Technical evaluation of two 6-kW mono-Si photovoltaic systems at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Author

Van Dyk, E. Ernest ; Strand, Troy ; Hansen, Robert

Author_Institution

Nat. Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO, USA

fYear

1996

fDate

13-17 May 1996

Firstpage

1533

Lastpage

1536

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of performance data on the two 6-kW_AC grid-connected photovoltaic systems at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The performance parameters analyzed include DC and AC power, aperture efficiency, energy, capacity factor and performance index which are compared to plane-of-array irradiance, ambient temperature, and back-of-module temperature as a function of time, either daily or monthly. Power ratings of the systems were also obtained for data corresponding to different test conditions. This study has shown, in addition to expected seasonal trends, that system monitoring is a valuable tool in assessing performance and detecting faulty equipment. In addition, methods applied for this study may be used to evaluate and compare systems employing different cell technologies

Keywords

elemental semiconductors; photovoltaic power systems; silicon; solar cell arrays; solar cells; 6 kW; AC power; DC power; NREL; National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Si; ambient temperature; aperture efficiency; back-of-module temperature; capacity factor; energy; faulty equipment detection; grid-connected photovoltaic systems; mono-Si photovoltaic systems; performance index; plane-of-array irradiance; power ratings; roof mounted solar arrays; technical evaluation; Apertures; Data analysis; Fault detection; Laboratories; Performance analysis; Photovoltaic systems; Renewable energy resources; Solar power generation; System testing; Temperature;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 1996., Conference Record of the Twenty Fifth IEEE

Conference_Location

Washington, DC

ISSN

0160-8371

Print_ISBN

0-7803-3166-4

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PVSC.1996.564429

Filename

564429