IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v13y2020i14p3639-d384671.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Comparative Analysis of Ground-Mounted vs. Rooftop Photovoltaic Systems Optimized for Interrow Distance between Parallel Arrays

Author

Listed:
  • Ahmed Bilal Awan

    (Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, Majmaah University, Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia)

  • Mohammed Alghassab

    (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Shaqra University, Riyadh 11911, Saudi Arabia)

  • Muhammad Zubair

    (Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, Majmaah University, Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia)

  • Abdul Rauf Bhatti

    (Department of Electrical Engineering, Government College University Faisalabad (GCUF), Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan)

  • Muhammad Uzair

    (Department of Electrical Engineering, Islamic University of Madinah, Madinah 41411, Saudi Arabia)

  • Ghulam Abbas

    (Department of Electrical Engineering, The University of Lahore, Lahore 54000, Pakistan)

Abstract

The aim of this research is to perform an in-depth performance comparison of ground-mounted and rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems. The PV modules are tilted to receive maximum solar irradiance. The efficiency of the PV system decreases due to the mutual shading impact of parallel tilted PV modules. The mutual shading decreases with the increasing interrow distance of parallel PV modules, but a distance that is too large causes an increase in land cost in the case of ground-mounted configuration and a decrease in roof surface shading in the case of rooftop configuration, because larger sections of roof are exposed to sun radiation. Therefore, an optimized interrow distance for the two PV configurations is determined with the aim being to minimize the levelized cost of energy (LCoE) and maximize the energy yield. The model of the building is simulated in EnergyPlus software to determine the cooling load requirement and roof surface temperatures under different shading scenarios. The layout of the rooftop PV system is designed in Helioscope software. A detailed comparison of the two systems is carried out based on energy output, performance ratio, capacity utilization factor (CUF), energy yield, and LCoE. Compared to ground-mounted configuration, the rooftop PV configuration results in a 2.9% increase in CUF, and up to a 23.7% decrease in LCoE. The results of this research show that installing a PV system on a roof has many distinct advantages over ground-mounted PV systems such as the shading of the roof, which leads to the curtailment of the cooling energy requirements of the buildings in hot regions and land cost savings, especially for urban environments.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahmed Bilal Awan & Mohammed Alghassab & Muhammad Zubair & Abdul Rauf Bhatti & Muhammad Uzair & Ghulam Abbas, 2020. "Comparative Analysis of Ground-Mounted vs. Rooftop Photovoltaic Systems Optimized for Interrow Distance between Parallel Arrays," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-21, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:14:p:3639-:d:384671
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/14/3639/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/14/3639/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ahmed Bilal Awan & Muhammad Zubair & Praveen R. P. & Ahmed G. Abokhalil, 2018. "Solar Energy Resource Analysis and Evaluation of Photovoltaic System Performance in Various Regions of Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-27, April.
    2. Muhammad Zubair & Ahmed Bilal Awan & Abdullah Al-Ahmadi & Ahmed G. Abo-Khalil, 2018. "NPC Based Design Optimization for a Net Zero Office Building in Hot Climates with PV Panels as Shading Device," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-20, May.
    3. Awan, Ahmed Bilal & Zubair, Muhammad & Chandra Mouli, Kotturu V.V., 2020. "Design, optimization and performance comparison of solar tower and photovoltaic power plants," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    4. Shaahid, S.M. & Elhadidy, M.A., 2008. "Economic analysis of hybrid photovoltaic-diesel-battery power systems for residential loads in hot regions--A step to clean future," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 488-503, February.
    5. EL-Shimy, M., 2009. "Viability analysis of PV power plants in Egypt," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(10), pages 2187-2196.
