Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Engineering & Emerging Technologies (ICEET), Superior

University, Lahore, PK, 26-27 March, 2015. 1

Design and Implementation of Solar Power System

for Educational Institutes in Rural Areas of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Iftikhar Javed Khan, M. Riaz, Yawar Hayat Khan, and Salman Rashid

engineer iftikhar169@yahoo.com, riaz@arwic.com, hyyat303@yahoo.com, and reborn.engr@gmail.com

School of Information Technology

University of Lahore, Islamabad Campus
Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan.

Abstract—Solar energy is a permanent energy source on earth
and it is available for use in its direct and indirect forms. Solar
Photovoltaic (PV) panel is another empowering technology that
can convert part of the sunlight into useable electricity. This
paper combines the use of sunlight and solar PV panels to design
and implement solar system for the educational institutes in the
rural areas of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.
The end target of the solar system design to serve tube lights,
energy saver bulbs, computer labs and classrooms. Such a solar
system is more economical in a sense that it requires low initial
cost and less maintenance.
Keywords: Solar panel, photovoltaic, batteries, charge
controller, cooling box.
I. I NTRODUCTION
Solar energy is a permanent and natural energy source on
earth and it is available for use in its direct and indirect forms
[1]. Solar Photovoltaic (PV) panel is another empowering
technology that can convert part of the sunlight into useable
electricity. Utilization of solar hybrid system is essential in
every field of life. In [2], an experiment is conducted using
the PV panel to supply electricity in each building in the
schools like classrooms, computer labs etc. Since we know
that energy especially electricity is the basic requirement for
the social and economic development of a country. Therefore,
the use of electricity is increasing day by day in every field or
department of a country e.g., industries require continuous and
uninterrupted supply of electrical energy [3]. Due to increased
demand of electricity in a country like Pakistan, energy crises
have been raised. In [4, 5], various energy sources like oil, coal,
natural gas are presented, where the authors pointed out that
these sources are limited in the country and if these are used
at the current rate then these energy sources will be finished
very quickly in the upcoming decades [6]. The shortfall of
energy leads to bring in use the fossil fuel-based power plants
which generate substantial green house gases effecting global
climate [7]. Rural areas are far apart from the cities, supply
of electricity is the main challenge in this regard. Solar PV
panels are best to produce electricity in such rural areas.
Photovoltaic system make use of PV panels which convert
solar energy directly into electrical energy. The solar hybrid
system gives green, clean, climate friendly and inexhaustible
energy to mankind [8].
Pakistan needs more electrical energy and facing energy
shortage for the last ten years. The total supply from different
sources are round about 15000 MW and we require 17000
to 20000 MW, so due to high demand than supply, there
is daily load shedding from 14 to 20 hours in rural areas
and 8 to 10 hours in the urban areas of the country. The
load shedding causes serious impact on business, industries,
factories, everyday life of a citizen and more importantly on
the education system of young generation in the rural areas
of the country. In order to provide modern education in the
rural areas, there is a need of continuous electricity in the
educational institutes to maintain computer labs and lightning
system in the class rooms. This may be possible if continuous
electrical energy is supplied to these institutes in the working
hours.
In this paper, we present a design and implementation of
solar system for the educational institutes in rural areas of
Khyber pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Khyber pakhtunkhwa, one
of the provinces in Pakistan, has the potential of renewable
energy sources such as wind, geothermal and solar. Among
all of this solar energy is the best option to provide electricity
to these rural institute of khyber pakhtunkhwa due to fact
of greater solar radiations. The solar power system requires
less maintenance and low cost, though it has the initial
implementation cost.
Rest of the paper is organized as follows: Section II
describes the system model of the proposed design. Design
procedure is presented in Section III. In Section IV, cost and
budget calculation is provided. Finally, the conclusion of the
paper is given in Section V.
II. S YSTEM M ODEL
In this section, we present the basic components used in the
design of our proposed solar system. Description of some of
the components like photovoltaic solar panels, batteries, charge
controller and balance of system components is also given in
[9, 10].
 Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Engineering & Emerging Technologies (ICEET), Superior
University, Lahore, PK, 26-27 March, 2015. 2

A. Solar Panels: E. Constraints:

Solar panel converts sunlight into electrical energy. It is also
called photovoltaic as it converts light energy directly into
electrical energy. Solar panel consists of cells that generate
electricity depending upon the light incident on these cells.
Stronger the light incident on these cell more electricity is
generated from the cells. The basic solar system as given in
[2] and is shown in Fig. 1.
Minimizing cost and simplicity was the main concern
throughout the design process. The site was located off grid to
minimize cost and inefficiency. The system was designed for
DC system. Although AC system would have allowed for grid
contestability. AC/DC converter is required which increase
power inefficiency and component acquisition.
F. Inverters:
As we know that inverters are used to convert DC electricity
to AC electricity. The use of inverters depends upon the
condition because sometimes we need direct DC electricity
from the batteries and can not require AC electricity so in that
case we can not require inverters. Although it was considered
as a mechanical device used for the conversion of AC to DC
and is known as converters. Later on for the reverse of this
device which convert DC to AC and was named as inverters.

