Classification of methods for annual energy harvesting calculations of photovoltaic generators

•The paper presents a novel classification of methods for annual energy harvesting calculation of grid-connected PV systems.•The methods are classified in direct and indirect methods.•Direct methods directly calculate the energy. Indirect methods calculate the energy from the power.•The classification can help the PV professionals in order to choose the most suitable method for each application.

Estimating the energy provided by the generators of grid-connected photovoltaic systems is important in order to analyze their economic viability and supervise their operation. The energy harvesting calculation of a photovoltaic generator is not trivial; there are a lot of methods for this calculation. The aim of this paper is to develop a novel classification of methods for annual energy harvesting calculation of a generator of a grid-connected photovoltaic system. The methods are classified in two groups: (1) those that indirectly calculate the energy, i.e. they first calculate the power and from this, they calculate the energy, and (2) those that directly calculate the energy. Furthermore, the indirect methods are grouped in two categories: those that first calculate the I–V curve of the generator and from this, they calculate the power, and those that directly calculate the power. The study has shown that the existing methods differ in simplicity and accuracy, so that the proposed classification is useful in order to choose the most suitable method for each specific application.