Assessment and mathematical modeling of energy quality parameters of grid connected photovoltaic inverters

The insertion of photovoltaic solar energy has increased considerably over the past few years, with remarkable growth since 2005. It is essential that the electrical energy delivered by the photovoltaic system to the grid has an acceptable quality level. This paper presents test results of power factor and harmonic distortion content in grid connected inverters for photovoltaic systems. Several tests of ten commercially available inverter models from three different manufacturers were performed at the Laboratory of Solar Energy (Labsol) at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), using a test bench with a power analyzer. The power factor and total harmonic distortion in current curves were mathematically modeled as a function of relative power in order to be used in computer simulation of photovoltaic systems. For power loads close to the nominal values, the harmonic content was found to be low and in accordance with the standard requirements. Nevertheless, at low loading levels the inverters may inject high levels of harmonics into the grid.