CONTENT
INTRODUCTION
Access to energy is central to the economic development of any country. Today’s lifestyles require the use of energy sources that are more often than not non-renewable and that damage the environment through the way they are extracted, consumed and then disposed of.
The need to make the transition from fossil fuels to renewable and low-carbon energies is not only a conscious choice today, but also the only logical choice for the future.
PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR ENERGY
Solar photovoltaic technologies help to achieve the objective of reducing CO2 emissions. Fuelled by the emergence of new paradigms for the production and consumption of clean energy, the deployment of photovoltaic solar energy has evolved.
Historically, the high cost of electricity produced from photovoltaic panels was an obstacle to its development. But these costs have been divided by more than five in ten years and, at the same time, the price of electricity has risen sharply for consumers, with unpredictable fluctuations. Many consumers are now opting to invest in solar photovoltaic self-consumption systems, which are installed on the roofs of buildings and adjoining car parks.
WHAT IS SELF-CONSUMPTION OF PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY?
A self-consumption solar installation uses the photovoltaic electricity generated on site to meet the energy needs of the consumer, while minimising or excluding the use of electricity from the distribution grid.
As the energy is generated on site, transmission losses are reduced to a minimum. The savings in energy, and therefore in operating costs, can therefore be very substantial and complement energy management measures. These savings can also help to meet the requirements of the tertiary sector decree for buildings over 1,000 m² (FR).
SIZING A SELF-CONSUMPTION SOLAR INSTALLATION WITH ARCHELIOS™ MORE
archelios™ Suite, consisting of archelios™ PRO and archelios™ CALC, is a complete software solution for the design, calculation, dimensioning and control of photovoltaic installations.
archelios™ PRO offers the possibility of designing a photovoltaic installation very easily in 3D, which facilitates the analysis of shading and the consideration of a production profile as close to reality as possible. The software can also be used to add consumption and pricing profiles, enabling self-consumption rates and financial savings to be calculated hour by hour over the year.
The next version of archelios™ PRO scheduled for autumn 2023 will greatly enhance the functionalities related to self-consumption, particularly on the import of consumption profiles, in order to save users even more time.
archelios™ CALC includes a “self-consumption distribution table” view in the connection type and location menu. The user will be able to select the self-consumption option in the interface and manage the electrical parameters of the switchboard to which the installation is connected. A detailed single-line diagram of the self-consumption installation will be provided, up to the point of connection to the grid.
