Techno-economic optimization and real-time comparison of sun tracking photovoltaic system for rural healthcare building

This paper studies the optimum sizing and techno-economic feasibility of photovoltaic systems for rural healthcare building located in a south Indian State, Tamil Nadu, which experiences tropical weather climate. In this study, fixed tilt, annual optimum tilt (AOT), and six other sun tracking installation types are analyzed using hybrid optimization of multiple energy resource (HOMER) energy to understand the power generation potential. As a first step, weekly and monthly optimum tilt angles and AOT are estimated for the study location. The selection of the optimum configuration is arrived with the lowest values of initial cost, operating cost, total net present cost, and levelized cost of energy. It has been found that AOT with fixed installation is the optimum configuration for the study location. However, the performance would vary when the system is put to operate in practical conditions. In order to understand the varying performance, a prototype model is implemented for horizontal axis sun tracking system. The performance of the prototype is analyzed as per the varying real-time weather conditions for four days typically considering the sandstorm day, cloudy day, clear day, and partially cloudy day. Published under license by AIP Publishing.