Expanding Photovoltaic Penetration with Residential Distributed Generation from Hybrid Solar Photovoltaic Combined Heat and Power Systems

Energy, Vol. 34, pp. 1947-1954, 2009

24 Pages Posted: 3 Mar 2012

See all articles by Joshua M. Pearce

Joshua M. Pearce

Western University ; Michigan Technological University; Aalto University

Date Written: 2009

Abstract

The recent development of small scale combined heat and power (CHP) systems has provided the opportunity for in-house power backup of residential-scale photovoltaic (PV) arrays. This paper investigates the potential of deploying a distributed network of PV CHP hybrid systems in order increase the PV penetration level in the U.S. The temporal distribution of solar flux, electrical and heating requirements for representative U.S. single family residences were analyzed and the results clearly show that hybridizing CHP with PV can enable additional PV deployment above what is possible with a conventional centralized electric generation system. The technical evolution of such PV CHP hybrid systems was developed from the present (near market) technology through four generations, which enable high utilization rates of both PV-generated electricity and CHP-generated heat. A method to determine the maximum percent of PV-generated electricity on the grid without energy storage was derived and applied to an example area. The results show that a PV CHP hybrid system not only has the potential to radically reduce energy waste in the status quo electrical and heating systems, but it also enables the share of solar PV to be expanded by about a factor of five.

Keywords: energy, renewable energy, CHP, combined heat and power, cogeneration, cogen, solar energy, solar photovoltaic, solar, photovoltaic, hybrid energy systems

JEL Classification: Q40, Q42

Suggested Citation

Pearce, Joshua M., Expanding Photovoltaic Penetration with Residential Distributed Generation from Hybrid Solar Photovoltaic Combined Heat and Power Systems (2009). Energy, Vol. 34, pp. 1947-1954, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2014738

Michigan Technological University ( email )

Houghton, MI 49931
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.mse.mtu.edu/~pearce/Index.html

Aalto University ( email )

P.O. Box 21210
Helsinki, 00101
Finland

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