PV for Stand-Alone Applications

PV powered street furniture
is increasingly common in the UK

Stand-alone PV systems are generally used in areas which do not have ready access to mains electricity, or for low-power applications which do not warrant a mains power supply. In many such situations, PV stand-alone systems already provide a cost-effective energy service.

In the UK, stand-alone PV systems are employed for numerous industrial applications including maritime navigation devices (lighthouses, light ships and light buoys), telecommunications equipment, such as repeaters and telephones in remote areas, Environmental monitoring stations (weather, air and water-borne pollution, and sewage), and for cathodic protection against corrosion of pipelines and other metal structures

Numerous commercial stand-alone devices with very low power requirements (typically < 10 Wp) are operational in the UK, even in urban locations for example for traffic monitoring, parking ticket machines and greasing systems for railway points.

In addition, stand-alone PV systems, usually in diesel-hybrid configuration, provide mains equivalent AC power for remote houses in several locations throughout the UK. Grant support for this type of installation is available through the Major Demonstration Programme (MDP)

IEA-PVPS activity in the area of PV systems for stand-alone applications took place from 1994-2004, with the UK involved from the outset. The main objective of this work (PVPS 'Task 3') was to improve the technical quality and cost-effectiveness of stand-alone PV systems.

Work is focussed on the following two main areas:

The approach used was to evaluate the performance of selected Case Study installations, chosen from the participating countries.

The first five year phase of the PV systems for stand-alone applications project focused on the experiences of PV programmes in developing countries. Two Recommended Practice Guides for batteries and charge controllers were produced. In addition, two books on stand-alone PV systems were published. The first presented selected examples of stand-alone PV systems from member countries, and the second presented 'lessons learned' in the installation and management of stand-alone PV systems, collected from the experience of PV experts around the world.