Analysis of the Effects of Flat and Tiered Pricing Methods on the Economic Feasibility of Residential Photovoltaic Systems

Distributed generation by PV systems in residential buildings, is a suitable approach to reduce the peak load of the grid and extending the use of renewable energies. A big challenge in persuading the consumers to use such solar systems, is to create economic feasibility. In this paper, techno-economic feasibility study of a residential PV system with two pricing methods is presented. SAM software is used to model the system. The results showed that the tiered pricing method has a better economic efficiency than flat pricing method; where the net present value and payback time have relative better values. The net present value and payback time in tiered pricing are 3709$ and 5.2 years, while in flat pricing method, these values are calculated as 2468$ and 6.5 years.