Integrated Photovoltaic System Sizing for a Building of 40 Apartments and Economic Evaluation Using RETScreen™

Abstract

This work describes a building integrated photovoltaic system (BIPVS) sizing for a building of 40 apartments in the city of Bogotá, Colombia. To do this, we consider the application of the Colombian Law 1715, which encourages the use of renewable energy sources and it becomes a useful tool so that our country can achieve the commitments made in the agreement COP 21. The calculation procedure of the electric load of the building is presented as well as the photovoltaic array sizing. The results indicate that the building requires a transformer of 112,5 kVA, its common areas consume 2460 kWh/month and a photovoltaic generator of 25,8 kW would be required. The economic analysis using RETScreen™ indicates that the net present value for the life period of the project (25 years) is USD$117,940 with a reduction of 27,4 tons/year of CO2.