Design and Installation of a 1.6 KVA Standalone Solar PV System for Air Conditioning at OYSCATECH, Igboora

This study presents the design and installation of a 1.6 kVA standalone solar photovoltaic (PV) system to power a 1.0 HP air conditioning unit at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology (OYSCATECH), Igboora. The project addresses the persistent issue of unreliable grid electricity in Nigerian rural tertiary institutions, which hinders the operation of sensitive laboratory equipment and undermines thermal comfort. Leveraging the region’s average solar insolation of 5.0 kWh/m²/day, a solar array of 1.2 kW, a 500 Ah battery bank, a 100 A MPPT charge controller, and a 1.6 kVA pure sine wave inverter were selected and installed to meet a daily energy demand of 4.5 kWh. The system was successfully commissioned and tested over 30 days, achieving an average operational duration of 5.5–6 hours daily and an overall system efficiency of approximately 78%. Results demonstrate that standalone solar PV systems are a viable and sustainable solution for medium-load applications like air conditioning in rural educational settings, offering significant environmental and operational benefits over diesel-powered alternatives.