So, what is Solar Hybrid System?

What is hibrid? According to wikipedia, "hybrid" means the combination of two or more different things, aimed at achieving a particular objective or goal.
Then, what is Solar Hybrid System? According to my definition, a power generation system which incorporate solar PV and other sources i.e diesel genset, wind mill, hydro system, fuel cell, etc. Some system may have an energy storage system such as battery.

Here, Solar Hybrid System is commonly referred to solar PV and diesel genset system. It is designed to complement a small and medium diesel genset station commonly used in rural area. By adding solar PV to a diesel genset station, it is anticipated that the total cost of ownership and total life cycle cost can be reduced, as the genset running hours are reduce - diesel consumption reduce, wear & tear of genset is also reduced. The amount of solar PV power required is depending very much on the load requirement and how much of diesel energy to be replaced. There is no rule of thumb. It is customly designed to meet specific requirement.

In most cases, a battery bank is also installed to complement the solar hybrid system, as it will increase the reliability and availability of the power system. The battery bank must be designed to be able to store the access energy from solar PV and to be able to supply energy for night load, during intermittent of sun radiation both short term and long term that need to be defined clearly.

The solar hybrid system is not completed without inverter & rectifier to convert the DC current of solar PV to AC and to charge & discharge the battery bank. In the current market, there are many different type of capacity, operational algorithm and features that makes choosing the right one is rather difficult. It is important to know exactly how the system should be configured and operated, before making any decision.

So, that is solar hybrid system.