CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 Case Study: Head of Department Office, Faculty of Engineering and
Technology, AE-FUNAI
This case study presents the design of an off-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) system intended to
power the Head of Department (HOD) office in the Faculty of Engineering and Technology,
Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo (AE-FUNAI). The office relies on
electricity to run basic appliances such as lighting, fans, computers, and a printer. Due to the
unreliability of grid power supply in Nigeria, frequent power outages, and the high running
cost of alternative power sources such as diesel and petrol generators, there is a growing
need for sustainable and renewable energy systems in academic environments.
The HOD’s office was chosen as a case study because it represents a typical academic office
setting that requires steady power supply for administrative duties, student supervision,
and other academic-related activities. A reliable solar PV system can improve productivity,
reduce dependency on fossil fuels, and promote the university’s commitment to sustainable
development.
The design of the system in this chapter is based on the results of a detailed energy audit
that identified all the appliances in the office, their daily usage pattern, and corresponding
energy consumption. This data forms the foundation for system sizing, which ensures that
the solar panels, battery bank, inverter, and charge controller are appropriately selected to
meet the energy demand reliably.
4.1 Geographic Location
Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike is situated in Ikwo Local Government Area of
Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Geographically, the site lies between latitude 6.8° N and longitude 8.1°
E in the southeastern part of the country. The location is highly favorable for solar energy
applications because Nigeria is endowed with abundant sunshine throughout the year.
On average, the southeastern region of Nigeria receives between 3.5 – 5.5 kWh/m²/day of
solar radiation. This level of insolation makes it possible to harness solar power efficiently
using photovoltaic modules. For the purpose of this study, a solar generation factor of 3.5
was selected. This factor represents the average number of full sunshine hours per day that
can be realistically utilized by solar panels, taking into account variations in weather
conditions such as cloudy days or rainy seasons.
By selecting an appropriate solar generation factor, the design ensures that the PV system
will remain effective across different seasons of the year, thus guaranteeing reliability and
consistency of power supply to the HOD’s office.
4.2 Office Appliances / Energy Audit
An energy audit was conducted in the HOD’s office to determine the appliances used, their
rated power, daily hours of operation, and the resulting daily energy consumption. The
energy audit is a crucial first step in solar PV system design because it establishes the exact
energy demand that the system must meet. Without an accurate energy audit, the system
could either be under-sized (leading to power shortages) or over-sized (leading to
unnecessary costs).
The appliances identified in the office include four LED lighting bulbs, one standing fan, one
desktop computer, and one printer. The power rating of each device was obtained from the
manufacturer’s specification labels, while the usage hours were estimated based on the
average daily routine of the office.
S/N Appliance Quantity Power Usage Energy
Rating (W) (hrs/day) (Wh/day)
1 LED Bulbs 4 12 6 288
2 Standing 1 70 5 350
Fan
3 Desktop 1 150 4 600
Computer
4 Printer 1 50 1 50
Total 1,288
Wh/day
The total daily energy consumption for the office is 1,288 Wh/day (or approximately 1.29
kWh/day). However, not all the energy generated by the solar panels reaches the appliances
due to inefficiencies in the system. Losses occur in the inverter (conversion losses from DC
to AC), in the cables (resistive losses), and in the battery (charging and discharging
inefficiency). To account for these losses, a correction factor of 1.3 (30% extra load) is
applied to the total daily energy consumption:
Adjusted Load = 1,288 × 1.3 = 1,674 Wh/day.
Thus, the effective daily energy demand that the PV system must be designed to supply is
1,674 Wh/day.
4.3 Sizing the Solar Energy
Solar panel sizing is one of the most critical steps in PV system design, as it determines the
capacity of the system to meet the daily energy demand. The size of the solar array must be
large enough to generate the adjusted energy requirement under average daily solar
conditions in the location.
The required solar panel capacity (in watt-peak, Wp) is calculated using the formula:
Required PV Wp = Adjusted Daily Energy ÷ Solar Generation Factor
Calculation:
= 1,674 ÷ 3.5
≈ 478 Wp
This means that the PV array must have a minimum capacity of about 478 Wp to supply the
daily load of the HOD office.
If each panel available has a rating of 110 Wp, then the number of panels required is:
478 ÷ 110 = 4.35 ≈ 5 panels.
Thus, the design specifies the installation of 5 solar panels, each rated at 110 Wp. The
combined capacity of these panels will be 5 × 110 = 550 Wp, which exceeds the minimum
requirement of 478 Wp, thereby ensuring adequate generation even on less sunny days.
4.4 Sizing of the Battery Bank
The battery bank serves as the energy storage component of the solar PV system. It ensures
that power is available during the night or on days when solar radiation is insufficient. To
design an effective battery system, several factors are considered, including the daily energy
consumption, the number of days of autonomy, the system voltage, the efficiency of the
battery, and the depth of discharge (DOD).
For this design, the following assumptions were made:
- Days of autonomy: 3 days.
- System voltage: 12V.
- Battery efficiency: 85% (0.85).
- Depth of discharge (DOD): 60% (0.6).
The formula for battery capacity is:
Battery Capacity (Ah) = (Daily Load × Days of Autonomy) ÷ (Battery Efficiency × DOD ×
System Voltage)
Calculation:
= (1,674 × 3) ÷ (0.85 × 0.6 × 12)
= 5,022 ÷ 6.12
≈ 821 Ah
Thus, the required battery bank capacity is approximately 821 Ah at 12V.
To achieve this practically, deep-cycle batteries rated at 12V, 200Ah can be used. The
number of batteries required is:
821 ÷ 200 = 4.1 ≈ 5 batteries.
Therefore, the battery bank will consist of 5 batteries (12V, 200Ah each) connected in
parallel to achieve the total required storage capacity. This configuration ensures that the
HOD’s office can run independently of grid power for up to 3 days without recharging.