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The effects of temperature on performance of a grid-connected inverter, and also on a photovoltaic (PV) system installed in Thailand have been investigated. It was found that the maximum efficiency of the inverter showed 2.5% drop when ambient temperature was above 37°C. The inverter performed efficiently in November and December, the months of hig...
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In the past, a goal of the Government of Thailand was for all households in the country to have access to electric power. Consequently, the installation of electric power generation system from renewable energy project was created in villages without electric power. The aim of the government project is to promote the use of renewable energy, especi...
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... Cell efficiency is typically rated under Standard Test Conditions (STC) at 25°C cell temperature, 1,000 W/m 2 irradiance, and air mass of 1.5. Nevertheless, real-world outdoor installations experience non-STC conditions, resulting in varying cell temperatures influenced by local weather [29,[41][42][43][44][45][46]. Operating temperatures often exceed 25°C, leading to reduced efficiency compared to the rated value. ...
... In Figure 5, the slope is 1 which shows the normal operation of the inverter while the intercept is -880 W. This shows that the inverter started to generate the AC output at the DC output power (inverter input power) of 880 W which suggests an energy consumption of 880 W at their operating mode. This, therefore, agrees with the findings of Kamonpan et al [32]. Figure 8 indicates that the maximum efficiency of the inverter strongly depends on the ambient temperature. ...
The problem of energy scarcity has hit a global scale because of the dependency of most of the energy generation on non-renewable sources (e.g., fossil fuels). As in supply and demand laws, the lower the amount of energy provided, the more expensive it becomes, causing a major problem for the industry in general, which is dependent on it. These non-renewable energy sources contribute to environmental degradation effects and depletion of the ozone layer from the atmosphere. To reduce this effect, the use of renewable energy sources which is environmentally friendly has been on the growing index across the globe. Solar photovoltaic cells transform solar energy into electrical energy through the photovoltaic effect. Solar energy can minimise the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with the generation of electricity from fossil fuels since the only CO2 emissions associated with the generation of fossil fuels are those in their production. Solar PV electricity is more environmentally friendly since it is carbon-free at the point of generation compared to fossil fuel generation. In this paper, we examine the various site and system parameters that influence the performance of the 49.92 kWp roof-top grid-connected PV system installed at Harlequins, Belfast, Northern Ireland using a five-year dataset (from 2017-2021). The site parameters examined are ambient temperature, relative humidity, irradiation, wind speed and air pressure while the system parameters examined are inverter efficiency, system performance ratio, system efficiency, fill factor, DC array and AC final yields, DC array capture loss, AC system loss and normalised output power efficiency. The result of our analysis shows that an increase in ambient temperature, solar cell temperature, relative humidity and solar irradiation decreases the PV system performance output while an increase in wind speed reduces both ambient and solar cell temperatures but increases dust accumulation on the surface of the solar panel. An increase in air pressure increases the solar irradiation and AC power output generations.
... The temperature corrected PR is given below by considering equation (2) and modifying equation (3), and formed equation (5). [51][52] E Nominal (KWh) = Pdc (STC) * POA irradiance The irradiance at standard test conditions (STC) ...
... Establishing acceptable quality requirements for water vapor transmission rate and UV blocking capabilities must be adapted to withstand the harsh operating environment. 52. Establishing guidelines to guarantee the use of non-hazardous materials to avoid water contamination. ...
The 18,000 square kilometers of water reservoirs in India can generate 280 GW of solar power through floating solar photovoltaic plants. The cumulative installed capacity of FSPV is 0.0027 GW, and the country plans to add 10 GW of FSPV to the 227 GW renewable energy target of 2022. The FSPV addition is small related to the entire market for solar energy, but each contribution is appreciated in the renewable energy market. FSPV could be a viable alternative for speeding up solar power deployment in the country and meeting its NDC targets. So far, the country has achieved the world's lowest investment cost for a floating solar installation. Despite the lower costs, generalizations are still premature because FSPV is still in its initial stages of market entry. Continuous innovation and timely adoption of innovative ideas and technology will support India in meeting its solar energy goals and progressing toward a more sustainable future. Governments must establish clear and enforceable policies to assist developers in reducing risks and increasing investor confidence in the sector. Economic and financial feasibility are examined, and various difficulties in technology, design, finances, environment, maintenance, and occupational health that impact the FSPV deployment are discussed. Based on the research, effective and comprehensive FSPV policy suggestions are included to support establishing an appropriate market, fostering competition and innovation, and attracting large-scale investment. This paper aims to stimulate interest among various policy developers, energy suppliers, industrial designers, ergonomists, project developers, manufacturers, health and safety professionals, executing agencies, training entities, and investment institutions of the FSPV plant to implement effective governance planning and help them to participate in their ways to assure sustainable growth.