    6. Byrne, John & Taminiau, Job & Kurdgelashvili, Lado & Kim, Kyung Nam, 2015. "A review of the solar city concept and methods to assess rooftop solar electric potential, with an illustrative application to the city of Seoul," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 830-844.
    7. Peng, Jinqing & Lu, Lin, 2013. "Investigation on the development potential of rooftop PV system in Hong Kong and its environmental benefits," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 149-162.
    8. Muhammad Umar Afzaal & Intisar Ali Sajjad & Ahmed Bilal Awan & Kashif Nisar Paracha & Muhammad Faisal Nadeem Khan & Abdul Rauf Bhatti & Muhammad Zubair & Waqas ur Rehman & Salman Amin & Shaikh Saaqib , 2020. "Probabilistic Generation Model of Solar Irradiance for Grid Connected Photovoltaic Systems Using Weibull Distribution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-17, March.
    9. Assouline, Dan & Mohajeri, Nahid & Scartezzini, Jean-Louis, 2018. "Large-scale rooftop solar photovoltaic technical potential estimation using Random Forests," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 189-211.
    10. Vincenzo Muteri & Maurizio Cellura & Domenico Curto & Vincenzo Franzitta & Sonia Longo & Marina Mistretta & Maria Laura Parisi, 2020. "Review on Life Cycle Assessment of Solar Photovoltaic Panels," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-38, January.
    11. González, Arnau & Riba, Jordi-Roger & Rius, Antoni & Puig, Rita, 2015. "Optimal sizing of a hybrid grid-connected photovoltaic and wind power system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 752-762.
    12. Asif, M., 2016. "Growth and sustainability trends in the buildings sector in the GCC region with particular reference to the KSA and UAE," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 1267-1273.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Aidana Chalgynbayeva & Tamás Mizik & Attila Bai, 2022. "Cost–Benefit Analysis of Kaposvár Solar Photovoltaic Park Considering Agrivoltaic Systems," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 4(4), pages 1-17, October.
    2. Artem Stopochkin & Inessa Sytnik, 2022. "Algorithm for Rapid Estimation of the Performance of Small Rooftop Solar PV Use by Households," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-29, May.
    3. Charles Paranhos Oliveira & Fernanda Campos de Sousa & Gabriel Machado Dallago & Jocássia Reis Silva & Paulo Henrique Reis Furtado Campos & Maria Clara de Carvalho Guimarães & Fernando da Costa Baêta, 2023. "Thermal Environment and Animal Comfort of Aviary Prototypes with Photovoltaic Solar Panel on the Roof," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-18, March.
    4. Ali S. Alghamdi, 2021. "Performance Enhancement of Roof-Mounted Photovoltaic System: Artificial Neural Network Optimization of Ground Coverage Ratio," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-18, March.
    5. Nima Narjabadifam & Mohammed Al-Saffar & Yongquan Zhang & Joseph Nofech & Asdrubal Cheng Cen & Hadia Awad & Michael Versteege & Mustafa Gül, 2022. "Framework for Mapping and Optimizing the Solar Rooftop Potential of Buildings in Urban Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-32, February.
    6. Tosin Waidi Olofin & Omowunmi Mary Longe & Tien-Chien Jen, 2023. "Analysis of Performance Yield Parameters for Selected Polycrystalline Solar Panel Brands in South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-18, March.
    7. Sun, Tao & Shan, Ming & Rong, Xing & Yang, Xudong, 2022. "Estimating the spatial distribution of solar photovoltaic power generation potential on different types of rural rooftops using a deep learning network applied to satellite images," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).
    8. Bhuvad, Sushant Suresh & Udayraj,, 2022. "Investigation of annual performance of a building shaded by rooftop PV panels in different climate zones of India," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 1337-1357.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ali S. Alghamdi, 2021. "Performance Enhancement of Roof-Mounted Photovoltaic System: Artificial Neural Network Optimization of Ground Coverage Ratio," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-18, March.
    2. Sredenšek, Klemen & Štumberger, Bojan & Hadžiselimović, Miralem & Mavsar, Primož & Seme, Sebastijan, 2022. "Physical, geographical, technical, and economic potential for the optimal configuration of photovoltaic systems using a digital surface model and optimization method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    3. Primož Mavsar & Klemen Sredenšek & Bojan Štumberger & Miralem Hadžiselimović & Sebastijan Seme, 2019. "Simplified Method for Analyzing the Availability of Rooftop Photovoltaic Potential," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-17, November.
