This Guideline supports Solar Home Systems with a solar array of maximum 1 kWp. It covers the design of installations that deliver only d.c. to the load, and installations that deliver a.c. to the load and use a d.c. bus (charge controller, battery and battery connected inverter).

This guideline provides an overview of the formulas and processes undertaken when designing (or sizing) a Solar Home System, sometimes called a stand-alone power system. It provides information for designing a Solar Home System using d.c. bus (with battery charging directly from the panels) configuration.

The content includes the minimum information required when designing a Solar Home System. The design of a Solar Home System should meet the required energy demand and maximum power demands of the end-user. However, there are times when other constraints need to be considered as they will affect the final system configuration and selected equipment. These include:
• available budget;
• access to the site;
• the need to easily expand the system in the future; and
• availability of technical support for maintenance, troubleshooting and repair.

These guidelines have been developed for Ugandan Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and the Uganda Energy Credit Capitalisation Company (UECCC)

Download the full document here.