Comparative Assessment of Solar Photovoltaic System and Diesel Generating Set for Energy Sustainability in Engineering Buildings of Yaba College of Technology

The epileptic power supply to the School of Engineering is a major challenge that needs to be addressed with a better choice of alternative for power sustainability in Yaba College of Technology (YabaTech) at large. This study specifically focuses on comparison of using a diesel generating set and a photovoltaic system as means of energy sustainability. The comparison done on the diesel generating set and the PV system were appropriately analyzed using the life cycle cost to determine and choose the optimal alternative system by considering the minimum cost of energy production and the effect on the environment for over a fifteen year period. For proper sizing and enhancing of the two systems, hourly solar radiation and load data per hour were the parameters employed for the PV system. The total load requirements of Mechanical Engineering (MELB) and Civil Engineering (CE) buildings were computed to be 155.2kW and 68.3kW respectively. The energy cost of the diesel generating set and the PV system in terms of initial capital cost, future replacement and maintenance cost for the first fifteen years were estimated. The analysis indicated that, in terms of cost and environmental friendliness, the PV system was the better option to be selected as an alternative and sustainable to the grid supply energy for power generation in CE building and MELB building of YabaTech.