Energies, Vol. 19, Pages 474: Challenges in the Legal and Technical Integration of Photovoltaics in Multi-Family Buildings in the Polish Energy Grid

Energies, Vol. 19, Pages 474: Challenges in the Legal and Technical Integration of Photovoltaics in Multi-Family Buildings in the Polish Energy Grid

Energies doi: 10.3390/en19020474

Authors:
Robert Kowalak
Daniel Kowalak
Konrad Seklecki
Leszek S. Litzbarski

This article analyzes the case of a typical modern residential area, which was built following current legal regulations in Poland. For the purposes of the calculations, a housing estate consisting of 32 houses was assumed, with a connection power of 36 kW each. The three variants evaluate power consumption and photovoltaic system operation: Variant I assumes no PV installations and fluctuating consumer power demands; Variant II involves PV installations in all estate buildings with a total capacity matching the building’s 36 kW connection power and minimal consumption; and Variant III increases installed PV capacity per building to 50 kW, aligning with apartment connection powers, also with minimal consumption. The simulations performed indicated that there may be problems with voltage levels and current overloads of network elements. Although in case I the transformer worked properly, after connecting the PV installation in an extreme case, it was overloaded by about 117% (Variant II) or even about 180% (Variant III). The described case illustrates the impact of changes in regulations on the stability of the electricity distribution network. A potential solution to this problem is to oversize the distribution network elements, introduce power restrictions for PV installations or to oblige prosumers to install energy storage facilities.