Household Load Profiling and Evaluation of Rooftop PV Systems in Qatar

In Qatar, nearly 60% of the electricity is consumed in the domestic sector, yet very little is known about behind-the-meter electricity consumption. Currently, there is a pressing need to examine the residential load profile in order to better understand consumption patterns and uncover potential solutions for more efficient usage. Residential load profiles are influenced by seasonal changes, socio-economic, and load classification factors that impact its shape and values. Evaluating residential load profiles can help to achieve the following goals: (1) Evaluation of seasonal, socio-economic, and load classification factors that impact the behavior of load profiles, (2) Assessment of the most suitable demand-side management technique applications, and (3) Evaluation of the economic viability of PV and energy storage systems. In Qatar, demand-side management is currently lacking, and there are is no existing programs focused on rooftop PV system or solar energy system deployment. In the present work, an empirical research was conducted in order to achieve the following: (1) Creation of high-resolution residential load profiles spanning a year-long period, which are representative of the residential sector in Qatar, (2) Analysis of the acquired load profile and the factors that affect the load curves, (3) Calculation of self-consumption values and analysis of household rooftop PV and energy storage systems viability. As such, energy monitors were installed in 10 houses and the data were collected over a year-long period. GHI data were acquired from a solar testing facility and were used in creating annual PV generation power profiles. A direct load control experiment was conducted to evaluate the potential of demand response applications in Qatar. Self-consumption and payback period values were calculated in order to assess the economic feasibility of rooftop PV systems. Energy storage requirements and payback periods were calculated in order to evaluate the economic viability of solar energy storage in Qatar. Results from the present thesis can serve as a contribution to future research activities, including the design of PV rooftop and energy storage systems and demand response programs. Moreover, the results of the present study provide valuable insight to policy and decision makers with regards to demand-side management, PV rooftop system deployment and feed-in tariff initiation.