Incidence of PV Module Rated Power Tolerances on PV System Energy Production

Abstract

Discussing the electrical energy production of a PV system realized by PV modules with a large range of tolerance for the rated power values is the aim of this paper. In particular, the paper shows how the incidence of tolerance can be significant, in terms of output power reduction, when the PV system works in partial shading condition. For this issue, using a tool developed for this purpose, several simulations have been run, which consider different tolerance values for the module rated power and different shading patterns for the PV array. The authors quantify the peak power values of the different system configurations, showing the importance of the choice of modules with reduced tolerance and providing useful indications for designers of photovoltaic systems as well. The proposed methodology is useful to calculate the payback time of PV system for each module choice.

Keywords

• Manufacturing tolerances, mismatch, I-V characteristics, PV module defects.

References

1. S. Kaplanis and E. Kaplani, “Energy performance and degradation over 20 years performance of BP c-Si PV modules,” Simulation Modelling Practice and Theory, vol. 19, 2011, pp. 1201–1211.
2. M.A. Munoz, M.C. Alonso-Garca, N. Vela, and F. Chenlo, “Early degradation of silicon PV modules and guaranty conditions,” Solar Energy, vol. 85, 2011, pp. 2264–2274.
3. A. Luque and S. Hegedus, Handbook of photovoltaic science and engineering, John Wiley & Sons, 2011.
4. T.U. Townsend, “A method for estimating the long-term performance of direct-coupled photovoltaic systems,” University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1989.
5. M. Wolf and H. Rauschenbach, “Series resistance effects on solar cell measurements,” Advanced energy conversion, vol. 3, 1963, pp. 455–479.
6. R. Chenni, M. Makhlouf, T. Kerbache, and A. Bouzid, “A detailed modeling method for photovoltaic cells,” Energy, vol. 32, 2007, pp. 1724–1730.
7. V. Lo Brano, A. Orioli, G. Ciulla, and A. Di Gangi, “An improved five-parameter model for photovoltaic modules,” Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, vol. 94, 2010, pp. 1358–1370.
8. F. Spertino and J.S. Akilimali, “Are Manufacturing I-V Mismatch and Reverse Currents Key Factors in Large Photovoltaic Arrays?,” Industrial Electronics, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 56, Nov. 2009, pp. 4520–4531.

9. M.G. Villalva, J.R. Gazoli, and E.R. Filho, “Modeling and circuit-based simulation of photovoltaic arrays,” Power Electronics Conference, 2009. COBEP ’09. Brazilian, 2009, pp. 1244–1254.
10. G. Cipriani, V. Di Dio, D. La Cascia, R. Miceli, and R. Rizzo, “A novel approach for parameters determination in four lumped PV parametric model with operative range evaluations,” International Review of Electrical Engineering, vol. 8, 2013, pp. 1008–1017.
11. R. Siddiqui and U. Bajpai, “Deviation in the performance of solar module under climatic parameter as ambient temperature and wind velocity in composite climate,” International Journal of Renewable Energy Research, vol. 2, 2012, pp. 486–490.
12. G. Cipriani, V. Di Dio, A. Marcotulli, and R. Miceli, “Manufacturing Tolerances Effects on PV Array Energy Production,” Renewable Energy Research and Applications (ICRERA), 2014 International Conference on, 2014, pp. 1–6.
13. V. Di Dio, D. La Cascia, R. Miceli, and C. Rando, “A mathematical model to determine the electrical energy production in photovoltaic fields under mismatch effect,” Clean Electrical Power, 2009 International Conference on, 2009, pp. 46–51.
14. J. Coello, J.L. Galindo, M. Carames, and R. Carreño, “Quality control during the supply of PV modules: fundamental key to guarantee the profitability of PV installations,” 23rd European Solar Energy Conference, 1-5 September 2008, Valencia, Spain, 2008.
15. M. Sander, B. Henke, S. Schweizer, M. Ebert, and J. Bagdahn, “PV module defect detection by combination of mechanical and electrical analysis methods,” Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), 2010 35th IEEE, 2010, pp. 1765–1769.
16. C.E. Chamberlin, P. Lehman, J. Zoellick, and G. Pauletto, “Effects of mismatch losses in photovoltaic arrays,” Solar energy, vol. 54, 1995, pp. 165–171.
17. S. Shirzadi, H. Hizam, and N.I.A. Wahab, “Mismatch losses minimization in photovoltaic arrays by arranging modules applying a genetic algorithm,” Solar Energy, vol. 108, 2014, pp. 467–478.
18. E. Suresh Kumar and B. Sarkar, “Investigation of the common quality and reliability issues in the photovoltaic panels,” Efficient Energy Technologies for