Impact and performance efficiency analysis of grid-tied solar photovoltaic system based on installation site environmental factors

Abstract

The performance of solar photovoltaic systems tends to decline if the operating conditions change from the nominal operating cell temperature due to environmental factors. The major factors include temperature and humidity variations, which cause thermal losses and open-circuit voltage drops in photovoltaic panels. This study investigates the correlations between solar photovoltaic performance and environmental factors by quantifying the real-time variables including temperature, humidity, dewpoint temperature, and heat index. Furthermore, the study investigates the difference between real-time measured and theoretically calculated temperature values with the help of weather station data to investigate the impact of temperature difference on the overall percentage power loss of the systems. The panels were installed at three distinct sites (rooftop, parking shed, and ground-mounted) connected to the same grid-tied system. Results reveal that the photovoltaic panel temperature has an inverse relation with the dew temperature and the humidity of the surrounding environment. The heat index value was found slightly less at the peak solar hours during the 24 h cycle of the measurement. The difference and relationship between temperature and humidity are measured and losses are highlighted based on the instantaneous occurrence of variables. Based on a difference between measured and calculated temperature values, results reveal that PV systems faced 27.95%, 5.41%, and 0.82% power losses for ground, roof, and parking installed PV systems, respectively.