Residential rooftop PV power generation to support cooling loads and national targets in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Saudi Arabia (SA) has a high per capita electricity consumption, predominantly supplied from fossil fuels. The residential sector accounts for about 50% of total electricity consumption with approximately 70% of which is used for air-conditioning (AC) loads. This research investigates the role of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems to displace cooling loads, hence reducing residential electricity demand. Daily and annual electrical demands were monitored in a villa in Jeddah, and a range of PV systems were modelled to determine their ability to support AC and other household loads. Seasonal performance data of such systems were compared to monitored load variations to understand variability and yields. The monitored electrical demand of the villa was in the range 66-167 kWh/day which was used to estimate the required PV systems' capacities. The results indicate that PV systems in the range 2-10 kWp present significant shortfall to support the full demand. However, a 15kWp system was found to meet the daytime total loads. These results indicate that appropriately sized rooftop PV-systems can shave-off peak air-conditioning loads. The paper discusses the importance of utilising building integrated PV in such applications in SA, and highlights the need for dissemination at scale through country wide policy framework.