III. D ESIGNING OF THE P ROPOSED S OLAR S YSTEM

In this section, we describe the whole design of our project.
In this project we mainly focus on our project constraints,
array sizing and the system integration with the site. The
general integrated design process for the project in Fig. 2 and
Fig. 3 are as fallow:
Fig. 1. Solar System.
1) The basic requirement of the system are end use appli-
cation,cost of project and constraints of project.
2) Size and design of system(load determination,PV and
B. Lighting: battery array).
Here, we use tube lights and energy savers available in rural 3) Integration of the system(solar panel mounted on
ares of KPK. The system is designed for 40W tube lights and roof,cooling box placement and wiring arrangement.
23 to 35W energy saver bulbs. These tube lights and energy 4) During this process was interrelated feedback occurred
savers are used in the schools and examination halls. between the team members and author.

C. Batteries:
The batteries are commonly used to store DC energy
obtained from solar panels, which further give this energy to
the inverter for further procedure. When the battery is in the
charging state it converts electrical energy to chemical energy
and while the batteries in turn convert this chemical energy
to electrical energy. For the PV system, it is necessary to
select such batteries which have good design features, best
economical features and good operational characteristics. In
PV system the main importance of batteries are.
• The main function in PV system for batteries are that it
provides the energy storage capacity.
• The batteries operate for the stability of current and
voltage.
• The batteries also used to supply surge currents.

D. Charge controller:
The charge controller is necessarily used to optimize battery
power of the system, it prevent batteries from overcharging.
The charge controller is 30 Amp, 500v and price ranges from Fig. 2. Block Diagram of Solar panels array.
40000 to 45000.
 Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Engineering & Emerging Technologies (ICEET), Superior
University, Lahore, PK, 26-27 March, 2015. 3

where 30 is the total hours in which load components

Charging and UPS System and
Main AC AC Socket
are used in 1 week.
Safety Circuit Control Circuit

Similarly if we calculate the load component of the

energy unit used in 1 month
Microcontroller
Input from Load component of the energy units used in 1 month
Main AC
Main, (4 weeks + 2 Days) = AB * 130 = 130AB KWhr
Battery
Inverter
Solar Panel Further we shall calculate the energy calculation for
summer and winter.
Solar Panel Output Relays
Status of LCD For Summer calculations

Energy Units used by Load components in summer (3

Fig. 3. Block Diagram of Solar Process. months) = AB * 130 * 3 = 390 KWhrs

where 3 is the total number of months in which the

A. Basic Requirement:
The main requirement for the project is to deliver cheap and
easy power to the educational institutes in rural areas of KPK.
The system should have low fixed costs and can be easily
maintained and reliable.
B. Load Calculations:
In this section, we mainly focus on the total loads of
educational institutes in order to improve our literacy level in
the rural areas of KPK. For this purpose we, visited different
educational institutes and collect data from High, Middle and
Primary schools, respectively. All these schools are located in
the rural areas of KPK i.e Bannu and Karak. We have collected
data regarding total number of students, total numbers of fan
and energy savers bulbs and total numbers of computer labs to
improve the literacy rate in those schools. After this, we have
summarized and calculated the whole data for the total load
required for the fans, computer labs and energy saver bulbs.
1) Energy Calculations:: Here we shall calculate the
generalized form of energy.
Total no of Load components = A
One load component wattage = B
Total load components = A * B = AB watt
For daily load components the energy units used are =
AB * 5 = 5AB KWhr
Where 5 is the total hours in which the load components are
used.
If we calculate for 1 week.
load components are used in summer.
C. Sizing PV Array:
The initial rough estimate for our project was a minimum
of 600w system which is based on minimal lightning load
that was estimated for the classrooms.We will request a 600w
panels obtained from BP solar.This frequently met our initial
and final estimates for our system amp-hours required.Five
PV panels was required for rounded up which will be more
sufficient to give the load current and can be lowered easily
to four if it is necessary.
D. Design Balance Of System:
It illustrates the basic design of our system which includes
mounting of panels and wiring in system and housing equip-
ment.
1) Positions of panels:: The panels were designed such that
it is placed flat on our educational institutes as it helps to
prevent shadowing of one other panel, thus it allows us for
closing panels spacing. So its specification becomes easy and
simple. It was not anticipated that panels are not subject to
high pressure wind loads. We shall also think about anti-theft
element to our system so we shall fix our panels at the top of
our institutes.
2) Wiring:: Wiring of the system can be made by the
position of the components. The panels are placed parallel to
the ground and the wiring are done in such a way that could
be simple and easy to understand.
3) Housing Equipment:: The final design component of
our system is housing equipment. The charge controller and
batteries are kept very securely and in adequate operating
conditions. Similarly the housing can also be used to store
tools, manuals and replacement of components for the system.

