Abstract
SAM, PVsyst, HOMER, and RETScreen are used to model photovoltaic system (PVS), wind turbine system (WTS), and PV-wind hybrid system (PVWHS) for residential applications in Thailand. All four softwares were validated to determine their accuracy by comparing the estimated annual energy production to the actual energy yield from the real systems. For PVS validation, results from SAM, PVsyst, HOMER, and RETScreen contain error of 3.61, -3.91, 5.52 and 6.90 %, respectively. For WTS validation, results from HOMER and RETScreen has 15.68% and 18.13% deviation from the real systems’. Simulation results from SAM, PVsyst, HOMER, and RETScreen shows that 6.6 kW PVS and 6.051/1 kW (solar/wind) PVWHS are the economical renewable energy system in terms of performance and energy production in Chaiyaphum with high solar and low wind speed resources, and Sa Kaeo with high solar and wind resources, respectively. The PVS, WTS, and PVWHS simulations were performed in different area across Thailand; Chanthaburi, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Kanchanaburi, Ubon Ratchathani, Samutprakan, Chiang Rai, and Maha Sarakham. HOMER optimizer feature was used and found that only Chanthaburi with 7.7 m/s average wind speed is suitable to install PVWHS. However, PVS is the most economical system for the rest of the locations. The sensitivity analysis was conducted to create a most-efficient-system-type diagram with respect to specific solar and wind resources.