Effect of Temperature on Conversion Efficiency of Single-Phase Solar PV Inverter

Performance of SPV (solar photovoltaic) system depends upon various location-based parameters of weather profile like irradiance, aerosol index (particulate matter), ambient temperature, operating temperature, wind speed, humidity etc. Among all factors, temperature plays a considerable role. Inverter is very important component of SPV systems regardless being off grid or grid connected. It affects the general performance of the PV system. Tracking and conversion efficiency of inverter are different. Here effect of Inverter’s internal temperature on conversion efficiency of a grid connected inverter for a 2.1 KWp residential rooftop solar PV system located in Himmatnagar; Gujarat (23.5969° N, 72.9630° E) has been investigated. Data has been collected for Actual operating conditions for a whole year allowing for understanding seasonal effect of temperature. For on field working system, it is relativelytough to determine exact effects of all interrelated parameters on system performance compared to a controlled environment. Inverter temperature increases with the power dissipation of the inverter, following daily and yearly cycles. For different output capacities inverter has shown very different conversion characteristics under field than under laboratory conditions. For this system the reduction in inverter’s conversion efficiency due to temperature rise during peak hours is seen in range of 1-4% and even more when clipping loss was present. So, for a large-scale SPV plant this loss is even more impactful especially in high temperature regions.