Evaluation of a residential solar PV inverter with advanced features for the U.S. market

This paper provides an evaluation of a solar photovoltaic (SPV) inverter with advanced features manufactured for use in the United States. The testing was performed by Southern California Edison´s (SCE) Distributed Energy Resources Laboratory in Westminster, California. The inverter´s advanced features include the ability to communicate, adjust ramp-up power rates, allow low voltage ride-through, adjust power factor (PF) based on real power output, reduce real power output during over-frequencies, provide/absorb vars to regulate voltage, and provide power during blackouts. The results detailed in this paper will provide much needed information for the development of national and state standards for inverters with advanced features. The test data can be used for model development and validation to assess grid performance with high penetration of inverters with these characteristics. The test inverter´s output voltage is split-phase 240-volts line-to-line reflecting the typical American residential voltage configuration.