Design of an Off Grid Photovoltaic System for a Three Bedroom Flat in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria

This is an off grid photovoltaic system designed for a three bedroom flat located in Makurdi Benue state, Nigeria. It is aimed at clearing doubts and fear engulfed by residential owners about photovoltaic systems in the country. The off grid photovoltaic system was design based on the electrical energy requirement of the flat. To achieve this, the power rating of common appliances which could be found in the flat were identified and multiplied by their time of operation to understand the energy demand of the house. The energy requirement of the flat was found to be 15.563kwh per day. The photovoltaic system was designed using Polysun application software. The result obtained from simulation shows that, the system will generate enough energy for operation of these appliances including in the night. The cost of the system was found to be 2862249 with a lifetime of at least 20 years. The cost was compared with the use of fuel generator within the same period. The payback period was found to be approximately 2.72years. This means that the cost of photovoltaic system for the flat is high but after 2.7 years, the installer of the PV system will be using energy virtually free for the remainder of the lifetime of the system.