TECHNICAL AND ECONOMICAL ANALYSIS ON THREE TYPES OF PHOTOVOLTAIC MATERIALS

As Malaysia is one of the developing country, the requirement and demand of the energy is rapidly increasing. In order to cope with this increasing demand, Malaysia has started to encourage more alternative methods of power generation and one of the most emerging renewable power generation is solar. Various researches had been conducted to identify the best solar material which is capable in providing the best output power from the harvesting process. This paper encompasses the finding of three solar materials on both perspectives by analysing and comparing the performances of these solar materials on a residential roof top application. The outcome of this study had provided several useful information and guideline in assisting future home owners who plan to install a PV system either to ‘buy or lease’ it in the first place. Home owners have the potential to gain the optimum benefit from their photovoltaic (PV) system through selecting the best solar material at the first place. Sharp NU-U180FC (monocrystalline), Hanwha Q-Cells- Q.PRO-G4 265 (polycrystalline) and Kaneka G-SA060 (amorphous) are among the available PV solar modules in the market. These models had been selected in this study and their performances were outlined based on the respective parameters measured through the Solar Advisor Model (SAM) software and PV Analyzer Kit. The survey conducted among the home owners in Bangi area who had own a workable PV system had resulted in 85 % of the respondents preferred to buy rather than leasing the solar system.