Long term performance analysis of a grid connected photovoltaic system in Northern Ireland

The performance of a 13 kWp roof mounted, grid connected photovoltaic system in Northern Ireland over a period of three years has been analysed on hourly, daily and monthly bases. The derived parameters included reference yield, array yield, final yield, array capture losses, system losses, PV and inverter efficiencies and performance ratio. The effects of insolation and inverter operation on the system performance were investigated. The monthly average daily PV, system and inverter efficiencies varied from 4.5% to 9.2%, 3.6% to 7.8% and 50% to 87%, respectively. The annual average PV, system and inverter efficiencies were 7.6%, 6.4% and 75%, respectively. The monthly average daily DC and AC performance ratios ranged from 0.35 to 0.74 and 0.29 to 0.66, respectively. The annual average monthly AC performance ratios for the three years were 0.60, 0.61 and 0.62, respectively. The performance of this system is compared with that of other representative systems internationally.