Photovoltaic Power Generating System Project Engineering and its Functioning Simulation in Relation with the Products Available on the Market

Introduction The renewable energy sources are considered those whose actual utilization doesn’t compromize the future availability, and the interest in such sources is much increased during the recent years, due to numerous factors, like for instance the fossile combustibles costs continuous rising, and the constant increase of the pollutant emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases able to cause the glass-house effect. In Italy, in the renewable sources field, the photovoltaic sector is actually the one in strongest expansion (togheter with the eolean one), also thanks to an economic incentives scheme, proportional to the production, and its prevalent application is the one on the buildings top and connected to the electric network. Starting from these considerations, through the present thesis work, it has been valued the installation’s possibility of a photovoltaic system on a building property of the Parma Polytechnic University, in particular on the Building 7 flat roof covering of the Industrial Engineering Department, at the university campus area. Before the real and proper study of the system considered in this specific case, are presented the characteristics of the electric power production in Italy and in the world, it is described the functioning principle of the individual photovoltaic cells, which allows the radiant energy’s conversion into electric power, and are presented the components constituting a power system of this kind. Afterwards, it is illustrated an analytical methodology for the radiation incident on a specific surface, which allows an annual radiation’s estimation on the different geographical areas, result that can be graphically represented on maps, from which it is possible for instance to acquire qualitative information concerning the theoretical power quantity produced by a system of a determined power, located in a specific location. The power’s quantity produced datum during an annual period becomes fundamental, because the power is remunerated at a higher price than the market’s one, thanks to the incentives scheme existing at this moment in Italy (denominated “Energy Bill”), whose regulations are synthetically exhibited. The power system under examination in this particular case, has been studied in relation with the products actually available on the market, both for what it concernes the photovoltaic modules and for the other components and its functioning simulation instruments. In this way it has been selected the TRNSYS calculation code, and it has 4