Document Type
Article
Rights
Available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 4.0 International Licence
Disciplines
Energy and fuels
Abstract
This paper presents results obtained from monitoring a 1.72 kWp photovoltaic system installed on a flat roof of a 12 m high building in Dublin, Ireland (latitude 53.4 N and longitude 6.3 E). The system was monitored between November 2008 and October 2009 and all the electricity generated was fed into the low voltage supply to the building. Monthly average daily and annual performance parameters of the PV system evaluated include: final yield, reference yield, array yield, system losses, array capture losses, cell temperature losses, PV module efficiency, system efficiency, inverter efficiency, performance ratio and capacity factor. The maximum solar radiation, ambient temperature and PV module tempera- ture recorded were 1241W/m2 in March, 29.5 C and 46.9 C in June respectively. The annual total energy generated was 885.1 kWh/kWp while the annual average daily final yield, ref- erence yield and array yield were 2.41 kWh/kWp/day, 2.85 kWh/kWp/day and 2.62 kWh/kWp/day respectively. The annual average daily PV module efficiency, system efficiency and inverter efficiency were 14.9%, 12.6% and 89.2% respectively while the annual average daily performance ratio and capacity factor were 81.5% and 10.1% respectively. The annual average daily system losses, capture losses and cell temperature losses were 0.23 h/day, 0.22 h/day and 0.00 h/day respectively. Comparison of this system with other systems in different locations showed that the system had the highest annual average daily PV module efficiency, system efficiency and performance ratio of 14.9%, 12.6% and 81.5% respectively. The PV system’s annual average daily final yield of 2.4 kWh/kWp/day is higher than those reported in Germany, Poland and Northern Ireland. It is comparable to results from some parts of Spain but it is lower than the reported yields in most parts of Italy and Spain. Despite low insolation levels, high average wind speeds and low ambient temperature improve Ireland’s suitability.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2010.08.007
Recommended Citation
Ayompe, L., Duffy, A., McCormack, S., Conlon, M., (2011) Measured performance of a 1.72 kW rooftop grid connected photovoltaic system in Ireland, Energy Conversion and Management, Volume 52, Issue 2, Pages 816-825, ISSN 0196-8904. doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2010.08.007
Funder
Higher Education Authority TSR Strand 3
Publication Details
L.M. Ayompe, A. Duffy, S.J. McCormack, M. Conlon, Measured performance of a 1.72 kW rooftop grid connected photovoltaic system in Ireland, Energy Conversion and Management, Volume 52, Issue 2, February 2011, Pages 816-825, ISSN 0196-8904.