A Framework for Off-grid Nano and Picogrid Design for Households

Transitioning off-grid persons to a powered future is challenging. Off-grid households are likely to oversize or undersize designs without considering resilience leading to waste, risk, and frustration. This study helps avoid these problems by applying a framework that ties household appliance use to nano and picogrid design. First, load profiles were created using human behavior models, building energy modeling, and climate reanalysis data on an off-grid home in Verdes Vieques Puerto Rico. Then the Microgrid Design Toolkit produced availability for PV-battery nano and picogrid designs. The results show that running a refrigerator and other appliances is attainable with $2,116 \mathrm{kWh} / \mathrm{yr}$ but that airconditioning is unattainable for most community members with $11,822 \mathrm{kWh} / \mathrm{yr}$ required. Even with this large increase thermal comfort was still not fully addressed for the cinder block home. The analysis framework shown is a generalized basis for off-grid individuals to choose several appliances and to get feedback on how effective a given PV-battery system will be.