... This in practice is exceedingly difficult to maintain due to changes in solar irradiance and ambient temperature that directly affect the inverter voltage, which may result to the inverter efficiency missing the nominal state (The German Solar Energy Society (DGS), 2005). Chumpolrat et al. (2014) presented the effects of temperature on the performance of an inverter in a grid-connected PV system in Thailand. In this study the inverter efficiency reached its maximum value when the ambient temperature was under 37 • C. The inverter efficiency then dropped by 2.5% drop when the ambient temperature increased to over 37 • C. The inverter temperature was always higher than the ambient temperature. ...
... A study mentioned earlier (see background literature research), analysed the effects of temperature on the performance of an inverter in a grid-connected PV system in Thailand (by Chumpolrat et al. (2014)). The study showed that in high temperature regions, the inverter temperature becomes a critical factor when analysing the inverter efficiency losses. ...
... In this study the inverter had its maximum efficiency at ambient temperatures under 37 • C. The inverter efficiency then dropped by 2.5% when the ambient temperature rose to over 37 • C. The inverter temperature was always higher than the ambient temperature. During daytime, there was a difference of about 10-14 • C between the inverter and ambient temperatures when the ambient temperatures were higher than 32 • C. As such, with an ambient temperature of 37 • C, the inverter temperature was within the range of about 47-51 • C. Chumpolrat et al. (2014) and Islam et al. (2006) gave information on the behaviour of the inverter being dependent on the temperature, and that a high temperature had a negative impact on the inverter performance. ...
In grid-connected PV systems, the inverter is one of the important components. Inverter efficiency may vary depending on the input power and voltage of the PV array. This paper analysed three factors affecting inverter efficiency. The first one was the effect of the duration of inverter operations. Analysis of the operation of a PV system that has been operating four years showed an annual average inverter efficiency of 0.90, almost equal to the manufacturer’s specification of 0.91. The study showed that there was no significant degradation in inverter efficiency because a cool temperature (of 25°C) was maintained for the inverter storage room through an air conditioning system. The second analysis investigated the effect of the power input from different types of PV module technology. The study showed that the inverter connected to p-Si PV modules operated the highest efficiency at 0.91. However, detailed analyses showed that PV module technology had less or minimal impact on inverter efficiency. It was the power input from the PV module that has influence on the inverter efficiency. The third analysis involved the study of the effect of irradiance distribution on inverter efficiency. The study shows that the inverter operates at the maximum efficiency of 0.90 at irradiance of above 350 W/m², at which range solar energy potential is at its highest at around 85% of the total generation. This means that inverter converts almost all the energy supplied from solar PV at this irradiance range. In conducting the third analysis, a location-specific equation, ηPHS, for determining inverter efficiency was also developed. The ηPHS equation generates the actual inverter efficiency values based on the local irradiance conditions in Phitsanulok province.
... Convective heat exchange between panels and the surrounding air is proportional to the temperature difference between the panel surface and the air, and can thus increase or decrease power output depending upon the local convection coefficients and sign and magnitude of this temperature difference [31][32][33]. An experimental study conducted in Thailand found that monthly power output from PV peaks during the months with an average ambient temperature lower than 35°C [34]. The pattern of improved performance during colder months (winter), has been observed in other cities as well [35]. ...
In this manuscript we review research on the feedback mechanisms between photovoltaic energy production and the urban environment, with an emphasis on synthesizing what is known, while drawing attention to limitations, and indeed errors in, the literature on this topic.
