Performance analysis of a “Green” building photovoltaic system

The Golisano Institute for Sustainability (GIS) building at Rochester Institute of Technology, is equipped with multicrystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) modules with an annual capacity of 45,241 kilowatts-hour. In this study, yearly power output of the GIS PV system is investigated using a mathematical model and comparing with real data collected from the monitoring system. The model used was developed using Matlab code. The objective is to predict PV modules performance with respect to changes in environmental parameters such as temperature, irradiance and cloud coverage. The results have been compared with the actual PV output data for the year 2014 and show a very good correlation.