ABSTRACT
The selection of a reliable and technically attractive power source is of great importance to the telecommunications industry especially where such equipment operates at remote unmanned sites. The utilization of a standalone hybrid PV power system is usually the solution in such cases. Most hybrid PV systems use batteries for energy storage and batteries become the weakest link that affects the reliability of the system because battery strings often start to deteriorate even due to failure of a single battery or cell. This paper is based on findings of the utilization of a hybrid PV power system as a reliable power source for Telecommunication applications through proper system management and battery (cell) equalization. The system is set up at the Clean Energy and Vehicle Research Center at the University of South Florida. It was found that the individual battery, generator, and PV system status could be determined in advance so that corrective actions can be taken without loss of reliability which is very important in this type of applications. The system was field tested under constant and variable load conditions to establish its performance.
