An appraisal of rural/urban electricity consumption in a south Indian city: vindication of greener energy potential through solar PV system

A survey on electric power consumption on hourly basis was conducted among 150 urban and 150 rural residents of Madurai District in Tamil Nadu based on the questionnaire prepared with the details of electrical appliances. The survey analysis reflected the income-based discrimination towards electric power usage by the three types of residents. An average electric usage of 500 KWh, 500-1,000 KWh and 1,000-2,000 KWh was analysed for the residents with an income less than $3,333, $3,333-$8,333 and above $8,333 respectively. The 2.1 KWp solar PV system was designed and the corresponding payback period for the stand-alone and grid connected systems was calculated. Using the hybrid optimisation model for electric renewables (HOMER) software, the feasibility of grid-connected PV system corroborated the utilisation of solar energy of about 54%. The minimum net present costs (NPC) and cost of energy (COE) of $13.9/unit and $0.195/unit respectively for the grid connected system were considered economical and environmental friendly with respect to the low emissions of CO2, SO2 and NO2 of 771, 2.13,1.04 kgs per year.