Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Applications (Lessons Learned)

Photovoltaics is already an economic and practical option for providing electricity in many situations such as remote housing, in hybrid systems and for some service applications. Over the last decade, an International Energy Agency (IEA) team (Photovoltaic Power Systems, Task III) made up of members from 15 different countries has been studying these systems. Many valuable and practical lessons have been learned about economic, institutional, social and technical aspects of installing and using such systems. This book explains these lessons succinctly and clearly, and provides examples of fourteen practical, installed projects to illustrate them. Both PV specialists and non-specialists involved in the development, planning, commissioning, installation or use of stand-alone PV systems can benefit from the extensive experience of the Task members, and will find plenty of hints and guidelines within this concise publication to save them significant time and money. All members of the IEA Task have contributed to the book, which has been edited and coordinated by ECOFYS in The Netherlands. Published with IEA.