This work aims to constitute a contribution to the field of the analysis of the performance of distributed photovoltaic (PV) systems and to the detection of faults of operation that can hinder their performance. With that objective in view, the work has been articulated around three main lines of research: the analysis of the performance of dozens of thousands of PV systems in Europe, the development of a novel fault detection method applied to PV system fleets, and the generation of solar irradiation data from the PV energy output.We have based our analysis on the operational data monitored at more than 31,000 PV systems in Europe, with special focus over Belgium and France, and in a lesser extent to the UK and Spain.For the analysis of the performance of PV systems, three main questions are posed: how much energy do they produce? What level of performance is associated with their production? Which are the key parameters have the most influence on their quality?The mean Energy Yield of the PV systems located in each of the four reference countries is 1115 kWh/kWp for France, 898 kWh/kWp for the UK, 908 kWh/kWp for Belgium, 1450 kWh/kWp for the PV plants in Spain mounted on a static structure, and 2127 kWh/kWp for those mounted on a solar tracker in Spain.The quality of the PV systems is quantified using the Performance Ratio (PR), and the Performance Index (PI). After a mean exposure time of 2 years, the mean value of Performance Ratio is 78% in Belgium and 76% in France, and the mean Performance Index of the PV systems is 85% in both countries, which implies that the typical real PV system produces 15% less than a very high-quality PV system (or reference PV system) under the same conditions. On average, the real power of the PV modules falls some 5% below their corresponding nominal power announced on the manufacturer's datasheet. However, some modules show a real power more than 15% below the nominal power announced by their manufacturer. A brief analysis by PV module technology has led to relevant observations about two technologies. On the one hand, the PV systems equipped with Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin layer (HIT) modules show performances higher than average. On the other hand, the systems equipped with Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS/CIS) modules show a real power that is 16 % lower than their nominal value.We have shown that the distribution of the yearly integrated PR can be modeled well using a Weibull distribution for PR values ranging from 60% to 90%. This range of values represents the majority of the PV systems, and we suggest that they are representative of the state of the art for PV systems in Europe. The typical PR value for the PV systems installed in Europe before 2015 is 79% and its value for the PV systems installed in the last few years is 81%.2) Estimating the tilted solar radiation in any plane G(α2,β2) from another plane G(α1,β1)