International Journal of Green Technology, 2020, 6, 1-9 1 E-ISSN: 2414-2077/20 © 2020 International Journal of Green Technology Assessment of the Viability of Standalone Photovoltaic Systems for Rural Households in Kathiani, Machakos County, Kenya B.O. Odhiambo 1,* , D.W. Wekesa 2 , C.O. Saoke 3 and J.N Kamau 3 1 Institute of Energy and Environmental Technology, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya 2 Department of Physics, Multimedia University of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya 3 Department of Physics, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya Abstract: Access to reliable electricity is still a challenge in Kenya, especially among rural populations. Photovoltaic technology is seen as one of the best alternatives in the provision of quality and affordable electricity. This research aimed at assessing the solar radiation potential of Kathiani, Machakos County in Kenya with regards to the solar hours and how such radiation can be converted to usable energy. It involved the analysis of average daily, monthly, and annual solar radiation data for the region by use of PVGIS software. In the study, a survey to determine the energy requirements of the area for effective sizing as per the consumers’ needs is carried out, by use of questionnaires, interviews and observation. PV system sizing of a household is performed to ensure each component of the system meets load requirements. In addition, the research involved an economic analysis of adopting standalone solar energy technology as an alternative to grid connected electricity. This was achieved by analyzing the life cycle cost of the system to come up with the unit cost. The study findings revealed that Kathiani region in Machakos, county Kenya receives adequate average daily solar insolation of 5.42 kWh/m 2 , which has the potential of producing annual PV energy of 1521 kWh. This implies that the region is economically viable for harnessing electricity through standalone solar PV systems. Keywords: Solar insolation, Stand-alone PV, Energy Demand, Life Cycle Cost (LCC) Analysis, Unit costs. INTRODUCTION Electricity is essential for human life as it influences every part of people's lives and is important to the effective functioning of a healthy economy. Lack of electricity is one of the major challenges facing the contemporary world, with more than 1.8 billion being unable to access electricity. Most of these people live in rural areas as they are not able to afford life in urban areas where the national grid is mainly available. In these cases, electrification by means of solar systems has aimed to be an effective solution [1]. Solar energy is known to be a great renewable resource which can help curb the environmental problems caused by mostly used non-renewable energy sources. For effective solar energy generation, solar resource potential of an area should be established. This involves solar resource data from meteorological departments, as well as physical measurement including such devices as Pyranometers, pyrheliometers and solar data loggers. However, more accurate data can be obtained by use of softwares such as RETscreen, PVGIS, HOMMER, Solargis among others. These softwares give hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly solar irradiation averages. Energy demand analysis on the other hand requires information regarding daily energy consumption of the households. Questionnaires can be used to get important information on electrical appliances in the Address correspondence to this article at the Institute of Energy and Environmental Technology, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya: Tel: +254 724615830; E-mail: barrack.amamo11@gmail.com household, which would help establish load profiles for the homes. This is important for effective sizing and installation of the solar PV systems. The software Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables (HOMER 2.68 beta) is also widely used by researchers in many countries as a modeling tool for optimal sizing simulation of micro-grids on the advantages of rooftop solar off grid system [2]. HOMER is an essential tool in specifying optimal size of equipment taking into account meteorological and geographical data of the study location. It applies the Net present value method for ranking a systems suitability. Various researchers have used and analyzed various online tools and databases with solar irradiation data such as PVWatts by NREL [11], PVGIS by Joint Research centre [12], Global atlas and Solargis. The study investigated their benefits and challenges, pointing out that they have made it easier to obtain accurate real time solar irradiation data. However, the research concluded that the online tools sometimes provide low-resolution data, in the range of a few kilometers that require multiple queries to the database in case large-scale analysis [3]. This research employs the use of PVGIS database to estimate the potential of electricity production by PV systems. This study also involves economic analysis and feasibility of solar PV. Here, various financial models are used, including Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis, and payback period. In as much as there has been increased access and use of solar home systems, the cost are still high. Solar Home Systems (SHS) have the added cost of Batteries as well as lack of economies of scale. This implies that most SHS are small systems of