Feasibility Study of PV/T Green Hydrogen Energy System for a House in Lebanon

Lebanon is one of the developing countries that massively rely on fossil fuels for electrical power generation. The Lebanese electrical sector has faced financial deficiency for a long time and more so after the financial crisis in 2020. This drove end users to start relying on alternative and sustainable energy sources, such as photovoltaic systems. In this study, a technical and economic analysis of integrated solar photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) - green hydrogen system of an autonomous rooftop house in Lebanon is carried out to meet its electrical demand and domestic hot water usage. Due to the intermittent nature of solar energy, a lithium-ion battery storage system is used. When there is surplus energy produced from the PV/T, a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzer produces hydrogen to be stored in tanks. When the solar and battery energies fail to meet the house electrical demand, fuel cells that are produced using green hydrogen can cover this shortage. The proposed system was able to meet the annual load demand over a lifespan of 20 years. In addition, the proposed system proved to be economically feasible with a payback period of 2.4 years when comparing it with a base case supplying electricity via diesel generators only. However, the system faces some challenges, including the relatively high capital cost and poor hydrogen infrastructure in Lebanon.