We include in our analysis studies on photovoltaic (PV) systems in urban settings – on buildings, as shade structures, or as stand-alone arrays within an urban environment. We further limit the review to studies that investigate how the urban setting affects the performance of PV systems or how PV systems affect their surrounding urban environment. Our review is based on a systematic search of the literature, which revealed 116 unique articles that addressed the underlying questions in a meaningful way. While there are conflicting results reported across this body of literature, our review and synthesis reveal two key findings: (1) PV can significantly warm the city during the day, provide some cooling at night, and potentially increase energy use for air conditioning of buildings in some climates and building types; and (2) placing PV in an urban setting can adversely affect PV efficiency, reducing overall power production up to 20% in comparison to PV applications in rural settings. It is recommended that future developments of PV technologies focus both on increased efficiency and the need to increase reflection of wavelengths of energy not converted to electricity by the PV cells. Furthermore, designs for urban PV systems should explicitly consider the effects of elevated urban temperatures, pollution, and shading on system performance.
... Furthermore, the effects of ambient temperature to reduce energy efficiency of both PV array and inverter are significant. For example, authors in [20] showed that at above 37°C, the maximum efficiency of inverter drops about 2.5%. Other PV studies in [21]- [26] focused on evaluating the energy performance of rooftop PV systems in Thailand. ...
The annual degradation rate (DR) of photovoltaics (PV) system is a critical factor to evaluate the energy performance and the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) during its operation lifetime. However, the DR of a particular system strongly depends on the technical configuration such as PV module and array, inverter configuration, and also the climatic conditions. Therefore, a real operation dataset of DR is necessary to PV engineer in order to estimate energy performance and the LCOE for a particular system. This article presents the annual DR for a group of PV systems in Bangkok, Thailand which share the same monocrystalline silicon solar cell and inverter brand, over a four-year period. Instead of using simple linear regression, we apply the linear mixed effects method to estimate the DR value, which is suitable to formula a time-series data. The annual DR was found about 2.7% per year, with the 95% confidence interval from 0.7% to 4.6% per year. Hence, the operation lifetime of PV system until it reaches 80% of their initial energy conversion performance is about 7 years, with the 95% confidence interval from 4 years to 28 years. The resulting DR is informative and useful for further study on PV system performance and cost of investment in tropical region. Furthermore, we are the first group in Thailand to estimate the DR of PV station at system scale based on the mixed effects method. Finally, our study has enriched the knowledge about the operation of monocrystalline silicon (Mono-Si) PV station in real operation condition.
... The presented investigations are likely to be beneficial for energy yield prediction and loss ana lysis of the PV systems, particularly in high temperature regions. Wh ile many heavily relied on irradiation measurements, relating to irradiation is deliberately avoided and instead the input DC power has been taken for differing efficiency [8]. ...
... Chumpolrat et al., studied effects of temperature on performance of a grid connected inverter installed in Thailand. Maximum efficiency of the inverter showed up to 2.5% drop when ambient temperature was high [8]. ...
... Interestingly, it was found that the Actual maximum efficiency of the inverter strongly depended on the inverter's temperature. As shown in Figure (4), the inverter efficiency (ƞivt) reaches its maximum value of 96.5-97% when the inverter temperature is less and shows drop of 2-4% when the temperature increases above 37°C [8]. The performance of inverters located indoors is not significantly affected by seasonal weather changes. ...
Performance of SPV (solar photovoltaic) system depends upon various location-based parameters of weather profile like irradiance, aerosol index (particulate matter), ambient temperature, operating temperature, wind speed, humidity etc. Among all factors, temperature plays a considerable role. Inverter is very important component of SPV systems regardless being off grid or grid connected. It affects the general performance of the PV system. Tracking and conversion efficiency of inverter are different. Here effect of Inverter’s internal temperature on conversion efficiency of a grid connected inverter for a 2.1 KWp residential rooftop solar PV system located in Himmatnagar; Gujarat (23.5969° N, 72.9630° E) has been investigated. Data has been collected for Actual operating conditions for a whole year allowing for understanding seasonal effect of temperature. For on field working system, it is relatively tough to determine exact effects of all interrelated parameters on system performance compared to a controlled environment. Inverter temperature increases with the power dissipation of the inverter, following daily and yearly cycles. For different output capacities inverter has shown very different conversion characteristics under field than under laboratory conditions. For this system the reduction in inverter’s conversion efficiency due to temperature rise during peak hours is seen in range of 1-4% and even more when clipping loss was present. So, for a large-scale SPV plant this loss is even more impactful especially in high temperature regions.
