Abstract

Friendly environmental energy sources campaign associated with their availability at almost zero cost have resulted in the increase of Renewable energy use throughout the world. In Africa and specifically   in   Democratic   Republic   of   Congo   and   Uganda,   Solar   Energy   constitutes   a tremendous resource.  However,  households  who  decide  to  acquire  Solar  PV  systems  end  up  facing  two  major challenges: When it is cloudy usually after rain i.e. solar production is low yet there is need to use power. When  there  is  need  during  a  normal  day  to  supply  a  load  which  draws  more  current beyond solar PV system capacity. This project responds to these challenges by providing a solution to households who wish to still have power even when there is no enough sun irradiance for their solar PV system. And also it provides  solution  to  the  need  of  drawing  more  current  at  a  specific  time,  knowing  that  most households  and  small  businesses  rarely purchase  solar  PV  system  that  meets  their  power  load requirements. The  primary  power  source  is  the  Solar  PV  system  and  the  Mains  (Grid),  is  therefore  the secondary. When solar production is low (below 200V), the system switches to the Grid until it detects  voltage  within  the  allowable  limits  from  the  Inverter  and  switch  back  to  solar.  While powered by the Grid, if its voltage goes below the said-level, power is disconnected. A Microcontroller controls the load and supplies. Two digital voltmeters and a digital Ammeter are  incorporated  as  subsystem  to  measure  the  voltage  of  both  sources  and  the  current  being drawnby the loads. A  Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) continuously displays the status of the system i.e. voltage of both sources and current being drawn.