Predicting the electrical behavior of grid-tied photovoltaic systems in Al Ain - UAE / model and case study

Technologies of solar energy offer a clean, renewable and domestic energy source, and are essential components of a sustainable energy future. Conventionally, PV modules used to be located over the roof, but presently and with the advances in photovoltaic technologies a new emerging field of application science the building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) is taking place worldwide. In this newly emerging field PV cells are incorporated with horizontal and vertical elements of the building envelop such as windows and solar louvers. In this paper a computer modeling tool is developed to predict PV system power generation in typical housing of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This MATLAB-based tool uses daily weather data for the location in UAE under investigation. A large database that includes various PV modules and inverters was built. Using this tool, 20 degree PV module tilt angle proved to produce the maximum power across the whole year in Al-Ain city - UAE. The results obtained were validated in comparison to other data collected from different cities. Moreover, this tool is flexible and can be easily adapted to changes in PV technologies and weather data.