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Photovoltaic Energy for Mobility and Building Operation in Unconditioned Equatorial Households: A Case of Study in Quito

Abstract:

Currently, humanity is transforming toward resilient and sustainable cities (RSC). Cities are composed of people who live and work in the built environment and, consequently, move from one place to another to perform their activities. Both buildings and transport are energy-intensive, and the energy source is generally not sustainable. Thus, a RSC must reduce the demand of these un- sustainable energy sources to operate its buildings and provide transportation. This paper evaluates the possibility of using a photovoltaic (PV) system to pro- vide the electricity required for the building operation and the urban private mobility of an average middle-class household in Quito, Ecuador. For this, we surveyed different households in the city to estimate the average consumption. Then, we modelled the electricity output of the PV system using the NREL’s SAM software. Results show that it is feasible to fulfill up to the 100% of the household electricity requirement, including transportation (using a plug-in hybrid vehicle), by implementing a medium-size grid-connected PV system. This is possible since buildings in high altitude equatorial regions are generally unconditioned, and the cities are usually compact. These results suggest a path for high altitude equatorial regions to become RSC.