many factors, both internal, related to the module structure itself and its technical and external factors related to the energy infrastructure, which includes: cabling, inverters, climate conditions prevailing at the micro-installation location and the orientation and angle of inclination of the solar modules. The installation of photovoltaic modules should be preceded by an energy efficiency analysis, which will help to indicate the optimal solution adapted to the given conditions. The article presents a comparative analysis of the amount of energy produced under real and simulated conditions. Analyzes were made on the basis of research carried out in the Wind and Solar Energy Laboratory located at the AGH University of Science and Technology, data from solar irradiation data-bases and computer software for estimating energy resources. The study examined the correlation of the solar irradiation on the modules and the amount of electricity generated in the photovoltaic module. The electricity produced by the module was compared under real conditions and simulated based on two sources of data. The comparison and analysis of the amount of energy of the module were also made, taking simulated different angles of the module’s inclination into account.