    4. Gassar, Abdo Abdullah Ahmed & Cha, Seung Hyun, 2021. "Review of geographic information systems-based rooftop solar photovoltaic potential estimation approaches at urban scales," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    5. Lee, Minhyun & Hong, Taehoon & Jeong, Kwangbok & Kim, Jimin, 2018. "A bottom-up approach for estimating the economic potential of the rooftop solar photovoltaic system considering the spatial and temporal diversity," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 640-656.
    6. Awan, Ahmed Bilal & Zubair, Muhammad & Chandra Mouli, Kotturu V.V., 2020. "Design, optimization and performance comparison of solar tower and photovoltaic power plants," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    7. Tian, Shuai & Yang, Guoqiang & Du, Sihong & Zhuang, Dian & Zhu, Ke & Zhou, Xin & Jin, Xing & Ye, Yu & Li, Peixian & Shi, Xing, 2024. "An innovative method for evaluating the urban roof photovoltaic potential based on open-source satellite images," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    8. Hong, Taehoon & Lee, Minhyun & Koo, Choongwan & Jeong, Kwangbok & Kim, Jimin, 2017. "Development of a method for estimating the rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) potential by analyzing the available rooftop area using Hillshade analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 320-332.
    9. Antonio Barragán-Escandón & Esteban Zalamea-León & Julio Terrados-Cepeda, 2019. "Incidence of Photovoltaics in Cities Based on Indicators of Occupancy and Urban Sustainability," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-26, February.
    10. Min-Hwi Kim & Deuk-Won Kim & Dong-Won Lee, 2021. "Feasibility of Low Carbon Renewable Energy City Integrated with Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-24, November.
    11. Assouline, Dan & Mohajeri, Nahid & Scartezzini, Jean-Louis, 2018. "Large-scale rooftop solar photovoltaic technical potential estimation using Random Forests," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 189-211.
    12. Rami Alamoudi & Osman Taylan & Mehmet Azmi Aktacir & Enrique Herrera-Viedma, 2021. "Designing a Solar Photovoltaic System for Generating Renewable Energy of a Hospital: Performance Analysis and Adjustment Based on RSM and ANFIS Approaches," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(22), pages 1-24, November.
    13. Attia, Ahmed M. & Al Hanbali, Ahmad & Saleh, Haitham H. & Alsawafy, Omar G. & Ghaithan, Ahmed M. & Mohammed, Awsan, 2021. "A multi-objective optimization model for sizing decisions of a grid-connected photovoltaic system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    14. Thai, Clinton & Brouwer, Jack, 2021. "Challenges estimating distributed solar potential with utilization factors: California universities case study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(PB).
    15. Amir A. Imam & Yusuf A. Al-Turki & Sreerama Kumar R., 2019. "Techno-Economic Feasibility Assessment of Grid-Connected PV Systems for Residential Buildings in Saudi Arabia—A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-25, December.
    16. Ali, Ihsan & Shafiullah, GM & Urmee, Tania, 2018. "A preliminary feasibility of roof-mounted solar PV systems in the Maldives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 18-32.
    17. Abdullah Shaher & Saad Alqahtani & Ali Garada & Liana Cipcigan, 2023. "Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic in Saudi Arabia to Supply Electricity Demand in Localised Urban Areas: A Study of the City of Abha," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-24, May.
    18. John Byrne & Job Taminiau & Kyung Nam Kim & Jeongseok Seo & Joohee Lee, 2016. "A solar city strategy applied to six municipalities: integrating market, finance, and policy factors for infrastructure‐scale photovoltaic development in Amsterdam, London, Munich, New York, Seoul, an," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(1), pages 68-88, January.
    19. Tomar, Vivek & Tiwari, G.N., 2017. "Techno-economic evaluation of grid connected PV system for households with feed in tariff and time of day tariff regulation in New Delhi – A sustainable approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 822-835.
    20. Elham Fakhraian & Marc Alier & Francesc Valls Dalmau & Alireza Nameni & Maria José Casañ Guerrero, 2021. "The Urban Rooftop Photovoltaic Potential Determination," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-18, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:14:p:3639-:d:384671. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.