Methodology to Estimate the Impact of the DC to AC Power Ratio, Azimuth, and Slope on Clipping Losses of Solar Photovoltaic Inverters: Application to a PV System Located in Valencia Spain

Dácil Díaz-Bello, Carlos Vargas-Salgado (), Jesus Águila-León and Fabián Lara-Vargas
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Dácil Díaz-Bello: Instituto Universitario de Ingeniería Energética, Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Carlos Vargas-Salgado: Instituto Universitario de Ingeniería Energética, Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Jesus Águila-León: Instituto Universitario de Ingeniería Energética, Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Fabián Lara-Vargas: Instituto Universitario de Ingeniería Energética, Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 3, 1-25

Abstract: Renewable power capacity sets records annually, driven by solar photovoltaic power, which accounts for more than half of all renewable power expansion in 2021. In this sense, photovoltaic system design must be correctly defined before system installation to generate the maximum quantity of energy at the lowest possible cost. The proposed study analyses the oversizing of the solar array vs. the capacity of the solar inverter, seeking low clipping losses in the inverter. A real 4.2 kWp residential PV installation was modelled and validated using the software SAM and input data from different sources, such as a weather station for weather conditions, ESIOS for electricity rates, and FusionSolar to obtain energy data from the PV installation. Once data were validated through SAM, the DC to AC ratio was varied between 0.9 and 2.1. The azimuth and slope sensitivity analyses were performed regarding clipping inverter losses. Results have been evaluated through the energy generated and the discounted payback period, showing that, depending on the weather conditions, slope, and azimuth, among others, it is advisable to increase the DC to AC ratio to values between 1.63 and 1.87, implying low discounted payback periods of about 8 to 9 years. In addition, it was observed that inverter clipping losses significantly vary depending on the defined azimuth and slope.

Keywords: renewable energies; photovoltaic systems; solar inverter; DC to AC ratio; slope; azimuth; clipping losses; discounted payback period (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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