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Key Takeaways
Solar Mango is a one-stop resource for all things related to rooftop solar power generation
(aka captive solar) in India. Solar Mango provides solar solutions for industrial and
commercial energy consumers, but we do receive a large number of enquiries from
residential consumers on the feasibility of rooftop solar PV for their dwellings. As we are
unable to reply to many such enquiries, we prepared this guide to address many of the
common concerns surrounding residential rooftop solar power and help residential
consumers decide on a solar plant.
More on our services here - www.solarmango.com/in/our-services/
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Contents
Overview of solar PV .................................................................................................................... 3
Kinds of solar plants ..................................................................................................................... 4
What kind of a roof do I need for a solar plant? ............................................................................ 4
How much of roof space do I require? ............................................................................................... 5
Can a solar plant be installed only in individual homes, or also in residential apartments? ............. 5
Can I run my entire home on solar PV? ......................................................................................... 5
How do I know my electrical load? ............................................................................................... 6
What should be the solar plant capacity based on my load? ............................................................. 7
What would happen if my solar plant does not match the load? ...................................................... 7
If the plant is smaller than required ............................................................................................... 7
If the plant is larger than required .................................................................................................. 7
What is the cost of a solar PV plant? ............................................................................................. 8
Are any subsidies provided? ............................................................................................................... 8
Can I benefit from Accelerated Depreciation? ................................................................................... 8
What are the operating/running costs? ............................................................................................. 8
What is net metering? ........................................................................................................................ 9
Will using solar power be cheaper than using grid power? ............................................................... 9
Can I use batteries to obtain power at night? .............................................................................. 10
What certifications/warranties should I look for in my solar PV plant? ........................................ 10
Should I use a solar PV plant or a solar water heater to heat water?............................................ 10
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Overview of solar PV
Solar PV converts sunlight (not heat) to generate electricity through a photovoltaic process. A solar
plant consists of
The size of solar plant you require depends on your electrical load and the number of kWh (units)
you consume. The size of solar plant you can install is limited by the extent of shade-free rooftop
space available.
The expected lifetime of a solar PV plant is 25 years.
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Grid-tied The plant works in conjunction with grid power. Such a solar plant will turn off if
grid power is not available, and may not suit locations with frequent power failure
Hybrid In conjunction with a diesel generator or battery bank, the plant can deliver solar
power even during a power failure
Off-grid The plant only works off-grid. It can sync with batteries or a diesel generator but
not grid power. Such plants can be installed in areas where the grid is absent, but not
recommended for areas where grid is present, even if grid power is only available
intermittently
The only difference between the three kinds of plants is in the type of inverter used.
It should be noted that a solar PV plant must have another source of power (grid/DG/battery) to
function the other source is used to provide a reference voltage as solar power is continuously
varying. In the absence of reference power, the solar plant will not generate electricity even in
bright sunlight.
A grid-tied plant synchronises only with the grid and will shutdown in the absence of grid
power
A hybrid plant can synchronise with either gird or DG or battery and will shutdown if all
three are absent
An off-grid plant can synchronise with DG or battery and will shutdown if both are absent
Approximately
100 sq.ft of roof
space is required
for 1 kW of solar
plant
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Roof ownership In many apartment buildings the roof is considered common area.
Therefore permission from the building society/association may be required before an
individual can install the solar plant
Distance from roof to apartment Since apartment complexes typically feature multistoreyed buildings, the number of floors between the apartment where solar power is to be
used and the roof where the power is generated may be an issue as DC power provided by
the solar panels suffers a great deal of loss as distance increases
o Using thicker DC cables is a possible solution to minimise loss
o Another solution is to place the inverter on the roof as the AC power from the
inverter does not suffer much loss over distances compared to DC power. Issues
such as permission to install the inverter and location of inverter (it needs a wellventilated room) need to be addressed
Earthing The solar plant generates both AC and DC power and both need to be earthed.
While AC earthing can be combined with existing building earthing, DC will require separate
earthing for which permission will be required as well
It is also possible that rather than an individual apartment owner having a personal solar plant, the
building association as a whole can install a solar plant to supply common facilities such as common
area lighting.
