Increasing household solar energy penetration through load partitioning based on quality of life: The case study of Nigeria

• The average energy per capital in Nigeria are determined to evaluate energy poverty.
• Nigerian Energy usage pattern based on relevance to quality of life was determined.
• Scalable Solar PV system using energy partitioning approach is proposed.
• The scalability will encourage more people in utilizing solar powered system.
• The study is useful for policy makers and environmental institutions for decision.

The inadequate power supply in Nigeria has resulted into the use of diesel/petrol generator by almost every household. The implicating death and health risk recorded has made sustainable alternative sources imperative. Solar energy has been identified as a viable option; however, the greatest challenge is its affordability due to high installation cost. This paper proposes the installation of solar energy system using energy partitioning approach based on scalable level of importance to quality of life. First, household energy utilization is partitioned into different energy sectors, and then the importance of each sector as it affects the basic quality of life of the intending users are determined using structured questionnaire. Using a typical medium income house as a case study, different analyses are performed based on the level of quality of life that can be afforded by the different users. The result reveals that the life cycle cost over a period of 20 yr, of solar energy system for level 1 (Lighting only) which has the highest impact on the quality of life of Nigerian is $10,600. The cost of energy is 0.3341$/kW h, the cost of diesel fuel saved 1380$/annum, the break-even point is 7.7 yr and the estimated carbon credit is 1095.7 kg/yr.