Load component of the energy units used in 1 week (6 IV. B UDGET C ALCULATION
Days) = AB * 30 = 30AB KWhr In this section, we discuss our final implementation of
our system which includes team combination, acquisition of
Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Engineering & Emerging Technologies (ICEET), Superior
University, Lahore, PK, 26-27 March, 2015. 4

TABLE I
B UDGET C ALCULATION .
S.No Discription Market Price in KPK Rs Diagram

12 KW (6 pannels
1 Solar Panel 120000/-
250 wattage)

2 Battery 150 Ah 12 Volt 22000/-

Charge
3 50 Amp 500 Volt 40000/-
Controller

4 Inverter 12 KW 350 volt DC 30000/-

5 Panel Box 5 per Watt 8000/-

6 Cable 5 mm 30000/-

80000/-
7 Installation -

20000/-
8 Transport -

3,50,000/- or 3465
Total - - USD
 Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Engineering & Emerging Technologies (ICEET), Superior
University, Lahore, PK, 26-27 March, 2015. 5

component and project costs. All the members of our team

work hard. During system installation several phases occur. We
anticipate purchasing the batteries, lightning, wiring, charge
controller and system tools are purchased at the urban areas
of KPK and then shifted to the site by roads.

A. Funding and System costs:

For funding, we shall approach to our provincial govern-
ment. For this we shall write an application to the govern-
ment and approved funds for the better future of our rural
educational institutes. The second part includes system costs
which contain two parts which are the total system cost and per
person field cost. After the funds approval first we purchase
system components which contains solar PV panels, batteries,
charge controller, cool box and system tools, detail of these
components are given in Table I. While completing our system
components then we calculate per persons labor charges. After
all this we shall implement our solar system.

V. C ONCLUSION
In this paper, we have designed and implemented a solar
PV system for education institutes in rural areas of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. We have designed a solar system
which can provide electricity to computer labs, tube lights,
energy savers in class rooms and exam halls etc. We have
presented a complete a analysis regarding total initial cost
including batteries, inverter, installation and transportation
costs. Such a solar system is more economical in a sense that
it requires low initial cost and less maintenance.

R EFERENCES
[1] A. W. Bhutto, A. A. Bazmi, and G. Zahedi, “Greener energy: issues
and challenges for pakistansolar energy prospective,” Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 2762–2780, 2012.
[2] W. Shyr, “A photovoltaic systems laboratory activity plan for taiwanese
senior high schools,” Word Transactions on engineering and technology
education, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 185, 2007.
[3] M. Sidrach-de Cardona and L. M. Lopez, “Performance analysis of a
grid-connected photovoltaic system,” Energy, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 93–102,
1999.
[4] M. A. Sheikh, “Renewable energy resource potential in pakistan,”
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 13, no. 9, pp. 2696–
2702, 2009.
[5] W. Hutzel and D. Goodman, “Remotely accessible solar energy labo-
ratory for high school students,” in IEEE Frontiers in Education(FIE),
2004, pp. S2D–18.
[6] K. Y. Awan and A. Rashid, “Overview of pakistan’s electricity crisis,
generation-mix and renewable energy scenarios,” International Journal
of Engineering & Technology, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 321–334, 2012.
[7] R. Banos, F. Manzano-Agugliaro, F. Montoya, C. Gil, A. Alcayde, and
J. Gómez, “Optimization methods applied to renewable and sustainable
energy: A review,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 15,
no. 4, pp. 1753–1766, 2011.
[8] A. W. Bhutto, A. A. Bazmi, and G. Zahedi, “Greener energy: Issues
and challenges for pakistanbiomass energy prospective,” Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 3207–3219, 2011.
[9] S. M. Hussam, “Design and implementation of a solar power system in
rural haiti,” Ph.D. dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
2004.
[10] W. Feng and Z. M. Slameh, “Off-grid photovoltaic system design for
haiti school project,” Journal of Power and Energy Engineering, vol. 2,
no. 11, p. 24, 2014.