Solar power is only generated during daytime. With heavy rain or mist solar power may not
be generated even during the day (30-60 days of generation may be lost in a year due to
these factors)
The solar plant may not run loads with heavy starting current requirements, such as water
pumps. Air conditioning also may not be supported
o It may be possible to run inverter air conditioners off your solar plant
In such situations a solar plant can be used to support part of the load, similar to a home
inverter/UPS.
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Number
Wattage
Total
Wattage
Hours used
between
10 and 4
Lights
40
160
800
Fans
60
180
1,080
TV
120
120
360
Refrigerator
300
300
1,200
Appliance
760
Energy
(Wh/day)
3,440
Dividing the Total Wattage and Energy by 1,000 gives us the load in kW and energy consumed in
kWh i.e., Total Load = 0.76 kW; Total Energy Consumed = 3.44 kWh.
Your electricity consumption is billed on the basis of number of kWh consumed. Since solar is only
available during daytime, it is the load and energy consumption during daytime that will need to be
ascertained to calculate the size of the plant. Residents are usually away from home during the day
and most energy consumption is at night. It is therefore important to calculate the size of the plant
based on daytime use to avoid oversizing the plant.
The above example gives a simple calculation to calculate the load and energy consumption. In real
world situations it may be difficult to determine the number of hours that appliances are used
during the day. We can instead ascertain the energy consumption by noting the electricity meter
reading at 10 AM and 4 PM for a few days. The difference between the readings is the energy
consumption (kWh) for that period. If the electricity meter is a digital meter it usually also provides
the load in amperes and kW. This can be noted several times each day to determine the average
load.
A detailed note on estimating electrical load and energy consumption can be found here www.solarmango.com/in/faq/8#calculating-the
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0.76
(100-25)%
1.0133 kW
What would happen if my solar plant does not match the load?
If the plant is smaller than required
Grid-tie system
o When grid power is present The deficit will be compensated by electricity from
the grid
o During power failure The solar plant will not provide power (irrespective of size of
plant)
Hybrid system
o When grid power is present The deficit will be compensated by electricity from
the grid
o During power failure The inverter may register an overload and be
shutdown/damaged, unless another source of power (DG or batteries) can
compensate
Off-grid system
o As this is an off-grid system, there is no question of grid power being present. The
inverter may register an overload and be shutdown/damaged, unless another source
of power (DG or batteries) can compensate
Grid-tie system
o When grid power is present Excess solar generation is fed into the grid
o During power failure The solar plant will not provide power (irrespective of size of
plant)
Hybrid system
o When grid power is present Excess solar generation is fed into the grid
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During power failure The solar plant will generate only as much energy as
required by the load i.e., the excess plant capacity is wasted
Off-grid system
o As this is an off-grid system, there is no question of power being exported to the
grid. The solar plant will generate only as much energy as required by the load i.e.,
the excess plant capacity is wasted
Please note that if you do not have a net meter, feeding excess solar generation into the
grid will cause your electricity meter to turn in the forward direction for energy supplied
i.e., the power sent to the grid will be added to your electricity bill.
Approximate cost
of a rooftop solar
PV is Rs. 1 Lakh
per kW
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Rs. 3.33/kWh
Please note that this does not include any cost other than direct upfront cost for the plant. Other
costs such as inverter replacement and AMC can push the cost/kWh higher.
Adding some margin for unforeseen costs, Solar Mango recommends considering solar
power for your residence only if your current residential tariff is Rs. 5.00/kWh or
greater. We urge you to conduct a thorough due diligence on costs by speaking to
vendors with experience installing in and around your location before deciding on your
solar plant.
It should be noted that cost of power from your solar plant is fixed for the next 25 years while the EB
power tariff keeps rising.
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Solar Panels
o Warranty At least 5-year manufacturing defect warranty and a 25-year output
warranty (typically 90% of power output at year 10 and 80% of power output at year
25)
o Certifications - IEC 61215/IS 14286, IEC 61730, and IEC 61701/IS 61701 if coastal
location
Inverter
o Warranty 1 year, extendable to 5 years
o Certifications - IEC 61683/IS 61683, IEC 60068-2
Other components 1 year warranty
A detailed examination of warranties and certifications, including failures not covered by warranties,
can be found here - www.solarmango.com/in/faq/7
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You gain a world class solar system that significantly boosts your green credentials, reduces
grid dependence, and helps reduce your diesel consumption.
Read more on our Solar Assist service from here www.solarmango.com/our-services/
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