Photovoltaic inverter aging equipment

Does aging affect the electrical performance of PV modules?

The aging impact on the electrical performance of the PV module connecting with the grid was tested by Azizi et al. . The results demonstrated the degradation of approx. 1%/year in the rate for PV module maximal power-point; in addition, module resistance evolution was estimated to be approx. 12.8% for 20 years.

Are there opportunities for accelerated aging testing in photovoltaics?

Discussions with industry and observations by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and National Laboratory staff identified a growing interest in the problems and opportunities associated with accelerated aging tests in photovoltaics.

How old are inverters?

The inverters in question are five to 10 years old and are beginning to fail. And not in isolated cases here and there, but with “a high degree of regularity,” according to the study.

Do inverters fail with age?

Things fail with age, whether they be cars, phones or inverters. Alencon, an optimizer manufacturing company out of Hatboro, Pennsylvania has published a white paper looking at the failure rate of central inverters used in aging 600 V solar plants. The inverters in question are five to 10 years old and are beginning to fail.

Do PV modules degrade over time?

PV module components degrade over time during operation, which leads to electrical performance loss [7 – 10]. The service life of a PV modules depends mainly on the BoM, PV technology and the climate which the PV module operates in, as these two factors highly influence the type and rate of degradation mechanisms.

Why is the optimization of a photovoltaic system difficult?

The optimization of a photovoltaic system is difficult because its power varies as a function of temperature and illumination, the reason for which, the photovoltaic panel can provide maximum power only for well-defined voltage and current values (Laronde et al., 2010).