Performance Assessment of Solar-Transformer-Consumption System Using Neural Network Approach

Abstract

Solar energy is one of the immeasurable renewable energy in power generation for a green, clean and healthier environment. The silicon-layer solar panels absorb sun energy and converts it into electricity by off-grid inverter. Electricity is transferred either from this inverter or from transformer, consumed by consumption unit(s) available for residential or economic purposes. The artificial neural network is the foundation of artificial intelligence and solves many complex problems which are difficult by statistical methods or by humans. In view of this, the purpose of this work is to assess the performance of the Solar - Transformer - Consumption (STC) system. The system may be in complete breakdown situation due to failure of both solar power automation subsystem and transformer simultaneously or consumption unit; otherwise it works with fully or lesser efficiency. Statistically independent failures and repairs are considered. Using the elementary probabilities phenomenon incorporated with differential equations is employed to examine the system reliability, for repairable and non-repairable system, and to analyze its cost function. The accuracy and consistency of the system can be improved by feed forward- back propagation neural network (FFBPNN) approach. Its gradient descent learning mechanism can update the neural weights and hence the results up to the desired accuracy in each iteration, and aside the problem of vanishing gradient in other neural networks, that increasing the efficiency of the system in real time. MATLAB code for FFBP algorithm is built to improve the values of reliability and cost function by minimizing the error up to 0.0001 precision. Numerical illustrations are considered with their data tables and graphs, to demonstrate and analyze the results in the form of reliability and cost function, which may be helpful for system analyzers.