Techno-Economic Analysis of Rooftop Photovoltaic Systems for Smart Buildings in Indonesia

Abstract

The increasing demand for energy-efficient and sustainable buildings has encouraged the integration of rooftop solar photovoltaic systems into smart-building environments. In Indonesia, this approach is particularly relevant because of the country’s high solar energy potential and the growing need to optimize electricity use in buildings through better energy management. However, the feasibility of rooftop solar photovoltaic systems in smart buildings cannot be assessed only from electricity generation potential, because their performance is also influenced by building load characteristics, self-consumption behavior, and operational control strategy. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the techno-economic feasibility of rooftop solar photovoltaic systems for smart buildings by evaluating their technical performance and economic viability within an energy-managed building environment. This study employed a quantitative case-study approach using a simulated smart-building case. The analysis included rooftop assessment, photovoltaic system sizing, electricity generation simulation, load matching, and discounted cash flow analysis. The evaluated indicators consisted of annual electricity generation, specific yield, performance ratio, self-consumption ratio, self-sufficiency ratio, net present value, internal rate of return, discounted payback period, and levelized cost of electricity. A smart-operation scenario was also compared with a baseline operating condition to examine the effect of load shifting on photovoltaic utilization. The results showed that the proposed rooftop solar photovoltaic system achieved an installed capacity of 46.2 kilowatt-peak and generated 63,050 kilowatt-hours per year, with a specific yield of 1,364.7 kilowatt-hours per kilowatt-peak per year and a performance ratio of 79.2 percent. Under the smart-operation scenario, direct photovoltaic self-consumption increased from 39,720 to 48,250 kilowatt-hours per year, while the self-consumption ratio increased from 63.0 percent to 76.5 percent. Economically, the system produced a positive net present value of 119,295,923 Indonesian rupiah, an internal rate of return of 10.30 percent, and a discounted payback period of 15.99 years. These findings indicate that rooftop solar photovoltaic systems are technically and economically feasible for smart buildings and that smart load management plays an important role in improving on-site solar utilization and investment performance.