Combined Photovoltaic Solar Cell – Fuel Cell System: Powering a Dormitory Building

The feasibility analysis of installing a combined photovoltaic solar cell – fuel cell system for a dormitory building was realized. The idea was to produce energy for day-time consumption via the solar cells, and then using the excess electricity produced via the solar cells for electrolysis so that the hydrogen produced can be utilized in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell in order to provide power for night-time. The annual electricity requirement of the chosen dormitory building was estimated as 50,961.04 kWh, whereas the actual consumption was learned to be 52,037.18 kWh via the electricity bills provided by the dormitory administration. The day and night time electricity requirements of the building were calculated for each month and it was found that the month with the highest energy consumption during the day is December whereas the month with the highest energy consumption during the night is January. The system was designed so that it could meet the day-time energy requirement during December and the night-time energy requirement during January. Such a system was calculated to require a solar cell installation area of 1315 m². The costs of solar cell, electrolyzer and fuel cell systems and any other auxiliary equipment were obtained from various manufacturers’ websites and the total required investment was calculated as $887,000. Breakeven periods were calculated in order to have a general idea regarding the feasibility of the combined system. Initially, the breakeven period of this particular combined system was found to be at least 97 years, which is very high. Then, it was considered to sell the excess electricity, that was not consumed either by the building or the electrolyzer, produced during the day-time in the months other than December to the local grid, as allowed by Turkish Law #6094, at a rate of $0.13 per kWh. In that case, the breakeven period was found to decrease almost to 19 years, rendering the investment moderately feasible in the long term.