Keywords—Solar, PV, Inverters, Diurnal, Seasonal, Annual, Temperature
... The difference between the values of PV module efficiency and PV power plant efficiency comes from the losses of involved parts from DC cables to inverters. The same trend was seen in Ref. [31] in which the efficiency of the inverter of a grid-connected PV system was studied in Thailand without considering any thermal management system. Since the electrical losses increase with increasing temperature, the overall efficiency of the PV power plant is more sensitive to temperature than the efficiency of the module and the results confirm this trend as seen in Ref. [31]. ...
... The same trend was seen in Ref. [31] in which the efficiency of the inverter of a grid-connected PV system was studied in Thailand without considering any thermal management system. Since the electrical losses increase with increasing temperature, the overall efficiency of the PV power plant is more sensitive to temperature than the efficiency of the module and the results confirm this trend as seen in Ref. [31]. Hence, managing ...
The study aimed at revealing the techno-economic analyses of the temperature management of photovoltaic (PV) modules. For this aim, an existing PV power plant (PP) located in Zanjan, north-west of Iran was analyzed experimentally. Two different cooling scenarios (cases A and B with 3 and 6 low-energy fans per module) were considered. The net energy balance showed that more net electrical energy is produced in case A. The net specific energy (kWh per kWp) could be increased up to 4.4% and 4.1% in July, respectively for cases A and B. The selected cooling system (i.e. case A) was analyzed economically according to three different possible scenarios: considering different feed-in tariff (FiT) rates, change in PV module degradation rates, and increasing the size of a PV PP vs applying the thermal management system. Results revealed that a thermal management system would be economically justifiable only at high FiT rates. Finally, considering the reduction in the degradation rate of PV modules is necessary for economic analyses due to the possible lowering in the pay-back period as up to three years seen in the present study.
... A at standard temperature conditions (STC). Because this current increases with the module operating temperature, its maximum happens at the maximum authorized temperature value, 70 º C [21] . The inverters are designed to compensate for the inductive charges and to keep the power factor close to one, and this maximizes the power transfer. ...
The presents study evaluates the performance of a hypothetical 1-hectare solar photovoltaic (PV) plant located in the Baía Azul Beach, in Benguela, Angola. The first year performance of the plant composed by 2,784 DuoMax 365 PV modules from Trina Solar Company was evaluated by means of the VelaSolaris Polysum software package. The total surface area of the PV modules was of 5,456.64 m2. The annual alternate current electricity production was of 1,511.70 MWh allowing a total of 710.47 tCO2 of CO2 emissions reduction and a performance ratio of 72.8 %. The annual average energy and exergy efficiencies of the PV system were respectively of of 14.3 % and 14.7 %.
... However, electricity generation by solar energy is effected by many external factor including sun position relative to the photovoltaic (PV) panel position, overheating and shading [6][7][8][9] and the overheated PV surface [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Recent studies using phase change materials (PCMs) have attracted many researchers to the surface of solar cells as a cooling system [19][20][21]. ...
Solar energy can be utilize to power a system located far from the electricity sources such a mobile tower applied in open-pit mining in PT Bukit Asam Tbk. However, the tropical weather in an open-pit mining can increase the surface temperature of a Photovoltaic (PV) panel, lead to overheating and the reduction of the efficiency and the reduced electricity power. This condition requires a cooling system to reduce the temperature. This paper presents the application of Phase Change Material (PCM) and heatsink as the cooling system for a PV panels. The PCM installed are in two sizes aluminum hollows, a 0.0025 m ³ and 0.00625 m ³ . The experiment was conducted in 2 batches, 14-29 February 2020 for the installed 0.0025 m ³ aluminum hollow, and 1-14 March 2020 for 0.00625 m ³ . The application of a 0.00625 m ³ can reduce the PV panel’s surface temperature up to 3-5°C. The generated current using PCM 0.00625 m ³ is 0.034 A for Isc and 0.014 A I load higher than without cooling system. The application of a aluminum hallow with the size of 0.00625 m ³ gives 9-20% efficiency, and the efficiency gives 8-15%. The experimental results show that the use of a hollow aluminum with a size of 0.00625 m ³ can reduce the surface temperature of the PV panel and increase the power and efficiency of the PV panels.
