Actual Versus Design Performance of Solar Systems in the National Solar Data Network

摘要

This report relates field measured performance to the designer predicted performance. The field measured data was collected by the National Solar Data Network (NSDN) over a period of six years. Data from 25 solar systems was selected from a data pool of some 170 solar systems. The scope of the project extends beyond merely presenting comparisons of data. There is an attempt to provide answers which will move the solar industry forward. As a result of some industry and research workshops, several concerns arose which can be partially allayed by careful study of the NSDN data. These are: What types of failures occurred and why. How good was the design versus actual performance. Why was predicted performance not achieved in the field. Which components should be integrated with a system type for good performance. Since the designs span several years and since design philosophies are quite variable, the measured results were also compared to f-Chart 5.1 results. This comparison is a type of normalization in that all systems are modeled with the same process. An added benefit of this normalization is a further validation of the f-Chart model on a fairly large scale. The systems were modeled using equipment design parameters, measured loads, and f-Chart weather data from nearby cities. (ERA citation 09:049694)