SPICE modelling and experiments on a complete photovoltaic system including cells, storage elements, inverter and load

The design of a complete photovoltaic (PV) system and the precise evaluation of its performances under different conditions requires the use of an accurate simulation model. In this work, a SPICE model of a complete PV system, including a detailed model of PV cells and a multilevel inverter with load and energy storage elements, is presented. The simulation of the system as a whole allows determining the role of components and parameters as solar irradiation and cell temperature on the system performance. The global conversion efficiency and the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the output waveform are analysed in detail. The role and sizing criteria of storage elements placed in parallel with the PV modules are also analysed for various operating conditions. A PV system, including a specifically designed multilevel inverter, was built to perform efficiency and THD measurements that were compared with the simulation results to evaluate the model effectiveness.