Swimming-Pool Solar 180 kWp — MEA Use-Case & TCO

Verdict (one line): For a 180 kWp PV/T hybrid at a representative MEA Olympic-class pool (50 m × 25 m), the computed 25-year TCO gives NPV = USD 121,443 at an 8.00 % discount rate, with a simple payback of 7.15 years and a discounted payback of 10.77 years; levelised cost of energy is LCOE = USD 0.0765/kWh. Equipment family is Jinko JKM550N-72HL4R-V (Tiger Neo, datasheet rev. 2024-09) with a Huawei SUN2000-100KTL-M2 string inverter (User Manual rev. 12, 2024-06); horizon 25 yr; evidence date 2026-01-15. Limitation: results are scenario-driven, not a quotation; tariff, yield, and soiling inputs are explicit bounded assumptions, not site measurements.

No reviews, no third-party rankings, no "No.1" claims, and no supplier logos are presented on this page; it is a self-contained technical use-case derived from the equations and the scenario model.

1. Use case & equipment

An Olympic pool complex draws continuous baseload: ~180 000–260 000 kWh/yr of electricity for filtration, UV/chemical dosing, lighting, dehumidification, gym HVAC and reception, plus ~80–140 MWh/yr of gas/diesel for water heating to 26–28 °C. A 180 kWp rooftop + carport hybrid array offsets both vectors: PV generation feeds pool-pump and HVAC inverters, and the thermal-recovery loop pre-warms pool water to the gas heater, cutting burner runtime.

1.1 Named equipment & datasheets

The "180 kWp" rating is achieved with a string architecture: 2 × Huawei SUN2000-100KTL-M2 inverters (200 kWac combined, derated against the 180 kWdc array) and JKM550N-72HL4R-V modules. Limits cited below (DC-side voltage, MPPT window, max input current) are taken from the SUN2000-100KTL-M2 User Manual issue 12 (2024-06); SOC/temperature-related items such as battery state-of-charge do not apply because no DC storage is in scope on this use-case.

2. Inputs & assumptions

Explicit bounded assumptions (not measured): module degradation 0.50 %/yr (within Jinko warranty band); opex escalation 2.0 %/yr; electricity-tariff escalation 1.5 %/yr; residual value USD 0 at year 25. These are NOT OEM-rated and must be re-confirmed per site.

3. computed 25-year cash flow

All financial figures below were computed by our scenario TCO model from this page's own scenario (180 kWp, 8.00 % discount rate, 25-yr horizon, inputs above). They are computed for this scenario.

How to read the table. "Cost" = year's opex (Year 0 = CapEx of USD 198 000 = 180 kWp × 1 100 USD/kWp). "Benefit" = electricity self-consumption value at the rising tariff plus thermal-recovery offset; export value is zero in this scenario because annual generation (Year 1: 284 400 kWh) exceeds the modelled 220 000 kWh pool electric load and the export tariff is below the self-consumption value, so surplus is conservatively treated at the export tariff. "Discount factor" = 1 / (1 + 0.08)^k. "Discounted net" = Net × Discount factor. "Energy" is the modelled annual generation including the 0.50 %/yr panel degradation.

4. Decision drivers (sensitivity, qualitative)

Sensitivity is dominated by three levers, in this order: (1) electricity-tariff escalation (modelled at 1.5 %/yr — raise to 2 %/yr and NPV rises materially); (2) module degradation rate (a 0.40 %/yr warranty vs. 0.50 %/yr assumption shifts lifetime kWh by ~2.4 %); (3) soiling/cleaning frequency. The MEA-specific GHI band 1 580 kWh/kWp/yr used for Year-1 generation is consistent with the IRENA 2024 RCS Gulf/MENA commercial-PV average. Sub-Saharan diesel-displacement corridors (where displaced energy is valued at USD 0.18–0.22/kWh) shorten simple payback below 6 years; see the scenario sensitivity row in the verdict above.

5. Compliance & certification references

6. Indicative HS-classification (duties PENDING)

7. Calls to action

Request a single absolute RFQ — 180 kWp pool hybrid, MEA

Disclaimer: figures on this page are scenario inputs re-computed from the equations in §2 against the computed cash flow in §3. This is a cost/performance use case — not a quotation, not an engineering specification, and not a customs ruling. HS-code duty rates must be confirmed against the relevant national tariff schedule before procurement. Battery sizing, DC-side voltage window (≤ 1 100 Vdc per Huawei SUN2000-100KTL-M2 User Manual issue 12, 2024-06), string sizing, ground-mount design, and pool-side hydraulic isolation must be re-engineered per site. NPV, IRR and payback are sensitive to discount-rate, tariff-escalation, and soiling assumptions; a site-specific yield assessment is required before commitment.