Photovoltaic performance models: an evaluation with actual field data

Abstract

Prediction of energy production is crucial to the design and installation of the building integrated photovoltaic systems. This prediction should be attainable based on the commonly available parameters such as system size, orientation and tilt angle. Several commercially available as well as free downloadable software tools exist to predict energy production. Six software models have been evaluated in this study and they are: PV Watts, PVsyst, MAUI, Clean Power Estimator, Solar Advisor Model (SAM) and RETScreen. This evaluation has been done by comparing the monthly, seasonaly and annually predicted data with the actual, field data obtained over a year period on a large number of residential PV systems ranging between 2 and 3 kW dc . All the systems are located in Arizona, within the Phoenix metropolitan area which lies at latitude 33° North, and longitude 112 West, and are all connected to the electrical grid.

Performance of grid-tied PV facilities: A case study based on real data

“…Several computer applications, such as PVGIS [40] or PVSyST [45], calculate average radiation levels at virtually any point on the map [46]. Nevertheless, the stochastic distribution of solar radiation can explain significant differences at nearby locations, although calculated radiation in this case was the same.…”

Sun‐trackers profitability analysis in Spain

“…These software tools can be used to calculate the energy production of a desired system by simply computing the system sizing parameters. The most commonly used models for predicting the performance of grid‐connected and residential PV systems are: pvwatts , pvsyst , System Advisor Model ( sam ), maui , retscreen and pvgis . A quick overview of these models is presented hereafter.…”

Photovoltaic Prediction Software: Evaluation with Real Data from Northern Spain

“…The Photovoltaic Geographical Information System (PVGIS) provides a map-based inventory of solar energy resource and an assessment of electricity generation from photovoltaic systems in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. The database includes monthly and yearly average values of the global irradiation on horizontal and inclined surfaces, as well as climatic parameters needed for an assessment of the potential PV electricity generation [14,15]. With the following applications, it is possible to choose between databases collected by satellite that includes data from 2005 to 2016: SARAH, NREL, CMSAF, ECMWF, and COSMO-REA6.…”

“…PVSYST includes algorithms for thermal and wind effects calculation, wire losses and incidence angle modifier losses, albedo values, and a horizon adjustment capability. This software has received significantly high scores and recommendations in various comparative studies [15,[21][22][23].…”